UFC Fight Night 36 Fighter Bonuses: First Time in Action, New Structure Still Rewards Finishers

UFC Fight Night 36: Machida vs. Mousasi took place on Saturday night at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil, with the fight card matching a UFC record of 10 bouts going to decision.

It also marked the first event under the promotion’s new bonus structure, which now awards one Fight of the Night bonus, but two Performance of the Night awards replacing the traditional Knockout and Submission of the Night awards.

In events past, Erick Silva and Charles Oliveira would have won the knockout and submission awards, respectively, but under the revamped format, they each scored a Performance of the Night bonus for the only two finishes on the 12-bout card.

Silva shook off memories of his loss to Dong Hyun Kim with a TKO stoppage of  Takenori Sato, while Oliveira finished Andy Ogle with a triangle choke.

The Fight of the Night honors went to the main event between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi, who fought a technical bout between two men know for having unorthodox approaches to the game, Machida more so than Mousasi.

Machida’s karate-based style won out with the Brazilian winning a unanimous decision.

Each post-fight award winner received a $50,000 bonus.