UFC Vegas 68 was a fairly low-profile Fight Night offering from the UFC, with the main highlights prior to the event being the final bouts for the Road to UFC tournament and the main event between top heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac.
Those fights did end up providing a few of the event’s most notable wins, and with no real back-and-forth fights to choose from for a Fight of the Night the UFC elected to hand out four Performance of the Night bonuses.
Tatsuro Taira
UFC Vegas 68 kicked off with a flyweight bout between Tatsuro Taira and the debuting Jesus Aguilar, and the 23-year-old Taira continued his rise as one of the division’s most promising talents.
Aguilar came out aggressive to start the fight, but once he ended up on the mat it was only a matter of time before Taira pulled off a smooth transition to secure a triangle armbar.
The win was the 23-year-old’s third in the UFC and his second-straight submission after he also finished C.J. Vergara with an armbar last October.
Rinya Nakamura
The final four bouts of the Road to UFC tournament made up the latter half of the UFC Vegas 68 prelims, and bantamweight Rinya Nakamura wasted no time securing his UFC contract.
“Hybrid” has an extensive wrestling background but showed off some major developments in his striking when he flattened Toshiomi Kazama with a left hook just over 30 seconds into their fight.
Nakamura is now 7-0 after only making his pro MMA debut in 2021, and the 27-year-old has stopped five of his opponents inside the first round.
Anshul Jubli
The lightweight bout between Anshul Jubli and Jeka Saragih was the final Road to UFC bout at UFC Vegas 68, and Jubli made sure that he wasn’t outshined by the other contract winners.
The 28-year-old showcased his grappling skills by dominating Saragih on the mat, and a barrage of strikes from top position in the second round forced Marc Goddard to step in.
Jubli improved his pro record to 7-0 with the win and is now the second-Indian born fighter in the history of the UFC.
Serghei Spivac
Everyone knew what Serghei Spivac’s game plan would be heading into his main event matchup with Derrick Lewis, but no one could have predicted how dominant the Moldovan would look.
“Polar Bear” tied up with Lewis early and repeatedly brought the former title challenger to the mat until he was able to grab an arm triangle choke that resulted in a quick tap.
Spivac was immediately calling for a bonus after the fight, and the 28-year-old has now stopped three-straight opponents since losing to Tom Aspinall in 2021.
What are your thoughts on the bonus winners from UFC Vegas 68?