UFC 265 Bonuses: Six Fighters Receive $50,000 Payouts

Six fighters from UFC 265 boosted their bank accounts with bonus checks on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Not only did Ciryl Gane claim interim heavyweight gold, but he received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his dominant win over Derrick Lewis in the evening’s main event. Gane outlanded his opponent by a whopping 98-to-16 count in significant strikes en route to a third-round technical knockout victory, much to the chagrin of a vocal hometown throng in attendance to support Lewis.

Elsewhere, Vicente Luque garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a first-round submission of Michael Chiesa in a featured welterweight contest. After nearly being trapped in a rear-naked choke, Luque turned the tables to submit his opponent with a brabo choke at the 3:25 mark of Round 1.

Earlier, Rafael Fiziev and Bobby Green received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their high-octane preliminary scrap at lightweight. The two athletes traded liberally for three rounds, with Fiziev running out to an early lead on the scorecards thanks to more powerful strikes, but Green made things interesting with a high-output Round 3. Ultimately it wasn’t enough, as Fiziev captured a unanimous decision triumph.

Jessica Penne was rewarded for her first submission victory since 2013 with a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payday. The former Invicta FC title holder made Karolina Kowalkiewicz pay for following her to the canvas, as she secured a tapout via armbar 4:32 into the first frame of their strawweight clash.

Finally, Miles Johns captured the evening’s final $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payment thanks to a knockout of Anderson dos Santos in a preliminary bantamweight tilt. Johns was in control throughout before flooring his Brazilian foe with a body-head hook combination at the 1:16 mark of Round 3 to instantly end the bout.