UFC Vegas 19 had stiff competition in the bonus categories. The card emphatically delivered with eight of the 12 fights ending by stoppage. Unfortunately, not everyone could get bonuses. The UFC opted to scrap ‘Fight of the Night’ for this card and instead hand out four ‘Performance of the Night’ prizes.
The first bonus obviously went to Derrick Lewis who topped off the card with a spectacular knockout against Curtis Blaydes. ‘The Black Beast’ started and lost the opening round. That didn’t matter though as in round two ‘Razor’ dipped in for a takedown attempt which left him vulnerable to a mammoth uppercut that turned out his lights. Lewis followed up with some nasty ground and pound before the referee waved off the fight and secured Lewis the $50,000 bonus cheque.
Next up, we have another heavyweight walking away $50,000 richer. Chris Daukaus looked sensational in the biggest fight of his career at UFC Vegas 19. The 31-year-old survived an early grappling exchange with Alexey Oleynik before putting his hands together to stop the Russian with a barrage of strikes. Not only did the win get Daukaus a bag full of cash. It will also see him join the heavyweight rankings.
Another bonus. Another heavyweight fighter walking away with an extra $50,000. Tom Aspinall took a huge step up in opposition when he faced former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski at UFC Vegas 19. The Englishman showed off his fast hands early to hit, hurt, and cut Arlovski. As the veteran began to work his way back into the fight Aspinall dropped down for a surprise takedown and quickly snapped on a rear-naked choke to finish. Aspinall is only the second fighter to submit Arlovski who has enjoyed a 52-fight MMA career.
Aiemann Zahabi was already up after his opponent missed weight and therefore forefitted 30 percent of his purse. Things didn’t get better for Drako Rodriguez who was knocked out cold by Zahabi in round one. The younger brother of famed trainer Faris Zahabi snapped his two fight losing skid and picked up an extra $50,000 in the process.
Do you agree with who got the UFC Vegas 19 post-fight bonuses?