The UFC returned to pay-per-view in a big way on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. With two title fights headlining the card (one was an interim bout), and a stacked main card of title challengers, fans knew they were in for a great night. With yesterday’s release of the Crypto.com Fan Bonus, the UFC 277 payouts and bonuses are officially all in. From the Venum promotional sponsorship payouts to the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses, a lot of money was distributed in addition to the individual fighters’ contracts. Read below to see who the big earners were.
Performances of the Night: Drew Dober & Alexandre Pantoja
A dominant performance is truly something to behold, and even more exciting when it ends in a finish. Dober and Pantoja each delivered such moments for the crowd inside the American Airlines Center, securing statement wins. First, on the preliminary card, Dober was in a firefight bout against Rafael Alves that went into the third round despite a high volume of heavy shots from both athletes. Early into the final frame, however, Dober put Alves down with a left hook that crumpled his foe for the only KO of the night.
These two came to make a statement, and left with a POTN bonus 🤑
[ #UFC277 | B2YB Gameday Ready ] pic.twitter.com/ZuOPokbgHY
— UFC (@ufc) July 31, 2022
Pantoja’s fight didn’t last nearly as long, as he quickly submitted Alex Perez in under two minutes since they first touched gloves. After trading opening blows, Pantoja took an opportunity to take the back of Perez, securing a rear naked choke and the victory in just 91 seconds. Both Dober and Pantoja were each awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus in their UFC 277 payouts for their crafty work.
Fight of the Night: Brandon Moreno vs Kai Kara-France
With an interim title on the line, top-challenger Moreno and second-ranked Kara-France had an open shot at UFC gold and went after it hard. Entering the third of five rounds, the officials’ scorecards were locked in a tie, with one in support of Moreno and one in support of Kara-France through two rounds, while the third gave each fighter a frame. It looked like the fight might go to the championship rounds as both fighters weathered the brutality of the other.
HE DID IT!!! @THEASSASSINBABY IS YOUR INTERIM FLYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!!! 👑 #UFC277 pic.twitter.com/r09TD4acId
— UFC (@ufc) July 31, 2022
Ultimately. The fight was finished by Moreno who earned the TKO victory with a kick to the body of Kara-France that did him in. For their part in the battle, both Moreno and Kara-France were each awarded $50,000 along with their UFC 277 payouts for producing the Fight of the Night.
Crypto.com Fan Bonuses of the Night
Since this spring at UFC 273, another bonus was added to pay-per-view events, stemming from the sponsorship support of Crypto.com. Determined by the fan voting online, three fighters receive scaling crypto bonuses, regardless of performance. The UFC 277 payouts for the Crypto.com Fan Bonuses were awarded to Brandon Moreno ($30k), Amanda Nunes ($20k), and Derrick Lewis ($10k). More than before, the results from UFC 277 look more like a popularity contest as Lewis, despite having the support of the crowd in his home state, controversially lost his contest. Perhaps it was more of a pity vote from the fans who felt his fight was unfairly ended early.
As voted by YOU, the fans 👏
👇See the winners of the @CryptoCom 𝑭𝒂𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 for #UFC277! pic.twitter.com/O4R7p6KEsx
— UFC (@ufc) August 1, 2022
UFC 277 Main Card and Preliminaries Payouts*
As is the case with the majority of UFC events, the fighter contracts for Saturday night are not public knowledge, but what is known are the UFC 277 payouts for promotions like the Venum sponsorship program. The more experience that an athlete has in the Octagon, the more that the program pays them. Don’Tale Mayes and Matthew Semelsberger each moved up to the third level of the program, earning $1,500 more than their last appearances. A number of other fighters are just one more outing away from reaching their respective next levels as well.
Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes were the only two champions in the event, despite the card featuring a pair of title fights. Nunes, the women’s featherweight champion, and Peña, the women’s bantamweight champion entering Saturday, each received a Venum bonus of $42,000. Outside of the headlining fights, Lewis was the top earner with $21,000 for his 25th contests in the UFC.
UFC 277 Payouts for Venum Sponsorship (based on number of fights in the UFC)
Per the UFC Promotional Guidelines
- $4,000 (1-3 fights): Blood Diamond (2), Orion Cosce (2), Ihor Potieria (debut), Michael Morales (2), Adam Fugitt (debut), Hamdy Abdelwahab (debut), Rafael Alves (3)
- $4,500 (4-5 fights): Nicolae Negumereranu (5), Joselyne Edwards (5), Rafa Garcia (5), Sergei Pavlovich (5)
- $6,000 (6-10 fights): Ji Yeon Kim (9), Drakkar Klose (9), Don’Tale Mayes (6), Matthew Semelsberger (6), Magomed Ankalaev (10), Alex Perez (10)
- $11,000 (11-15 fights): Alexandre Pantoja (12)
- $16,000 (16-20 fights): Drew Dober (19), Alex Morono (17), Anthony Smith (18)
- $21,000 (21+ fights): Derrick Lewis (25)
- $32,000 (Title Challenger): Brandon Moreno, Kai Kara-France
- $42,000 (Champion): Julianna Peña and Amanda Nunes
UFC 277 Results
Main Card
- Amanda Nunes defeated Julianna Peña – Unanimous Decision
- Brandon Moreno TKO’d Kai Kara-France – Round 3
- Sergei Pavlovich TKO’d Derrick Lewis – Round 1
- Alexandre Pantoja submitted Alex Perez by (rear naked choke) – Round 1
- Magomed Ankalaev TKO’d Anthony Smith – Round 2
Preliminary Card
- Alex Morono defeated Matthew Semelsberger – Unanimous Decision
- Drew Dober KO’d Rafael Alves – Round 3
- Hamdy Abdelwahab defeated Don’Tale Mayes – Split Decision
- Drakkar Klose defeated Rafa Garcia – Unanimous Decision
Early Preliminary Card
- Michael Morales TKO’d Adam Fugitt – Round 3
- Joselyne Edwards defeated Ji Yeon Kim – Split Decision
- Nicolae Negumereranu TKO’d Ihor Potieria – Round 2
- Orion Cosce defeated Blood Diamond – Unanimous Decision
