UFC Vegas 15 post-fight bonuses: Smith nabs POTN for round 1 triangle

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Vegas 15: Smith vs. Clark The UFC Apex Center in Las Vegas, Nevada was home to a great night of fights at UFC Vegas 15: Smith vs. Clark. The…


Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Vegas 15: Smith vs. Clark

The UFC Apex Center in Las Vegas, Nevada was home to a great night of fights at UFC Vegas 15: Smith vs. Clark. The card saw three (T)KOs, four submissions and three decisions.

The prelims opened with Nathan Maness taking the upset against Luke Sanders, submitting him in the second round via rear-naked choke. That was followed by Su Mudaerji scoring a sensational first-round knockout of Malcolm Gordon. That crispy straight left was the beginning of the end for Gordon. Gina Mazany took Rachael Ostovich out with body kicks in round three after dominating the Hawaiian for the entire fight, and Anderson dos Santos scored a first-round guillotine over Martin Day to round out the undercard.

The main card started with Kai Kamaka falling in the second round, a victim of a “mounted pony” TKO. That was a wild scrap! Norma Dumont would dominate Ashlee Evans-Smith from start to finish, earning herself the lopsided, unanimous decision. Bill Algeo and Spike Carlyle had a hard-fought battle but it would be Algeo taking the unanimous decision. Parker Porter took the unanimous decision after a tough scrap with Josh Parisian, and Miguel Baeza remains undefeated after securing an arm triangle choke on Takashi Sato at the end of the second round and taking his record to 10-0, now with a shiny new submission among his seven knockouts.

Anthony Smith changed up everything tonight. He walked out to Biggie instead of Return of the Mack. He immediately started the fight by taking it to the ground. For two-and-a-half minutes they grappled, but the experience and grappling edge were with “Lionheart” and he used it to secure an triangle choke. Slump broken.

Performance of the Night: Smith/Baeza/Madaerji/Maness

Nathan Maness (rear-naked choke at 2:29 of round 2), Su Mudaerji (KO (punch) at :44 of round 1), Gina Mazany (TKO (body kicks) at 4:10 of round 3), Anderson dos Santos (gullotine choke at 4:35 of round 1), Jonathan Pearce (TKO (punches) at 4:28 of round 2), Miguel Baeza (Arm-Triangle Choke at 4:28 of round 2), and Anthony Smith (triangle choke at 2:34 of round 1) all finished their respective fights before the final horn but it would be Anthony Smith, Miguel Baeza, Su Madaerji and Nathan Maness were the standouts that would take the $50K bonuses.

Fight of the Night: None

Norma Dumont (30-26, 30-26, 30-26), Bill Algeo (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), and Parker Porter (30-26, 30-27, 29-28) all went the distance in their respective fights, but none would warrant a bonus in the eyes of the brass.