It’s not every night that a record title reign comes to an end.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Henry Cejudo and Demetrious Johnson received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their five-round nail-biter in the UFC 227 co-headliner at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday. Ultimately, Cejudo made the necessary adjustments from his first-round TKO defeat to “Mighty Mouse” in April 2016 to capture a hard-fought split decision verdict and end Johnson’s stranglehold on the division.
Meanwhile, T.J. Dillashaw had a pretty good night at the office as well, getting a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his first-round knockout of rival Cody Garbrandt in the evening’s main event. As the action got more and more frenzied, it was Dillashaw who found a home for the devastating counter that put “No Love” on his heels. That set the stage for the reigning bantamweight champion to swarm, and he put Garbrandt away with a barrage of offense against the fence at the 4:10 mark of round one.
Finally, Renato Carneiro was equally impressive in earning the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award. “Moicano” handed Cub Swanson his third straight loss in emphatic fashion, tapping out the featherweight contender 4:15 into the opening stanza. Carneiro floored Swanson with a jab early, then eventually transitioned to his opponent’s back to secure the fight-ending rear-naked choke.