The UFC's 548th event, known variously as UFC Fight Island 8, UFC on ESPN 20, and UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny, among others, was held on Wednesday, January 20th, at the Etihad Arena on Fight Island, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In addition to being paid a fixed amount to show and another, usually equal amount to win, each UFC event also awards four $50,000 Performance Bonuses. Usually, there is a Fight of the Night in which both fighters are given a performance bonus, and a performance bonus to the winner in two fights. For the record, "Performance Bonus" is for the moment that made you go "HOLY F@$%ING $#!@."
The winners are shown below, in bold.
$50,000 Fight of the Night
Mike Davis defeated Mason Jones by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Warlley Alves defeated Mounir Lazzez by TKO (Strikes, Round 1, 2:35)
$50,000 Performance Bonus
Umar Nurmagomedov defeated Sergey Morozov by Technical Submission (RNC, Round 2, 3:39)
One of the primary differences between the UFC model and the boxing model is the depth of the card. Sometimes in MMA the greatest fight isn’t the main event, or close to it. At UFC FIght Island 8, three of four bonuses went to the undercard.
In addition, to the bonuses and purses, fighters earn:
•Reebok pay, based on tenure, for wearing the distinctive apparel during fight week and in the Octagon;
•Less commonly than in the past fighters get discretionary “locker room” bonuses of varying amounts, which, despite their name, actually come in the mail now;
•In some cases there is an LOA (Letter of Agreement) on the contract for additional income; and,
•The most elite fighters get points on the pay per view for PPV events, which this one was not.
The next league event is UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 on Saturday, January 24 at the Etihad Arena on FIght Island Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.