Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2.
The Honda Center in Anaheim, California was home to a great night of fights. The card saw three(T)KOs, zero submissions and nine decisions, including one split-decision.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Paulo Costa vs. Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa put on a battle for the history books, a battle that surprisingly went the full 15 minutes. Costa clearly took the first round with crisp, hard shots, one of which dropped Yoel, but the Cuban recovered quickly and turned the tables, landing a shot that dropped Costa. The back-and-forth was wild and fast-paced with the only lull in the action being a low blow and eye poke.
The third round belonged to Romero, leaving the second up for debate. The judges saw it for Costa, and honestly, the fight was so close it could have gone either way. Costa answered a lot of questions and Romero still looks as fresh as a daisy after three hard rounds at 41 years of age. If only it could’ve been five rounds… Costa should get the next crack at the title once it’s determined who will be wearing the belt after UFC 243.
Paulo Costa gets the W and both men take home a $50,000 bonus
PERFORMANCES OF THE NIGHT: Khama Worthy and Stipe Miocic
Khama Worthy shocked MMA fans in attendance and around the world when he scored a first-round finish over heavy favorite Devonte Smith. The two came out trading leg kicks and punches, setting a fast past right off the bat. Smith stayed just out of range until a left-right combo dropped him. Worthy jumped on him with hammerfists until Jason Herzog pulled him away. The first finish of the night came courtesy of the “Deathstar.”
Khama Worthy gets the W and a $50,000 bonus
Stipe Miocic weathered the nearly perfect storm that Daniel Cormier put into motion in the first three rounds to rally back in the fourth with an onslaught of vicious body shots that ended up being the difference-maker in this fight. Cormier was dominant in the first round, boxing Miocic up and getting the takedown where he punished the firefighting Croation.
The second round was another clear cut round for Cormier, who just waded through everything Miocic was throwing, and round three saw Stipe making small adjustments and landing more, but he was still outworked. The fourth was where Miocic figured out how to stop the machine—with body shots. After ripping singles to the ribs about every 15 seconds, Stipe uncorked a flurry that crumbled DC. He followed up with a few more before Herb Dean stepped in to call the action. It was the best heavyweight fight I’ve seen in a long, long time.
Stipe Miocic gets the W and a $50,000 bonus
ATTENDANCE: 17,304 – sell out
GATE US: $3,237,032.00 – New California record gate for MMA