# List of UFC encyclopedia award recipients

The UFC Encyclopedia Awards are four separate unofficial award categories based on selections from UFC/Zuffa LLC editorial director and senior editor of UFC.com Thomas Gerbasi, who also compiles the UFC.com Half-Year and Year-End Awards. The hand-picked "unofficial" performance awards, published in Gerbasi's 400-page official UFC book entitled "UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship" in October 2011, were for events prior to the introduction of the UFC Bonus Awards in January 2006.
The first documented UFC Bonus Awards event, where fighters received official cash bonuses, was on January 16, 2006 at Ultimate Fight Night 3. Gerbasi's book reviewed 63 events prior to that date as well as subsequent events that did not have bonuses, and noted the "unofficial" awards including the official UFC Bonus Awards. The following categories were documented:
* Fight of the Night: Awarded to the two fighters who delivered the most impressive fight on the card.
* Knockout of the Night: Awarded to the fighter with the most impressive knockout/technical knockout.
* Submission of the Night: Awarded to the fighter with the most impressive submission.
Note: Due to multiple bouts from a fighter in one event, opponent information ("def.") is only included for the early UFC events that had tournaments Note 2: At Ultimate Fight Night 3, the first Fight of the Night award was officially given. From that event up until the final event with unofficial awards at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale, unless specifically noted as "unofficial", all other bonuses listed are official, matching the ones on the Bonus Awards page.

## Award recipients

| # | Event | Date | Fight of the Night | Fight of the Night | Fight of the Night | Knockout of the Night | Submission of the Night |
| 69 | The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale | Jun 24, 2006 | Kendall Grove | vs. | Ed Herman | Michael Bisping (unofficial) | Rory Singer |
| 68 | UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie | May 27, 2006 | Spencer Fisher (unofficial) | vs. | Matt Wiman (unofficial) | Melvin Guillard (unofficial) | Mike Swick (unofficial) |
| 67 | UFC 59: Reality Check | Apr 15, 2006 | Tito Ortiz | vs. | Forrest Griffin | Tim Sylvia (unofficial) | Evan Tanner (unofficial) |
| 66 | Ultimate Fight Night 4 | Apr 6, 2006 | Josh Neer (unofficial) | vs. | Joe Stevenson (unofficial) | — | Josh Koscheck (unofficial) |
| 65 | UFC 58: USA vs. Canada | Mar 4, 2006 | Rich Franklin (unofficial) | vs. | David Loiseau (unofficial) | Tom Murphy (unofficial) | Mark Hominick (unofficial) |
| 65 | UFC 58: USA vs. Canada | Mar 4, 2006 | Georges St-Pierre (unofficial) | vs. | B.J. Penn (unofficial) | Tom Murphy (unofficial) | Mark Hominick (unofficial) |
| 64 | UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3 | Feb 4, 2006 | Chuck Liddell (unofficial) | vs. | Randy Couture (unofficial) | Chuck Liddell (unofficial) | Jeff Monson (unofficial) |
| 64 | Ultimate Fight Night 3 | Jan 16, 2006 | Josh Neer | vs. | Melvin Guillard | Chris Leben (unofficial) | Jason Von Flue (unofficial) |
| 63 | UFC 56: Full Force | Nov 19, 2005 | Rich Franklin | vs. | Nate Quarry | Rich Franklin | Matt Hughes |
| 62 | The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale | Nov 5, 2005 | Rashad Evans | vs. | Brad Imes | Josh Burkman | Kenny Florian |
| 61 | UFC 55: Fury | Oct 7, 2005 | Forrest Griffin | vs. | Elvis Sinosic | Andrei Arlovski | Renato Sobral |
| 60 | Ultimate Fight Night 2 | Oct 3, 2005 | David Loiseau | vs. | Evan Tanner | Brandon Vera | Drew Fickett |
| 59 | UFC 54: Boiling Point | Aug 20, 2005 | Chuck Liddell | vs. | Jeremy Horn | James Irvin | Randy Couture |
| 58 | UFC Fight Night 1 | Aug 6, 2005 | Chris Leben | vs. | Patrick Côté | Mike Swick | Josh Koscheck |
| 57 | UFC 53: Heavy Hitters | Jun 5, 2005 | Rich Franklin | vs. | Evan Tanner | David Loiseau | Paul Buentello |
| 56 | UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2 | Apr 16, 2005 | Matt Hughes | vs. | Frank Trigg | Chuck Liddell | Matt Hughes |
| 55 | The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale | Apr 9, 2005 | Forrest Griffin | vs. | Stephan Bonnar | Josh Koscheck | — |
| 54 | UFC 51: Super Saturday | Oct 22, 2004 | Tito Ortiz | vs. | Vitor Belfort | Evan Tanner | Andrei Arlovski |
| 53 | UFC 50: The War of '04 | Oct 22, 2004 | Frank Trigg | vs. | Renato Verissimo | Travis Lutter | Matt Hughes |
| 53 | UFC 49: Unfinished Business | Aug 21, 2004 | Chuck Liddell | vs. | Vernon White | David Terrell | Chris Lytle |
| 53 | UFC 48: Payback | Jun 19, 2004 | Evan Tanner | vs. | Phil Baroni | Georges St-Pierre | Frank Mir |
| 52 | UFC 47: It’s On! | Apr 2, 2004 | Chuck Liddell | vs. | Tito Ortiz | Nick Diaz | Genki Sudo |
| 51 | UFC 46: Supernatural | Jan 31, 2004 | Georges St-Pierre | vs. | Karo Parisyan | Frank Mir | B.J. Penn |
| 50 | UFC 45: Revolution | Nov 21, 2003 | Evan Tanner | vs. | Phil Baroni | Evan Tanner | Matt Hughes |
| 49 | UFC 44: Undisputed | Sep 26, 2003 | Randy Couture | vs. | Tito Ortiz | Andrei Arlovski | Nick Diaz |
| 48 | UFC 43: Meltdown | Jun 6, 2003 | Randy Couture | vs. | Chuck Liddell | Vitor Belfort | Kimo Leopoldo |
| 47 | UFC 42: Sudden Impact | Apr 25, 2003 | Matt Hughes | vs. | Sean Sherk | David Loiseau | — |
| 46 | UFC 41: Onslaught | Feb 28, 2003 | Matt Lindland | vs. | Phil Baroni | Tim Sylvia | Frank Mir |
| 45 | UFC 40: Vendetta | Nov 22, 2002 | Tito Ortiz | vs. | Ken Shamrock | Chuck Liddell | Carlos Newton |
| 44 | UFC 39: The Warriors Return | Sep 27, 2002 | Ricco Rodriguez | vs. | Randy Couture | Phil Baroni | — |
| 43 | UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall | Jul 13, 2002 | Ian Freeman | vs. | Frank Mir | Mark Weir | Genki Sudo |
| 42 | UFC 37.5: As Real As It Gets | Jun 22, 2002 | Chuck Liddell | vs. | Vitor Belfort | Robbie Lawler | Pete Spratt |
| 41 | UFC 37: High Impact | May 11, 2002 | Robbie Lawler | vs. | Aaron Riley | Ricco Rodriguez | Murilo Bustamante |
| 40 | UFC 36: Worlds Collide | Mar 22, 2002 | Josh Barnett | vs. | Randy Couture | Pedro Rizzo | Frank Mir |
| 39 | UFC 35: Throwdown | Jan 11, 2002 | Jens Pulver | vs. | B.J. Penn | Murilo Bustamante | Eugene Jackson |
| 38 | UFC 34: High Voltage | Nov 1, 2001 | Matt Lindland | vs. | Phil Baroni | Matt Hughes & B.J. Penn | Frank Mir |
| 37 | UFC 33: Victory in Vegas | Sep 28, 2001 | Matt Serra | vs. | Yves Edwards | Jutaro Nakao | Ricardo Almeida |
| 36 | UFC 32: Showdown in the Meadowlands | Jun 29, 2001 | Ricco Rodriguez | vs. | Andrei Arlovski | Pat Miletich | Josh Barnett |
| 35 | UFC 31: Locked and Loaded | May 4, 2001 | Randy Couture | vs. | Pedro Rizzo | Shonie Carter | Carlos Newton |
| 34 | UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk | Feb 23, 2001 | Pedro Rizzo | vs. | Josh Barnett | Tito Ortiz | Elvis Sinosic |
| 33 | UFC 29: Defense of the Belts | Dec 16, 2000 | Tito Ortiz | vs. | Yuki Kondo | Fabiano Iha | Dennis Hallman |
| 32 | UFC 28: High Stakes | Nov 17, 2000 | Randy Couture | vs. | Kevin Randleman | Jens Pulver | Andrei Arlovski |
| 31 | UFC 27: Ultimate Bad Boyz | Sep 22, 2000 | — | — | — | Yuki Kondo | Fabiano Iha |
| 30 | UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams | Jun 9, 2000 | — | — | — | — | Pat Miletich |
| 29 | UFC 25: Ultimate Japan 3 | Apr 14, 2000 | Tito Ortiz | vs. | Wanderlei Silva | Ikuhisa Minowa | Murilo Bustamante |
| 28 | UFC 24: First Defense | Mar 10, 2000 | Bob Cook | vs. | Tiki Ghosn | Lance Gibson | Scott Adams |
| 27 | UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2 | Nov 19, 1999 | Eugene Jackson | vs. | Keiichiro Yamamiya | Pedro Rizzo def. Tsuyoshi Kosaka | — |
| 26 | UFC 22: Only One Can be Champion | Sep 24, 1999 | Frank Shamrock | vs. | Tito Ortiz | Brad Kohler | Jeremy Horn |
| 25 | UFC 21: Return of the Champions | Jul 16, 1999 | Andre Roberts | vs. | Ron Waterman | Eugene Jackson | Paul Jones |
| 24 | UFC 20: Battle for the Gold | May 7, 1999 | Pedro Rizzo | vs. | Tra Telligman | Wanderlei Silva | Pete Williams |
| 23 | UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns | Mar 5, 1999 | Jeremy Horn | vs. | Chuck Liddell | Tito Ortiz | Jeremy Horn |
| 22 | UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title | Jan 8, 1999 | Bas Rutten | vs. | Tsuyoshi Kosaka | — | Evan Tanner |
| 21 | UFC Ultimate Brazil | Oct 16, 1998 | Frank Shamrock | vs. | John Lober | Vitor Belfort | Ebenezer Fontes Braga |
| 20 | UFC 17: Redemption | May 15, 1998 | Dan Henderson | vs. | Carlos Newton | Pete Williams def. Mark Coleman | Carlos Newton def. Bob Gilstrap |
| 19 | UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou | Mar 13, 1998 | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka | vs. | Kimo Leopoldo | Frank Shamrock def. Igor Zinoviev | Jerry Bohlander def. Kevin Jackson |
| 18 | UFC: Ultimate Japan | Oct 17, 1997 | Kazushi Sakuraba | vs. | Marcus Silveira | — | Frank Shamrock def. Kevin Jackson |
| 17 | UFC 15: Collision Course | Oct 17, 1997 | Randy Couture | vs. | Vitor Belfort | Mark Kerr def. Greg Stott | Mark Kerr def. Dwayne Cason |
| 16 | UFC 14: Showdown | Jul 27, 1997 | Maurice Smith | vs. | Mark Coleman | Mark Kerr def. Moti Horenstein | Kevin Jackson def. Tony Fryklund |
| 15 | UFC 13: The Ultimate Force | May 30, 1997 | Guy Mezger | vs. | Tito Ortiz | Vitor Belfort def. Tank Abbott | Guy Mezger def. Tito Ortiz |
| 14 | UFC 12: Judgement Day | Feb 7, 1997 | Mark Coleman | vs. | Dan Severn | Vitor Belfort def. Scott Ferrozzo | Mark Coleman def. Dan Severn |
| 13 | Ultimate Ultimate 1996 | Dec 7, 1996 | Don Frye | vs. | Tank Abbott | Kimo Leopoldo def. Paul Varelans | Don Frye def. Mark Hall |
| 12 | UFC 11: The Proving Ground | Sep 19, 1996 | Scott Ferrozzo | vs. | Tank Abbott | Brian Johnston def. Reza Nasri | Mark Coleman def. Julian Sanchez |
| 11 | UFC 10: The Tournament | Jul 12, 1996 | Mark Coleman | vs. | Don Frye | Mark Coleman def. Moti Horenstein | — |
| 10 | UFC 9: Motor City Madness | May 17, 1996 | Don Frye | vs. | Amaury Bitetti | Mark Hall | — |
| 9 | UFC 8: David vs. Goliath | Feb 16, 1996 | Gary Goodridge | vs. | Jerry Bohlander | Gary Goodridge def. Paul Herrera | Jerry Bohlander def. Scott Ferrozzo |
| 8 | Ultimate Ultimate 1995 | Dec 16, 1995 | Dan Severn | vs. | Paul Varelans | — | Oleg Taktarov def. Dave Beneteau |
| 7 | UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo | Sep 8, 1995 | Marco Ruas | vs. | Paul Varelans | — | Marco Ruas def. Larry Cureton |
| 6 | UFC 6: Clash of the Titans | Jul 14, 1995 | Oleg Taktarov | vs. | Tank Abbott | Tank Abbott def. John Matua | Ken Shamrock def. Dan Severn |
| 5 | UFC 5: The Return of the Beast | Apr 7, 1995 | Oleg Taktarov | vs. | Ernie Verdicia | Jon Hess def. Andy Anderson | Oleg Taktarov def. Ernie Verdicia |
| 4 | UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors | Dec 16, 1994 | Royce Gracie | vs. | Dan Severn | Marcus Bossett def. Eldo Dias Xavier | Royce Gracie def. Dan Severn |
| 3 | UFC 3: The American Dream | Sep 9, 1994 | Royce Gracie | vs. | Kimo Leopoldo | Keith Hackney def. Emmanuel Yarbrough | Royce Gracie def. Kimo Leopoldo |
| 2 | UFC 2: No Way Out | Mar 11, 1994 | Royce Gracie | vs. | Minoki Ichihara | Patrick Smith def. Scott Morris | Royce Gracie def. Remco Pardoel |
| 1 | UFC 1: The Beginning | Nov 12, 1993 | Royce Gracie | vs. | Ken Shamrock | Gerard Gordeau def. Teila Tuli | Royce Gracie def. Gerard Gordeau |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Not listed in source. As per author Thomas Gerbasi.
* ↑ This is the first official Post-Fight bonus award. Subsequent awards are official unless noted otherwise.
* ↑ Final UFC event with a tournament held in one evening.
* ↑ First UFC event (other than UFC 9) to not utilize the tournament format which, aside from UFC 23, was abandoned completely in following events.
* ↑ First UFC event to not utilize the tournament format. The format was brought back at the next event (UFC 10) and used until UFC 17.