The lone UFC newcomer on Saturday’s card, Kris Moutinho, made sure that everyone would be talking about him by the end of the night.
Moutinho lost a one-sided fight to Sean O’Malley in the UFC 264 main card bantamweight opener, but he showed an iron chin and was relentless in his aggression up until referee Herb Dean waved off the bout with less than 30 seconds remaining as O’Malley battered Moutinho with a flurry of punches. When the fight was called, Moutinho was still standing, much to the delight of the crowd at T-Mobile Arena. For their efforts, O’Malley and Moutinho were awarded the UFC 264 Fight of the Night bonus.
Fighters receiving UFC 264 bonuses will go home with an extra $75,000, more than the usual $50,000 given to fight night bonus winners. These increased bonuses were also handed out at UFC 262 in May.
Performance of the Night bonuses went to heavyweight Tai Tuivasa and middleweight Dricus Du Plessis.
Tuivasa made short work of former NFL standout Greg Hardy, needing just 67 seconds to land a devastating left hand that Hardy could not recover from.
A former KSW two-division champion, Du Plessis improved to 2-0 in the UFC with two finishes as he put away Trevin Giles with punches in the second round.