Conor McGregor was the unquestioned star of the show at UFC 246, but he was joined by four other athletes in receiving $50,000 “Performance of the Night” checks from the promotion.
McGregor earned his bonus with a 40-second TKO stoppage of Donald Cerrone in Saturday’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was the second-quickest stoppage of the Irishman’s UFC career and was his first victory in the Octagon since November 2016.
Elsewhere, Alexey Oleynik received a $50,000 performance bonus thanks to a second-round submission of Maurice Greene in a featured heavyweight scrap. After threatening with a scarf hold in the opening stanza, the Russian veteran was able to secure a belly-down armbar at the 4:38 mark of Round 2.
Diego Ferreira also pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for an impressive triumph over Anthony Pettis in a featured lightweight affair. The Fortis MMA representative locked in a rear-naked choke 1:46 into the second round for his sixth consecutive victory.
Meanwhile, Brian Kelleher made short work of Contender Series alum Ode Osbourne to garner a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in a bantamweight scrap on the main card. Kelleher landed a takedown and attacked with ground-and-pound before transitioning to a guillotine choke to earn the tapout 2:49 into Round 1.
Finally, Drew Dober received the card’s final performance award thanks to a resounding knockout of highly-regarded prospect Nasrat Haqparast in a preliminary lightweight tilt. When his opponent attempted a low kick, Dober countered with an overhand left and finished the contest with punches on the ground 70 seconds into the opening stanza.