UFC 279 bonuses: Nate Diaz’s submission of Tony Ferguson in final fight leads 4 performance nods

Nate Diaz picked up one more UFC bonus before heading out the door.

In what was the last fight on his contract, Diaz defeated Tony Ferguson by fourth-round submission via guillotine choke in the main event of UFC 279 and it was later announced that he had won a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

This is the 16th post-event bonus of Diaz’s career, breaking a tie with Joe Lauzon for third-most in company history behind only Donald Cerrone and Charles Oliveira (both with 18).

No Fight of the Night bonus was awarded, meaning three more Performance of the Night bonuses were handed out to main card winners Irene Aldana and Johnny Walker, and preliminary standout Jailton Almeida.

Aldana defeated Macy Chiasson with a mind-blowing upkick to the liver in the third round, a finish that left the fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in confused silence. The bout was changed to a 140-pound catchweight affair on Friday, but the win may have set Aldana up to challenge Amanda Nunes for the 135-pound title.

Walker opened the card with a first-round submission of Ion Cutelaba, a win that snapped a two-fight losing streak, while Almeida dominated Anton Turkalj with his grappling before ending the fight with a rear-naked choke in Round 1.

This is the first bonus for Walker since 2019 for Walker, who began his UFC career with three-straight bonus-winning performances.