Former two-division champion Conor McGregor challenged UFC president Dana White to up the post-fight bonuses this weekend at UFC 273.
Typically, the promotion will hand out four performance bonuses after an event with each being worth $50,000. Well, “Notorious” wants the recipients to receive an extra $10,000 for their bonus-winning efforts in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 9.
McGregor took to Twitter after the UFC 273 pre-fight press conference on Thursday asking the UFC president to “let them go” for the increased bonuses. The Irishman also took notice of the fact that the UFC didn’t organize a face-off for the eight athletes, something Notorious is against.
“Great to see all the young pups up there @ufc today!” McGregor tweeted. “We do face offs always here. Correct this going forward. Awesome stuff! Is it a “big fights feel” somewhat right now with this card? I think so! Let’s go fighters, bring it home! 60g’z Dana! Up the bonus, let them go for it!”
UFC 273 Is Topped by Two Championship Matches
Fight fans will witness two championship contests during Saturday night’s card. UFC 273 is headlined by a featherweight clash between 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski and No. 4-ranked contender Chan Sung Jung. “The Great” is riding the momentum of his back-to-back title defenses over Brian Ortega and Max Holloway, and further, his 20-fight unbeaten streak, whereas “The Korean Zombie” is 3-1 in his last four bouts.
Holloway was initially tasked to fight Volkanovski in a trilogy fight, but an injury left him unable to seize the opportunity which, in turn, granted The Korean Zombie the title match.
In the co-main event, the 135-pound title will be unified. Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will go to war with interim champion Petr Yan for a second time. The two combatants originally met in March 2021 at UFC 259, and the “Funk Master” took Yan’s title via disqualification after the Russian hit Sterling with an illegal knee.
Sterling has been out of action since then recovering from unrelated neck surgery. Yan got back to work at UFC 267 in October 2021 when he drew striking ace Cory Sandhagen. They fought for the interim 135-pound strap and Yan came out on top, winning via unanimous decision.
Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev Will Compete During the UFC 273 Featured Bout
Perhaps the most anticipated UFC 273 fight will go down before the championship battles. Welterweights will collide as No. 2 Gilbert Burns will look to place himself one step closer to another title fight by derailing the hype train of No. 11 Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev is viewed by many as the hottest rising star in the promotion, and a win over Burns will put “Borz” in line for either a No. 1-contender bout or a championship clash with Kamaru Usman.
The main card is rounded out by two more fights. In the women’s strawweight division, fan-favorite Mackenzie Dern will take on sturdy veteran Tecia Torres. And to open the event, Mark Madsen will look to keep his undefeated record alive by taking out “The Ultimate Fighter” standout Vinc Pichel in a lightweight contest.
All in all, there are 13 scheduled fights for UFC 273 at the time of this writing. The card is subject to change.
Conor McGregor Issues Challenge to UFC President Dana White