Following last night’s UFC On ESPN 39 event the recipients of the evening’s $50,000 bonus awards were announced.
Earning ‘Fight Of The Night’honors was a three-round back-and-forth scrap between Jamie Mullarkey and Michael Johnson, which quickly heated up and saw both men being floored in the opening round.
The fight continued to be closely contested throughout with Johnson showing off his fast hand speed, but Mullarkey’s gritty and aggressive style eventually won out when the fight went to the scorecards, edging out a split decision win (29-28 x2, 28-29).
One of two ‘Performance Of The Night’ awards was handed to Chase Sherman after he slugged it out on the feet with Jared Vanderaa for the best part of three rounds before managing to rock his opponent with a couple of big punches and then seized the moment with a flurry of hard blows to seal a TKO victory and end a four-fight losing streak.
Also taking home a performance bonus was main event winner Rafael Fiziev, who is known for his dangerous striking ability, but against Rafael dos Anjos impressed with his very robust takedown defense too.
For four rounds it seemed like a decision might be the most likely outcome here, but almost immediately in the final round Fiziev landed a big left hook that sent dos Anjos flying backwards onto the canvas, with a follow-up blow on the mat sealing a KO finish.
