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.
“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.
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.
