Following a memorable year-end pay-per-view at UFC
269, the promotion was feeling generous with its post-fight
bonus payouts.
All told, eight fighters received $50,000 checks, including
reigning lightweight champion Charles
Oliveira and newly-crowned bantamweight queen Julianna
Pena.
Oliveira received a “Performance of the Night” bonus — one of six
awarded on the evening — for his third-round submission of Dustin
Poirier in the evening’s main event at the T-Mobile Arena in
Las Vegas. “Do Bronx” absorbed some heavy shots early, turned the
tide in Round 2 with ground-and-pound and then quickly tapped his
foe with a rear-naked choke 62 seconds into the third frame to
defend the 155-pound belt.
Pena also garnered a “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a
victory that may very well go down as the “Upset of the Year” in
2021. Pena baited Amanda
Nunes into a brawl in the second round, and when the Brazilian
fatigued, “The Venezuelan” landed a takedown and secured a
rear-naked choke at the 3:26 mark of the period to become the fifth
135-pound women’s champion in UFC history.
Elsewhere, Kai Kara
France earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a
quick finish of Cody
Garbrandt in a featured flyweight tilt. Kara France rocked the
former bantamweight champ early and often — scoring a pair of
knockdowns — en route to a technical knockout victory 3:21 into
Round 1.
Rising star Sean
O’Malley was another “Performance of the Night” recipient
thanks to his pinpoint striking against Raulian
Paiva in a featured bantamweight clash. The Dana White’s
Contender Series alum controlled the range with his jab, then
unleashed his power late in the first frame, putting his Brazilian
adversary away with a barrage of offense 4:42 into Round 1.
Earlier, Dominick
Cruz and Pedro
Munhoz received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece
for a competitive bantamweight scrap in the evening’s featured
prelim. Munhoz started quickly when he rocked Cruz twice in the
opening round, but “The Dominator” kept his cool and gradually took
control with superior movement and punching combinations for a
unanimous decision triumph.
Heavyweight Tai Tuivasa
picked up a $50,000 check for his fourth consecutive triumph, a
second-round stoppage of Augusto
Sakai on the preliminary card. A left hook put Sakai on the
defensive, and the Australian sealed his win with a barrage of
power punches against the fence 26 seconds into Round 2.
Former M-1 Global title holder Bruno Silva
captured the evening’s final “Performance of the Night” bonus with
a finish of Jordan
Wright in a preliminary middleweight encounter. Silva survived
an early onslaught from his opponent to drop Wright with a
heavy-handed combination, and then forced the stoppage with a
series of standing-to-ground shots 88 seconds into the third
period.