The 555th UFC event, UFC Vegas 21, also known as UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad, UFC on ESPN+ 45, and UFC Fight Night 187, was held on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at the UFC APEX 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 $50,000 bonuses. Usually, there is a Fight of the Night for which both fighters are given a bonus, and a performance bonus is awarded to the winner in two other fights. This event instead had four performance bonus winners.
For the record, “Performance Bonus” is for the moments that made you go “HOLY F@$%ING $#!@.”
The winners are shown below, in bold.
50K goes to… 💸@Superman_Spann | @DynamiteDan808 | @DaveyGrantMMA | @SemiTheJedi pic.twitter.com/mUC4NM1D4p
— UFC (@ufc) March 14, 2021
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Ryan Spann defeated Misha Cirkunov by TKO (Strikes, Round 1, 1:11)
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Dan Ige defeated Gavin Tucker by KO (Punch, Round 1, 0:22)
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Davey Grant defeated Jonathan Martinez by KO (Punch, Round 2, 3:03)
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Matthew Semelsberger defeated Jason Witt by KO (Punch, Round 1, 0:16)
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 Vegas 21, however, while the first fight on the card earned a bonus, three in a row went to the main card.
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 22, also known as UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland, will be held next Saturday, March 20, 2021, at the UFC APEX.
