Thanks to their barnburner in the second fight on the card at
UFC
on ESPN 43, C.J. Vergara
and Daniel da
Silva set a tone that nobody else could match.
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As a result of their efforts, Vergara and da Silva received “Fight
of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece. Da Silva got off to a fast
start in the opening stanza, when he dropped Vergara twice and had
his opponent on the retreat for much of the frame. The tables
turned in Round 2, as Vergara put away a fast-fading Da Silva with
a barrage of ground-and-pound at the 4:04 mark of the period.
Meanwhile, Nate
Landwehr earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for
his submission triumph over Austin
Lingo in a featured featherweight contest. Landwehr dislodged
his foe’s mouthguard with a punch from back control to create an
opening for a fight-ending rear-naked choke 4:11 into the second
stanza.
Finally, Daniel
Pineda secured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the
Night” check thanks to a tapout of Tucker Lutz
at featherweight. After hurting his adversary with a knee and
transitioning to the back, Pineda was able to lock in a guillotine
when Lutz initiated a scramble. The submission came 2:50 into Round
2.