Following last night’s UFC On ABC 1 event on Fight Island the recipients of the evening’s $50,000 bonus awards were announced.
‘Fight Of The Night’ obviously went to the compelling main event, although Max Holloway could easily have also scooped up a ‘Performance Of The Night’ award after he started off the year with a jaw-dropping display that sets a very high bar for everyone else for the remainder of 2021.
Holloway looked light years ahead of Calvin Kattar from start to finish as he unleashed a masterclass of unrelenting, high-volume precision striking to the head, body and legs.
At times Kattar was badly rocked and on the verge of being stopped, and perhaps even should have been saved by the referee for his own good, but his incredible toughness robbed Holloway of a finish inside the distance, and so he had to instead settle for one of the most lopsided decision wins in UFC history instead (50-43 x2, 50-42).
One of two ‘Performance Of The Night’ awards was handed to Li Jingliang, who ended Santiago Ponzinibbio’s seven-fight winning streak by knockout with a single left hook in the first round as they both tried to land a fight-ender at the same time.
Also earning a performance bonus was another underdog, Alessio Di Chirico, who had come into his fight with the in-form Joaquin Buckley knowing that suffering his fourth UFC loss in a row would almost certainly end his time in the promotion.
Instead, Di Chirico was able to land a head kick midway through the first round that caught Buckley cleanly and knocked him out.
