Dana White Drops $200K in Bonuses After UFC London Sets $4.71Million Record-Breaking Gate

With a packed house of 18,583 fans and a gate of $4.71 million, UFC’s venture to the English capital made numbers that left jaws on the floor. To put that into perspective, the previous record-holder, UFC Louisville, brought in $2.5 million back in June 2024. Naturally bossman, Dana White was elated. And the only thing that could have made him happier was a great card. And so it was!

Headlined by Sean Brady and London’s prodigal son Leon Edwards, the main event held great significance for the 170 lb division. Edwards, the former owner of the welterweight gold had hoped to secure a victory and challenge the champion Belal Muhammad to a rematch.

Unfortunately, Brady had other ideas. While he made sure the fans got their money’s worth, the American did so by submitting Edwards in a dominant performance upsetting the home crowd. Regardless, of this, the noise from the O2 Arena was deafening, to say the least. And that really seems to have pleased the UFC brass.

Normally, the promotion only hands out two Performance of the Night bonuses. But White doubled that number to four for UFC London. $50,000 each, for a total of $200,000.

Brady was the obvious choice for one of those bonuses, considering how decisively he took down the hometown favorite. But Brady wasn’t the only one cashing in. Kevin Holland made a statement of his own, dismantling Gunnar Nelson with precision and power.

Then, of course, there were the two women who stole the show — Shauna Bannon and Alexia Thainara — both scoring impressive wins and pocketing a cool $50k each.

Normally, the fans would be rallying behind an initiative like this. But despite the record-breaking gate, fans were left disappointed.

London crowd dubs UFC event a cash grab

With the UFC making an appearance in London ever so often, the British fans expect big names and stacked cards. And Edwards, despite his status as a former world champion was never going to be enough.

For quite some time now, the UFC has been reserving the biggest stars of their biggest PPVs, and with a dearth of said stars signed under the promotion’s umbrella, stacked events are few and far between. UFC London, unfortunately, wasn’t considered a big PPV.

The comments poured in across social media and echoed an expression of frustration and disappointment. One fan wrote, “Sums up the UFC these days, lackluster events but cash grabbing the fans.”

Another reiterated the sentiment, saying, “It was the worst UFC in London.”

Others even compared the event to influencer boxing, with one comment reading, “KSI does more on Misfits.” “Ironically, it was the worst night of fights in a while,” one user claimed, while another accused the UFC of “robbing the English with a boring event.”

The UFC might be handing out a couple of extra bonuses and bragging about the record gate for the next few weeks, but with PPV buys reportedly suffering from record lows, this is becoming an issue that could spiral very soon.