UFC Fight Night 274 bonuses: Major highlights few, far between

Maybe Dana White had a sneaking suspicion the fights in Las Vegas would be mostly duds, so he went to where he thought things would be poppin’ off a little more, instead.

If that was the case, it appears he made the right call. White got a night of entertainment that was, as he put it, “f*cking awesome” at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. That’s where the UFC CEO, who is wont to remind people he “is not political,” got to witness the chaotic moment when Donald Trump was rushed out of the dinner for a supposed shooting incident that instantly – again – was rife with suspicion about its validity.

Back home at UFC Fight Night 274, White’s crew tied an all-time record for promotional infamy with 11 fights that went the distance at the Meta APEX – just shy of 3 hours of fight time, including five straight decisions to close out the event on Paramount+.

White seemed to be in good spirits after the alleged incident in Washington, nearly jovial during his retelling of the chaos – and how he refused Secret Service orders to get down so he could watch things unfold, instead. White even posed for a picture with another dinner attendee in the lobby while talking to USA TODAY, which seems to be a totally normal thing to do mere minutes after there has been a supposed shooting in the vicinity of the president.

Had White stayed in Vegas for his fight card, would he have been smiling after 11 decisions in 13 fights? It’s pretty safe to say his demeanor might’ve been different than his happy-go-lucky night out in D.C, which gave him a chance to "literally (take) every minute of it in" when he thought a shooting was taking place outside the room. And to White, "it was a pretty crazy, unique experience."

Alas, the UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday's card in “Sin City,” including two to the only stoppages at the event, which was kind of crazy and unique, itself – just maybe not in a memorable way.

After UFC Fight Night 274, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. And for just the second time this year, no additional fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners. That happened previously at UFC 326 in Las Vegas, but on that occasion, the UFC chose to give out four performance bonuses for stoppages in lieu of a Fight of the Night.

Check out the list of winners below.

Fight of the Night: Davey Grant, Adrian Luna Martinetti ($100,000 each)

Davey Grant (16-8 MMA, 9-7 UFC) and Adrian Luna Martinetti (17-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) slugged it out for 15 minutes on the main card, and Grant may have shown the UFC newcomer about leveling up for the big leagues. Grant nearly skipped his post-fight news conference to get sent to the hospital, but made a brief appearance after the blood-soaked tilt.

Performance of the Night: Jackson McVey ($100,000)

Jackson McVey (7-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) changed teams from his home near St. Louis to The MMA Lab in Phoenix, and it paid off right away with a first-round D’Arce choke finish of Sedriques Dumas (10-5 MMA, 3-5 UFC). McVey was supposed to fight Dumas in 2025, but had to wait because Dumas, whose rap sheet is longer than his list of MMA wins, was stuck at home wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor. The UFC now can likely cut Dumas loose, given he’s got three straight losses – and all of his UFC losses are by stoppage, with four in the first round.

Performance of the Night: Ryan Spann ($100,000)

Ryan Spann (24-11 MMA, 10-6 UFC) delivered one of the cleanest heavyweight knockouts in recent memory when he took Marcus Buchecha (5-3-1 MMA, 0-2-1 UFC) right off his feet with a nasty two-punch combo, the second of which was the kind that lives on forever in super slo-mo highlights – unfortunately for Buchecha.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Fight Night 274 bonuses: Major highlights few, far between