(This story first appeared in Thursday’s USA TODAY .) Veteran UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon stood to make $3,000 to show and another $3,000 as a win bonus when he showed up for a UFC 63 fight with Jens Pulver eight years ago in Anaheim, Calif. He knew that fighting in the UFC was a great opportunity to make a living as an MMA fighter, but the UFC newcomer had little idea of the potential upside when he stepped in the octagon – until someone handed him a check for $15,000. “I’m getting what? What are you handing me?” he remembers of his immediate reaction. Lauzon had won his first UFC bonus for knocking out Pulver, but it would hardly be his last. Over the next six years, he would win 11 more, pocketing a total of $585,000 above his contracted pay.
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UFC’s bonus system changed fight veteran Joe Lauzon’s life – MMA Junkie