Justin Gaethje defeated Dustin Poirier in the UFC 291 main event, earning his 12th $50,000 bonus, and Derrick Lewis, Bobby Green, and Kevin Holland received Performance of the Night bonuses after winning their fights.
Justin Gaethje has increased his tally of fight night bonuses to twelve. Known as “The Highlight,” Gaethje delivered a stunning head kick knockout to Dustin Poirier in their main event rematch at UFC 291. This victory didn’t just earn him the title of the second “BMF” champion, but also another Performance of the Night award, marking the 12th time in as many UFC appearances that Gaethje has earned a $50,000 bonus.
At the event in Salt Lake City that took place on Saturday, no Fight of the Night was announced. As a result, four Performance of the Night bonuses were handed out instead. The recipients of these accolades other than Gaethje were Derrick Lewis, Bobby Green, and Kevin Holland, who also featured in the main card fights.
Derrick Lewis ended his career-worst three-fight losing run with a dramatic first-round knockout of Marcos Rogerio de Lima, which kicked off with a flying knee. This game-changing finish handed Lewis the UFC’s all-time knockout record at 14, which broke Matt Brown‘s previous record. Both Green and Holland also recorded wins of significance. Green defeated Tony Ferguson, managing to submit him in their fight that had only six seconds remaining, pushing “El Cucuy” to his sixth consecutive loss. Holland reversed fortunes against submission specialist Michael Chiesa, making Chiesa surrender to an arm-triangle in the first round.