What an event to remember.
With Rafael Dos Anjos bulling his way past Anthony Pettis for the lightweight championship, Joanna Jedrzejczyk punching her way to a women’s strawweight title and welterweight Johny Hendricks reestablishing himself as a top contender, UFC 185 was not short on memorable moments.
From the preliminary bouts all the way up to the two upsets in the title fights, Saturday will most likely stand as one of the best all-around pay-per-view cards of 2015.
Here is a recap of the Fight Night bonuses for UFC 185, per MMA Fighting’s Twitter account:
Performance of the Night: Rafael Dos Anjos
This was probably the closest bet to capturing Fight of the Night honors, but at the end of the day, Pettis didn’t do enough to warrant such a payday.
Instead, new light champion dos Anjos will take home some extra money on the heels of one of the more shocking championship upsets in recent memory.
He smashed the champion from bell to bell and deserves every bit of praise.
At the UFC 185 post-fight press conference, it was also revealed he fought with a bad knee.
Performance of the Night: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Sometimes strikers come out on top.
That’s exactly what Polish sensation Jedrzejczyk did by bewildering women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza with unfiltered kickboxing.
Her range and technique on the feet were absolutely flawless, but her takedown defense may have been even more impressive.
The new titleholder proved just how entertaining the little women can be and that the UFC may have themselves another female sensation.
Performance of the Night: Ross Pearson
Sam Stout didn’t stand a chance in a wild exchange with Pearson.
As one of the best power punchers on the lightweight roster, The Real Deal is a dangerous entity when his hands start to fly.
His second-round knockout of Stout is his second finish in three fights and a performance that will once again have him fighting the Top 15 by year’s end.
Performance of the Night: Beneil Dariush
Daron Cruickshank is no slouch.
He may not be the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC today, but his striking, timing and technique are worthy attributes for anyone.
But he was simply no match for a stronger and more equipped fighter like Dariush, losing to the Iranian via rear-naked choke in the second round.
It is Dariush‘s third UFC finish and an eye-popping performance as his 2015 stock skyrockets.
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