UFC
UFC Bonuses Explained Including Types Of Bonuses & Fighters Who Have Won The Most UFC Bonuses In History
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Get to know Paul Kelly betterPublished15 Apr 2025
The UFC are the single biggest promotion in professional MMA. With that in mind, they also pay the most lucrative purses. This begs the question, can fighters earn additional UFC bonuses on top of their existing purses?
Can UFC Fighters Earn Bonuses?
Fighters in the UFC are the highest paid MMA fighters on the planet, generally. Of course, there are some exceptions with household names in Bellator and PFL, but in most cases, fighters on the UFC roster are some of the highest paid MMA fighters in the world.
This is amplified ten fold if you are an elite fighter. Look at the likes of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Israel Adesanya or formerly Khabib Nurmagomedov. They are some of the highest pair mixed martial artists the world has ever seen – particularly McGregor, but he is in a stratosphere of his own.
UFC fighters are usually paid a base salary for a fight. This can range from around $20,000 as a minimum, up to the multi-millions that we have seen several fighters earn over the years.
On top of a base salary comes potential revenue from sponsors. This usually isn’t as much, but fighters are paid a bit of extra cash depending on their sponsors.
Then come the UFC bonuses. The UFC bonuses set out by UFC President Dana White can sometimes even sur what a fighter is earning as a base salary. The UFC have a few different types of bonuses, which we will go into more detail on shortly.
But it is worth noting that there is no fixed amount of bonus awards the UFC hand out at each of their events. UFC bonuses are separate cash extras, usually awarded to four fighters after each event. The decision is made internally by UFC management as to who will receive these bonuses.
Types Of UFC Bonuses
As previously mentioned, there are different bonus awards that fighters can earn in the aftermath of a UFC event. There are now just two different types of UFC bonus awards – ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Performance of the Night’.
There were formerly another two bonuses for ‘Knockout of the Night’ and ‘Submission of the Night’. However, these two bonuses are now just covered in the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus, which makes sense.
Firstly, lets look at the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus. This bonus is awarded to the two fighters who delivered the most impressive fight on the card. Usually this is won by a fight that is very evenly matched, with both fighters enjoying success. There could be several knockdowns in the fight, or simply the pair stand and trade for the entire duration.
Each fighter involved in the ‘Fight of the Night’, will receive an additional $50,000 on top of their fight purse. For some fighters this means their purse doubles, or even trebles in some cases! It is a great incentive for fighters to put it all on the line and deliver a sensational fight.
Next up is the ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonus. This bonus is given to the athletes who put on the best and most exciting individual performances. This could mean a sensational highlight-reel knockout, a dominant display or an incredible submission. There are usually three or four ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonuses handed out at each UFC event.
Are There Any Other Types Of UFC Bonuses?
Although we previously stated that their are only two types of bonuses in the UFC – the ‘Performance of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses, this isn’t strictly true.
This is because sometimes in the main event of a big UFC pay-per-view event, the winner of the main event can earn a whopping $100,000 in additional UFC prize money. This is called a ‘win bonus’ and is only available to the winner of the main event in a pay-per-view event.
For example, the main event at UFC 295 saw Ilia Topuria defeat former long-reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski via knockout in Round 2 of their UFC Featherweight Title fight. This meant that Ilia Topuria in turn earned a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus of $50,000, as well as an extra $100,000 as a win bonus.
All in all, the Spanish/Georgian fighter earned $150,000 alone in bonuses on top of his official fight purse. It just does to show, there is always an added incentive for fighters to put in incredible displays, knowing that their sensational performances and fights will be rewarded with monetary bonuses.
Fighters With The Most UFC Bonus Awards – Top 20
| Fighter | Fight of the Night | Knockout of the Night | Submission of the Night | Performance of the Night | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Oliveira | 4 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 20 |
| Donald Cerrone | 6 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 18 |
| Nate Diaz | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 16 |
| Dustin Poirier | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| Joe Lauzon | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 15 |
| Jim Miller | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| Anderson Silva | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Justin Gaethje | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 14 |
| Max Holloway | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
| Edson Barboza | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Tony Ferguson | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Cub Swanson | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| Frankie Edgar | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Chris Lytle | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Jeremy Stephens | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Conor McGregor | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Clay Guida | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Glover Teixeira | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Jon Jones | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Sean O’Malley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
Who Will Win Bonuses At UFC 315?
For the next big UFC pay-per-view event, all eyes will be on the 170-pound king Belal Muhammad as he aims to defend his UFC Welterweight Title for the very first time against against #5 ranked Jack Della Maddalena.
This will be Muhammad’s first defence since winning the belt off Leon Edwards at UFC 304 last July. The welterweight king is currently ranked at #7 on the UFC pound-for-pound list too, making him one of the best fighters on the entire UFC roster.
The best UFC betting sites are favouring the American to get the job done here, but only just. Jack Della Maddalena is a well-rounded mixed martial artist and will be confident of getting the job done himself, becoming UFC champion at the first time of asking.
Should the UFC 315 main event deliver, it could well have a chance of winning the ‘Fight of the Night’ UFC bonus. That being said, there are other fights on the UFC 315 undercard that look more likely to claim a UFC bonus thank the Muhammad vs Maddalena bout.
There are so many added incentives nowadays for UFC fighters, with Dana White more than happy to reward his fighters. For the UFC 315 card on April 11th in Canada, there will be a few fighters looking to steal the show and earn UFC bonuses.
The main event combatants will certainly have their eye on a bonus, as will the of former UFC Women’s Flyweight Title champion Valentina Shevchenko, who defends her belt against Manon Fiorot in the UFC 315 co-main event. Time will tell who gets their hands on the next UFC bonuses at UFC 315.
Be sure to claim the various UFC betting offers and free bet deals available on the SportsCasting site ahead of the next big UFC pay-per-view card.