Dana White has been convinced to increase post-fight bonuses for several recent pay-per-view cards, but he’s done doing that after a disappointing night at UFC 304.
During the pre-fight press conference on Thursday, lightweight competitor King Green proposed $100,000 bonuses for the event and White complied with a raucous ovation from the Manchester faithful. He stayed true to his word, handing down $400,000 in bonuses on Saturday, but UFC 304 didn’t play out the way he expected.
With 28 fighters competing on the card, there were nine total decisions and a string of seven consecutive decisions stretching from the early prelims all the way through the first two fights on the main card. That left a sour taste in White’s mouth, so he’s sending a message to the roster to stop asking for bigger bonuses because he’s not doing it anymore.
“I think tonight showed that we should not [give out bigger bonuses],” White said at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference. “Upping them doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t make anybody fight any harder. It doesn’t change anything. I’m not doing this again. Ever. Today was the last day that I’m doing that.
“Not saying that in the future the bonuses couldn’t get [bigger in general], but I’m not going to be at a press conference and say, ‘$200, $300K.’ F*cking never again. Never again. You can thank everybody on this card for that.”
While there were some exciting finishes, including Paddy Pimblett choking out Green and Tom Aspinall finishing Curtis Blaydes in 60 seconds flat, the rest of the card didn’t live up to White’s expectations.
White didn’t see anything special from the fighters who could have stolen the show while also taking home an extra $100,000. He also scoffed at the idea that the late hour for the event diminished performances, despite the main card starting past 3 a.m. local time.
“Nobody fought any harder,” White said. “There was no sense of urgency, ‘Holy shit, I want the $100,000.’ Seven straight [decisions]. Who gives a f*ck [that it’s nearly 7 a.m.]? It’s f*cking 7 o’clock in Vegas. Whatever. Never again. Seven straight f*cking decisions.
“The $100,000 was a real big f*cking [incentive], woo-hoo, let’s get it boys! F*ck that shit, never again.”
