UFC 269 Bonus Report: Kai Kara-France earns ‘POTN’ for KO of Cody Garbrandt

The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC 269 event, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier.

The highly anticipated lightweight title fight produced one of the craziest opening rounds in UFC history. Dustin Poirier was able to drop Charles Oliveira on two occasions and appeared to be cruising towards his much desired title win. However, in round two ‘Do Bronx’ was able to score an early takedown and road out the round on top while dropping elbows. Then, in round three, Oliveira was able to take the back of ‘The Diamond’ and promptly locked in a rear-naked choke to finish the contest (see that here).

In the co-main event of UFC 269, Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena collided with the promotions bantamweight title on the line. The bout proved to be a wild and absolutely thrilling affair. Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena went to war exchanging heavy punches and kicks inside of the pocket. After a close first round, Pena began to turn the tide in her favor early in round two. She eventually rocked ‘The Lioness’ after landing a flurry of strikes and got the fight to the ground. From there, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ promptly locked in a fight-ending rear-naked choke (see that here).

Julianna Pena stops Amanda Nunes at UFC 269

The rest of today’s fight card also delivered with some memorable scraps and jaw-dropping finishes.

Following the conclusion of Saturday’s UFC 269 event, promotional officials announced at the post-fight press conference that eight fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.

Fight of the night: Bantamweight fighters Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munhoz each pocketed an extra $50k for their thrilling fight on tonight’s UFC 269 prelims. The Brazilian was able to drop ‘The Dominator’ in the opening frame of the fight, but Cruz stormed back to win rounds two and thre.

Performance of the night: Sean O’Malley picked up an extra $50k for his first-round TKO victory over Raulian Paiva in tonight’s main card opener.

Performance of the night: Kai Kara-France earned an extra $50k for his sensation first-round knockout victory over Cody Garbrandt on tonight’s UFC 269 main card. The Kiwi dropped ‘No Love’ on a couple of occasions before putting him away for good in the final seventy seconds of round one (see that here).

Performance of the night: Julianna Pena earned an extra $50k for her submission victory over Amanda Nunes in tonight’s wild co-headliner.

Julianna Pena subs Amanda Nunes at UFC 269

Performance of the night: Tai Tuivasa pocketed $50k for his knockout victory over August Sakai on today’s UFC 269 prelims. The Aussie rocked the Brazilian with one punch and a second put him out cold.

Performance of the night: UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira took home an extra $50k for his thrilling third round submission victory over Dustin Poirier in tonight’s event headliner.

Performance of the night: Bruno Silva also took home a performance of the night bonus. The Brazilian earned a nasty knockout on today’s preliminary fight card.

Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out following the conclusion of today’s UFC 269 event in Las Vegas? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!