Lerone
Murphy called for a bonus in his post-fight interview, and the
Ultimate Fighting Championship delivered on that request.
Murphy and Edson
Barboza received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece
for their five-round clash in the UFC
Fight Night 241 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday night. While Murphy landed more than 200 significant
strikes to keep his unbeaten record intact, Barboza had moments of
brilliance — most notably an upkick that rocked his English
opponent at the end of Round 1. Ultimately, Murphy kept the
pressure on for 25 minutes to earn a clear-cut unanimous decision
triumph over the Brazilian veteran.
Elsewhere, Kalinn
Williams garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by
virtue of a resounding knockout of Carlston
Harris in a featured welterweight contest. A massive right hand
landed clean and sent Harris crashing to the canvas, effectively
ending the fight at the 1:30 mark of Round 1.
Finally, Angela Hill
earned the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus
for scoring the first submission victory of her professional
tenure. The long-tenured strawweight forced a tapout from Luana
Pinheiro with a guillotine choke 4:12 into the second round of
their encounter — a memorable career milestone for Hill.