Hyun Gyu Lim may have fallen short at UFC Fight Night 34, but at least he won’t go home empty handed. The game South Korean, along with former Strikeforce welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine, earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors for a back and forth battle on Saturday night which nearly saw a battered but tenacious Lim storm back from the dead and finish Saffiedine in the final minute of the pair’s main event clash.
Saffiedine ultimately took a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards, 49-46, 48-47, 48-47, but both men pocketed an extra $50,000 for their work.
“I was pretty hurt,” Saffiedine admitted post-fight. “He got me with a good punch.”
Elsewhere on the card, 22-year-old featherweight prospect Max Holloway earned a $50,000 ‘Knockout of the Night’ bonus for his second-round TKO finish of Will Chope — the night’s only knockout.
After weathering an early storm, Holloway sealed the deal midway through the second frame with a relentless salvo of strikes, snapping a two-fight losing streak and forcing referee Leon Roberts to intervene 2:27 into the round. The impressive performance marked Holloway’s second finish over the course of seven UFC fights.
Lastly, bantamweight curtain jerker Russell Doane took home an extra $50,000 for his ‘Submission of the Night’ finish, choking Leandro Issa unconscious with a triangle with just one second left in the second round. The debuting Hawaiian has now won four of his last five fights, including two straight.