Most Performance Bonuses in UFC History

The UFC has employed performance bonuses in every event to lure its fighters to generate remarkable and outstanding showings for MMA odds fans to enjoy. These performance bonuses range from knockout of the night, submission of the night, fight of the night and performance of the night categories. It usually is $50,000 per bonus.

With four UFC odds classifications to determine the incentive, some athletes received multiple bonuses in their fighting careers, be it from a spectacular finish, a come-from-behind victory, or just an overall masterful performance. 

Here are the top five UFC fighters with the most performance bonuses.

Charles Oliveira: 18 bonuses

With his last three impressive wins (Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier) on his way to UFC Lightweight Championship supremacy, Charles Oliveira is tied the most performance bonuses with 18. 

‘’Do Bronx’’ picked up his first-ever bonus in his UFC debut in August 2012 when he submitted Darren Elkins in under one minute of the first round. 

Since then, Oliveira recorded three knockouts of the night, three fight of the night honors, and twelve performance of the night incentives.

Donald Cerrone: 18 bonuses

The man who Oliveira tied with the most performance bonuses in UFC history is veteran fighter Donald Cerrone. 

‘’Cowboy’’ appeared in 37 bouts under the UFC and made his debut in February 2011, where he submitted Paul Kelly in two rounds to earn his first-ever bonus with the fight of the night honor. 

After that, Cerrone racked up one bonus after the other and achieved 18 in total. He has three knockout of the night, two submission of the night, six fight of the night, and seven performance of the night awards.

Joe Lauzon: 15 bonuses

Lightweight contender Joe Lauzon has been with the UFC since 2006 and holds 29 bouts. 

Because of his explosiveness, Lauzon collected fifteen bonuses in thirty years with the organization. Out of those fifteen, seven came from fight of the night bonus, six were submission of the night, and one each for knockout of the night and performance of the night. 

J-Lau hasn’t seen action since 2019 after his TKO victory over Jonathan Pearce due to a miscommunication with UFC President Dana White.

Nate Diaz: 15 bonuses

There is no denying that Nate Diaz is among the crowd’s darling in the UFC. 

His never-ending heart in every match is unbelievable, even if he knows he is losing. He keeps on pushing forward and puts his opponent on his heels. 

Because of this style, Diaz gained a massive following and fifteen performance bonuses. He has eight fight of the night bonus, five submission of the night, one knockout of the night, and one performance of the night incentives.

Anderson Silva: 14 bonuses

Anderson Silva is one of the most dominant UFC champions in history after almost cleaning up the middleweight division during his title reign.

A solid proof of his supremacy is his highlight-reel knockouts which earned him fourteen bonuses in his 14-year run with the company. 

The ‘’Spider’’ recorded seven knockout of the night bonuses along with five fight of the night and two submission of the night rewards. Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, and Vitor Belfort are just a few victims in his bonus resume.