The UFC Glendale bonuses were almost a given between the main event war and a rarely seen submission.
Heading into UFC on FOX 29, Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier had Fight of the Night written all over it. There was a ton of expectations placed on the main event. And as has become commonplace for any fight involving Gaethje, the fight delivered, and then some. At UFC Glendale, Poirier vs. Gaethje resulted in an early Fight of the Year candidate. An instant classic. Though once again, Gaethje came out on the wrong side of the battle, going out on his shield in the fourth round.
The bloody violent, bloody good main event was an easy pick for Fight of the Night. Also obvious was one of the two Performance of the Night bonuses. Poland’s Adam Wieczorek spent the better part of the first round of his heavyweight battle with Canada’s Arjan Bhullar being outworked and out-wrestled. While he flashed a few submission attempts early, Bhullar was able to easily break free of them.
Then came the second round. Wieczorek caught the Canadian in an omoplata, pulling off the rarely seen move for only the second time in UFC history. At heavyweight, no less. The spectacular comeback and stunning finish made Wieczorek a lock for an extra 50K.
The night’s final bonus went to Alex Oliveira, who came out of a bloody battle with Carlos Condit on top after rocking the popular striker with an upkick, then securing a guillotine choke.
All four fighters will gain an extra $50,000 for their efforts at UFC Glendale.
