Being a UFC fighter is a tough gig, especially when you’re starting out and building up pay from a $10k/$10k contract. Those numbers haven’t improved for years, but at least the bonuses have increased from $50k to $100k, with every finish earning $25k.
Those bigger bonuses have resulted in some truly heartwarming videos from UFC London, where Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola earned Fight of the Night honors. Jones is now 3-0 in the UFC and has earned one performance bonus before, but this is his first $100,000 bonus and he’s a very happy man based on the big smile on his bruised up face.
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“5am here in London,” Jones posted later. “I’m still led here wide awake absolutely buzzing!”
Shanelle Dyer is one of those rare fighters that earned a Contender Series contract despite losing her fight, and she made her UFC debut in London last night. The fight went well for her: she finished her opponent Ravena Oliveira with knees and punches just 1:17 into the second round.
Her reaction to getting the $100,000 bonus? Jumping on the bed back at the fighter hotel and screaming in excitement.
“Bruv, I just got $123k!” she exclaimed, holding her head.
Iwo Baraniewski is a man of few words, even after his second performance bonus in a row. He simply posted “2/2 taken” on X (formerly Twitter) with a cash face emoji.
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Passed over for a performance bonus? Featherweight Danny Silva, who TKO’d Kurtis Campbell in the first fight on the main card. It was a highlight reel knockout and deserving of a performance bonus, but Silva made the mistake of saying the words UFC brass hate hearing in a post-fight victory speech: ‘I’m broke.’
“I’m broke right now,” Silva said. “I just need some money to maintain some camps. You know, it’ll be nice if I could get a performance bonus.”
Silva will have to make do with the $25,000 that fighters get for a finish in their fights.
