Justin Gaethje wins eight and ninth bonuses in only 7 UFC bouts
Justin Gaethje was firing on all cylinders at UFC 249 and it showed once again when UFC President Dana White announced the post-fight bonuses.
Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson for the interim UFC lightweight championship in the UFC 249 main event. In doing so, he also earned dual bonuses for the second time during his UFC tenure, brining his total to nine post-fight bonuses in seven bouts.
White announced Gaethje and Ferguson earned Fight of the Night honors for their five-round war. Gaethje also secured a Performance of the Night honor for not only dominating Ferguson, but becoming the first fighter to stop him in the Octagon.
Though Gaethje was swinging for the fences early, he was often landing, although Ferguson proved difficult to rock. When coach Trevor Wittman finally got him to settle down a bit and be more calculated with his punches, Gaethje begin to look like he knew what unorthodox approaches Ferguson would take even before Ferguson himself.
Gaethje earned the TKO stoppage at the 3:39 mark of the fifth round.
The second Performance of the Night honor was an easy decision as heavyweight Francis Ngannou knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik just 20 seconds into their bout.
Having lost back-to-back bouts to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, Ngannou has since gone on a four-fight tear, laying out four fighters in the first round. Eight of Ngannou’s 10 victories in the Octagon have now come inside of the first round.
TRENDING > UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje fight highlights and results
UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje Performance Bonuses
- Fight of the Night: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
- Performance of the Night: Justin Gaethje
- Performance of the Night: Francis Ngannou
Justin Gaethje wins eight and ninth bonuses in only 7 UFC bouts