Cody Haddon finally made it back to the Octagon after a frustrating stretch of injuries, and he made sure that no one forgot his name at UFC Macau.

The Australian bantamweight delivered an impressive stoppage win over Aoriqileng on Saturday night inside Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, before using his post-fight interview to make an unusually honest plea to the UFC. Rather than calling out another opponent, the Aussie focused on something far more immediate: money.

“Hey, I’m super broke,” he said in the post-fight interview. “I have no money. Please! I deserve a bonus. I just f—— come into enemy territory and put on a show like that.

“You know when you book me to fight, I’m coming in to kill or be killed. Please, let me be compensated. Thank you.”

The performance at UFC Macau undoubtedly helped his cause. Fighting in front of a large audience that backed Aoriqileng, Cody Haddon dominated the first round. He constantly dragged the Chinese fighter to the mat, dominating grappling exchanges, and piled up damage while keeping control.

Things only got worse for Aoriqileng in the second round. After surviving a brief guillotine attempt, the Aussie resumed his pressure game, eventually trapping his opponent against the fence.

A succession of knees to the body caused Aoriqileng to crumble, and Haddon swarmed with punches until the referee intervened to end the bout at 2:11 in Round 2. The victory pushes Haddon to 2-0 in the UFC and is his first appearance since 2024. And the road back was anything but smooth.

Cody Haddon was forced to withdraw from a scheduled fight against Aleksandre Topuria due to a broken foot, and he later withdrew from a bout with Malcolm Wellmaker after suffering another injury during fight week.

Now healthy again, the 27-year-old appears eager to make up for lost time. Even though only the UFC will decide if he wins one of the promotion’s $100,000 Performance of the Night bonuses, he is at least guaranteed to be in line for the newer $25,000 finish bonus introduced earlier this year for fighters who score a knockout, TKO, or submission victory.

Maybe that’s why the fans are turning against him. Because with a minimum pay for just showing up and a $25K bonus, it should be enough for the Aussie, according to fight fans, and they surely let their feelings be known on social media.

Fans go off on Cody Haddon for begging for a bonus at UFC Macau

Cody Haddon undoubtedly hoped his post-fight plea would convince Dana White and the UFC to reward his performance, but a large section of fans had a completely different reaction. I

nstead of sympathising with the Australian, many pointed out that his lengthy injury layoff may have played a much bigger role in his financial situation than his UFC pay.

Several fans noted that Haddon had barely fought over the last two years due to repeated injuries. “Another UFC fighter crying they have no money,” one fan wrote. Another added, “A guy who hasn’t worked in years needs money.” Others pointed to the fact that nearly 600 days had passed since his last appearance, with one fan simply commenting, “Almost 600 days since last fight.”

One fan poked fun at Dana White for not paying his fighters enough that they have to beg this way: “Meanwhile, Dana just did an interview saying that fighter pay keeps going up. ” But was it really the right move is what many fans questioned, as begging like this has rarely moved the UFC.

In fact, many believed the way Cody Haddon asked for the bonus may have actually hurt his chances. “When you beg like that, you almost never get it,” one fan posted, while another wrote, “If you want a bonus, don’t mention wanting a bonus.”

Whether Dana White and the UFC agree on the bonus remains to be seen, but for now, what we do know is that the Aussie did deliver one hell of a fight and would definitely be going home with a minimum of 30K with that spectacular finish at UFC Macau.