Over 15 years ago, Dana White realised giving fans more control was not his best move.
In early December, White signed a new five-year deal to stay on as the UFC’s CEO and president.
Even though the promotion is set for some big changes in 2026, there are still going to be things that fans will continue to grumble about, just as they do now.
Except for a few rare occasions like UFC 282, which was a record-breaker, the UFC usually sticks to their standard way of handing out post-fight bonuses.
But there was one card where they tried something new, and it did not sit well with White at all.
UFC 124 shows why giving fans the vote does not always work
Back in December 2010, the Octagon set up shop at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for a card topped by one of the sport’s all-time greats.
Georges St-Pierre put on another masterclass against Josh Koscheck, sending his hometown fans home happy with a dominant welterweight title defence at UFC 124.
This time around, St-Pierre made it clear from start to finish. He controlled every round and landed 110 significant strikes to just 16 from Koscheck.
And yet, their fight was still voted as Fight of the Night. That bonus meant an extra $100,000 went to Koscheck despite his one-sided defeat.
That decision came because fans were given the chance to vote for the bonus recipient – something White quickly came to regret.
At the post-fight press conference, the UFC boss stated: “It’s one of the hazards of letting the fans vote. They’re always chirping about how we messed it up and here we are.”
He added that this would be a one-off experiment, saying fans had “blown their chance.”
Why Dana White regretted letting fans decide the UFC 124 bonus
On paper, giving fans a say in post-fight bonuses seems like a good idea. But there are some clear drawbacks.
Popularity tends to outweigh performance in these situations, and with someone like Georges St-Pierre fighting on home soil, it was always going to be difficult for anyone else to get noticed.
Fans also do not watch every fight from start to finish. The big names at the top of the card are always going to pull more attention than an early scrap that really delivered.
This is exactly what happened at UFC 124. White felt Sean Pierson’s win over Matt Riddle earlier in the night was far more deserving of Fight of the Night than what actually got picked.
He promised they would not be forgotten and said he would “take care” of them after they missed out on fan votes.
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