Following last night’s UFC Fight Night 197 event the recipients of the evening’s $50,000 bonus awards were announced.
Earning ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors was of course the main event, a five-round war between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez that was good enough to also now be in the running for ‘Fight Of The Year’ too.
Despite two years on the sidelines, Rodriguez took the fight to Holloway early with frequent calf kicks being a key weapon, while he also threatened with punches and head kicks too. Holloway soon switched up the gears too though and his combination work to the body and head started to get the better of the action-packed exchanges as the rounds progressed.
Holloway also began to mix things up later in the fight with rare showcases of his ground skills, though Rodriguez also proved to be a crafty competitor on the mat too. By the final round both fighters were sporting significant damage to the head and other body parts, but Rodriguez still came out swinging looking to turn the momentum in his favor, but Holloway would not be denied and emerged with a unanimous decision victory (49-46, 48-47 x2).
Khaos Williams was one of two fighters to receive a ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonus after he engaged in a close, competitive battle with Julio Arce for the best part of three rounds, before then landing a huge right hook during an exchange that crumpled his opponent to the mat for a big TKO victory.
Also taking home a performance bonus was Andrea Lee, who proved to be a step ahead of Cynthia Calvillo at all times on the feet as she pieced together fluid combinations on the feet that gradually took a big toll on her opponent, leading to a corner stoppage prior to the third round.
