UFC Newark Bonuses: No Bonus Issued To Colby Covington

Despite a lopsided decision win over Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark, Colby Covington was now rewarded with a bonus by the UFC. Covington put on a tremendous performance in the main event again Lawler, shutting him out on the scorecards. Yet, he did not receive a bonus despite a record-setting performance.

Although Covington did not get a finish in the fight, there have been numerous fighters who have won bonuses despite not finishing their fights. For instance, his rival Kamaru Usman got a bonus when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos via decision in a non-title main event last year. Israel Adesanya also got a bonus for his decision win over Brad Tavares. The UFC chose not to give one to Covington for his dusting of Lawler, and there have already been fans and media who have spoken up about the perceived snub.

Still, it’s hard to argue the winners of the bonuses. The UFC announced the award winners for the $50,000 bonuses following Saturday afternoon’s event. The Performance of the Night bonuses went to lightweight Nasrat Haqparast and flyweight Matt Schnell. Both fighters had very impressive finishes.

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The Fight of the Night bonus went to Antonina Shevchenko and Lucie Pudilova for their war, which Shevchenko won via second-round technical submission when she choked her opponent out cold.

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There were a number of highlight-reel finishes on the card, so it was tough to determine the bonuses for this card. Jim Miller, for instance, didn’t get anything despite finishing Clay Guida in the first round. Neither did Claudio Silva, Lauren Murphy, Scott Holtzman, and Gerald Meerschaert for their finishes.

Still, with the way Covington defeated Lawler and set UFC records for strikes thrown in the five-round shutout, you think he would have gotten a bonus for his performance. It makes you wonder if Covington’s previous run-ins with UFC president Dana White had something to do with that decision.

Did you think Colby Covington should have got a bonus at UFC Newark?