UFC 216 took place Saturday night in Las Vegas, live from the T-Mobile Arena. In the main event, Tony Ferguson held on and displayed a superior ground game, submitting a tiring Kevin Lee in the third round of their interim lightweight title bout. In the co-main event, meanwhile, Demetrious Johnson made history — and was rewarded handsomely for his efforts.
Johnson, now in sole possession of the UFC’s title defense record at eleven, was not alone. Fellow flyweight John Moraga, as well as lightweights Lando Vanatta and Bobby Green, all became $50,000 richer after picking up bonuses on the night.
For “Mighty Mouse” — who was awarded one of two Performance of the Night bonuses — it was the icing on the cake at a night that was one of the biggest of his career. In submitting Ray Borg (via arm-bar) in the fifth round, after utterly dominating the fight, he once again displayed how far ahead of the division he truly is. Breaking Anderson Silva’s record, and picking up a significant payday (reportedly $370,000 plus PPV points) has put Johnson at the pinnacle of his career. It’s unlikely he slides from that any time soon, unless a “superfight” with one of the bigger names at bantamweight comes to fruition.
The other Performance of the Night bonus went to another flyweight, John Moraga. He absolutely crushed Magomed Bibulatov with a KO punch in the first round of their Fight Pass preliminary fight. After the bout, Moraga seemed like he couldn’t get out of the octagon quick enough, wanting no part of Daniel Cormier’s interview questions.
Fight of the Night went to Bobby Green and Lando Vannata’s three-round lightweight war, part of the FX prelims. A hotly contested battle that was nearly derailed early by a questionable knee (for which Vannata was deducted a point), the fight was bloody, brutal, and all-around fantastic.
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