The 554th UFC event, UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya was held on March 6, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In addition to being paid a fixed amount to show and another, usually equal amount to win, each UFC event also awards four $50,000 bonuses. Usually, there is a Fight of the Night for which both fighters are given a bonus, and a performance bonus is awarded to the winner in two other fights. For the record, “Performance Bonus” is for the moments that made you go “HOLY F@$%ING $#!@.”
The winners are shown below, in bold.
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1368454377380356096https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1368455170422542336
$50,000 Fight of the Night
Kennedy Nzechukwu defeated Carlos Ulberg by TKO (Punches, Round 2, 3:19)
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Uros Medic defeated Aalon Cruz by TKO (Punches, Round 1, 1:40)
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Kai Kara-France defeated Rogerio Bontorin by TKO (Strikes, Round 1, 4:55)
One of the primary differences between the UFC model and the boxing model is the depth of the card. Sometimes in MMA the greatest fight isn’t the main event, or close to it. At UFC 259, one of the deepest cards in years, all performance bonuses went to the undercard.
In addition, to the bonuses and purses, fighters earn:
•Reebok pay, ranging from $3,500 to $20,000 based on tenure, $30,000 for title challengers, and $40,000 for champions, for wearing the distinctive apparel during fight week and in the Octagon;
•Discretionary locker room bonuses of varying amounts averaging out to $5k per fighter per fight, which, despite their name, 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.
The next league event, UFC Vegas 21, also known as UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad, UFC Fight Night 187, and UFC on ESPN+ 45, will be held on March 13, 2021, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
