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UFC: Fighters robbed as promotion cuts back on 50K bonuses
Last night, the UFC returned to Vegas for another card at the Apex, with UFC Vegas 95 featuring a rematch between heavyweights Marcin Tybura and Serghei Spivac in the main event.
Spivac, currently ranked at No. 9 according to the UFC rankings, emerged victorious by first-round armbar to avenge a prior loss against “Tybur” back in 2020. An interesting side not is that this was the first win by armbar in the heavyweight division since former champ Fabricio Werdum submitted Alexander Gustafsson in the first round of their fight four years ago.
Spivac, nicknamed “The Polar Bear” has now won four of his last five bouts by finish and is becoming an interesting contender, working his way up the top 10 at age 29.
UFC Vegas 95: Promotion hands out three, not four, performance bonuses
The submission victory earned Spivac a $50,000 dollar performance bonus. However, the UFC decided to only hand out a total of three bonuses for this show, with Youssef Zalal getting 50K for a rear-naked choke win against Jarno Errens as well as Toshiomi Kazama getting a POTN bonus for choking out Charalampos Grigoriou with a triangle.
Money in the bank 💵
Serghei Spivac, Youssef Zalal, and Toshiomi Kazama take home POTN honors!
[ B2YB @BlckRifleCoffee ] pic.twitter.com/1JSl1bZlZ3
— UFC (@ufc) August 11, 2024
The bonuses simply went to each fighter who finished their fight at UFC Vegas 95, with seven of ten bouts going to decision. However, the promotion usually hands out a total of four 50K bonuses and could’ve easily picked out a so-called “Fight of the Night”.
For one, Grigoriou put on an amazing fight against Kazama and almost got the stoppage by elbows in round one, before Kazama pulled off a shocking comeback in the second round.
DROPPED HIM💥#UFCVegas95 is LIVE on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/vLWyI496q7
— UFC (@ufc) August 10, 2024
What a comeback ‼️@ToshiOMI_0515 pulls off the triangle after facing adversity in RD 2!#UFCVegas95 is LIVE on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/AjmLmu5iMH
— UFC (@ufc) August 10, 2024
Furthermore, Karol Rosa and Pannie Kianzad put on a bloody war on the prelims that definitely could’ve got FOTN honors. Rosa won every round by utilizing brutal calf kicks and cutting Kianzad with elbows, although Kianzad certainly displayed her warrior spirit and landed several hard strikes of her own throughout the contest.
Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC
Hard work over 15 minutes 😤@KarolRosaUFC wins by Unanimous Decision!#UFCVegas95 is LIVE on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/1DlkN1aHxR
— UFC (@ufc) August 10, 2024
Historically, some fighters have also been able to land individual bonuses for stylish and dominant performances despite winning by decision. However, apparently no single performance apart from the card’s finishers were deemed impressive enough to earn an extra 50K at UFC Vegas 95.
At UFC 304 in Manchester, UFC boss Dana White expressed displeasure with several fights going the distance despite having upped the bonuses to 100K each beforehand. He vowed to never go along with raising the bonuses again at a press conference, and the promotion likely wanted to send a message to their fighters by instead opting to cut down on bonuses for this particular event that was labelled lackluster by several outlets.
UFC Vegas 95: Check out the official results!
Main card:
- Serghei Spivac def. Marcin Tybura via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:44
- Chepe Mariscal def. Damon Jackson via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-25)
- Danny Barlow def. Nikolay Veretennikov via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
- Chris Gutierrez def. Quang Le via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Yana Santos def. Chelsea Chandler via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Toshiomi Kazama def. Charalampos Grigoriou via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:55
Prelims:
- Karol Rosa def. Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jhonata Diniz def. Karl Williams via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Youssef Zalal def. Jarno Errens via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:52
- Stephanie Luciano def. Talita Alencar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Video: Watch the post-fight press conference!
Read more: 10 UFC Stars Whose Next Fight Could Be Their Last
