The UFC handed out five bonuses, including an unheard of three “Fight of the Night” awards at The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale on Saturday. It was the first time in the history of the UFC that three separate fights were given “Fight of the Night” honors.
Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz, Chris Lytle vs. Kevin Burns, and Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida won the three fight of the night awards, netting each fighter a well-deserved $25,000 bonus.
The other two bonuses for knockout and submission of the night were both earned on the non-televised undercard. Jason Dent was given submission of the night for his win over fellow TUF 9 castmate Cameron Dollar via anaconda choke. The knockout of the night was given to Tomasz Drwal, who had the only TKO stoppage of the evening over Mike Ciesnolevicz in the first round.
The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale reportedly drew a sell-out crowd of just over 1,800, grossing approximately $500,000 from the live gate. With the three “Fights of the Night” combined with the KO and Submission of the night awards, the UFC shelled out a total of $200,000 in bonus money.
TUF 9 Finale Bonuses-
Submission of the Night
Jason Dent ($25,000 bonus)
Knockout of the Night
Tomasz Drwal ($25,000 bonus)
Fight(s) of the Night
Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida ($25,000 bonus for each fighter)
Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns ($25,000 bonus for each fighter)
Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz ($25,000 bonus for each fighter)
Good job Jeffro.