Ten bonuses handed out at UFC Austin
03/12/2023 05:28
UFC President Dana White announced that the fight promotion handed out eight bonuses following UFC Austin on Saturday. Every fighter that earned a stoppage received a bonus.
Fight Of The Night: Rodolfo Bellato vs Ihor Potieria
"This here is a fight!" exclaimed Michael Bisping as the wild, seesaw battle between Rodolfo Bellato and Ihor Potieria reached a fever-pitch in the second round. It was only the third fight of the evening, but audiences knew they were witnessing bonus-worthy performance, the only question was which of the two men would get it, as both were throwing with bad intentions and both escaping what seemed like certain doom. In the end, it was the heart of Dana White Contender Series alumni Bellato that won the day with a relentless ground and pound TKO, but both fighters were nothing short of valiant in an easy pick for fight of the night honors.
Performance Of The Night Bonuses
Performance Of The Night: Jared Gooden
Back for his second stint in the UFC, "Nite Train" made the most of showcase with Wellington Turman, surviving some absolute bombs thrown by the Brazilian and answering with some of his own. When he saw Turman wobble, he smelled the proverbial blood in the water, forcing "The Prodigy" to the ground and sinking in a beautiful, uncontested rear naked choke.
Performance Of The Night: Drakkar Klose
Over the course of 30 years, there had only been twelve slam knockouts heading into UFC Austin, but this event was the first to witness two on the same card. The first was Drakkar Klose's dramatic reversal of an armbar attempt by Joe Solecki, lifting his opponent and slamming his head directly back to the canvas. Announcer Daniel Cormier was stunned. "I've never seen that," he exclaimed.
Performance Of The Night: Cody Brundage
Cormier may have never seen a slam like that before, but he was to witness another one just a few minutes later when Cody Brundage executed a remarkably similar finish vs Texas native Zach Reese. Brundage dedicated the stunning performance to his late grandfather who had passed just days earlier in an emotional Octagon interview.
Performance Of The Night: Miesha Tate
Watching the two-plus rounds of Miesha Tate's featured prelim bout vs Julia Avila was like falling into a time warp. After 18 years in the game, Tate pulled out yet another vintage "Cupcake" performance, the type that led her to once hoist the bantamweight champion hardware. One way traffic throughout the battle, it culminated in a stellar rear naked choke that notched her 20th career victory.
Performance Of The Night: Dustin Stoltzfus
After the wild energy of the prelims, the hits kept coming on the UFC Austin main card with a stellar performance by Dustin Stoltzfus. His opponent, Punahele Soriano, threw with perhaps more power, but it was Stoltzfus that took a more varied and cerebral approach that peaked with the rear naked choke finish late in the second round. Crediting his win with, at least in part, renewed self-belief, the middleweight pride of Lancaster, Pennsylvania finds himself back in the win column in impressive fashion.
Performance Of The Night: Sean Brady
Philadelphia's Sean Brady put the only loss of his professional career emphatically in the rearview mirror by spoiling veteran Kelvin Gastelum's return to welterweight. The crowd grew restless despite Brady's beautiful grappling clinic; the proverbial one-way traffic that ended with an unstoppable kimura in the third round.
Performance Of The Night: Jalin Turner
In the battle for Fontana, CA, there could only be one and tonight it was "The Tarantula" Jalin Turner who would take bragging rights to the Inland Empire. Taking the fight and making weight in just a week despite his 6'3" frame (hulking for a lightweight), Turner made it look like he had been training for Bobby Green for months. A right hand behind the ear spelled the beginning of the end for "King" as an avalanche of punches followed.
Performance Of The Night: Arman Tsarukyan
It honestly didn't seem possible that the magic and momentum of the previous 11 fights could sustain into the main event, but Arman Tsarukyan welcomed the impossible and knocked out the No. 4 lightweight in the world Beneil Dariush. That ranking will probably belong to Tsarukyan come next week, and he'll deserve it. The Georgian wasted no time in calling for a title shot, and with more performances like that, who would say no?
