In a bit of a rarity, the post-fight bonus winners at UFC 259 all came from the preliminary card.
The promotion handed out a pair of “Performance of the Night” bonuses and “Fight of the Night” at Saturday’s event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card had three title fights at the top of the bill.
Check out the $50,000 post-fight bonus winners below.
Fight of the Night: Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Carlos Ulberg
Kennedy Nzechukwu (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was the third biggest underdog on the card against the unbeaten Carlos Ulberg (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), and Ulberg was in control early in the fight. But Nzechukwu started to come on toward the end of the first round, and in the second, he stunned Ulberg and took him out with his hands.
Performance of the Night: Uros Medic
In the second fight of the night, Uros Medic (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stayed unbeaten when he took out Aalon Cruz (8-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) quickly into their fight. But in the opinion of analysts Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, it wasn’t quick enough. Referee Mark Smith didn’t wave things off fast enough for their liking with Medic pouring on punch after punch – he outstruck Cruz 55-0.
Performance of the Night: Kai Kara-France
Kai Kara-France (22-9 MMA, 5-2 UFC) had a hard time early against Rogerio Bontorin (16-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and had to fight off a submission attempt. But that might have made his finish all the sweeter. Kara-France rallied and knocked out Bontorin with five seconds left in the first round. It was a walk-off finish – but a crazy one.