Irene
Aldana made history and padded her bank account in the process
at UFC
279.
The Lobo Gym MMA representative became just the third UFC fighter
to finish a bout with an upkick — and the first to do so by going
to the body — when she dispatched Macy
Chiasson with a heel kick to the liver from her back 2:21 into
the third round of their 140-pound catchweight bout at the T-Mobile
Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. That effort earned Aldana of
$50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus — one of four handed out
by the promotion.
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Meanwhile, Nate Diaz
garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to his
submission of Tony
Ferguson in the evening’s welterweight main event. The
Stockton, Calif., upped the volume of his punching combinations in
Round 4, forcing Ferguson to shoot for a takedown. That allowed
Diaz to lock in a guillotine choke and force a tapout at the 2:52
mark of the period.
Order UFC 279 “Chimaev vs. Diaz” exclusively on
ESPN+
Elsewhere, Johnny
Walker showcased his grappling ability against Ion
Cutelaba, and it paid off in the form of a $50,000 “Performance
of the Night” check. Walker was able to scramble to Cutelaba’s back
after being taken down, and that ultimately led to a rear-naked
choke victory at the 4:37 mark of Round 1.
Finally, Jailton
Almeida captured the evening’s final “Performance of the Night”
bonus by keeping his Octagon finishing streak alive against
Anton
Turkalj. The Brazilian grounded his foe early, threatened with
an arm-triangle and then used ground-and-pound to create an opening
for a rear-naked choke 4:27 into the opening stanza. Almeida has
finished all three of his UFC foes inside of a round.