Kevin Croom won his friends over $1,000 with UFC-debut win
Kevin Croom is feeling good for a number of reasons.
Despite getting a fresh haircut on Tuesday, Croom is coming off a first-round submission win against Roosevelt Roberts at UFC on ESPN+ 35 this past Saturday, Sept. 12. The 31-year-old was not even signed by the UFC a week ago, taking the fight on two-days notice.
Croom went from having $64 in his bank account to winning a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Dana White even guaranteed the bonus just minutes after the fight, an unusual occurrence for the UFC President.
After 13 years of being in the sport, Croom saw it come all together on Saturday.
“Everybody is just like, ‘Hey, on Wednesday you weren’t even signed,’ and you’re right, but I’ve been working for 13 years,” Croom said.
“I definitely didn’t dream it being this cool, but I’ve been putting in the work for it to be this good.”
So fucking badass!
Those who take big risks, get BIG REWARDS https://t.co/KWQ1i0cEIn
— danawhite (@danawhite) September 14, 2020
Croom’s friends cash in
Croom is not the only one who cashed in on his promotional debut. “Crash” also won his friends as much as $1,300 after being the biggest underdog on the card.
Croom disposed of the seven-time UFC veteran in just 31 seconds, making it a quick payday for him and his friends.
“I had a few friends make a couple grand on me. I would have myself, but I didn’t know,” Croom said. “I know I have two more who at least made a thousand. I’ve had a bunch of people hitting me up on Twitter showing me all the money they made, so heck yeah.”
Seeing Dana White was love at first site for Kevin Croom
Croom is happy to be some comic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Croom’s personality is a mirror image of his exciting fighting style.
Croom is not your typical interview, getting his haircut with nunchucks in hand.
After already fighting three times this year, Croom hopes to return to the Octagon in November. The 33-year-old said he is even open to fighting within the next week if possible.
It could all come together considering Croom made such an impression on Dana White. He even told the UFC president he loved him.
“I told him I’ve been waiting my whole life to do that for him. I also told him I loved him,” Croom said. “I feel like this is what the world needs. Everything is so serious with all this [expletive] going on, everyone is so upset. We just need a funny [expletive] bad [expletive]. I’ll take the job.”
