UFC tends to underpay the higher guys and overpay the lower one's. I like this system cause everyone's got to start at the bottom and being at the top is not, people's financial security shouldn't be dependent on winning titles and main eventing and UFC's system's pretty good. Again with Reebok established stars hate the deal for the fighter community as a whole probably a better case to be made, though Dana used them as a shield to do what he wanted to do anyway. Also this technique is a brilliant way of fighting unionization. Usually management appeases the big guys(like Hulk Hogan with the WWE one) to keep the little one's down but here the UFC is doing the opposite giving the smaller guys who are the majority the best deal.
The stars were probably underpaid, I say WERE because stars generate much less extra revenue than they used to. There's only a handful of people who can do PPV numbers that were considered decent back in the day. Now is when the UFC's way of doing things makes the most sense, a few years ago the champs had a much much better case and I was on their side entirely. Whitaker is not exactly a great example of a star who needs to make more money and I don't think he could have picked worse timing to make this case given what just happened.
Guys who get it the worst probably are the talents who are capable of being champ but aren't doing main events. This is why I guess people who go to Bellator tend to be non champ top 5-10 types who are just below the main event. Listened to a Michael McDonald interview awhile ago who couldn't afford to fight in the UFC and he was a former title contender, most of the UFC guys who end up there tend to fit that profile, top 5-10, doesn't win enough to get into the main event. People say not to go with the official salary numbers and this is fine and good with the champs who get PPV points, likely large bonuses but for other top 10 guys the official numbers are probably most of the story, in that McDonald interview he was discussing bartering over a 10,000 a fight raise with Shelby. Honestly I think the best way to get these guys paid is to keep the title moving quickly as possible giving as many people main event time. Lately this hasn't happened and title fights being prolonged like Whitaker's prolong the entire divisions ability to earn more.