After two fight cards on FOX that were widely criticized by fans, the third time was a charm for the UFC.
All four main card bouts turned out to be excellent fights, highlighted by Nate Diaz’s second-round submission win over Jim Miller.
With huge finishes by Alan Belcher and Lavar Johnson kicking off the main card, and a three-round war between Johny Hendricks and Josh Koscheck providing entertainment in the co-main event, the UFC had its work cut out for it when deciding the winners for the fight-night bonuses.
Submission of the Night: Nate Diaz
The win pushed Diaz to the forefront of title contention in the lightweight division, and it also earned the younger Diaz his fourth submission of the night award of his career.
Diaz was having success on the feet against the tough to finish Miller, and once he saw the opening to grab Miller’s neck he capitalized and locked in the fight ending guillotine choke.
It appears that Diaz’s win was not in vain, as he is now set to battle for the lightweight title in his next bout.
Knockout of the Night: Lavar Johnson
If the fans had to predict which fight was going to deliver the knockout of the night bonus, the inevitable brawl between Lavar Johnson and Pat Barry would have won by a landslide.
After a few crazy exchanges and a brief period of time on the mat, Johnson backed Barry against the cage and started unloading some haymakers from his hips.
Once those connected it was a matter of time, and Barry eventually succumbed to the barrage.
Fight of the Night: Louis Gaudinot vs. John Lineker
The first flyweight bout of the evening gave the fans their money’s worth on the preliminary portion of the card.
The two 125-pounders put on a show to start the bout, meeting in the middle of the cage and throwing bombs inside the pocket for a solid 30 seconds.
The pace would slow after that, but only slightly as Gaudinot and Lineker both fought on hyper speed.
The fight ended when Gaudinot locked in a guillotine choke with just seconds remaining in the second round, but Lineker was too tough to tap out and was soon put to sleep.
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