Dana White doubles UFC 304 performance bonuses, which definitely won’t affect Belal Muhammad: ‘You’re knocking no one out!’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

There’s a little extra money on the line at UFC 304.

During the UFC 304 press conference on Thursday (July 25, 2024), Lightweight contender Bobby “King” Green made a request to UFC CEO Dana White, asking that he double up the usual $50k performance bonuses. After some cheers from the crowd and confirmation from Welterweight champion Leon Edwards, White agreed to the request.

This isn’t the first time the bonuses have been bumped in 2024. Back at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje and others campaigned for $300k performance bonuses and were ultimately granted their wish. Max Holloway was the big winner that night, as his double dip earned him an extra $600k in bonus money!

UFC 304 isn’t quite as high-profile as UFC 300, but nobody is arguing with an extra $50k. Well, there was still one small bit of negativity, as Edwards made sure to remind his opponent, Belal Muhammad, that there was no chance of “The Bully” getting any of that extra dough. As Muhammad cheered for the raise, Edwards interjected, “Belal don’t worry about that, you’re knocking no one out!”

Funny enough, both Edwards and Muhammad have each scored just two performance bonuses across their entire careers. Muhammad is actually in the lead, however, as he also scored a “Fight of the Night” bonus in his UFC debut, and he technically knocked out an opponent more recently than Edwards!

We’ll see how it all plays out on Saturday night.

Insomnia

Every once in a while, I post something in this column — like Leon Edwards’ trick shot earlier this week — that I think could be fake, but it’s ultimately up to y’all to debate and figure out. Still, I must confess: I immediately bought into Tom Aspinall’s oil dip. It sounds like something an MMA fighter would do!

Interesting insight from Oleksandr Usyk.

Israel Adesanya breaks down Edwards vs. Muhammad and picks “Rocky” via KO!

Will Michael Morales pass the Magny gate? A great match up.

Some MMA fans are receptive to Paddy Pimblett’s mental health talks … others, not so much.

A bit of trouble between MMA besties and (former?) podcast co-hosts Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Throwing hard right hands off the bat and caught her cold!

A face-first charge met with a spin!

Is looking at the floor and throwing standing hammerfists the new MMA meta?

Random Land

I’m at least mildly convinced this is a Pokemon.

Midnight Music: Alternative, 1988

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

LIVE! Watch UFC 304 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

’McGREGOR-FREE MAIN EVENT! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., June 29, 2024, without its biggest box office draw, Conor McGregor, after the Irish sports star delayed the “greatest comeback of all-time” because he broke his pinky toe (seriously). Coming the rescue once again is Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, agreeing to rematch former division champion, Jiri Prochazka, in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event. In UFC 303’s co-headliner, top-ranked Featherweight contender, Brian Ortega, will attempt to halt the rise of red-hot surging 145-pound prospect, Diego Lopes. UFC 303’s PPV main card (see it here) will also feature Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze and Ian Garry vs. Michael “Venom” Page and so much more. It’s must-watch action! UFC 303 start time scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (Prelims) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV).

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!