Alexandre
Pantoja defended his turf in impressive fashion, and he
received some extra compensation for his work as a result.
The reigning flyweight champion earned a $50,000 “Performance of
the Night” bonus for his second-round submission of Kai Asakura
in the UFC 310
headliner on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After an entertaining first round, “The Cannibal” took his foe’s
back in a scramble and eventually secured a rear-naked choke,
rendering the former
Rizin Fighting Federation title holder unconscious at the 2:05
mark of Round 2.
Elsewhere, Vicente
Luque took home a $50,000 “Peformance of the Night” check by
making short work of Themba
Gorimbo in a preliminary welterweight showdown. The
Kill Cliff FC representative rocked his foe with a right hook
and shortly thereafter, locked in an anaconda choke to put Gorimbo
to sleep just 52 seconds into the opening stanza.
In other action, Chase
Hooper garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for
tapping out veteran Clay Guida in
a preliminary lightweight encounter. Hooper controlled the majority
of the bout before scrambling onto his adversary’s back and
transitioning to an armbar, which brought an end to the contest at
the 3:41 mark of Round 1.
Finally, Kennedy
Nzechukwu secured the evening’s final $50,000 “Performance of
the Night” award for his finish of Lukasz
Brzeski at heavyweight. Nzechukwu dropped his foe with a
counter left hook and sealed his victory with a series of follow-up
hammerfists 4:51 into Round 1.