VIDEO | Dana White Hands Deiveson Figueiredo $50,000 Bonus
UFC president Dana White personally handed flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, $50,000 after initially opting against giving the Brazilian wrecking machine a bonus at UFC 255.
Figueiredo who picked up the 125lb title by choking out Joseph Benavidez earlier this year made an impressive first defence against Alex Perez this past weekend. After a few early exchanges on the feet, the fight went to the floor. Figueiredo quickly locked up a guillotine choke and forced the tap from the Contender Series alum.
Despite defeating the well fancied Perez in super quick fashion Figueiredo surprisingly went home without a $50,000 bonus. White instead opted to reward Antonina Shevchenko and Joaquin Buckley for their respective performances. The older sister of flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko looked brilliant as she dispatched of Arianne Lipski to get back to winning ways. Shevchenko was able to dominant the fight with her wrestling and ultimately get a second round TKO win. Buckley continued his rise to prominence at UFC 255. ‘The New Mansa’ burst onto the scene earlier this year when he scored one of the best knockouts of all time against Impa Kasanganay. He managed to follow that up with another vicous KO against the previously unbeaten Jordan Wright to earn a second consecutive UFC bonus.
After some time to think White has now awarded Figueiredo with a $50,000 bonus and admitted he made a mistake when not initially picking him at UFC 255. Wallid Ismail who manages the flyweight champ caught the moment on video and posted it online – check it out.
Figueiredo is now set to quickly turn around at UFC 256 on December 12. He’ll face flyweight contender Brandon Moreno who currently riding a five-fight unbeaten streak, which includes a first round TKO win over Brandon Royval at UFC 255.
Do you think Deiveson Figueiredo deserved a bonus for his UFC 255 performance?
