UFC to award record fight night bonuses at White House event - ESPN

WASHINGTON — The UFC's historic event at the White House will feature the largest fight night bonuses ever, CEO Dana White announced Friday.

The promotion will award $400,000 bonuses to each participant in the best fight of the night, and two $425,000 bonuses will go to the top individual performances of the night. Previously, the largest bonuses awarded were $300,000, at UFC 300 in April 2024.

White made the announcement during a news conference at the Lincoln Memorial, which was delayed two hours because of lightning. White vowed nothing would stop the UFC Freedom 250 event Sunday.

«The show goes on, no matter what,» White said. «I'm sick and tired of talking about the weather. We are fighting on Sunday night on the lawn of the White House, no matter what.»

The increased bonuses came from contributions from World Liberty Financial and Crypto.com. The UFC had traditionally awarded fight night bonuses of $50,000 before doubling that figure to $100,000 at the start of the year.

Justin Gaethje, who faces Ilia Topuria in Sunday's main event, holds the UFC record for bonuses per fight, with a perfect rate of 15 bonuses in 15 career UFC fights.