Charles Oliveira, Julianna Pena Lead Eight Bonus Winners at UFC 269

Following a memorable year-end pay-per-view at UFC 269, the promotion was feeling generous with its post-fight bonus payouts.

All told, eight fighters received $50,000 checks, including reigning lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and newly-crowned bantamweight queen Julianna Pena.

Oliveira received a “Performance of the Night” bonus — one of six awarded on the evening — for his third-round submission of Dustin Poirier in the evening’s main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Do Bronx” absorbed some heavy shots early, turned the tide in Round 2 with ground-and-pound and then quickly tapped his foe with a rear-naked choke 62 seconds into the third frame to defend the 155-pound belt.

Pena also garnered a “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a victory that may very well go down as the “Upset of the Year” in 2021. Pena baited Amanda Nunes into a brawl in the second round, and when the Brazilian fatigued, “The Venezuelan” landed a takedown and secured a rear-naked choke at the 3:26 mark of the period to become the fifth 135-pound women’s champion in UFC history.

Elsewhere, Kai Kara France earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a quick finish of Cody Garbrandt in a featured flyweight tilt. Kara France rocked the former bantamweight champ early and often — scoring a pair of knockdowns — en route to a technical knockout victory 3:21 into Round 1.

Rising star Sean O'Malley was another “Performance of the Night” recipient thanks to his pinpoint striking against Raulian Paiva in a featured bantamweight clash. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum controlled the range with his jab, then unleashed his power late in the first frame, putting his Brazilian adversary away with a barrage of offense 4:42 into Round 1.

Earlier, Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munhoz received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for a competitive bantamweight scrap in the evening’s featured prelim. Munhoz started quickly when he rocked Cruz twice in the opening round, but “The Dominator” kept his cool and gradually took control with superior movement and punching combinations for a unanimous decision triumph.

Heavyweight Tai Tuivasa picked up a $50,000 check for his fourth consecutive triumph, a second-round stoppage of Augusto Sakai on the preliminary card. A left hook put Sakai on the defensive, and the Australian sealed his win with a barrage of power punches against the fence 26 seconds into Round 2.

Former M-1 Global title holder Bruno Silva captured the evening’s final “Performance of the Night” bonus with a finish of Jordan Wright in a preliminary middleweight encounter. Silva survived an early onslaught from his opponent to drop Wright with a heavy-handed combination, and then forced the stoppage with a series of standing-to-ground shots 88 seconds into the third period.