Alex
Pereira’s bonus request was granted — and deservedly so.
The reigning light heavyweight champion received a $50,000
“Performance of the Night” check for his second-round technical
knockout of Jiri
Prochazka in the UFC 303
headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“Poatan” dropped his foe with a head kick early in Round 2 and then
sealed his triumph with follow-up punches 13 seconds into the
frame.
Pereira was one of four “Performance of the Night” winners from UFC
303. In addition to the Brazilian champion, Macy
Chiasson, Joe Pyfer and
Payton
Talbott all received $50,000 awards for their work in the
Octagon.
Chiasson ended Mayra
Bueno Silva’s night by gashing her with an elbow from top
position, forcing a doctor stoppage at the 1:58 mark of Round 2 in
the bantamweight pairing. Pyfer, meanwhile, rebounded from his
first career defeat to score a knockout of Marc-Andre
Barriault 85 seconds into the opening stanza of their
middleweight showdown. Finally, Talbott needed just 19 seconds —
the second-fastest finish in UFC bantamweight history — to put away
Yanis
Ghemmouri in their preliminary matchup.
Elsewhere, Andre Fili
and Cub
Swanson received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece
for their preliminary featherweight scrap. In a back-and-forth
contest, Fili’s ability to blend striking and grappling proved to
be just enough to earn a split-decision nod.