UFC 206 Performance Bonuses and highlights
Never sleep on the UFC. UFC 206 was supposed to be headlined by the return of GSP, a momentous event….
Never sleep on the UFC.
UFC 206 was supposed to be headlined by the return of GSP, a momentous event. Then it was supposed to be headlined by a light heavyweight title defense between champion Daniel Cormier and crush, kill, destroy challenger Anthony Johnson. It ended up with Max Hollaway vs. Anthony Pettis for an interim title that felt a little contrived. And then Pettis missed weight.
It ended up being one of the greatest cards in memory, absolutely a fitting sequel to UFC 205.
Fighters at UFC events are compensated several ways, beyond the fixed amount to show and another fixed amount to win, that is usually made public. There is 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, which, despite their name locker room bonuses actually come in the mail. And four discretionary $50,000 performance bonuses are given at each event.
Usually, there is a Fight of the Night in which both fighters are given a performance bonus, and a performance bonus to the winner in two fights. “Performance Bonus” is a phrase for fighters that most made you say “HOLY F@#$ING $#!@.” That happened a lot this card, so it must have been hard to choose, and there will presumably be more than usual locker room bonuses.
One of the primary differences between the UFC model and the boxing model is the depth of the card. Sometimes the best fights are all the way down on the UFC Fight Pass prelims. This event was no exception. While the fight of the night was a fight of the year contender, and on the main card, and a third bonus went to the main event winners, there was also a spinning kick KO on the UFC Fight Pass prelims. It, too, deserves early consideration for an ‘of the year’ nomination.
These are the highlights …
Fight of the Night ($50,000)
Cub Swanson defeated Dooho Choi by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Performance of the Night ($50,000)
Max Hollaway defeated Anthony Pettis by TKO (Strikes, Round 3, 4:50)
Performance of the Night ($50,000)
Lando Vannata defeated John Makdessi by Knockout (Head kick, Round 1, 1:40)
WHAT A KICK!
INCREDIBLE way for Lando Vannata to get his first win! #UFC206 https://t.co/VedB9ZxlV1
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) December 11, 2016
“>December 11, 2016
Next stop is UFC on Fox 22: VanZant vs. Waterson on December 17, 2016, at Golden 1 Center Sacramento, California. Then it’s UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey on December 30, 2016, at T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
