The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card in “Sin City,” including an absolute joke for Fight of the Night that proved to those who subscribe to such a notion that “Dana White Privilege” is a real thing.
After UFC Fight Night 272, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. In addition, four other fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
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Although he submitted Azamat Bekoev (20-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who was an 8-1 betting favorite, Tresean Gore (7-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was left with just a $25,000 finish bonus. He choked Bekoev unconscious in the third round – which itself was a 50-1 betting proposition before the fight. Yet, his finish wasn’t worthy of $100,000.
Instead, the two Performance of the Night bonuses went to Alice Pereira (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Alessandro Costa (15-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC). Pereira’s finish of Hailey Cowan with a stunning knee was hard to deny. And Costa had a sick body shot finish, but that almost certainly left Renato Moicano (21-7-1 MMA, 13-7 UFC) and Ethyn Ewing (10-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) with thoughts, let alone Gore.
But the head scratcher comes in the form of the Fight of the Night for Tommy McMillen (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Manolo Zecchini (11-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC). Their fight lasted less than 4 minutes before McMillen put Zecchini away with a TKO. McMillen was a massive 10-1 favorite in the fight at some sportsbooks. Afterward, the training partner of former UFC champion Sean O’Malley, who was in his corner, called for the $100,000 on the microphone and said he wants to use it at the blackjack tables in Las Vegas — clearly playing to a favorite pasttime of UFC CEO Dana White. Then, lo and behold, when the $100K Performance bonuses went elsewhere, Fight of the Night was still a way to reward him like he asked to be. Strangely, other fighters in recent events who have asked to be given $100,000 bonuses haven’t been met with the same success rate.
Left out in the cold was a certainly more deserving, at least in a traditional sense, Fight of the Night contender between Kai Kamaka III (18-7-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) and newcomer Dakota Hope (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who stepped up for their card opener on just a few days’ notice. And Kamaka, in fact, returned to the UFC after nearly five years outside the promotion. But their 15-minute banger, a split decision win for Kamaka, gets nothing extra, officially.
Check out the list of winners below.
