The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card in Abu Dhabi, including one for a fighter who told everyone what he was going to do.
After UFC Fight Night 282, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at Etihad Arena. Additionally, five fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
Check out the list of winners below.
Fight of the Night: Rizvan Kuniev, Tyrell Fortune ($100,000 each)
Rizvan Kuniev (15-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Tyrell Fortune (18-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) banged it out at heavyweight on the main card, and though Fortune complained of a likely broken rib in the first round, he was able to stay in there and absorb a bunch more punishment before Kuniev put him away in the final round.
Performance of the Night: Ramazan Temirov ($100,000)
Ramazan Temirov (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) had a killer performance against former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg (14-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) and knocked him out in the first round. Temirov seemed to find a home for his right hand on repeat right away, then finally put Erceg face first onto the canvas.
Performance of the Night: Valter Walker ($100,000)
Valter Walker (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) became just the fourth fighter in UFC history to finish with a calf slicer when he stopped Thomas Petersen (11-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) early in the first round. It was his record-tying fifth straight submission win, the first four of which were heel hooks. But the calf slicer was a variation he locked in after Petersen tried to crawl his way out of the hold.
Magomed Ankalaev (22-2-1 MMA, 13-2-1 UFC) will take an almost courtesy $25,000 bonus in this case. He wasn’t that close to putting Bogdan Guskov (18-4-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) away in the first 20 minutes, and heard plenty of boos. But he stayed after it, and midway through the final round of the main event got a TKO stoppage.
Finish bonus: Muhammad Saidov ($25,000)
Muhammad Saidov (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) put on a masterful performance late against veteran striker Dustin Jacoby (22-10-1 MMA, 10-7-1 UFC). He landed a sizzling right hand and followed it up with a left kick to the head that put Jacoby to the canvas. Then he kept the pressure on for a memorable finish in his promotional debut.
Finish bonus: Sam Patterson ($25,000)
Sam Patterson (15-3-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) had to work through some solid opening moments from Argentina’s Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-10 MMA, 12-9 UFC), but once he got through the early rush, he took over and put the longtime welterweight out with a big right hand in the second round.
Finish bonus: Axel Sola ($25,000)
Axel Sola (12-1-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) got little resistance from Ismael Bonfim (20-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in their fight on the prelims. He hurt him with a shot to the temple and once he had him on the canvas, he traded between ground-and-pound and hunting for a choke, then eventually forced the tap with a D’Arce in the opening frame.
Finish bonus: Abdul Hussein ($25,000)
Abdul Hussein (16-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) got a stiff test from short-notice opponent Cody Gibson (21-13 MMA, 3-8 UFC) in the first round of their curtain jerker. But he started to take over in the second, and in the third, he forced a worn-out Gibson to tap to a rear-naked choke for a stoppage in his promotional debut.
