UFC Bonuses Explained Including Types Of Bonuses & Fighters Who Have Won The Most UFC Bonuses In History

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?

Join us at SportsCasting as we outline the different types of UFC bonuses that are on offer at each pay-per-view and Fight Night event week in, week out.

Can UFC Fighters Earn Bonuses?

The highest paid UFC fighters on the planet have all made millions throughout their careers. This is mainly down to their huge purses and vast career earnings, but also courtesy of the various UFC bonuses on offer thanks to Dana White.

In most cases, fighters on the UFC roster are some of the highest paid MMA fighters in the world. Forget the PFL, Bellator and other organisations, the UFC is where all MMA fighters want to be competing.

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 Conor McGregor, despite suffering controversies, arrests, legal issues and court cases of late, 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 surpass 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.

Dana White, whose net worth recently surpassed half-a-billion dollars, believes these UFC bonuses give fighters an added incentive to take risks, go for broke and aim to secure a monumental victory.

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. The best UFC betting sites actually offer odds on who could secure a bonus at each pay-per-view event too.

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 317 saw Ilia Topuria, who boasts a $2m+ net worth, defeat former 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira via knockout in Round 1 of their UFC Lightweight Title fight.

This meant that 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 goes 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.

Some of the best fighters on the pound-for-pound UFC rankings have several UFC bonuses under their belt too. A few of which feature in the top 20 fighters with the most bonus awards in UFC history, as detailed below.

Fighters With The Most UFC Bonus Awards – Top 20