‘Suga’ Breaks $75,000 Bonus Bread

UFC 264 is scheduled to go down later tonight (Sat. July 10, 2021) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3, it’s expected to be one of the biggest pay-per-view (PPV) events of the year.

Does a more high-profile event equate to higher profits for its athletes? Not always, as very few fighters actually earn PPV points; however, it could be certainly be argued that the additional exposure could eventually be monetized by the athletes.

Fortunately, there is one more concrete improvement from UFC 264’s stature: the performance bonuses have been bumped an additional $25,000, from the usual $50,000 to $75,000. The news was broken by none other than Sean O’Malley, who will chase a bonus opposite late-replacement Kris Moutinho in the main card opener.

The news was confirmed by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi soon afterward.

Interestingly, this is the second time UFC opted to raise the performance bonuses to $75,000 in 2021. The first came at UFC 262, when Tony Ferguson questioned UFC President Dana White and prompted the change. Some hoped UFC would continue this increased payout at least for PPV events, but UFC 263 came and went with $50,000 bonuses.

Perhaps it’s simply the money McGregor effect?

Whatever the reason, tonight’s athletes are unlikely to complain about the chance to take home a bigger bonus than usual.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 264 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 264: “McGregor vs. Poirier 3” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.