After all of the build-up, UFC 280 finally arrived on Saturday from Abu Dhabi, stacked card and all. It was a bad night to be an underdog, as the matinee card featured just three upsets, and two of them not until the main card. Belal Muhammad and Sean O’Malley delivered two of them, both in big fights for their careers. Their nights got a little sweeter when the UFC 280 payouts and bonuses were distributed, taking home big honors and checks. Read below to see who earned what.
Performance of the Night – Belal Muhammad and Islam Makhachev
If you want to be a winner in the Octagon, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better coach than the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov. A Hall of Fame fighter, he’s passing his skills on to a new class of athletes and it is paying off for them – literally. Both Belal Muhammad and Islam Makhachev were trained for UFC 280 by Nurmagomedov, and they combined to deliver the event’s two top performances.
Fifth-ranked Muhammad closed out the preliminary card with a brilliant striking display against No.8 Sean Brady, finishing him late in the second round. Out-striking Brady 80-58, Muhammad really poured it on in the second half as both fighters displayed their iron chins. After three consecutive unanimous decision victories, getting the finish has to feel good. As for Makhachev, his submission of one of the greatest submission specialists in the sport is one for the history books. The fact that it was for the lightweight title makes it that much more special. For delivering a Performance of the Night, both Muhammad and Makhachev earned a $50,000 bonus with their UFC 280 payouts
Fight of the Night – Yan vs O’Malley
The fight with the most controversial ending on the card was also undoubtedly the best contest of the day. In the featured bout slot before the headliners, No.1 Petr Yan opposite No.11 Sean O’Malley was bound to be a good fight. Despite the difference in their rankings, both bantamweights showed that they are among the best in the division. Yan dominated on the ground while O’Malley appeared to deal more damage, delivering nearly twice as many significant strikes.
When the 15 minutes was up, it was clear from the need for a decision that the two had turned in the Fight of the Night. O’Malley won the contest by a split decision on the final scorecards, a divide that carried over to the public as well. Whichever side you land on yourself, both athletes deserve recognition for the performances they put on. The UFC believed so as well, awarding both Yan and O’Malley with a $50,000 bonus with their UFC 280 payouts for delivering the Fight of the Night.
Crypto Fan Bonuses
Since April, the UFC’s sponsor Crypto.com had been awarding a bonus to the fans’ favorite fighters by way of the Crypto Fan Bonus following pay-per-view events. It appears the promotion has ended after six months, however, as neither organization promoted anything after the card to encourage fans to vote on the currency’s website. As a rather ridiculous bonus that was impacted in no way by how the winners actually performed in the event, you’ll find no disagreement here for the bonus’ disappearance
UFC 280 Payouts* – Main Card and Preliminaries
As with many locations in the United States and even UFC events held internationally, the athlete contracts for UFC 280 aren’t public knowledge. In some cases, estimates are made based on previous contract details that have been released. What we do know for certain, however, are the event bonuses mentioned above and the bonuses from the Venum sponsorship.
The Venum bonuses award athletes for making it to their fights, paying increasing amounts based on their number of appearances in the Octagon. Fighters participating in title fights receive a larger guaranteed bonus, regardless of their UFC experience. The highest earner from the Venum sponsorship on Saturday was Aljamain Sterling, the lone title-holder at the event. He earned a $42,000 bonus as part of his UFC 280 payouts for showing up to defend his belt.
In other payout news from the event, Katlyn Chookagian forfeited 20% of her purse earnings for failing to make weight.
UFC 280 Payouts for Venum Sponsorship (based on number of fights in the UFC)
Per the UFC Promotional Guidelines
- $4,000 (1-3 fights): Muhammad Mokaev (3), Armen Petrosyan (3), AJ Dobson (2), Abubakar Nurmagomedov (3), Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (2), Caio Borralho (3)
- $4,500 (4-5 fights): Malcolm Gordon (5), Makhmud Muradov (5), Manon Fiorot (5)
- $6,000 (6-10 fights): Karol Rosa (6), Lina Lansberg (10), Sean Brady (6), Mateusz Gamrot (6), Sean O’Malley (10)
- $11,000 (11-15 fights): Volkan Oezdemir (12), Petr Yan (11)
- $16,000 (16-20 fights): Nikita Krylov (17), Belal Muhammad (17), Katlyn Chookagian (16)
- $21,000 (21+ fights): Beneil Dariush (21)
- $32,000 (Title Challenger): Charlies Oliveira, Islam Makhachev, TJ Dillashaw
- $42,000 (Champion): Aljamain Sterling
UFC 280 Results
Main Card
- Islam Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira by head and arm choke with 1:44 left in the second round to claim the vacant lightweight title.
- Aljamain Sterling defended his title with a TKO victory over TJ Dillashaw by strikes at 3:44 in the second round.
- Sean O’Malley defeated Petr Yan by split decision.
- Beneil Dariush earned the win by unanimous decision over Mateusz Gamrot.
- Manon Fiorot defeated Katlyn Chookagian by unanimous decision.
Preliminary Card
- Belal Muhammad TKO’d Sean Brady by strikes at 4:47 in the second round.
- Caio Borralho collected the win over Makhmud Muradov by unanimous decision.
- Nikita Krylov defeated Volkan Oezdemir by unanimous decision.
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov defeated Gadzhi Omargadzhiev by unanimous decision
- Armen Petrosyan got the win over AJ Dobson by unanimous decision.
- Muhammad Mokaev submitted Malcolm Gordon by armbar with just 34 seconds left in the third round.
- Karol Rosa defeated Lina Lansberg by majority decision.
