Justin
Gaethje and Michael
Chandler delivered on the hype in a big way at
UFC 268.
The lightweights received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000
apiece for their slugfest at Madison Square Garden in New York on
Saturday in a bout that will likely lead many “Fight of the Year”
lists in the weeks to come. While Gaethje was rocked early in the
first round, he maintained his composure and gradually pulled away
from Chandler for an enthralling unanimous decision triumph.
Meanwhile, on an evening that featured a number of memorable
finishes, the Las Vegas-based promotion handed out a quartet of
$50,000 “Performance of the Night” checks to deserving
athletes.
Marlon
Vera earned one of those bonuses on the strength of a front
kick knockout of Frankie
Edgar in a featured bantamweight clash. After two competitive
rounds, Vera emphatically brought the show to a close at the 3:50
mark of Round 1, becoming just the eighth fighter in promotion
history to win a bout via front-kick KO.
Elsewhere, former Glory Kickboxing standout Alex
Pereira garnered an extra $50,000 for a knockout of Andreas
Michailidis in his Octagon debut. After a slow-paced opening
stanza in which Michailidis controlled much of the fight with his
grappling, Pereira brought an abrupt end to the contest with a
flying knee and follow-up punches just 18 seconds into Round 2.
Bobby
Green went eight years between finishes in UFC competition, but
his latest effort made him $50,000 richer, as he put away Al Iaquinta
in the first round of a preliminary lightweight encounter. A
two-punch combination floored Iaquinta, and Green sealed his
triumph moments later with punches and hammerfists at the 2:25 mark
of the frame.
Finally, Chris
Barnett secured his first promotional triumph in style, scoring
a performance bonus for a spinning wheel kick finish of Gian
Villante in a preliminary heavyweight affair. A barrage of
follow-up punches ended the bout 2:23 into Round 2, sending
Villante into retirement on a low note.