Michael
Chandler padded his bank account on Saturday night with a
knockout that ranks among the year’s best.
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The former Bellator champion received a $50,000 “Performance of the
Night” bonus after rendering Tony
Ferguson unconscious with a spectacular front kick to the chin
in their featured lightweight bout at
UFC 274. After a competitive opening stanza, Chandler’s move
abruptly halted the contest 17 seconds into Round 2, sending
Ferguson face first into the canvas. It’s just one of nine front
kick knockouts in promotion history.
Elsewhere, Brandon
Royval and Matt
Schnell garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece
for a spirited flyweight scrap on the preliminary card. Schnell
dropped Royval during an initial exchange, but after a series of
scrambles, Royval jumped on a guillotine choke and elicited a
tapout 2:14 into the opening round.
Finally, Andre
Fialho pocketed the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the
Night” check thanks to a knockout of Cameron
VanCamp in a preliminary welterweight encounter. A left hook to
the chin from the Portugal native folded his opponent at the 2:35
mark of Round 1, giving Fialho back-to-back KO/TKO victories in the
Octagon.