UFC 259 was hyped to be one of the biggest PPV events of the year, and for the most part, it delivered in an emphatic fashion. However whilst the main card had some impressive performances, most notably Amanda Nunes’ clinical finish of Megan Anderson, all of the events bonuses took place on the prelims.
However, with six finishes out of ten fights, it is clear to see why. Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling’s high paced bantamweight title fight would likely have found a place in the post-fight bonuses, had Yan not landed an illegal knee that led to him being disqualified. Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz’s much anticipated main event fight was somewhat of a lacklustre affair, becoming somewhat of a point fighting matchup up for most of the bout.
Fight Of The Night
There are debatably several fights that could have contested for this post-fight honour, but it was Kennedy Nzechukwu’s KO victory over Carlos Ulberg that claimed the award. Ulberg came out incredibly aggressive, appearing to hurt Nzechukwu early with a barrage of strikes. However, Kennedy survived, and it soon became apparent that Ulberg only appeared to have one thought on his mind, relentless pressure.
Unfortunately, he did not have the cardio or defence to maintain such a gameplan. After having some success towards the end of the first round, Nzechukwu came into the second looking like the considerably less fatigued of the two. As Nzechukwu being pressing forward, Ulberg’s only defence appeared to be reactionary head movement, as he left his hands at this hips. As has been seen on many other occasions, reactions can only keep you safe for so long. Once Ulberg’s back was against the cage, Nzechukwu landed a brutal hook that dropped the New Zealand native.
Performance Of The Night
Uros Medic made an instant impression on the 155lb division, as he put a completely one-sided beat down on Aalon Cruz. Medic dropped Cruz early and swarmed him on the ground. After landing repeated ground and pound to a clearly concussed Cruz, referee Mark Smith eventually called the fight off. A clearly star stuck Medic then gave one of the more unique post-fight interviews with Joe Rogan.
Performance Of The Night
Kai Kara France put on one of the most memorable comeback performances in recent memory to pick up the second FOTN award. Rogerio Bontorin was able to take Kara France down early and secured a body triangle. From there he began working a rear-naked choke, which the commentary team thought was going to result in an early stoppage. However, Kara France continuously hand fought, eventually breaking free with 20 seconds to go. From there he lived up to his nickname ‘Don’t Blink.’ A rapid flurry of strikes led to the walk-off KO for the CKB flyweight and a much deserved post-fight bonus.
Did the right people get bonus cheques at UFC 259?