UFC president Dana White announced the “Fight Night” winners at the post-fight press conference for tonight’s UFC on FUEL TV: Struve vs. Miocic event.
White awarded $40,000 bonuses to Brad Pickett for “Knockout of the Night”, to Matt Wiman for “Submission of the Night”, with “Fight of the Night” going to headliners Stefan Struve and Stipe Miocic.
The Capital FM Arena event in Nottingham, England drew an attendance of 7,200 and a live gate of “almost $1 million bucks” according to White.
The main card, which featured six matches, aired live on FUEL TV, while the rest of the preliminary card streamed live on Facebook.com/UFC.
Pickett picked up the knockout bonus for his first round finish of opponent Yves Jabouin by knocking his Canadian opponent out at 3:50. Both bantamweights set a quick pace in the opening minutes of the fight with Picket landing body blows and Jabouin landing kicks. Following a failed takedown, Pickett catches Jabouin with an uppercut, sending his opponent to the mat unconscious. Pickett follows and lands two more punches before referee Leon Roberts can jump in to stop the fight.
Wiman faced hometown favorite Paul Sass on the nights main card, putting an end to his opponents undefeated streak by earning a first round submission. In the opening moments of the round, Wiman attempts a kick and is taken down immediately. Sass opened up with a few elbows from Wiman’s guard and begins to work his submission game. Wiman is game and is able to fend off Sass’ attacks, eventually finding himself on the offense with his own submissions. Wiman transitions from a triangle to an armbar, leaving Sass no choice but to tap at 3:48 of the round.
Heavyweights Struve and Miocic promised to end things before the final bell and they did just that with ‘Skyscraper’ earning the second round TKO finish. Miocic was the quicker fighter, landing many of his shots to the body of Struve while the 6’11″ fighter tries to utilize his knees and kicks in the first. First round to Miocic. The second has Struve landing a low kick to Miocic, who takes a moment or two to recover, and it’s back to business. Miocic continues to attack the body while Struve utilizes his hands more. A right-hook from Miocic stumbles Struve for the moment, but the ‘Skyscraper’ goes back to landing jabs and catches Miocic with an uppercut. Miocic begins to buckle and Struve begins landing more short-strikes pinning his opponent against the cage while reigning down more punches. Referee Herb Dean jumps in to end things at 3:50 of the round.