FOX pays the UFC about $90-million per year for broadcast rights. This deal was signed in 2011 and expires in August of next year. The UFC is going to be looking for a new television deal. The company is now owned by entertainment heavyweights and rumour has it they will be seeking up to half a billion dollars per year. None of the TV money goes directly to the fighters. If you look at the NBA's new broadcast deal, half of the revenue from it is going directly to the players, inflating salaries by about 40%. Even a $250-million/year broadcast deal, shared evenly with the fighters, would get them $250,000 per year each (by 500 fighters). It will be a damn shame if the fighters can't form an association in time. If you think the new ownership, having paid $4bn for the UFC, will give up any portion of a deal willingly, I don't know what to tell you.
