Following last night’s UFC On ESPN 44 event in Kansas City, Dana White announced the recipients of the evening’s $50,000 bonus awards.
Earning ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors was a spirited scrap between Bill Algeo and TJ Brown that saw both men engaging in a fast-paced striking battle.
Both men ate big shots at times and early in the second round it was Brown who was coming on strong, only for Algeo to then land a big elbow that dropped him, before going on to sink in a rear-naked choke finish at the 1.40min mark.
Seasoned striker Edson Barboza picked up a ‘Performance Of The Night’ award after he added another stunning highlight-reel finish to his resume against Billy Quarantillo after punishing his opponent for his early aggression by perfectly timing a big knee to the head to knock him out mid-way through the opening round.
Also earning a performance bonus was Brandon Royval, who Dana White admitted afterwards should have been on the main card after he KO’d Mattheus Nicolau with a brutal knee and follow-up elbows.
Dana White also praised an additional performance bonus winner Gillian Robertson for the way she fights after she got the better of Piera Rodriguez in the early action and then managed to secure an armbar submission finish late in the second round.
Meanwhile, White joked that he was getting “old and soft” after admitting that he had also awarded an extra $50,000 each to Zak Cummings and Ed Herman, who both announced their retirement after their fight, which saw Cummings emerge victorious via a late third-round TKO finish.
