It was a night for stellar showings at UFC Fight Night 144, and appropriately, four competitors received “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their work.
Marlon Moraes received a $50,000 bonus for his first-round submission of fellow bantamweight contender Raphael Assuncao in the evening’s main event at Centro de Formacao Olimpica in Fortaleza, Brazil, on Saturday. Moraes rocked and dropped his foe with a pair of overhand rights before securing a mounted guillotine choke for the tapout 3:17 into the opening stanza.
Meanwhile, Jose Aldo received a $50,000 check for a thrilling second-round TKO of Renato Carneiro in the featherweight co-main event. After a slow opening stanza, Aldo wobbled his foe with a left hook to the jaw and pursued the finish from there, teeing off with punches to earn a stoppage 44 seconds into the period.
The UFC’s all-time submission leader was up to his old tricks, as Charles Oliveira garnered a $50,000 award for tapping out David Teymur in a featured lightweight encounter. “Do Bronx” survived a pair of eye pokes in the first to rock his foe in the second frame with an elbow and a barrage of punches on the feet. From there, Oliveira grabbed Teymur’s neck and dragged him to the canvas to secure an anaconda choke 55 seconds into round two.
Finally, light heavyweight prospect Johnny Walker earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his spectacular finish of Justin Ledet in a featured bout. Walker opened with a hook kick before dropping his foe with a spinning back fist. The Brazilian narrowly missed landing an illegal kick on the downed Ledet before closing out his victory with standing-to-ground punches just 15 seconds into the opening stanza.