Tony Ferguson asked and he shall receive… if he puts on a bonus-worthy effort at UFC 262.
One of the most prolific bonus winners on the UFC roster is getting what he asked for.
At Thursday’s UFC 262 press conference, lightweight contender Tony Ferguson had a special request for UFC president Dana White: Make the post-fight bonuses larger.
“I’m gonna ask you, Dana,” Ferguson said, “Since we’re here like last time, can we get a bigger bonus this time? Can we go out there and get a f–king bigger fight? Can we get it? Can you dig it? Let’s get it.”
White didn’t respond at the presser but on Friday it was revealed by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi that just for tonight’s show, winning a bonus will net you $75,000 instead of $50,000, which became standardized back in 2014. Instead of $200,000 in total bonus money up for grabs between Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night, it’ll be $300,000.
Ferguson has won post-fight bonuses in eight of his last ten fights, including a double dip when he got FOTN and POTN for his submission victory over Edson Barboza back in 2015. You can expect fireworks between him and Beneil Dariush and even if you don’t back Ferguson to win, he may end up receiving an extra $75,000 anyway given their respective styles.
UFC 262 takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston. A vacant lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler will serve as the main event. This show has already broken the UFC’s gate record at that venue, topping the $4 million mark.