Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani’s first night in the UFC ended with an armbar and a proposal of sorts, except this one was aimed at Dana White’s checkbook. The welterweight submitted Farman Hasanov with an armbar to open the UFC Vegas 123 main card on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Then he asked White for an extra $100,000 bonus so he can afford to get married. BJJDOC and other outlets picked up the request, and Yahoo Sports posted his full post-fight interview from the event, which it billed as UFC Fight Night 292.
Armbars at welterweight don’t come around every weekend, and this one came with some blood attached. MMA Fighting posted on X that Lebosnoyani earned his first UFC stoppage after opening up a “NASTY cut under the eye” of Hasanov, whom the outlet described as game. So the man marked him up first and then took an arm home as a souvenir.
The win carries some weight because of who was across the cage. Championship Rounds noted on X before the fight that Hasanov entered undefeated. His UFC debut was a clear decision over Eric Nolan, though MMA Fighting’s prediction piece pointed out he looked exhausted as the final seconds ran down in that one. The same preview pegged Lebosnoyani as the well-rounded fighter in the matchup and predicted that “the unpredictable and aggressive Lebosnoyani won’t let him get away with just spamming takedowns.” MMA Fighting picked Lebosnoyani to drain Hasanov’s gas tank and finish him in the second round. They got the winner and the finish right.
View post on X
Both men made weight without drama on Friday, with Lebosnoyani at 170.5 pounds and Hasanov at 171. Their bout led off a five-fight main card on Paramount+ that was headlined by Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan at lightweight. Francis Marshall was the lone fighter on the card to miss weight. He came in at 148 for his featherweight bout with Dakota Hope and forfeited 20 percent of his purse.
The sources don’t say whether White granted the bonus or what amount Lebosnoyani actually takes home, and nobody has announced his next opponent.
View post on X
My take: I love this, and I don’t care how many fighters have asked the boss to bankroll their wedding before him. Lebosnoyani walked into his debut against an undefeated wrestler, hurt him, submitted him, and then shot his shot at the boss on the same night. That’s the stuff that gets a newcomer remembered past Tuesday. Asking for $100K is a bold opening bid, and that’s the right way to ask. Nobody ever got a raise by politely requesting the standard rate. If the UFC wants debutants to go out and hunt finishes instead of grinding out 29-28s, the cheapest marketing it could buy is a check with a bow on it and a wedding invite with Dana’s name on the guest list.
