Las Vegas — UFC 324 welterweight Ty Miller has etched his name in the history books, thanks to a big win and some fortuitous card placement.
In his debut with the promotion, the Contender Series winner was paired up with Adam Fugitt, and produced a stunning, last-second TKO finish right at the end of the opening round.
That makes him the first UFC winner of 2026, the first UFC fighter to win a bout on Paramount+, and the first-ever recipient of the UFC’s new $25,000 finish bonus, that will go to any fighter who knocks out or submits an opponent.
“Yeah it’s awesome, because no one else can have that except for me,” Miller (7-0, 1NC) told media outlets including Cageside Press at the T-Mobile Arena following Saturday’s fight. “So yeah, it’s an honor. I’m glad they picked me as the first fight to kind of get things going and light the crowd up.”
He’d later tell Cageside Press that the finishing bonus was “the cherry on top.”
“That was a little bit more motivation for sure,” stated Miller. “Just to add that too was the cherry on top. So I’m super happy.”
No doubt. Entry level UFC fighters earn $10,000 to show, and double that to win. That $25,000 bonus more than doubled Miller’s pay for UFC 324.
Miller also broke down the fight for media outlets in Las Vegas, admitting that a spinning back elbow Fugitt had landed did more damage than he might have let on in the cage.
“The spinning elbow, I didn’t like that. Things kind of went spinning a little bit, but I kept my composure, and things settled, and I was able to get the finish later,” he noted.
“Before I dropped him like the last time, I knew he was hurt. So I was like, there was only 10 seconds left, ‘I’m just going to go for it man,’ go for the finish. And I was able to get it done,” he later explained of the finishing sequence. “I think I was feeling pretty confident that I could get him out of there before the round ended. I wanted a first round finish for the first fight of the year, and the first fight on Paramount.”
Watch the full UFC 324 post-fight press conference with Ty Miller above.
