Post-fight bonuses can be life-changing for fighters. It affords some the opportunity to train full-time, others go on big vacations. After his Fight of the Night with Sean O’Malley, Andre Soukhamthath’s life changed too, but more so in the way that he saw things rather than what he did with the money. 

“Let’s just say I learned a lot of lessons after I spent it,” said Soukhamthath. “Honestly, man, it was my first time ever having money like that at once."

After taking home the $50,000, Soukhamthath realized how quickly that money goes away. 

“I never knew what it was like to have money like that in my bank account,” he admitted. “And now that I know what it’s like, I’ll be a little smarter with it next time.”

The biggest culprit was an exchange involving a treadmill he found online. While trying to upgrade his home workout situation, Soukhamthath watched his bonus wash away. 

“I bought a treadmill to put in my gym garage, but I was so excited for it… it was about 40 minutes away. It was in great shape. Found it on Craigslist. Worked when I tested it out,” he said. “Then on my way back, I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, so I had to keep the doors open and it just started pouring... Then when I got home it was broke.”

And while it was a relative bargain when he first nabbed the equipment, it wasn’t by the time he was done with it. 

“I spent $400 on the treadmill, which I was totally happy with,” he shared. “Then I spent money on getting someone to fix it…. $400 turned into [another] $300. Then I was so upset because I tried everything, I paid another $80 to have someone pick it up and throw it away for me.”

Nearly in on it for $800, Soukhamthath revealed the worst part of the whole transaction. 

“And I had a membership to LA Fitness,” he laughed.

But with all kidding aside, he was able to make sure that he took care of some things before the money ran out, perhaps just not as many as he would have liked without his new acquisition. 

“The good thing is, I’m on my second house right now. I got cars. We went on a nice vacation,” he said. 

Soukhamthath faces off this weekend against Montel Jackson at UFC 236. While another Fight of the Night bonus would be welcome, he’s far more concerned with making sure his hand gets raised.