Julianna Pena, Charles Oliveira and More Earn Bonus Prize Money from UFC 269 Card
December 12, 2021
Six different fighters earned bonuses for "Performance of the Night" at UFC 269, including the pay-per-view's biggest stars in Julianna Pena and Charles Oliveira, per MMA Fighting.
Bruno Silva, Tai Tuivasa, Kai Kara-France and Sean O’Malley also earned the $50,000 bonus for "Performance of the Night," an honor usually given to just two fighters after an event.
Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munhoz earned bonuses for "Fight of the Night" for their undercard battle that went the distance. Cruz eventually won by unanimous decision after three rounds.
The last two bouts still earned the majority of headlines as Pena upset Amanda Nunes for the women's bantamweight title while Oliveira defended his lightweight belt against Dustin Poirier.
Nunes came in as the heavy favorite to defend her title with a 12-fight winning streak, holding her belt since 2016. The 33-year-old is considered one of the top female fighters in UFC history.
Pena was clearly unintimidated as she earned the second-round submission.
"Everyone slept on me and I shocked the world," she told reporters after the bout.
Oliveira was also doubted entering Saturday despite being the reigning champion in his division. The 32-year-old won a vacated belt with a win over Michael Chandler, but many considered Poirier to be the tougher opponent after consecutive wins over Conor McGregor.
A third-round submission was enough for Oliveira to prove his worth as a legitimate champion in one of the toughest divisions in UFC.
O'Malley and Kara-France also deserved recognition for earning first-round knockouts on the main card, defeating Raulian Paiva and Cody Garbrandt, respectively. Tuivasa defeated Augusto Sakai by second-round knockout on the preliminary card.