UFC Vegas 115: Huge upset bonus-snubbed for massive fave's BJ request
The UFC doesn't usually do itself many favors when it comes to dispelling the "Dana White Privilege" theory, and this was no exception.
The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday's card in “Sin City,” including an absolute joke for Fight of the Night that proved to those who subscribe to such a notion that “Dana White Privilege” is a real thing. After UFC Fight Night 272, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. In addition, four other fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
Although he submitted Azamat Bekoev (20-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who was an 8-1 betting favorite, Tresean Gore (7-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was left with just a $25,000 finish bonus. He choked Bekoev unconscious in the third round – which itself was a 50-1 betting proposition before the fight. Yet, his finish wasn’t worthy of $100,000.
Instead, the two Performance of the Night bonuses went to Alice Pereira (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Alessandro Costa (15-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC). Pereira’s finish of Hailey Cowan with a stunning knee was hard to deny. And Costa had a sick body shot finish, but that almost certainly left Renato Moicano (21-7-1 MMA, 13-7 UFC) and Ethyn Ewing (10-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) with thoughts, let alone Gore.
But the head scratcher comes in the form of the Fight of the Night for Tommy McMillen (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Manolo Zecchini (11-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC). Their fight lasted less than 4 minutes before McMillen put Zecchini away with a TKO. McMillen was a massive 10-1 favorite in the fight at some sportsbooks.