A UFC 186 card put through the ringer in terms of card construction leading up to the event wound up as one of the most memorable events of the year.
Rampage Jackson returned to the Octagon in dominant form, Demetrious Johnson once again proved he’s the best flyweight on the planet and young guns such as Kyoji Horiguchi and Thomas Almeida broadcasted loud and clear the future of the promotion is in good hands.
On a night of many memorable moments, UFC president Dana White issued several awards, each worth a grand total of $50,000 in bonuses on top of each fighter’s salary, per Matt Erickson of MMAJunkie.com.
Below, let’s take a look at the full results and the bonus winners.
UFC 186 Results
Top Performers and Bonus Recipients
Performance of the Night: Demetrious Johnson
Johnson, perhaps the most dominant champion in a division this side of Ronda Rousey, of course took home a major bonus for his performance against Horiguchi.
An unorthodox style helped the budding superstar to hang tough with the champion for quite a while, but the disparity in talent grew as the fight wore on to its epic conclusion.
There, Johnson put on a showcase of technical skill which the globe rarely sees, as Sherdog’s Jordan Breen explains:
Thanks to the stunning last-second finish, literally, Johnson now sits alone in UFC history, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Johnson took to Twitter to thank everyone after the epic showing:
There’s a chance Johnson would have won the award without the epic finish, though. According to UFC.com, he landed 149 strikes on 72 percent accuracy to Horiguchi‘s 61 on 48 percent. He also scored 14 takedowns to just one by Horiguchi.
A little extra change for Johnson’s efforts doesn’t hurt, although remaining the king of a competitive division seems the best prize of all.
Performance of the Night: Thomas Almeida
Almeida is proof enough of UFC’s sound future.
The 23-year-old star ran his record to 19-0 Saturday night thanks to a ho-hum triumph in the first round against Yves Jabouin. By way of 31 significant strikes, Almeida picked up the technical knockout despite absorbing 20 significant strikes of his own.
White took to Twitter to celebrate Almeida‘s success:
Part of what makes Almeida‘s performance so impressive is the fact it came against a 35-year-old veteran such as Jabouin, who enjoys standing in, trading blows and taking things to the mat when necessary.
As the finish, continued hype and bonus show, Almeida is one name to keep an eye on as he looks to take the next step up the bantamweight ladder.
Fight of the Night: Chad Laprise vs. Bryan Barberena
It was only right to expect fireworks between Chad Laprise and Bryan Barberena.
The two heavy-hitting strikers with unpredictable offenses put on a show, with Laprise dominating the opening frame with ease. Barberena proved game and battled back, though, making the fight much more entertaining than the opening salvo suggested it would be.
Barberena forced Laprise from his technical comfort zone in the second round, forcing him backwards and on the defensive. The eventual winner rediscovered his mix of body and head kicks dispersed with straight shots to take the win on the scorecards.
Per UFC.com, Barberena landed 10 more significant strikes, but he did it with less accuracy on more attempts. It was enough to rattle Laprise, at least, as MMA Report’s John Pollack illustrates:
A war of wills coming down to the wire preceded by a bit of a chess match will win Fight of the Night most times out.
It did Saturday and both men are better for it, both in their pockets and in division standing.
Stats and info via UFC.com, unless otherwise specified.
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