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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Over the past several UFC events, the organization has handed out a flat $50,000 bonus for their awards, regardless of the platform for the event. UFC President Dana White said on Thursday that there's a reason for that, as the UFC has opted to go with uniform bonuses across the board.
In the past, the UFC's "Fight Night" awards were of higher or lesser value depending on the card, with pay-per-view events offering higher payouts than televised cards. That's changed, and will continue to stick at $50,000 per bonus for the foreseeable future.
"The bonuses are $50,000 now, so I don't have to say it anymore," White said after the UFC 158 pre-fight press conference (via MMAJunkie.com). "Nobody ever complained about [the amounts]. The bonuses are a gift – so it's like someone getting a Christmas present and saying, 'I didn't want this, I wanted a f***ing car.' It was fair to keep them straight all the way across so no matter what card you fight on, it's the same bonus."
That's not to say that White may not adjust that for a particularly memorable or lucrative event, as the UFC has gone overboard at times. Most notably, bonus winners at UFC 100 each received $100,000, while the record-setting UFC 129 event netted bonus winners $129K.
"I get crazy sometimes," he said. "Yeah – I can get as crazy as I want to get, but it's fair to keep them all $50,000 so if you're on a Fuel card, if you're a pay-per-view card, a 'Fight Night' card, it's all the same."
Penick's Analysis: The fairness angle also accomplishes something else for the UFC, as fighters lower on the ladder don't need to worry about which cards they're appearing on. If the bonuses are the same for a Fuel event as a pay-per-view card, they have the same bonus to strive for, and they won't be missing out on a higher bonus by being on the wrong type of card. That helps the UFC in that they may have an easier time negotiating for the smaller events with a certain segment of fighters.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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