During the UFC Shanghai official weigh-ins yesterday, three fighters failed to make weight, resulting in serious consequences for at least one of them before the fight. However, two of those three fighters have now missed out on bonuses despite scoring brutal finishes over their opponents on fight night.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Julia Polastri and Andre Lima, who both missed weight ahead of fight night, delivered impressive finishes over their adversaries. However, they won’t be able to cash in on the bonus money since they failed to meet the weight requirements for their respective divisions.
Julia Polastri and her opponent, Xiong Jingnan, both missed weight at the weigh-ins. Polastri weighed 118.5 pounds, while Xiong came in at 117 pounds for their 116 lbs weight limit bout. Both escaped the promotion’s punishment of forfeiting a percentage of their purses since neither fighter had made weight.
During the bout, Polastri scored a stellar head-kick knockout over Xiong in the first round, a finish that could have earned her a $25,000 finishing bonus as well as a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus. But since she missed weight, she isn’t eligible for either.
Similarly, Andre Lima, who also missed weight for the second time in the UFC, cannot collect a bonus despite submitting Namsrai Batbayar via guillotine choke in the third round. Like Polastri, Lima too failed to make the non-title flyweight limit of 126 lbs, coming in at 127 pounds. As a result, he had to forfeit 20% of his purse to Batbayar as well as his $25,000 finish bonus.
As such, at UFC Shanghai, both fighters have collectively missed out on at least $50,000 in bonuses, excluding any potential marquee Performance of the Night awards.
But all hope is not lost for the UFC Shanghai fighters. There are instances when Dana White paid a fighter despite missing weight.
Another guy who lost a bonus because of the weight miss
WOW what a nasty submission by Andre Lima! #UFCShanghai
In 2023, former UFC fighter Bryan Battle missed welterweight limit by two pounds (173 lbs) ahead of his fight against Gabe Green at UFC Charlotte. However, Battle delivered an insane 14-second knockout that prompted UFC CEO Dana White to bend the rules and award him a $50,000 bonus during the ESPN era.
Even before that, Geoff Neal received a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus from White despite missing the welterweight limit by four pounds, weighing in at 175 pounds for UFC 285. Neal was submitted by Shavkat Rakhmonov in the third round after a back-and-forth barn burner
Perhaps understanding the exciting nature of his finish, Andre Lima called out Dana White while demanding a bonus and announcing his next move following his UFC Shanghai victory.
Andre Lima asks Dana White for a bonus after UFC Shanghai victory
After missing weight twice in the UFC’s flyweight division, Andre Lima feels it’s time for him to move up to bantamweight. While making the move, he also pleaded with Dana White for a Performance of the Night bonus so he could take care of a few bills.
“Hello Shanghai, you guys really hyped me up, thank you,” Lima said. “There is a guy called Dana who doesn’t like boring fights. So, I’m here to show my boxing, my jiu-jitsu, my kickboxing, my grappling, everything, and that’s what I always try to do.
“Making this weight has been really hard, so I’m gonna have to move up to bantamweight. But let’s be honest, I deserve the performance bonus, even though I didn’t make weight. Let’s split it; I need to pay some bills.”
It’s not clear whether Dana White would actually grant his wish and award him the bonus, even though Lima delivered an impressive submission finish to prove he has the skills. However, bantamweight makes all the more sense for the Brazilian. He wouldn’t need to starve himself to make weight, and there are also some intriguing challenges, like Cameron Smotherman, waiting for him.
That said, with Lima and Polastri both delivering excellent finishes, it will be interesting to see whether Dana White is impressed enough to award them at least $25,000 each despite both fighters missing weight.