Following last night’s UFC On ESPN 69 event the recipients of the evening’s $50,000 bonus awards were announced.
Earning ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors was the main event clash between Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley, which went the full five rounds.
The 38-year-old Usman showed that his wrestling game is still on-point in the first four rounds as he found continual success landing takedowns and dominating Joaquin Buckley with his strong control on top. There were periods in each round though where Usman was willing to stand and trade with the heavy-hitting Buckley, showing that he could still be competitive there too. However, in the final round Buckley somehow started to figure things out, shutting down Usman’s takedowns at last and doing everything he could to try to find a finish on the feet. It was enough to win him that round, but Usman emerges with a deserved unanimous decision victory (49-46 x2, 48-47).
There was some back-and-forth action in the first round between Jose Ochoa and Cody Durden in their prelim fight, but early in the 2nd round Ochoa found a home for a big uppercut that sent his opponent backwards, followed by a flying kick and left hand to KO him and earn a performance bonus.
Also earning a performance bonus was Malcolm Wellmaker, who knocked out Kris Moutinho with a right hook mid-way the first round of their fight.
