In addition to a shiny new belt he held like a baby, Charles Oliveira has another post-fight bonus to add to his total.
Neither Ferguson nor his opponent, Beneil Dariush, were able to take advantage of the pay bump on Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. Instead, the remaining bonuses went to fights that ended in finishes.
Pay-per-view openers Edson Barboza and Shane Burgos captured “Fight of the Night” for their grueling striking battle that ended in a highly unusual stoppage. Burgos took a shot to the temple in the third round, and after appearing to initially be OK, fell backward as his body appeared to shut down.
The final bonus went to the fight card’s opener on the ESPN+ prelminary card. Christos Giagos caught some early shots from Sean Soriano, but took the fight to the ground in the second and jumped on a D’Arce choke that put Soriano to sleep.
Comeback finishes were the theme of the night, and those who pulled them off capitalized when bonuses were handed out.