There were double the usual number of disclosed post-fight bonuses handed out at UFC 269 after a night of breathtaking fights.
UFC President Dana White announced eight fighters would receive $50,000 performance bonuses including six “Performance of the Night” awards. Usually, two fighters are awarded “Fight of the Night” while two get “Performance of the Night,” though the distribution and type can vary.
Among those given a pay bump for their work in the octagon on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas:
* Middleweight Bruno Silva, who stopped Jordan Wright via first-round knockout on the preliminary card.
* Heavyweight Tai Tuivasa for a second-round knockout of Augusto Sakai on the preliminary card.
* Flyweight Kai Kara-France for a first-round stoppage of former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt.
* Sean O’Malley for his first-round knockout of Raulian Paiva on the pay-per-view opener.
* Julianna Pena, who captured the UFC bantamweight championship with a stunning upset of longtime champ Amanda Nunes in the co-headliner.
* Charles Oliveira, who defended his lightweight title for the first time with a third-round submission of former interim champ Dustin Poirier.
The final two bonus-award winners for “Fight of the Night” came from the preliminary card in a bantamweight bout between ex-champ Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munhoz. Cruz survived a bad first round to rally on points for a decision win.
Of course, the post-fight bonuses disclosed by the UFC often do not constitute the entirety of extra money handed out by the promotion; undisclosed checks often show up for fighters after an event in addition to other incentives like sponsor pay.
