Mariya Agapova created quite the buzz with her stellar UFC debut, taking home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus with a first-round victory over Hannah Cifers. For a 23-year-old from Kazakhstan, where an average annual wage amounts to about $3,500, the money is potentially life-changing – and maybe even life-saving. “It’s absolutely life-changing, and thankfully I have experience with these situations where somebody is as poor as anything, and then some water comes on the lettuce patch,” Agapova’s manager, Alex Davis, told MMA Junkie. “We’ll help her establish herself and use her money wisely and not spend it. She’s been biking to American Top Team from far away, and now we’ll get her a driver’s license and a car.” Buying a car might not seem like a purchase that can assist with self-preservation, but earlier this year, Agapova was scheduled to compete at Invicta FC 39 before she had to withdraw because of injuries sustained when she was struck while riding her bike home from the gym
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