Rising Lightweight Star Slams $50K Performance Bonuses Ahead of UFC 311 Return
Renato Moicano thinks it’s time the UFC bumped up its $50k performance bonuses.
When ‘Money’ Moicano steps back into the Octagon this Saturday night at UFC 311, he’ll look to score his biggest win yet when he meets the returning Beneil Dariush. A win would extend Moicano’s unbeaten streak to five and, more importantly, inch him closer to a potential shot at the lightweight title.
Aside from his impressive work inside the cage, Moicano has grown a sizeable fan following for his often hilarious commentaries on social media and his energetic post-fight interviews.
During a recent interview with Caroline Pearce of UFC on TNT Sports, Moicano offered up another hot take, this time directed at his employer’s paltry $50,000 payouts for things like Knockout and Fight of the Night.
“To be honest, with this inflation, this bonus kind of needs to be updated, you know? $50k is not the same as like ten years ago, but it will still be good to make some extra cash,” Moicano said.
Performance bonuses were first issued at UFC 67 nearly two decades ago and often fluctuated in amount before 2013 when $50,000 became the official figure awarded to fighters who delivered one of the evening’s more memorable showings.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, today’s prices are 1.52 times as high as average prices since 2007. As a result, a dollar today only buys 65.697% of what it could buy back in 2007.
Renato Moicano seeking his third $50k bonus at UFC 311
The last time Renato Moicano bagged a performance bonus was in 2018 when he scored a first-round submission victory over Cub Swanson at UFC 227. Before that, ‘Money’ picked up $50k for his Fight of the Night with Brian Ortega at UFC 214.
Former lightweight champion Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira holds the record for the most performance bonuses in UFC history at 20. He’s followed closely by Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at 18 and Nate Diaz at 16.
