UFC Fight Night 40 Fighter Bonuses: Matt Brown Walks Away with Extra $100K

The UFC landed at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati on Saturday night for UFC Fight Night 40: Brown vs. Silva. After the fights were over, UFC officials handed out the customary post-fight honors, but the fighters in Ohio didn’t make it easy to choose the bonus winners.

Fight of the Night honors were easy enough, as Matt Brown fought back from the brink of defeat in the opening round to nearly finish Erick Silva by the time the first five minutes ended. But that wouldn’t be the end of it, as Brown only amped up his attacks as the fight wore on. He likely would have finished almost any other fighter much, much sooner, but it took him until 2:11 in the third round to stop Silva via TKO.

That selection was a no-brainer, as the Brown vs. Silva fight instantly became a Fight of the Year contender.

Selecting just two Performance of the Night award winners, however, was another story. Of the 13 bouts on the card, seven of them ended by way of knockout or TKO, giving officials several fighters to choose from.

Johnny Eduardo, however, in the first fight of the Fox Sports 1 televised prelims, made for a solid selection for one Performance of the Night bonus, as he knocked out Top 5 bantamweight Eddie Wineland in the first round.

There were several fighters that deserved a bonus, and there may be several that get the mysterious “locker-room bonus,” but it was Matt Brown who was awarded the other official Performance of the Night bonus alongside Eduardo.

After the come-from-behind victory that Brown mounted, it would be difficult to argue his selection. With the two post-fight awards, he earned an additional $100,000 in bonus money for his efforts, and solidified his position as a title contender.