UFC 274: Oliveira vs Gaehtje took its time getting here (or so it felt like), but on Saturday night, the event more than delivered on the anticipation. The card featured 15 fights, 14 of which actually took place, and had it storylines galore. The scoring table had a busy night, determining the result of 10 fights, while three contests were finished in the first round. By Sunday morning, two UFC division belts changed hands (kinda) and all of the athletes are ready to get paid their fight checks and bonuses.
Here’s who earned what from the Venum promotional payouts, and the bonus checks from UFC 274.
Performances of the Night – Andre Fialho and Michael Chandler
At UFC 274, only two contests ended by knockout, and the distributors of the finishes were each rewarded with the $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. First was Fiahlo, fighting his second fight in as many months, and already his third UFC contest since joining the roster in January. His quick finish of Cameron VanCamp was also his second consecutive first-round knockout, dropping VanCamp with a left hook that crumpled him just halfway through the round.
As impressive as Fiahlo’s finish was, Chandler’s knockout of Tony Ferguson will live in UFC infamy. Just 14 seconds into the second round, Chandler kicked his right foot up the center of Ferguson unabated. The shot caught Ferguson right on the chin, driving it upward, and knocking him out cold.
These two performances made us go 😱
Your POTN honors belong to @AndreFialhoJr1 & @MikeChandlerMMA!
[ #UFC274 | B2YB @BattleMotors ] pic.twitter.com/v5EJLuqfUl
— UFC (@ufc) May 8, 2022
Fight of the Night – Brandon Royval vs Matt Schnell
The fight between Royval and Schnell took no time to warm up, as both fighters engaged quickly. In two minutes of work, Schnell landed 12 significant strikes and recorded a knockdown of Royal who landed 15 shots himself. Things went zero to sixty just halfway through the first round, however, when Royval flipped from being taken down to almost instantly locking Schnell in a guillotine choke, forcing him to tap out.
Fans were possibly robbed of a great battle, but nobody is complaining about being treated to the finish. Well, Schnell might not be happy about it, but the $50,000 that he and Royval each received for the Fight of the Night makes up for it.
These two gave an 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 show tonight 👏@BrandonRoyval & @Danger_Caged earn your FOTN!
[ #UFC274 | B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/24KGIQGojp
— UFC (@ufc) May 8, 2022
Crypto.com Fan Bonuses of the Night
At UFC 273, the fighting league announced a new bonus following each fight, this one to be determined by the fans. Paid out in cryptocurrency by Crypto.com, fans go to the currency’s website to vote for three fighters from pay-per-view UFC cards that they want to give scaling crypto bonuses.
Despite her defeat by split decision, Rose Namanjunas received the majority of the fan vote and takes home $30,000 in bitcoin, per TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter. With the second-most votes, Michael Chandler pocketed $20,000 in bitcoin, while Charles Oliveira received $10,000.
https://t.co/BrhNKfnsD5 Fan Bonus of the Night Winners for UFC 274:
1st Place $30K in bitcoin – Rose Namajunas
2nd Place $20K in bitcoin – Michael Chandler
3rd Place $10K in bitcoin – Charles Oliveria
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 8, 2022
Main Card and Preliminaries Payouts*
UFC 274 saw Kleydon Rodrigues, Fernie Garcia, and Cameron VanCamp make their UFC debuts, collecting their first Venum sponsorship payouts of $4,000. Blagoy Ivanov, Brandon Royval, and Khaos Brown each entered a new level of the sponsorship program, fighting in their sixth contest and the $6,000 that comes with it.
There were three long-time veterans of The Octagon on the card who receive the maxim amount of $21,000 for non-title fight participants. Francisco Trinaldo and Ovince Saint Preux each fought their 25th career bout in the UFC, while Mauricio Rua recorded his 23rd.
Venum Sponsorship Payouts (based on number of fights in the UFC)
Per the UFC Promotional Guidelines
- Champion: Charles Oliveira & Rose Namajunas – $42,000
- Title Challenger: Justin Gaethje & Carla Esparza – $32,000
- 21+ fights: Francisco Trinaldo, Mauricio Rua, Ovince Saint Preux – $21,000
- 16-20 fights: Tony Ferguson – $16,000
- 11-15 fights: Danny Roberts, Randy Brown – $11,000
- 6-10 fights: Blagoy Ivanov, Brandon Royval, Schnell, Macy Chiasson, Khaos Brown – $6,000
- 4-5 fights: Journey Newson, Loopy Godinez, Tracy Cortez, Norma Dumont, Michael Chandler – $4,500
- 1-3 fights: Andre Fiahlo, Fernie Garcia (debut), Ariane Carnelossi, Kleydson Rodrigues (debut), CJ Vergara, Melissa Gatto, Cameron VanCamp (debut) – $4,000
UFC 274 Results
Main Card
- (C) Charles Oliveira (-180) submitted #1 Justin Gaethje (+155) – First Round
- #2 Carla Esparza (+175) defeated (C) Rose Namajunas (-210) – Split Decision
- #5 Michael Chandler (-365) knocked out #7 Tony Ferguson (+280) – Second Round
- Ovince Saint Preux (-240) defeated Mauricio Rua (+195) – Split Decision
- Donald Cerrone (-190) vs Joe Lauzon (+160) – CANCELLED
Preliminary Card
- Andre Fialho (-410) knocked out Cameron VanCamp (+310) – First Round
- Randy Brown (-105) defeated Khaos Williams (-115) – Split Decision
- #11 Macy Chiasson (+190) defeated #15 Norma Dumont (-235) – Split Decision
- #6 Brandon Royval (-240) submitted #9 Matt Schnell (+195) – First-Round Guillotine Choke
- Blagoy Ivanov (-150) defeated Marcos Rogerio de Lima (+130) – Unanimous Decision
- Francisco Trinaldo (-115) vs Danny Roberts (-105) – Unanimous Decision
Early Preliminary Card
- Tracy Cortez (-145) vs Melissa Gatto (+125) – Unanimous Decision
- CJ Vergara (+270) defeated Kleydson Rodrigues (-350) – Split Decision
- Loopy Godinez (-180) defeated Ariane Carnelossi (+155) – Unanimous Decision
- Journey Newson (+125) defeated Fernie Garcia (-145) – Unanimous Decision