5 active UFC fighters with the most Performance of the Night bonuses

#2. Donald Cerrone – UFC welterweight (7 performance bonuses)

Donald Cerrone is renowned as one of the most exciting fighters in UFC history

Given that he’s usually recognized as one of the most exciting fighters to watch in MMA history, it should come as absolutely no surprise to find Donald Cerrone ranked this highly here. ‘Cowboy’ has fought in the UFC on 37 occasions. Over the years, he’s claimed seeven Performance of the Night bonuses.

Of course, Cerrone has claimed a number of other bonuses too, namely six Fight of the Night awards, as well as three Knockout of the Night awards and two Submission of the Night awards.

In recent years, ‘Cowboy’ has been on a real slide. In fact, he has not won a fight since May 2019. That may go some way to explaining why he hasn’t claimed a performance bonus recently, as his most recent one came in his bout with Alexander Hernandez in January 2019, a fight he won via TKO.

Prior to this, Cerrone had won six performance bonuses, including three in a row for his first three bouts at 170 pounds in 2016, fights that saw him claim victories over Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote and Rick Story.

Despite his current slide, ‘Cowboy’ remains a hugely exciting fighter to watch. If he can find a way to defeat Joe Lauzon in his next bout, he could well claim his eighth performance bonus yet.

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#1. Charles Oliveira – UFC lightweight champion (12 performance bonuses)

No fighter has claimed more performance bonuses than current lightweight champ Charles Oliveira

As the holder of the record for the most submissions (15) and the most finishes (18) in UFC history, the fact that reigning lightweight champion Charles Oliveira sits at the top of this list with 12 performance bonuses should come as no stunner.

In fact, if you count the now-defunct Submission of the Night and Knockout of the Night awards, Oliveira’s total number of bonuses would increase from 12 to 18, meaning he’s probably earned somewhere around an extra $1m for his efforts over the years.

‘Do Bronx’ first claimed a performance of the night bonus for his triangle choke submission of Andy Ogle back in February 2014. Since then, his wins over opponents such as Hatsu Hioki, Clay Guida, Jim Miller and Kevin Lee have given him further such awards.

Impressively, the Brazilian’s climb up the ladder to the lightweight title has not prevented him from continuing to win awards, either. His title victory over Michael Chandler last year, as well as his subsequent title defense against Dustin Poirier, netted him performance bonuses.

Given his current form, it’s impossible to imagine him failing to add to his total of 12 bonuses in the years to come.