The finish was a puzzler, but the fight was a dazzler when it comes to the Fight of the Night at UFC Atlantic City!
Atlantic City, NJ — It might have been a bitter pill for Merab Dvalishvili to swallow, but an extra fifty grand should help it go down easier. Despite a controversial finish in his loss to Ricky Simon on the televised prelims of UFC Atlantic City, Dvalishvili vs. Simon has picked up Fight of the Night honors. It’s an award Simon was ready for after the bout. For Dvalishvili, it will help take the sting off of losing the bout. The Serra-Longo fighter was ahead on two of three judge’s scorecards, but was ruled to have lost the fight at the end of the third round as he appeared unconscious following a choke by Simon. Simon was awarded a TKO victory as a result, an odd set of circumstances that had the crowd in attendance showing their displeasure.
The ending, however, shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow a great three round battle between the pair. It was an easy choice for Fight of the Night, even if it did end in a finish.
Performance of the Night bonuses, meanwhile, were awarded to David Branch and Siyar Bahadurzada. Branch made short work of Brazil’s Thiago Santos, scoring a TKO finish in the very first round. After the bout, he noted that he had his eye on the winner of Jacare Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum.
Siyar Bahadurzada, meanwhile, finished off Luan Chagas via knockout in the second round of their prelim bout. All four bonus-winning fighters will pick up $50,000 for their efforts. Total gate for the event was $923,720, with an attendance of 9,541.
