For Jake Ellenberger, the best part about his victory last night has to be his arrival in the UFC’s welterweight division. With a quick, convincing victory over Jake Shields, Ellenberger has set himself up for better opponents, more attention from the fans and the media and the better paydays that accompany those things. The second best part? The 55k Knockout of the Night bonus he picked up in the process, of course.
Submission of the Night honors went to T.J. Waldburger for his first round triangle choke against Mike Stumpf. Initially, Waldburger appeared to have Stumpf caught in an armbar. When Stumpf managed to escape, Waldburger pulled off a textbook transition to a triangle choke. The win gives T.J. Waldburger his 11th victory by submission.
As for the Fight of the Night bonuses, they went to Lance Benoist and Matt Riddle for their highly energetic scrap on the Facebook prelims. Both fighters fed off of the crowd’s energy, with Lance Benoist getting the better of Matt Riddle for the first two rounds. However, at the end of the second round, a cut opened up on the nose of Benoist that bothered him for the rest of the fight. Riddle nearly managed to finish Benoist during the third round, but Benoist held on long enough to pick up the unanimous decision victory.