UFC 249 bonuses: Justin Gaethje wins $100,000

The bonuses have been announced for UFC 249, and headliner Justin Gaethje took home $100,000 after beating Tony Ferguson in the main event.

Gaethje put an absolute clinic on Ferguson for nearly five full rounds in the main event of the evening before the referee stopped the fight due to TKO with less than two minutes remaining in the fight. It was an incredible performance by Gaethje, who is now the UFC interim lightweight champion. The big win at UFC 249 also earned Gaethje some much-deserved bonus money.

Following the event, UFC president Dana White announced the winners of the post-fight bonuses at UFC 249. Winning “Fight of the Night” was Gaethje and Ferguson, while the “Performance of the Night” bonuses went to Gaethje and Francis Ngannou. That means Gaethje won $100,000 while Ferguson and Ngannou won $50,000.

Was there any doubt? 🏆@ToyoTires | #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/YXNOjN8l1a

— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2020

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1259361458049159169

For Gaethje, it was his ninth UFC bonus award in his seven fights inside the Octagon, which is just incredible. “The Highlight” was won either “Fight of the Night” or “Performance of the Night” for every single one of his fights inside the Octagon, including winning both awards for the win over Ferguson at UFC 249 and his win over Michael Johnson at his UFC debut in 2017. The bonus awards prove that Gaethje is one of the most exciting fighters the sport has ever seen.

As for Ferguson, he won a share of “Fight of the Night” in a losing effort, his third straight fight where he won a share of the FOTN award. Ferguson has now won six “Fight of the Night” awards plus an additional five bonuses for “Performance of the Night.” Like Gaethje, all the bonuses prove that Ferguson is an incredibly entertaining fighter to watch.

And finally, Ngannou won a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his 20-second knockout over Jairzinho Rozenstruik on the main card. Ngannou has won POTN in three of his last four fights and he has won five “Performance of the Night” bonuses in the UFC overall.

Of course, there were several fighters at UFC 249 who deserved to win bonuses but who were snubbed from winning the awards. Calvin Kattar deserved something for his ridiculous KO win over Jeremy Stephens, while Henry Cejudo could have earned something for beating Dominick Cruz. Vicente Luque and Niko Price also could have won something for their war on the prelims.

Do you agree with the UFC 249 bonus award winners?