Following last night’s UFC 254 event the recipients of the evening’s $50,000 bonus awards were announced.
Earning ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors was a preliminary clash between Casey Kenney and Nathaniel Wood, which went the full three rounds in a closely contested battle that would eventually lead to Kenney being awarded a unanimous decision victory.
Khabib Nurmagomedov extended his legendary unbeaten record to 29-0 in style and earned a ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonus in the process with a second round triangle choke that rendered Justin Gaethje unconscious.
Remarkably, Khabib had first seemed to unsettle the normally unshakable Gaethje on the feet with his unrelenting pressure that had left his opponent backing up, breathing heavy and swinging wildly.
Meanwhile, Khabib was confident enough to even throw in flying knees before he saw an opportunity to go for the takedown, take Gaethje’s back and set up the submission finish.
Also securing a performance bonus was Magomed Ankalaev, who finished Ion Cutelaba in decisive fashion in their rematch, showing off clinical counter striking as he dropped his rival initially with a straight left.
Cutelaba got back up, but Ankalaev kept on the pressure and floored him again with a right hook, straight left combination, with big ground and pound then securing the first round KO finish.
