UFC 244 was held on November 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. It was the UFC’s 500th live event.
In addition to being paid a fixed amount to show and another, usually equal amount to win, each UFC event also awards four $50,000 Performance Bonuses. Usually, there is a Fight of the Night in which both fighters are given a performance bonus, and a performance bonus to the winner in two fights, sometimes, as happened here, no fight of the night is awarded; rather, four performance bonuses were given. “Performance Bonus” means the fight made you say “HOLY F@$%ING $#!@.”
One of the primary differences between the UFC model and the boxing model is the depth of the card. Sometimes the greatest fight isn’t the main event, or close to it. However, at UFC 244 three of the four bonuses went to the main card.
$50,000 Fight of the Night
•Stephen Thompson defeated Vincente Luque by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
LMAO Stephen Thompson is the nicest guy ever 😂😂😂 knocks down Luque then goes to tag gloves#UFC244 https://t.co/I6EQCIxJm3
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) November 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/OnMMA/status/1190834854616817665
$50,000 Performance Bonus:
•Kevin Lee defeated Gregor Gillespie by KO (Kick, Round 1, 2;47)
Kevin Lee what a fucking knockout 😨 pic.twitter.com/BY4gZMb7fV
— Marcelo (@marcelopontes8) November 3, 2019
Megan Olivi's reaction to Kevin Lee vs Gregor Gillespie KNOCKOUT 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
She just can't believe it@MeganOlivi #UFC244 https://t.co/UGVaBbn2tQ
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) November 3, 2019
$50,000 Performance Bonus:
•Corey Anderson defeated Johnny Walker by TKO (Strikes, Round 1, 2:07)
COREY ANDERSON IN ROUND 1 😱😱@CoreyA_MMA #UFC244 pic.twitter.com/J4Z2Sn0snv
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 3, 2019
Corey Anderson lets his frustrations out on Johnny Walker after the bell…
The referee had to wrestle him away 😳 #UFC244 pic.twitter.com/DqVYrn5aF8
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 3, 2019
In addition, to the bonuses and purses, there are:
•Reebok pay, based on tenure, for wearing the distinctive apparel during fight week and in the Octagon;
•Sometimes fighters get discretionary locker room bonuses of varying amounts; despite their name, locker room bonuses actually come in the mail now;
•In some cases there is an LOA [Letter of Agreement] on the contract for additional income; and,
•The most elite fighters get points on the pay per view for PPV events.
Attendance: 20,143
Gate:$6,575,996.19 the 2nd highest at MSG after UFC 205, the inaugural show in the storied arena.
The next league event is UFC on ESPN+ 21 on November 9 at CSKA Arena in Moscow, Russia.
