On an evening where
UFC on ESPN 22 nearly tied a record for most split decisions on
a fight card, Robert
Whittaker’s clear-cut verdict over Kelvin
Gastelum was an easy choice for “Fight of the Night.”
Whittaker and Gastelum each received $50,000 for Saturday’s
middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Although
Whittaker picked his opponent apart with crisp punching
combinations and head kicks, Gastelum was a game opponent
throughout the contest, and that made for a compelling 25 minutes
of action. Ultimately, Whittaker was too much, as he swept the
scorecards by identical 50-45 tallies.
Earlier, Gerald
Meerschaert set a UFC middleweight submission record, earning
himself a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process.
Meershaert secured his sixth submission in the Octagon by choking
Bartosz
Fabinski unconscious 2:00 into the opening round of their
preliminary middleweight contest.
Finally, Tony
Gravely garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the
Night” check by virtue of his technical knockout win over Anthony
Birchak in the evening’s opening bout at bantamweight. Gravely
dropped his opponent twice in the contest, and on the second
occasion landed two follow-up hammerfists on the canvas to earn the
stoppage 1:31 into the second frame.