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Fights of The Night

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship began awarding fighter bonuses for Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night honors in October 2006, at the Tito Ortiz versus Ken Shamrock 3 live special on free cable. That night, Matt Hamill defeated Seth Petruzelli by decision to take the UFC's first ever Fight of the Night award, with both winner and loser receiving $30,000 bonuses for their efforts. The award next returned at UFC 70 six months later, and since that time, the UFC has bestowed a Fight of the Night award following each event. The Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting Organization, which held its first event under Zuffa management with WEC 25, also awarded Fight of the Night bonuses at every event from WEC 35 in August of 2008 through its final event, WEC 53.

The Fight of the Night award is determined informally and has no fixed criteria. UFC President Dana White typically announces FOTN and other bonus winners, along with the monetary amounts of the awards, at the post-fight press conference immediately following each event. The awards serve two purposes. First, they incentivize the fighters to deliver action and take risks. Second, they recognize and honor the evening's best performances.

On rare occasions, if he believes the Octagon combat merits it, White will distribute more than one Fight of the Night award. In such instances, the bonus money is not split halfwise among the two fights but simply doubled to accommodate them both. White awarded two Fights of the Night at UFC 93 (Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle; "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman) and again at UFC 94 (John Howard vs. Chris Wilson; Clay Guida vs. Nate Diaz). At The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in June 2009, White took the unprecedented step of awarding not two, but three Fights of the Night (Stevenson vs. Diaz; Sanchez vs. Guida; Lytle vs. Burns). White next doubled up on Fight of the Night awards at 2010's stellar UFC 116 card, when Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski shared the honors.

The Fight of the Night purse sizes have generally increased in conjunction with the success of the organization, with the biggest events tending to offer the largest award amounts. There is some variance, however. From the initial $30,000 bonuses awarded at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3 and at UFC 70, the amount increased to a $60,000 bonus for Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans's battle at UFC 92 in December 2008. UFC 100 in July 2009 dangled $100,000 bonuses in front of the fighters for each award. At UFC 116 one year later, the amount was $75,000. The lesser Ultimate Fight Night and TUF Finales still tend to provide awards in the $25,000 to $30,000 range, though there have been exceptions. At UFC Fight Night 22 in September 2010, the awards were $40,000 apiece.

As the award is open to any and all of the fights on a given night regardless of televised billing, a Fight of the Night award has the potential to greatly exceed an up-and-coming fighter's fight purse, and can make his year financially. Josh Neer, for example, made only $9,000 in base pay but $30,000 in bonus money for his FOTN against Nate Diaz at Fight Night 15. Not surprisingly, perhaps, fighters have begun to (only half-jokingly) campaign for the award during their post-fight comments to Joe Rogan inside the Octagon. Mirko CroCop did so (for Submission of the Night honors) following his chokeout of Pat Barry at UFC 115, as did Roy "Big Country" Nelson shortly thereafter.

Out of 70 total UFC Fight of the Night awards given out from October 2006 through August 2010, inclusive, 14 were given to main event fights (20%), 16 were given to preliminary card fights (23%), and 40 were given to main card fights excluding main events (57%).

For the same data set, the 70 awards were bestowed across the five standard UFC weight classes, plus catchweight bouts, as follows: lightweight, 25 (36%); welterweight, 15 (21%); middleweight, 12 (17%); light heavyweight, 12 (17%); heavyweight, 4 (6%); catchweight, 2 (3%). The apparent trend is that the lighter weight classes dominate Fight of the Night awards, as well as Submission of the Night awards, whereas the heavier weight classes dominate Knockout of the Night awards.

The UFC's current Fight of the Night kings are Chris Lytle (welterweight) and Tyson Griffin (lightweight), who have each earned the award four times. Lightweights Thiago Tavares, "Handsome" Matt Wiman, Clay Guida, Sam Stout and Joe Lauzon have each won Fight of the Night honors three times. Japan's Yoshihiro Akiyama has also won the award three times, and even more impressively, batted .1000 through each of first three appearances in the Octagon, winning Fight of the Night honors for his battles with Alan Belcher at UFC 100, Chris Leben at UFC 116 and Michael Bisping at UFC 120.

Fights of The Night (146)

Bout		Event		Award		Forum
Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier		UFC on FUEL TV 3: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier		$40,000		View
Ricky Wright vs. Wayne Davies		Samurai Fight Night 5: There Will Be Blood		$0		View
Louis Gaudinot vs. John Lineker		UFC on FOX 3: Diaz vs. Miller		$65,000		View
Eddie Yagin vs. Mark Hominick		UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans		$65,000		View
Brad Pickett vs. Damacio Page		UFC on FUEL TV 2: Silva vs. Gustafsson		$50,000		View
Kyle Nelson vs. Mic Dufort		Ringside MMA 13: Saint Patrick’s Day Beatdown		$0		View
Steven Arens vs. Wade Baldwin		Hard Knocks 21		$0		View
Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall I		UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann		$50,000		View
Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar		UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson		$65,000		View
Jasmin Dubois vs. Zarif Mohamed		Sherbrooke Against All 3		$0		View
Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez		UFC on FUEL TV 1: Ellenberger vs. Sanchez		$50,000		View
Fabricio Werdum vs. Roy Nelson		UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit		$65,000		View
Evan Dunham vs. Nik Lentz		UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis		$65,000		View
Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft		UFC on FX 1: Guillard vs. Miller		$45,000		View
Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim		UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes		$65,000		View
Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone		UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem		$75,000		View
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida		UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida		$75,000		View
Diego Brandao vs. Dennis Bermudez		The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale		$40,000		View
Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua		UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson		$70,000		View
Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le		UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson		$70,000		View
Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida		UFC on FOX 1: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos		$65,000		View
Renan Barao vs. Brad Pickett		UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz		$70,000		View
Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn		UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz		$75,000		View
Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia II		UFC 136: Edgar vs Maynard 3		$75,000		View
Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig II		UFC on Versus 6: Cruz vs. Johnson		$65,000		View
Jon Jones vs. Quinton Jackson		UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage		$75,000		View
Lance Benoist vs. Matt Riddle		UFC Fight Night 25: Battle on the Bayou		$55,000		View
Eduard Folayang vs. A Sol Kwon		One FC 1: Champion vs Champion		$5,000		View
Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson		UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami		$100,000		View
Cody Barkhouse vs. Kyle Patterson		CECR 2		$0		View
Chris Lytle vs. Dan Hardy		UFC on Versus 5: Hardy vs. Lytle		$65,000		View
Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz II		UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz 2		$70,000		View
Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber II		UFC 132: Cruz vs Faber II		$75,000		View
Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira		UFC on Versus 4: Barry vs. Kongo		$50,000		View
Dave Herman vs. John Olav Einemo		UFC 131: Carwin vs. Dos Santos		$70,000		View
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado		The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale		$40,000		View
Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago		UFC 130: Rampage vs Hamill		$70,000		View
Eric Wisely vs. Lance Wipf		Superior Cage Combat 1: Lopez vs Buccholz		$1,000		View
Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick		UFC 129: St. Pierre vs. Shields		$129,000		View
Michael McDonald vs. Edwin Figueroa		UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs. Davis		$55,000		View
Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani		UFC 128: Shogun vs Jones		$70,000		View
Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann		UFC on Versus 3: Sanchez vs Kampmann		$60,000		View
Brian Ebersole vs. Chris Lytle		UFC 127: Penn vs Fitch		$75,000		View
Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly		UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort		$75,000		View
Yves Edwards vs. Cody McKenzie		UFC Fight Night 23: Fight for the Troops 2		$30,000		View
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II		UFC 125: Resolution		$60,000		View
Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson		WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis		$10,000		View
Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck II		UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2		$100,000		View
Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan		The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale		$30,000		View
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon		UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida		$80,000		View
Pascal Krauss vs. Mark Scanlon		UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami		$60,000		View
Cub Swanson vs. Mackens Semerzier		WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki		$10,000		View
Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago		UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez		$70,000		View
Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama		UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama		$60,000		View
Donald Cerrone vs. Jamie Varner II		WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan		$10,000		View
Matt Mitrione vs. Joey Beltran		UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop		$70,000		View
Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham		UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop		$70,000		View
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Jared Hamman		UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares		$40,000		View
Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis		UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2		$60,000		View
Scott Jorgensen vs. Brad Pickett		WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez		$10,000		View
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen		UFC 117: Silva vs Sonnen		$60,000		View
Brian Stann vs. Mike Massenzio		UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko		$40,000		View
Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski II		UFC 116: Lesnar vs Carwin		$75,000		View
Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama		UFC 116: Lesnar vs Carwin		$75,000		View
Mark Hominick vs. Yves Jabouin		WEC 49: Varner vs Shalorus		$10,000		View
Matt Hamill vs. Keith Jardine		The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale		$25,000		View
Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald		UFC 115: Liddell vs Franklin		$85,000		View
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz		UFC 114: Jackson vs Evans		$65,000		View
Jeremy Stephens vs. Sam Stout		UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2		$65,000		View
Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung I		WEC 48: Aldo vs Faber		$65,000		View
Mark Munoz vs. Kendall Grove		UFC 112: Invincible		$75,000		View
Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver		UFC Fight Night 21: Florian vs Gomi		$30,000		View
Jared Hamman vs. Rodney Wallace		UFC 111: St-Pierre vs Hardy		$65,000		View
George Roop vs. Leonard Garcia		WEC 47: Bowles vs Cruz		$10,000		View
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson		UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez		$50,000		View
Chael Sonnen vs. Nate Marquardt		UFC 109: Relentless		$60,000		View
Adrian Pang vs. Yui Chul Nam		Legend FC 1		$		View
Aaron Simpson vs. Tom Lawlor		UFC Fight Night 20: Maynard vs Diaz		$30,000		View
Will Campuzano vs. Coty Wheeler		WEC 46: Varner vs Henderson		$10,000		View
Sam Stout vs. Joe Lauzon		UFC 108: Evans vs Silva		$50,000		View
Scott Jorgensen vs. Takeya Mizugaki		WEC 45: Cerrone vs Ratcliff		$5,000		View
Donald Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff		WEC 45: Cerrone vs Ratcliff		$10,000		View
Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia		UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez		$65,000		View
Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Veach		The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale		$25,000		View
Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson		UFC 106: Ortiz vs Griffin 2		$70,000		View
Cub Swanson vs. John Franchi		WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo		$10,000		View
Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang		UFC 105: Couture vs Vera		$40,000		View
Pat Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk		UFC 104: Machida vs Shogun		$60,000		View
Ben Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone I		WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson		$20,000		View
Rick Story vs. Brian Foster		UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort		$65,000		View
Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur		UFC Fight Night 19: Diaz vs. Guillard		$30,000		View
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Randy Couture		UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira		$60,000		View
Dominick Cruz vs. Joseph Benavidez I		WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles		$10,000		View
Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin		UFC 101: Declaration		$60,000		View
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher		UFC 100		$100,000		View
Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz		The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale		$25,000		View
Chris Lytle vs. Kevin Burns		The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale		$25,000		View
Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida		The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale		$25,000		View
Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva		UFC 99: The Comeback		$60,000		View
Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber II		WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2		$10,000		View
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra		UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida		$60,000		View
Sam Stout vs. Matt Wiman		UFC 97: Redemption		$70,000		View
Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki		WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki		$10,000		View
Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael Dos Anjos		UFC Fight Night 18: Condit vs. Kampmann		$30,000		View
Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine		UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine		$60,000		View
Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov		WEC 39: Brown vs. Garcia		$7,500		View
Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson		UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson		$40,000		View
Josh Neer vs. Mac Danzig		UFC Fight Night 17: Lauzon vs. Stephens		$30,000		View
Clay Guida vs. Nate Diaz		UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2		$65,000		View
John Howard vs. Chris Wilson		UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2		$65,000		View
Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone I		WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone		$7,500		View
Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle		UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson		$40,000		View
Mauricio Rua vs. Mark Coleman II		UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson		$40,000		View
Rashad Evans vs. Forrest Griffin		UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008		$60,000		View
Junie Browning vs. Dave Kaplan		The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale		$25,000		View
Jim Miller vs. Matt Wiman		UFC Fight Night 16: Fight for the Troops		$30,000		View
Cub Swanson vs. Hiroyuki Takaya		WEC 37: Torres vs Tapia		$7,500		View
Aaron Riley vs. Jorge Gurgel		UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar		$60,000		View
Donald Cerrone vs. Rob McCullough		WEC 36: Faber vs Brown		$7,500		View
Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin		UFC 90: Silva vs Cote		$65,000		View
Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor		UFC 89: Bisping vs Leben		$40,000		View
Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer		UFC Fight Night 15: Diaz vs. Neer		$30,000		View
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares		UFC 88: Breakthrough		$60,000		View
Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch		UFC 87: Seek and Destroy		$60,000		View
Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura		WEC 35: Condit vs Miura		$7,500		View
Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca		UFC Fight Night 14: Silva vs. Irvin		$25,000		View
Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson		UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin		$60,000		View
Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Burkman		The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale		$20,000		View
Matt Wiman vs. Thiago Tavares		UFC 85: Bedlam		$50,000		View
Goran Reljic vs. Wilson Gouveia		UFC 84: Ill Will		$75,000		View
Jonathan Goulet vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka		UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre 2		$75,000		View
Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon		UFC Fight Night 13: Florian vs. Lauzon		$20,000		View
Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson		UFC 82: Pride of a Champion		$60,000		View
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia		UFC 81: Breaking Point		$60,000		View
Paul Kelly vs. Paul Taylor		UFC 80: Rapid Fire		$35,000		View
Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva		UFC 79: Nemesis		$50,000		View
Thiago Alves vs. Chris Lytle		UFC 78: Validation		$55,000		View
Matt Grice vs. Jason Black		UFC 77: Hostile Territory		$40,000		View
Tyson Griffin vs. Thiago Tavares		UFC 76: Knockout		$40,000		View
Marcus Davis vs. Paul Taylor		UFC 75: Champion vs Champion		$40,000		View
Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga		UFC 74: Respect		$40,000		View
Jorge Gurgel vs. Diego Saraiva		UFC 73: Stacked		$40,000		View
Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida		UFC 72: Victory		$40,000		View
Kalib Starnes vs. Chris Leben		UFC 71: Liddell vs Jackson		$40,000		View
Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic		UFC 70: Nations Collide		$30,000		View
Matt Hamill vs. Seth Petruzelli		UFC The Final Chapter: Ortiz vs Shamrock 3		$30,000		View