Following last night’s TUF 23 Finale in Las Vegas the recipients of the evening’s $50,000 bonus awards were announced.
Earning ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors was the main event battle between strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha, which went the distance. In the first two rounds it was Gadelha who took control of the fight, even dropping her rival with a punch early in the first. It was her grappling skills that were really causing Jedrzejczyk problem though, stifling her in the clinch and landing repeated takedowns. In the third the pendulum started to swing the other way though, as Gadelha began to tire, enabling Jedrzejczyk to keep the fight standing and begin to outstrike her opponent with repeated combinations. That would be the story of the final three rounds of the fight, enabling Jedrzejczyk to successfully defend her title by unanimous decision.
Meanwhile, ‘The Korean Superboy’ Doo Ho Choi rightfully seized a ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonus after he again demonstrated that he’s got remarkably heavy hands, knocking Thiago Tavares out with a right hand on the feet and a follow-up punch on the mat mid-way through the first round.
Also scooping up a ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonus was TUF 23 woman’s strawweight tournament winner Tatiana Suarez who impressed with a strong display of grappling skills against Amanda Cooper, leading to a D’arce choke submission.
