UFC 261 bonuses: Which fighters won $50,000?
Four fighters reportedly won the $50,000 bonus at UFC 261 – Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas, Jeffrey Molina, and Qileng Aori.
Despite several outstanding performances at UFC 261, only a select few fighters were recipients of a bonus after the event. As reported by MMA Fighting, among the four UFC 261 fighters who were awarded a bonus for their performances at the event were Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas, Jeffrey Molina, and Qileng Aori.
Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas, Jeffrey Molina, and Qileng Aori won bonuses at UFC 261
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman successfully defended his title in his rematch against Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261. Usman sent shockwaves across the combat sports world by knocking out striking savant Masvidal with a thunderous right hand.
The Nigerian Nightmare landed the right hand and a few follow-up strikes in round two of their fight, securing a spectacular second-round KO win over Gamebred.
Meanwhile, the UFC 261 co-main event witnessed Rose Namajunas reclaim the UFC women’s strawweight title that she’d lost in 2019. Namajunas’ UFC 261 opponent, Zhang Weili, entered UFC 261 with just one loss on her professional MMA record and was undefeated in the UFC.
Zhang looked to defend her title at UFC 261 but was stopped by Namajunas, who hit her with a picture-perfect left head kick and follow-up strikes. Namajunas bested Zhang via first-round KO and is now the new UFC women’s strawweight champion.
Both Usman and Namajunas were awarded Performance of the Night (POTN) bonuses, $50,000 each, for their respective wins at UFC 261.
On the other hand, Jeffrey Molina vs. Qileng Aori was accorded Fight of the Night (FOTN) honors at UFC 261. Molina defeated Aori via unanimous decision in an exciting back-and-forth flyweight bout, following which both fighters were given the FOTN bonus of $50,000 each.
UFC 261 witnessed the return of a full capacity crowd
The UFC 261 fight card took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on April 24th, 2021. UFC 261 marked the first time a full capacity crowd was allowed to attend a UFC event since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the U.S. and world.
More than 15,000 fans attended UFC 261, and the fight card turned out to be one for the ages. In the aftermath of the event, the vast majority of MMA fans and experts had words of high praise for the UFC 261 fighters.
Many in the combat sports world pointed out that feeling the fans’ energy in person likely contributed to the amazing performances at UFC 261. Which performance did you find the most impressive? Sound off in the comments.