Joe Lauzon fulfilled all of his UFC 274 pre-fight obligations to step into the cage, but at the last minute, his opponent Donald Cerrone was unable to compete.
When a fight gets canceled hours before the scheduled time, the focus turns to sort out what portion of their purse, if anything, the fighter that was ready to compete will receive. Cerrone (36-16 MMA, 23-13 UFC) came down with a non-COVID-related illness on the day of the fight, thus forcing the bout to be scrapped at the last minute. The announcement was made during the early prelims of the pay-per-view event, leaving Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) without an opportunity to compete on the main card in what could have been one of the final fights of his lengthy professional career.
Ultimately, Lauzon was compensated but did not receive his full show and win money for the last-minute cancelation. Speaking with MMA Junkie Radio, Lauzon explained the situation and why he was happy with what he received.
“So, if the fight didn’t happen, I would have pressed very, very aggressively to get my win money,” Lauzon told MMA Junkie Radio. “But they rescheduled the fight six weeks later. They gave me my show money, I got my Venum money, so I got that. If they rescheduled for six weeks later, I was OK with that because I started thinking about it: If he pulled out on Tuesday, I get zero.”
UFC 274 took place in Phoenix, and the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission does not reveal official fight purse figures to the public. Lauzon also did not disclose the specific amount he received for his show money. Based on the UFC Promotional Guidelines tiers, he would have received $21,000 in Venum pay for an athlete with over 21 fights with the promotion, which is the highest tier for a non-champion or title challenger.
“I made weight, I got my show money, and we’re gonna get our show money and everything again, so I’m okay with it. If the fight didn’t happen, I would have very aggressively pushed to get my win money. But, if it’s gonna happen, then I’m OK with just getting show. …It’s the way it goes, I understand. Cowboy has never pulled out of a fight before, I don’t think.”
The fight has since been rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas on June 18. While Lauzon is happy to keep the fight together a few weeks down the road, he can’t help but wonder what could have happened at the pay-per-view event had the fight gone as scheduled.
“It could have easily been a double bonus. We could have got Fight of the Night and then I could have got like a spectacular finish. Could have easily been an extra $100,000 in bonuses, but it didn’t happen. So, we’re not gonna worry about it. We’re gonna focus on June 18 and maybe – I don’t want any more Fight of the Nights. We’ll take the performance bonuses, we don’t need Fight of the Nights. We’ll just keep all my blood inside, not have to go the E.R. would be nice.”
