Dana White is setting significant plans in motion as he prepares for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing event.
White is establishing his presence in the boxing promotion landscape under the TKO banner, with his partnership alongside Turki Alalshikh putting Zuffa Boxing firmly in motion. That vision takes its first big step this weekend as the UFC CEO helps steer the highly anticipated Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford showdown on Saturday, September 13, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
During a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show, announced that undercard fighters would be eligible for Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses, with $100,000 awarded for each honor.
So on the undercard fights — Canelo and Crawford are going to do just fine on Saturday night, they’re going to be OK — but on the undercard fights, we’re going to have a Performance of the Night and a Fight of the Night,” White said. "$100,000 each for the fighters on the undercard from Sheik Turki. So you can be involved in the Performance of the Night and the Fight of the Night and take home $200,000 for these undercard fighters.
The Canelo vs. Crawford undercard features a total of nine bouts, meaning every boxer aside from the headliners is eligible for the $100,000 bonuses provided by Alalshikh.
UFC Fans Slam Dana White After He Announces $100K Bonuses For Canelo vs. Crawford Undercard
Dana White’s plan to award $100,000 bonuses exclusively to undercard fighters on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford boxing card contrasts with the UFC setup, where typically two Performance of the Night bonuses and one Fight of the Night bonus are handed out and all fighters are eligible.
However, the announcement has ignited a wave of outrage on social media, with MMA fans sharply criticizing the UFC CEO for not extending similar $100,000 bonuses to UFC fighters.
Last year, Dana White issued one-off increases to post-fight bonuses for select pay-per-view events. Notably, for the historic UFC 300, bonuses were raised to $300,000. Similarly, at UFC 304, White doubled the usual $50,000 bonus to $100,000 at the request of King Green.
The UFC CEO has hinted that UFC fighters could see an increase in their post-fight bonuses under the promotion’s groundbreaking $7.7 billion TV rights deal with Paramount, which is slated to take effect in 2026.
