Dana White Assures that UFC is “Not Doing Away with the Fight of the Night Bonuses”

How much people make, no matter their profession, is almost always a topic of contention. Nobody ever makes enough, and everybody could always use a little more.

The UFC is no different.

UFC fighter pay has been one of the hottest topics around for quite some time, but has been rekindled recently, especially with UFC veterans like Jon Fitch and Jacob Volkmann publicly discussing the matter.

The discussion hit a fever pitch that had UFC president Dana White considering doing away with the promotion’s traditional “Fight of the Night” and discretionary or “locker room” bonuses. The bonuses are typically issued on the basis of performance for fighters that UFC officials felt had an entertaining or heartfelt fight or particularly exciting finish.

After some deliberation and feedback from his fighters, White assured everyone during a Tuesday UFC on Fox 8 media conference call that the bonuses aren’t going anywhere.

“We’re not doing away with the Fight of the Night bonuses,” he declared. “After I said (we might end the bonuses), we had a lot of feedback from fighters and fighters want the finish bonuses.  They want the finish bonuses and fighters want the discretionary bonuses to stay the same.”

Bonuses, of course, aren’t the only way for a fighter to increase his pay. Winning is another, but so is entertainment value.

“You wanna make more money?” said White following UFC 162. “Go out there and be (expletive) exciting. Make people talk about you Sunday and Monday. Go out and put on the (expletive) show of your life.

“When people are doing the (expletive) wave during your fight, they might not be too excited about your fight.”

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