After delivering a Fight of the Year performance, a UFC fighter celebrated a $100K bonus. However, months later, the payment still hasn’t arrived. With patience running out, he has now publicly called out the promotion, taking a sharp jab with a money laundering remark.
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Mason Jones and Axel Sola collided in a potential Fight of the Year contender at UFC London in March 2026. The UFC awarded each of them a $100K Fight of the Night bonus. But as of May 1st, the Welsh fighter revealed he still hasn’t received the amount. The reason? ‘The Dragon’ claims the promotion’s anti-money laundering checks have delayed the process, jokingly adding that he might have received the money sooner if he had actually laundered some.
“These anti-money laundering checks are really making me wish I was laundering money,” Jones posted on X. “Probably be easier to explain than my deposit hasn’t been paid by UFC yet, still waiting on my 100g’s.”
For those unaware, anti-money laundering (AML) checks are mandatory procedures the UFC follows when transferring money. To ensure transactions are legal and free of criminal activity, businesses conduct checks such as KYC verification, sanction screening, and transaction monitoring to comply with regulations.
In Jones’ case, he lives in Wales, United Kingdom, which may further delay the process as the company deals with international transactions. Still, it appears to be a rare occurrence, as no other fighter has publicly complained about delays in receiving bonus payments.
However, Dana White’s promotion has also adopted a new bonus system, giving fighters $100K in the Paramount+ era, double the $50K awarded during the ESPN era. In that sense, larger transactions can be subject to more thorough checks.
That said, the UFC has not only faced jabs over delayed bonus payments. Recently, marquee star Paulo Costa also took shots at the promotion after earning a bonus for his brutal knockout of Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327, which led him to text Dana White and Hunter Campbell.
These anti-money laundering checks are really making me wish I was laundering money. Probably be easier to explain than my deposit hasn’t been paid by UFC yet, still waiting on my 100g’s
Now, when it comes to the UFC’s bonus structure itself, a prominent UFC journalist has shed some light on the system, clarifying a doubt that fans had for some time.
Ariel Helwani clears an important distinction around UFC bonuses
Under the $7.7 billion broadcasting era, Dana White announced a massive jump in fighter bonuses. Alongside the increase in Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses, which rose from $50K to $100K, the promotion now also offers an additional $25K for every finish at an event. But what happens when a fighter earns both?
As of now, many assumed a fighter would receive a total of $125K if they secured a performance bonus plus the finish bonus. However, according to prominent MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, that doesn’t appear to be the case. He clarified on social media that if a fighter receives the $100K performance bonus, they won’t get the extra $25K finishing bonus, regardless of scoring a finish.
Helwani further explained that while a fighter can earn both performance bonuses for a total of $200K, they cannot add the extra $25K if they also get a finish.
“If you score a finish (worth $25k) and, say, a performance bonus (worth $100k), you get $100k not $125k,” Helwani posted on X. “I think many of us, including me, assumed the latter. It’s basically the greater of two bonuses. If you win a Fight of the Night bonus (worth $100k) and score a finish and earn a performance bonus, too, you get $200k not $225k.”
Recently, Josh Hokit earned two post-fight performance bonuses after a barnburner against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327, taking home a total of $200K. But even if he had finished ‘Razor’ in that matchup, the UFC would not have awarded an additional $25K.
That said, what do you think about the UFC’s bonus structure under the new regime?
