Their main event war earned a little extra cash for Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm at UFC 219.
UFC 219, the promotion’s big year-end show, went down Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Topped by a women’s featherweight war between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm, the event was top heavy, but the main and co-main events certainly delivered.
In the main event, Cris Cyborg rallied after an early onslaught by Holly Holm, storming back to capture the final three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory. Both fighters were bruised and bloodied by the end of the affair, and Holm unquestionably gave the fearsome Cyborg the toughest test of her career. For their efforts, Cyborg and Holm were awarded Fight of the Night honors.
On the Performance of the Night front, the returning ‘Eagle,’ Khabib Nurmagomedov, soared. Absolutely mauling Edson Barboza, the American Kickboxing Academy fighter controlled the fight from start to finish. Barboza, normally solid at takedown defense, could not stop the unrelenting grappling game of ‘The Eagle.’ Once down, he would eat shot after shot from his opponent. Surviving to the third round was a matter of heart more than anything else. In the end, Khabib Nurmagomedov scored a lopsided unanimous decision win.
The other Performance of the Night bonus was awarded to Tim Elliott, who appeared in the lone Fight Pass preliminary bout of UFC 219. He defeated promotional newcomer Mark De La Rosa by anaconda choke in the second round.
All four fighters will receive $50,000 USD for their bonus-winning efforts.
