Rose “Thug” Namajunas – the former strawweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – has become one of the first major fighters to earn a large crypto-based bonus for her work in the octagon.
Rose Namajunas Garners Solid Crypto Bonus
The strange thing is that her recent fight is being labeled by many fight fans throughout America as one of the worst title fights in UFC history. Namajunas saw her waist stripped of the division belt after going at it with contender Carla Esparza aka “Cookie Monster” in a five-round fight that saw neither fighter doing much to engage. The fight could have arguably gone either way, but Namajunas saw her title taken following a close split decision going in favor of Cookie Monster at the end of the bout.
But while the belt may be gone, Namajunas saw herself receive a $30K bonus in crypto at the end of the event after she was labeled the top fighter in a recent fan poll by individuals who weren’t going to let the former champ’s recent performance affect their opinions of the young fighter.
But despite the bonus, Dana White – the president of the UFC – said in an interview that he was shocked by the results of the fight and said that it was “weird” given how little action took place. He stated:
It was a weird fight. Seemed like they didn’t want to engage. I think they threw a total of six punches in the first round. It was a tough one. That happens sometimes. I started zoning out like halfway through it. I don’t think anyone is clamoring for that rematch. We’ll have to figure something else out. Rose is one of the best. She’s always going to be there. We’ll see what happens.
Namajunas isn’t the only one that garnered a bitcoin bonus. Another set of crypto units – roughly $10K worth – was handed off to Charles Oliveira and ex-Bellator fighter Michael Chandler. Both went at it in a lightweight bout that saw fans cheering in their seats, while Justin Gaethje also took home a special $20K bitcoin bonus for his impressive submission win over Tony Ferguson.
A Strong and Lasting Partnership
The crypto bonuses come by way of a partnership that the UFC has formed with Crypto.com, a leading digital trading platform. The joint venture was announced in mid-April, with Dana White explaining:
Crypto.com has been an official UFC partner for less than a year, and I’m telling you they are already one of the best partners we’ve ever had. They’re constantly coming up with new ideas about how we can work together to connect with the fans. This new Fan Bonus of the Night is an awesome way to get fans more engaged in our events while rewarding the fighters for bad-ass performances.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/rose-namajunas-earns-30k-crypto-bonus-for-ufc-performance/