UFC Vegas 115: Huge upset bonus-snubbed for massive fave's BJ request
· Yahoo Sports
The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday's card in “Sin City,” including an absolute joke for Fight of the Night that proved to those who subscribe to such a notion that “Dana White Privilege” is a real thing.
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After UFC Fight Night 272, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. In addition, four other fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
Although he submitted Azamat Bekoev (20-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who was an 8-1 betting favorite, Tresean Gore (7-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was left with just a $25,000 finish bonus. He choked Bekoev unconscious in the third round – which itself was a 50-1 betting proposition before the fight. Yet, his finish wasn’t worthy of $100,000.
Instead, the two Performance of the Night bonuses went to Alice Pereira (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Alessandro Costa (15-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC). Pereira’s finish of Hailey Cowan with a stunning knee was hard to deny. And Costa had a sick body shot finish, but that almost certainly left Renato Moicano (21-7-1 MMA, 13-7 UFC) and Ethyn Ewing (10-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) with thoughts, let alone Gore.
But the head scratcher comes in the form of the Fight of the Night for Tommy McMillen (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Manolo Zecchini (11-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC). Their fight lasted less than 4 minutes before McMillen put Zecchini away with a TKO. McMillen was a massive 10-1 favorite in the fight at some sportsbooks. Afterward, the training partner of former UFC champion Sean O’Malley, who was in his corner, called for the $100,000 on the microphone and said he wants to use it at the blackjack tables in Las Vegas — clearly playing to a favorite pasttime of UFC CEO Dana White. Then, lo and behold, when the $100K Performance bonuses went elsewhere, Fight of the Night was still a way to reward him like he asked to be. Strangely, other fighters in recent events who have asked to be given $100,000 bonuses haven’t been met with the same success rate.
Left out in the cold was a certainly more deserving, at least in a traditional sense, Fight of the Night contender between Kai Kamaka III (18-7-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) and newcomer Dakota Hope (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who stepped up for their card opener on just a few days’ notice. And Kamaka, in fact, returned to the UFC after nearly five years outside the promotion. But their 15-minute banger, a split decision win for Kamaka, gets nothing extra, officially.
Check out the list of winners below.