(Esther Lin/MMAFighting)UFC Fight Night 64: Who Will Win the “Fight Night” Bonuses? RJ Gardner April 10, 2015 Events, Previews, Spotlight There’s always been a lot of talk about the UFC’s fighter pay system and how their fighters are severely underpaid. Many fighters – especially those on the undercards – are getting paid peanuts to put their bodies on the line in the UFC Octagon. While the UFC has a lot of work to do in terms of compensating their fighters better with “win” and “show” money, the organization has always done a great job rewarding fighters who put on a show in the cage with locker room or “Fight Night” bonuses. Regardless of where a fighter is placed on the card, they know that if they really bring something special to the cage, they will have the opportunity to receive one of the four $50,000 bonuses the UFC hands out at every event. Sometimes they hand out a “Fight of the Night” and two “Performance of the Night” bonuses and other times they award four “Performance of the Night” bonuses. That’s a great incentive for fighters to really put it all out on the line and go for broke. When the UFC heads to Krakow, Poland, on Saturday, April 11, 2015, for UFC Fight Night 64, there will be four $50,000 checks up for grabs. While it can be difficult to predict who will win these bonuses, there are some fighters who stand out as early favorites. Performance of the Night Pawel Pawlak – After coming up short in his UFC debut last May, Pawlak is hungry to show why he is one of Poland’s hottest prospects. With nine of his 10 wins coming by way of finish, Pawlak is a dangerous fighter who will be competing in front of a home crowd. Jan Blachowicz – Blachowicz is riding a hot hand right now having won six in a row, but he will be taking on the toughest test of his career in Jimi Manuwa. Manuwa was an absolute wrecking machine before getting owned by Alexander Gustafsson. If Blachowicz can defeat Manuwa, he will turn some heads and earn some extra coin. Fight of the Night “Fight of the Night” awards have been a little scare – a “Fight of the Night” hasn’t been awarded since UFC Fight Night 60 back in February – but something tells me that will change this Saturday. Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has entertaining slug fest written all over it. They may not be in their primes any more, but these guys know how to mix it up and excite the fans.
