Charles Oliveira currently holds the record in that category with a total of 21 post-fight bonuses in his career to date. CasinoHEX UK prepared a material looking at how he arrived at that figure – and also at the other fighters who could give him a run for his money in this interesting statistic.
There is one particular statistic that is not known to all casual fans of MMA but which dedicated MMA fans take very seriously indeed. This is the number of post-fight bonuses awarded to fighters. Titles can be lost in weigh-ins, stripped away, vacated. However, post-fight bonuses cannot. These bonuses are based purely on performance. There is no weighing involved here. Let’s see who earns the most of these.
A Quick Word on How the Bonus System Works
Currently, the UFC gives out $100,000 bonuses (double the amount from the $50,000 before the start of 2026) for two types of achievement: Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night. Prior to 2014, the organization had Knockout and Submission of the Night, which got combined in the Performance of the Night award after some changes were made.
On average, between two and four athletes win an award per event. You do not have to apply for it; you just have to perform better than all others that night. And in a really strong lineup, it becomes quite hard to do so, let alone twenty-one times.
The All-Time Leaderboard
1. Charles Oliveira – 21 Bonuses
No discussion needs to be had here. The all-time UFC bonus champion is clearly ‘Do Bronx’, and he doesn’t really have to try very hard to hold that mantle. His 21 bonuses consist of 14 for Performance of the Night, four for Fight of the Night, and three for Submission of the Night. All told, he has won more than $1,070,000 in bonus earnings for his performance in the Octagon. And with the new bonus structure of $100,000, he will add to that impressive sum.
What Oliveira has done in his UFC tenure is not one of those hot spells when he collected all the bonus awards at once but rather something consistent throughout his time as a professional fighter in the Octagon. He earned the first bonus in 2010 when he debuted in the UFC and was earning them even in late 2025 when competing against UFC Rio. With 17 submission bonuses, he has also been the UFC’s best submission artist ever while having most of the finishes in the UFC.
In terms of attitude towards bonuses, Oliveira is cool. At least that’s what he said before his BMF title bout against Max Holloway at UFC 326 this year: “I don’t need a bonus; the bonus is chasing me.”
2. Donald Cerrone – 18 Bonuses (UFC only)
Until Oliveira arrived on the scene, Cowboy would have been your answer. Cerrone accumulated a total of 18 bonuses from his 38 UFC appearances, winning three Knockout of the Night, two Submission of the Night, six Fight of the Night, and seven Performance of the Night bonuses, making him the only fighter in UFC history to win every one of these bonuses.
But what made Cerrone so reliable when it came to securing bonuses had less to do with skill than with attitude. He didn’t discriminate against who he fought, he accepted short notice fights, moved between weight classes, and showed up every single time with intentions of either finishing the job or dying in the process. Of his first five UFC fights, four ended with Cerrone being awarded post-fight bonuses. Adding up his WEC appearances to his UFC appearances gives us a total of 23 bonuses, which is still a record in the larger Zuffa era.
He announced his retirement after UFC 276, where he dropped a submission match to Jim Miller, leaving his gloves inside his cowboy hat at the end. While he expressed his intention to come back and make it to 50 Zuffa appearances, his plans remain unclear for now.
3. Nate Diaz – 16 Bonuses
Nate Diaz’s bonus list reveals all you need to know about his identity as a fighter, namely, not a finisher per se, but an artist whose every bout keeps people glued to their seats because there’s too much to see in them to walk away. The fighter’s collection of 16 bonuses includes an unprecedented eight for Fight of the Night, five for Submission of the Night, one Knockout of the Night, and one for Performance of the Night.
The figure in question, namely Fight of the Night, is a clear indication of what the champion’s style consists of. Diaz doesn’t do one-round clean finishes – he does battles. Gory, brutal and increasingly masterful battles, even if he loses on points.
4. Jim Miller – 15 Bonuses
Miller appearing this far up on the list is largely a tale of persistence. He made his debut in the UFC in October 2008 and continued fighting right up until April 2026, placing him as one of the few athletes who managed to compete through four decades of professional mixed martial arts. 15 bonus appearances and the record holder for most fights and wins in the lightweight division of the UFC.
At 41, he’s far past his peak performance level, but that he can still make it into the fight and put up a worthy show (the last bout saw him lose on points against Chase Hooper) speaks volumes about why he kept getting those bonuses.
5. Joe Lauzon & Dustin Poirier – 15 Bonuses Each
Quite different athletes but equally numerous bonuses. The first appeared in the lightweight division back in 2006 and was known as an exceptional submission artist, who won no fewer than six of the submission of the night bonuses while being at his peak. The athlete stopped competing way back in 2019 and yet many MMA fans still consider him to be one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division.
15 bonuses won by Poirier are a bit underrated if one takes into account all the achievements he had over the years. 31 fights in the UFC, a title contender, a feud with Conor McGregor that sold out entire arenas, and yet, despite all of it, “The Diamond” managed to keep winning bonuses thanks to violent performances packed with great technique. No undisputed belt but that does not affect his legacy in the sport.
Why Lightweights Rule This List
After having a look at the top five, a certain trend seems rather evident: most of them happen to be lightweights. Out of the top 17 fighters in the history of bonuses earned, 12 of them fought mostly in the lightweight division. It has been deemed by many the most competitive division in the UFC as well as the most fun – the division that allows the perfect balance between elite striking skills and excellent grappling and an engine that enables one to do it throughout an entire round or even two.
What is no less important about the division is that it brings some of the most exciting bets out there. Betting odds at UFC lightweight matches are usually tighter than those at heavyweights; the fights are also very seldom one-sided, and thus it can be stated that the division is very popular among the fight fans. In addition, the majority of betting websites recognize the pattern, too; for example, one may find out that when compiling a good list of overseas casinos specializing in mixed martial arts events, bets made on the lightweight matches are usually the highest per event outside heavyweight category.
The Record That Probably Won’t Be Broken
Oliveira’s 21 is far enough ahead that it would take something extraordinary for a current fighter to catch him – especially while Oliveira himself continues to compete. His bonus rate relative to total fights is higher than Cerrone’s, and unlike some prolific bonus earners, he achieved it without a campaign of short-notice late replacements or deliberately seeking easier opposition. He just fights the same way every time, and the bonuses arrive.
What’s also worth noting is that the UFC’s new $100,000 bonus structure – double what it was for most of the records discussed above – means that future fighters chasing this record will earn considerably more money doing so. Whether that changes how aggressively fighters pursue finishes, or whether it simply reflects the UFC’s recognition that bonus-earning performances are the product they most want to sell, it raises the stakes for the next chapter of this particular history book.
Final Thoughts
Post-fight bonuses are, when you strip it all back, a measure of entertainment value – which makes the all-time leaderboard a fairly honest reflection of the fighters who have given fans the most reasons to watch. Oliveira at the top, Cerrone close behind, and a group of lightweight legends filling out the rest is not a surprising result. These are fighters whose names appear repeatedly in “best fights of the year” lists precisely because they showed up and made things happen rather than grinding out decisions.
With the bonus pool now bigger than it’s ever been, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on who starts climbing this list in the next few years. For now though, Do Bronx sits alone at the summit – and given that he’s still fighting, he may yet extend the record to a number nobody else will ever seriously threaten.
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