"You can't go back" - UFC Vegas 91 fighter urges promotion to make $300,000 bonuses standard for all events
UFC Vegas 91 fighter Tim Means believes it's time for the UFC bonus to be raised for good.
Earlier this month, the historic UFC 300 event was held in Las Vegas. During fight week, there were discussions and rumors that the bonus structure would be raised for the event. They previously upped bonuses from $50,000 to $100,000 for UFC 100 in 2009 but declined to raise the figure for UFC 200.
During the UFC 300 press conference, Dana White made it official that the bonuses would be raised for one night only. In the end, it was Max Holloway who earned two bonuses on the night. One was a 'Performance of the Night', and the other was 'Fight of the Night' for his war with Justin Gaethje.
Former light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka also earned $300,000 that night, for his knockout of Aleksandar Rakic. While the bonus structure was only raised for one night, Means believes that they should be permanent.
'Dirty Bird' fights this weekend at UFC Vegas 91 against Uros Medic, and spoke about the bonuses at today's media day. There, Means opined that the company can't go back after raising the pay. He stated:
"I hope you all keep the same energy and show up with $300,000 bonuses. Don't mess around. Let's talk about it. Let's at least sit down in a room when we do the rules meeting on Saturday night, and let's have a discussion... You can't go back, you know? For real? What are we doing?"
Check out his comments below:
Will UFC Vegas 91 bonuses be raised?
It's highly unlikely that the UFC bonus structure will be changed for this weekend's UFC Vegas 91 event.
During the media day, Tim Means stated that the UFC just can't go back after raising the bonuses previously. However, they can do exactly that and have done so in the past.
As previously stated, the company raised the bonus structure for one night in 2009 for UFC 100. They raised the bonuses from $50,000 to $100,000 but immediately went back to normal after that landmark event.
While it's not out of the question that Dana White could raise the bonuses, it seems unlikely. At the very least, it seems unlikely that they will raise the bonuses for UFC Vegas 91 this Saturday. For recent Apex events, White hasn't even bothered to attend.