Benoit Saint Denis had a lot of competition for a post-fight bonus, but the lightweight contender would not be denied.
Four $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses were handed out Saturday at UFC Paris, with Saint Denis earning one for his dominant submission win over Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event. Mason Jones, Ante Delija, and Kaue Fernandes also cashed in with highlight-reel finishes.
Saint Denis was looking to make it back-to-back victories and he did so in emphatic fashion, using his grappling to defuse the dangerous Ruffy before putting him away with a face crank in the second round. All of Saint Denis’ 15 wins have come by way of knockout or submission and he scored his fifth post-event bonus (which includes two Fight of the Night awards).
For Jones, his second bonus has been a long time coming. He bludgeoned Bolaji Oki with elbows for a finish, earning him his first extra $50,000 since his first UFC fight back in 2021, when he and Mike Davis won Fight of the Night.
Delija and Fernandes both earned their first UFC bonuses. Saturday marked the UFC debut of Delija, a 2022 PFL heavyweight tournament champion, and he didn’t waste time, taking out top 10 contender Marcin Tybura in the first round.
Fernandes’ win came via a series of nasty leg kicks that left opponent Harry Hardwick unable to continue after a little over three minutes of action.
