Junior dos Santos vs. Derrick Lewis was fun while it lasted, and that was enough to get both men paid a little bit extra.
The heavyweight headliners received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their featured bout at UFC Fight Night 146 in Wichita, Kan., on Saturday night. The action picked up in round one, when “Cigano” had Lewis doubled over in pain from a spinning back kick to the midsection. While Lewis was able to knock the Brazilian off balance with a right hook counter moments later, he never seemed to fully recover. Dos Santos capitalized on his momentum in round two, hurting the Houston native with a straight right before sealing his victory with follow-up strikes on his turtled foe at the 1:58 mark of round two.
Meanwhile, Niko Price garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” paycheck for his first-round stoppage of Tim Means at 170 pounds. In an action-packed contest, Price struck the decisive blow by landing a right hook to the jaw of “The Dirty Bird” late in the first period. Means appeared to suffer a lower-leg injury while falling, and Price landed a diving right hand and hammerfists on the floor to get the TKO at the 4:50 mark.
Earlier, Beneil Dariush earned the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award due to his submission of Drew Dober in a featured lightweight tilt. After being battered by Dober’s punches in the opening stanza, Dariush landed a takedown and secured an armbar tapout 4:41 into the second round.