It was at night to remember at UFC 285,
and that was due in large part to the efforts of Jon Jones and
Alexa
Grasso.
After a three-year absence, Jones returned in style with a
first-round submission of Ciryl Gane
to claim the vacant heavyweight title in Saturday’s headliner at
the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That work earned Jones a $50,000
“Performance of the Night” check, which he pledged to donate to his
Albuquerque-based charity on the ESPN+ post-fight show.
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Meanwhile, Grasso is the leader for “Upset of the Year” after
shocking Valentina
Shevchenko with a fourth-round face crank in the UFC 285
co-main event. Not only did Grasso become the third Mexican-born
champion in promotion history, but she pocketed a $50,000
“Performance of the Night” award as a result.
Also receiving a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus was
Octagon newcomer Bo Nickal,
who tapped Jamie
Pickett with an arm-triangle choke 2:54 into the opening stanza
of their middleweight encounter.
Finally, Shavkat
Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal
earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their
back-and-forth welterweight clash. Both men landed their share of
offense before Rakhmonov finished his opponent with a standing
rear-naked choke at the 4:17 mark of Round 3. Although Neal missed
weight on Friday, UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight
press conference that the Fortis MMA standout would nonetheless
receive his bonus check.
“Neal didn’t make weight, I don’t give a s—t,” White said. “I’m
paying him anyway.”