UFC to Offer Bonuses to Fighters for Tweeting

Unlike other professional sports organizations that have cautioned, not to mention fined, its players for using Twitter, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is encouraging its fighters to tweet as much as possible.

According to a UFC official, UFC president Dana White announced at the UFC Fighter Summit, held this week in Las Vegas, that fighters will receive bonuses for adding Twitter followers and writing creative tweets.

Here's how the new Twitter bonus initiative will work:

Starting June 1, UFC and Strikeforce fighters will be divided into four categories, based on how many Twitter followers they currently have. At the end of each quarter, three fighters from each category will be awarded a $5,000 bonus. The three winners will be based on who has gained the most followers since the start of the quarter, who gained the highest percentage of new followers and who wrote the most creative tweets. White will be the judge of the last category.

At the conclusion of a full calendar year, the UFC will end up paying $240,000 a year to its fighters for their Twitter usage.

So while NFL and NBA players have been fined for tweeting during team functions, the UFC is doing the exact opposite, which is no surprise considering how active White is on Twitter and how he has long been in favor of embracing social media.

The majority of the 350 fighters contracted to UFC and Strikeforce were present at the UFC Fighter Summit. Seminars on Zuffa's new insurance coverage, taxes, gambling and, of course, social media were held. For more information on the summit, click here.