On a night when every fight on the main card stood out as something memorable, the process of divvying up UFC 189’s end of the night bonuses became a difficult process.
In the end, it was the co-main event between welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald that stood out the most. After a back-and-forth war that ended with both guys in the hospital, it was Lawler who persevered and retained his belt. After being rocked time and again, Lawler finally stopped MacDonald in the fifth round with a punch that shattered MacDonald’s already broken nose.
The fight was good enough to earn both MacDonald and Lawler $50,00 of bonus money.
The performance bonuses were split between Irish superstar Conor McGregor, who overcame Chad Mendes‘ wrestling to score a second-round TKO, and 23-year old Thomas Almeida, who kicked off the pay-per-view with a flying knee knockout of Brad Pickett.
Almeida’s knockout will stand among the most memorable of 2015.
For McGregor, who won the featherweight interim title on Saturday night, it was his fifth end of the night bonus in six UFC fights.