Marlon
Vera and Rob Font had a
battle to remember in the UFC
on ESPN 35 headliner, but only Vera will reap the extra
financial rewards.
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The bantamweight bout was selected as “Fight of the Night,” but
since Font missed weight by 2.5 pounds on Friday, Vera will pocket
the entirety of the $100,000 in bonus money. Propelled by three
knockdowns, Vera survived impressive striking volume to win via
unanimous decision on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Elsewhere, Joanderson
Brito received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for
making short work of Andre Fili in
a featured featherweight encounter. The Dana White’s Contender
Series alum stung his foe with a pair of left jabs before dropping
Fili with a massive overhand right. A barrage of hammerfists
brought the show to a close just 41 seconds into Round 1.
Finally, Francisco
Figueiredo earned the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of
the Night” check thanks to slick submission triumph against
Daniel
Lacerda in a preliminary flyweight affair. After being taken
down, Figueiredo transitioned to a kneebar and forced a tapout from
his adversary 78 seconds into the opening round.