UFC Atlanta Bonus Report: Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley earn FOTN honors

The Octagon returned to Georgia for tonight’s UFC Atlanta event, and four fighters wound up taking home performance bonuses.

This evening’s fight card was headlined by a highly anticipated welterweight bout featuring Kamaru Usman taking on Joaquin Buckley. The contest proved to be a dominant showing from the former champion in Usman. Although Buckley was able to stuff some takedowns and land some heavy shots in the final round, it was far too little far too late for ‘New Mansa’. Kamaru Usman did a lot of damage while working from top position on the floor in the opening four rounds and after 25-minutes it was clear that he had done more than enough to earn his first victory since 2021.

UFC Atlanta was co-headlined by a women’s flyweight contest between Rose Namajunas and Miranda Maverick. The bout resulted in a competitive bout, but a knockdown in the third and final round sealed the victory for the former UFC champion in ‘Thug Rose’. With the win, Namajunas in now set for another top contender fight in her next outing.

Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that 4 fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.

Fight of the night: Welterweight fighters Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley each pocketed $50k for their thrilling war in tonight’s UFC Atlanta main event. Usman ultimately won the contest by unanimous decision.

Performance of the night: Malcolm Wellmaker earned an extra $50k for his nasty second-round knockout victory over Kris Moutinho (see that here).

Performance of the night: Jose Ochoa pocketed an extra $50k for his second-round TKO victory over Cody Durden on this evening’s preliminary fight card (see that here).

Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out by Dana White and company following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC Atlanta event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!