Four $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses were handed out
following
UFC on ESPN 18 on Saturday night.
Anthony
Smith earned a bonus for a first-round submission of Devin Clark
in the evening’s main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smith
landed an early takedown only to see his opponent reverse into top
position. “Lionheart” was no less dangerous from his back, however,
as he used a triangle choke to elicit a tap from Clark 2:34 into
the opening stanza.
Meanwhile, Miguel
Baeza received an extra check for his third finish in as many
Octagon appearances after dispatching Takashi
Sato in the welterweight co-main event. After spending most of
the fight outlanding his foe on the feet, Baeza scored a takedown
and eventually framed an arm-triangle, forcing Sato to submit 4:28
into Round 2.
Su
Mudaerji padded his bank account with a 44-second knockout of
Malcolm
Gordon in a preliminary flyweight affair. A straight left from
Mudaerji stopped Gordon in his tracks, and then a left hook
resulted in a delayed knockdown, essentially ending the contest
right there.
Finally, Joseph
Nathan Maness rallied from a rough opening round to garner the
evening’s final performance award thanks to a second-round
submission of Luke
Sanders in a 140-pound catchweight matchup. Maness survived his
foe’s early onslaught and floored Sanders in Round 2 before landing
a takedown, taking the back and securing a rear-naked choke for the
tapout 2:29 into Round 2.