The Octagon returned to T-Mobile Arena for tonight’s UFC 320 event, and five fighters wound up taking home performance bonuses.
The highly anticipated light heavyweight title fight rematch resulted in an absolutely dominant performance from Alex Pereira. ‘Poatan’ came out super aggressively and ended up tagging Magomed Ankalaev with a big right hand around the one-minute mark of the opening frame. That shot clearly rocked the Russian and prompted him to shoot in for a takedown. Pereira ended up stuffing the attempt and taking top position on the ground. From there, Alex proceeded to unleash some big punches and then ultimately finished the fight with some savage elbows. In the end, Pereira needed just 80-seconds to reclaim his light heavyweight title.
UFC 320 was co-headlined by a men’s bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen. The bout proved to be a solid back and forth affair. Although Dvalishvili was able to land 18 takedowns, in most occasions Sandhagen was able to return his feet within seconds. ‘The Sandman’ had won the opening round on most fans and analysts scorecards, but it was ‘The Machine’ who stormed back to dominate and nearly finish the title challenger in round two. Sandhagen ultimately survived and despite having a tough round three, he came back to arguably outpoint Dvalishvili in the fourth round of their fight. However, in round five Merab Dvalishvili was able to solidify his champion status by smothering and overwhelming Cory Sandhagen for the final five minutes. It was another impressive performance from Dvalishvili, leaving fans wondering if there is anybody who can pose a legitimate challenge to the champ.
Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that five fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.
Fight of the night: Light heavyweight contenders Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr. each pocketed an extra $50k for their thrilling war on tonight’s UFC 320 main card. Prochazka ultimately won the contest by third-round knockout (see that here).
Performance of the night: Alex Pereira earned an extra $50k for his first-round TKO victory over Magomed Ankalaev (see that here). ‘Poatan’ needed just 80-seconds to reclaim his title.
Performance of the night: Joe Pyfer pocketed an extra $50k for his second-round submission victory over Abus Magomedov (see that here).
Performance of the night: Jiri Prochazka earned a second $50k bonus for his third-round finish of Khalil Rountree Jr.
Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out by Dana White and company following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC 320 event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!