Lauzons Win Bonuses helped save sons life
source | USATODAY®
Veteran Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Joe Lauzon stood to make $3,000 to show and another $3,000 as a win bonus when he appeared for a UFC 63 fight with Jens Pulver eight years ago in Anaheim, Calif.
He knew fighting in the UFC was a great opportunity to make a living, but the 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 won 11 more, pocketing a total of $585,000 above his contracted pay.
As Lauzon found out, the money wasn’t just a source of stability. It helped him save his son’s life.
Shortly after Joey Lauzon came into the world in January, he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a common pediatric cancer. His father saw the bill for his first day in the hospital: $140,000.
“It definitely helped having extra money to deal with this,” Joe Lauzon says. “With hospital bills and health insurance, it’s been really tough, and we’ve spent way too much money on all that. But I’d trade it all to have Joey healthy and happy. All the bonuses definitely helped.”