Peter Casey – USA TODAY Sports
Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo
Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia was home to a fun night of fights, which is a bit of a surprise since it is one of, if not the weakest event on paper we’ve seen this year. The card saw six (T)KOs, two submissions and four decisions.
Tonight featured a slew of finishes, eight in total, with the main event culminating in the crumpling of Joe Benavidez via a massive right hand that dropped him like a ton of bricks. Benavidez found himself in trouble early via a wild scramble that saw him almost finished with an armbar, but he managed to escape and even land some big shots in the first stanza. He wasn’t so lucky in the second, though, and ended up with a big cut on his forehead due to a headbutt (that he leapt right into) right before he caught the thunderous right that planted him.
It was almost certainly heartbreaking for fans, but the most serious issue here is that the flyweight division now hangs in the balance. My personal prediction: The division gets scuttled, and it would’ve been regardless of who won. The brass has been picking flyweight apart for quite some time now. The writing was on the wall when Tyson Nam, on a two-fight losing streak, became ranked via being the 15th fighter in the division. Fifteen fighters in total.
Now, they have a built-in excuse to absorb 125 into 135. Borg couldn’t make weight. Figueiredo couldn’t make weight. We have to make sure we look out for the safety of our athletes. Yada, yada, yada. It’s a shame, but when Figs missed weight, it was like the axe fell. C’est la vie.
Performance of the Night: Megan Anderson, Jordan Griffin
Spike Carlyle (TKO (elbow and punches) at 1:25 of Round 1), Jordan Griffin (Sub (guillotine) at 3:38 of Round 2), Brendan Allen (TKO (strikes) at 4:47 of Round 1), Grant Dawson (Sub (RNC) at 1:38 of Round 2), Megan Anderson (KO (punch) at 3:31 of Round 1), Magomed Ankalaev (TKO (some absolute weirdness) at 0:38 of Round 1), Felicia Spencer (TKO (GnP) at 0:37 of Round 1), and Deiveson Figueiredo (TKO (dat right) at 1:54 of Round 2) all finished their fights inside the distance but Megan Anderson and Jordan Griffin would take home the POTN bonuses tonight.
Fight of the Night: Gabriel Silva vs. Kyler Phillips
Sean Brady (29-28×2, 30-27), Luis Pena (30-27×3), Marcin Tybura (30-27×2, 29-28), and Kyler Phillips (30-27×3) all won their fights but it would be Kyler Phillips’ stellar performance against Gabriel Silva that would take the FOTN bonuses.
Reported Gate: $402,958
Reported Attendance: 7,098