Cheyanne Buys’ Ultimate Gamble Pays Off With $50,000 Check

Cheyanne Buys bought into herself, and she cashed out in a big way with her first-round TKO under the co-main event spotlight at UFC Vegas 33.

After losing in what Buys herself describes as an “embarrassing” UFC debut against Montserrat Ruiz earlier this year, the 26-year-old prospect refused to go back down that track and instead proved that she ain’t no “headlock girl.”

Instead, she became the “head-kick girl” with a Performance of the Night-winning and perfectly timed head kick that ultimately led to her first-round finish over Gloria de Paula at UFC Vegas 33.

But prior to being showered with praise and bonus money, Cheyanne Buys had to risk it all to even be in that position. When making the move from Dallas, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada, the strawweight had to make a difficult, life-changing decision. And in just a matter of seconds with the world watching on ESPN or ESPN+, that decision was validated in a big, head-shattering way.

“I just found out two seconds ago I got Performance of the night, so yeah, it’s pretty surreal,” Buys said during the UFC Vegas 33 post-fight press conference. “Seven weeks ago, I decided to make a big risk and ditch my house and everything in it in Dallas, Texas. And I came here with my animals, and my husband, and we have one vehicle…we packed up our car with one suitcase, we came here, we didn’t have a house, we had nothing. I had to get a loan just to get a house.

“And I knew coming in here tonight that my whole paycheck was just gonna go back to that loan. And I took a big risk to get a big reward, and I can’t thank my team, my husband, my family…because they were the ones that said, ‘Listen, you’re gonna have to go broke for a little bit just to get something good out of this. And I knew I had to do it, and, man, I just feel so happy.”

Now that she has an extra $50,000 that she was not expecting coming into the evening, an emotional Buys took a moment to internalize what that money means for her and her family and how that check represents a critical cashout at this point in her life.

“I am negative in my account right now, so it’s gonna make a big difference,” Buys said. “And my whole paycheck, actually, is I have to pay back $15,000 for a loan I got from a few people. So I made $10,000 and $10,000 from my win and show, so that $20,000 was just gone. And I was OK with it. I was OK if I won and that check was gone because I made the move out here, and I know that this fight was just gonna be for the move, but it was the best decision that me and my husband made for our careers.”