Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns
The UFC APEX Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, was home to a great night of fights at UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns. The card saw one (T)KO, three submissions and six decisions.
The prelims opened with Gabriel Green taking a unanimous decision over Philip Rowe after a hard-fought battle that saw Rowe hobbled from all the leg kicks he sustained. That was followed by Chris Gutirrez taking a unanimous decision over Andre Ewell in an entertaining back and forth affair. Polyana Viana would score the first finish of the night with a quick armbar submission of Mallory Martin. Belal Muhammad looked as good as ever in his unanimous decision victory over Dhiego Lima and Anthony Hernandez literally shocked the entire MMA community when he secured a round two guillotine choke of multi-time ADCC gold medalist, Rodolfo Vieira.
The main kicked off with Julian Marquez getting a third-round anaconda choke over Maki Pitolo after the two battled back and forth for the majority of the contest. Ricky Simon put on another masterful performance, taking the lopsided unanimous decision and Kelvin Gastelum managed to get past Ian Heinisch via unanimous decision. Heinisch didn’t look too bad in there despite taking the L.
Alexa Grasso took a hard-earned unanimous decision over Maycee Barber, showing off her grappling improvements and her always crispy, crunchy boxing in the co-main event.
The main event saw Gilbert Burns have a really good, offensive first round. He hit Usman with some huge shots that clearly staggered the champ, but that small victory would be short-lived as Kamaru took over the second round, dropping the challenger and punishing him with the scorpion stinger jab he launches constantly. By the time the third round was underway, Burns had collected himself and was throwing powerful shots, but once again, that small victory would be short lived as Usman dropped him with a hard shot, then swarmed with more punishment until Herb dean intervened. Honestly, Burns looked great in there. Usman just looked miles ahead of him, and the absolute Adamantium chin on him is just bonkers. I don’t see anyone taking Usman’s crown for a long time.
Performance of the Night: Anthony Hernandez, Julian Marquez, Kamaru Usman, and Polyana Viana
Polyana Viana (armbar at 3:18 of round), Anthony Hernandez (guillotine choke at 1:52 of round 2), Julian Marquez (anaconda choke at 4:17 of round 3), and Kamaru Usman (TKO (strikes) at :34 of round 3) all finished their fights before the final horn and all took home the bonuses.
Fight of the Night: None
Gabriel Green (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), Chris Gutierrez (30-26, 29-28, 29-27), Belal Muhammad (30-27 x3), Ricky Simon (30-27 x3), Kelvin Gastelum (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), and Alexa Grasso (29-28 x3) all went the distance in their respective fights but none would warrant a bonus in the eyes of the brass.