One for the record books: Joe Lauzon’s incredible 11 fight-night bonuses
Joe Lauzon (22-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has earned 11 bonuses in his 13 UFC fights setting a new record for that accomplishment. Saturday at UFC on FOX 4, Lauzon earned a rare double bonus by submitting Jamie Varner (20-7-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in the third round. He picked up two $50,000 checks for “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night.”
Although most online databases list only nine bonuses for Lauzon, the UFC’s fighter profile page for him lists two more to put him at 11. In his UFC debut, he earned “Knockout of the Night” for his 48-second KO of Jens Pulver at UFC 63. His second fight for UFC saw him earn submission of the night with a second-round triangle choke over Brandon Melendez at the TUF 5 Finale.
Lauzon went in Saturday coming off a head-kick knockout loss to Anthony Pettis in February at UFC 144. That loss snapped his win streak of six with a bonus for each one, but he managed to make up for it Saturday in Los Angeles with the double-dip. Although the Boston-native was not so sure after watching the Main Event: “I thought I had a chance at both. Then I wasn’t sure when that Brandon Vera-Shogun fight was going on. It started out hot and heavy. I thought they might beat me for ‘Fight of the Night.’ But I’m glad I got both. I’m even happier I got the record.”
Lauzon’s 11 bonuses push him past recently retired Chris Lytle, who took home 10 bonuses in his UFC career, including a double in his last fight with a third-round submission over Dan Hardy last year. The next runners-up are UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Lightweight Nate Diaz with nine bonuses a piece. Lauzon’s bonuses come from 13 UFC fights giving him a ratio of 85%, while Silva’s 9 have come from 15 fights(60%), Diaz’s 9 out of 16 (56%) and Lytle’s were 10 out of 20(50%).
Joe Lauzon‘s Bonus Breakdown:
Submission of the Night Bonuses:
Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner, UFC on Fox 4, August 4, 2012
Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard, UFC 136, October 8, 2011
Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Warburton, UFC on Versus 4/UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry, June 26, 2011
Joe Lauzon vs. Gabriel Ruediger, UFC 118, August 28, 2010
Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens, UFC Fight Night 17/UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens, February 7, 2009
Joe Lauzon vs. Brandon Melendez, TUF Season 5 Finale, June 23, 2007
Fight of the Night bonuses:
Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner, UFC on Fox 4, August 4, 2012
Joe Lauzon vs. George Sotiropoulos, UFC 123, November 20, 2010
Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout, UFC 10, January 2, 2010
Joe Lauzon vs. Kenny Florian, UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon, April 2, 2008
Knockout of the Night bonuses
Joe Lauzon vs. Jens Pulver, UFC 63, September 23, 2006*
*Lauzon’s Submission of the Night bonus at the TUF 5 Finale and Knockout of the Night bonus at UFC 63 were never officially announced by the UFC after the fight, but are listed on the promotion’s website.
