The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Nationwide Arena in
Columbus, Ohio, Saturday with a pivotal heavyweight matchup between
Curtis
Blaydes and Chris
Daukaus, but the big boys weren’t the only fighters who nabbed
the attention of the combat sports world.
Four fighters on the
UFC on ESPN 33 marquee pocketed quite a bit of bonus cash for
their efforts, with Matt Brown
and Bryan
Barberena nabbing the Fight of the Night bonus and the
aforementioned Blades and Chris
Gutierrez taking home an extra $50K apiece for their
Performance of the Night accolades.
Brown, a41-year-old hometown fan favorite, waged a memorable
three-round war with Barberena, driving the capacity crowd into a
frenzy. While Brown scored critical takedowns in rounds two and
three, it was Barberena’s powerful elbows and fists that buckled
the Ohioan’s knees a few too many times when it mattered most. And
while both men were on the verge of being stopped multiple times,
Brown was battered far worse and it was Barberena who prevailed via
split decision. Both men took home $50K.
Blaydes kept his heavyweight hopes alive by throttling Daukaus in
the second. A crushing right hook to the face dropped Daukaus
moments into the frame and “Razor” pummeled him on the ground until
referee Herb Dean
intervened, ending the mugging at the 0:17 mark of the second.
Finally, Gutierrez flattened Mongolia’s Batgerel
Danaa at 2:34 of the second, courtesy of a perfectly-timed
spinning backfist and follow-up elbows. Danaa had been doing well
against Gutierrez, but “El Guapo” set
the trap for the attack and crushed him, igniting the crowd.