The Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out $40,000 in “Fight Night” bonuses to Diego Brandao, Dennis Bermudez, and John Dodson for their efforts on Saturday night on the final live UFC event on Spike TV.
The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale took place on Dec. 3 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada with five bouts streaming live on the web at Facebook.com, and the five remaining bouts airing on Spike TV. The Ultimate Fighter moves to the FX network for season 15 of the reality show series, all part of the UFC’s seven-year broadcast deal with FOX television.
Earning the “Fight of the Night” bonus were featherweight finalists Diego Brandao and Dennis Bermudez, Brandao was also awarded with the “Submission of the Night”, while the “Knockout of the Night” went to bantamweight finalist winner John Dodson.
Bermudez would land some early shots, but it would be Brandao who would earn the first knockdown. Near the end of the round Bermudez would use his aggressive style to drop Brandao with a right forearm, then as he looked to finish the fight, Brandao would pull out a surprising armbar to force the finish at 4:51 of the first. With the victory, Brandao would earn the $100,000 contract and an extra $80,000 in bonus money.
It didn’t take bantamweight finalist Dodson to claim the “TUF” title for season 14, dropping fellow finalist T.J. Dillashaw by first round TKO at 1:54. Dodson used a counter left to wobble Dillashaw and would follow it up with an additional punch before referee Herb Dean intervened.