TKO COO Mark Shapiro says the company is comfortable with its current compensation structure for WWE Superstars and UFC fighters after making adjustments around its recent media rights agreements.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Conference, Shapiro was asked about balancing talent costs with the investment TKO makes in marketing its stars. He revealed that compensation for WWE and UFC talent had already been “resized,” with those changes factored into the company’s financial outlook.
“Let’s talk about the pay for the superstars and our fighters first. What I would tell you is post our new deals with ESPN on WWE and with Paramount+, CBS, Peacock, Sky with UFC, and even a little bit post Raw with Netflix, we did resize our fighter and superstar pay composition,” Shapiro said.
“That is baked into our numbers. So there will be no further adverse impact with regard to how that plays out or divvies out. We’re confident with where we sit.”
Shapiro’s remarks come after reports over the past year that WWE has asked some talent to accept reduced compensation, including Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
Shapiro also emphasized the importance of TKO’s developmental pipeline, particularly WWE’s use of NXT to develop talent for the main roster.
“We have 600 fighters as an example in our stable at the UFC. We do, to your point, really rely on development. Keep in mind that when you look at the WWE, 75% of the superstars come from NXT. So they’re starting in our development league and going all the way up. So pipeline is very important to our strategy.”
On the UFC side, Shapiro pointed to the company’s Performance Institutes in Las Vegas, Mexico City and China as another important component of that strategy.
“On the UFC front, we’ve really capitalized on the investments of our performance centers in Mexico City and Vegas, and particularly China,” he continued. “We’re really getting real traction. So that’s a big part of our strategy. It will continue to be a big part of our strategy.”
Shapiro added that TKO intends to remain aggressive in creating additional earning opportunities for its WWE and UFC talent through areas such as advertising and marketing partnerships, as well as performance bonuses in UFC.
“What you see is you see the best of the best signing up and lining up to be a part of the UFC and to be a part of WWE. So that’s something we always watch out for and we want to make sure that we’re really spreading the opportunities, but the strategy’s working. Our margins will continue to expand.”
WWE’s landmark agreement with Netflix began in January 2025, while its ESPN deal launched in September 2025.
Elsewhere during the conference, Shapiro discussed TKO’s continued relationship with Saudi Arabia and highlighted next year’s WrestleMania as its biggest upcoming event in the country.
“Obviously nothing bigger next year than WrestleMania being in Saudi Arabia, which will be one to remember and one not to miss,” Shapiro said.
“Of course, our partners in Saudi bring the UFC and WWE to their region because they’re trying to draw attendance from not just around the globe, but certainly in the Middle East.”
Despite ongoing instability in the region, Shapiro said Saudi Arabia remains committed to bringing major sports and entertainment attractions to the country.
“All I would tell you is when it comes to the Middle East, despite what’s going on, despite how much longer that may go on, they’re open for business. In fact, I would tell you they’re more hungry to bring live events, not just sports, but concerts to the Middle East to show the world and tourism and fans that they’re open for business and they’re not slowing down.”
Shapiro said TKO has remained on schedule with its planned events and suggested additional events could potentially be announced before the end of 2026.
“We’ve stayed on track with our events for this year. We still have two more events this year,” he said.
“We may actually announce a couple more this year. That’s how much demand we’re seeing, and I think that’s ultimately the headline among the headlines when it comes to TKO and where we sit in the sports entertainment ecosystem. Demand is outstripping supply.”
Honestly I think I may have been the first to experience the new TKO version of “contract Negotiations”
56% paycut…. OUCH! https://t.co/WHseg3MwVI
— Luke Menzies (@LDMenzies) September 3, 2026
