Check out our breakdown of the post-fight bonuses from UFC Fight Night: Dos Santos vs. Tuivasa from Adelaide, Australia.
The Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia was home to a long night of fights. The card saw three (T)KOs, two submissions, and seven decisions, including one split-decision.
Performances of the Night: Shogun Rua, Sodiq Yussuf
Sodiq Yusuff needed just two minutes and change to put Suman Mokhtarian away in Adelaide. The round opened with Mokhtarian landing a good body kick and immediately getting into a clinch war with Yusuff. They are going hell for leather, but Yusuff is getting the better of the exchanges. A Yusuff combo has Mokhtarian on roller skates, and Suman chases him down and is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him. Even though he was covering up, Mokhtarian made no move to get off the cage or throw anything back, so the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
Sodiq Yusuff gets the victory and $50Gs for his efforts.
Shogun Rua was not going to let the fans rest easy in their Tyson Pedro picks tonight, and he made everyone eat their words with a third round TKO stoppage over Tyson Pedro.
After a feeling out period, the first thing to rock someone was an accidental clash of heads, and it was Shogun that was wobbly. Pedro starts slinging heavy leather and has Shogun in trouble. Shogun ends up in top position after a failed kimura attempt from Tyson, and the bell sounds to end the first stanza.
Round two opens with Rua nailing Pedro with a big overhand right, then working hard to get a takedown off a body lock. Pedro tries the kimura again, and ends up with Shogun in side control. Pedro gets back to his feet, but Rua drags him down again and rains down hammerfists.
The final round opened with Pedro circling on what appears to be an injured leg. Rua lands a big right, and Pedro falls to the canvas the moment he steps down on that back leg. Shogun follows him down and starts unloading everything from his bag of veteran tricks. The referee has seen enough and steps in to call a halt to the action.
Shogun Rua wins the fight via third-round TKO and 50 large for proving one more time that PRIDE. NEVER. DIES.
Fight of the Night: Kara-France vs. Garcia
Kai Kara-France put on a dominant performance tonight over Elias Garcia, and the combination of skill, heart and will from both competitors was enough to win fight of the night honors. The contest was Garcia’s second UFC outing, and Kara-France’s debut. The fighters are in the downsizing flyweight division, and impressive performances will help ensure they still have a job in another weight class if flyweight does go the way of the dodo.
Garcia had some success in the first round, even dropping Kara-France at one point, and looked to be a constant threat from the bottom with submissions, but Kai’s superior striking, strength and top control saw him pile pressure and damage on Garcia en-route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory.
Both men walk away $50,000 richer for their performance, and likely with crossed fingers and toes that Dana White decides not to scrap the 125 lbs division after all.