Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza shared the Fight of the Night at UFC Philadelphia after a brief but entertaining main event.
Philadelphia, PA — It only lasted half a round, but Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza shared Fight of the Night honors at UFC Philadelphia (UFC on ESPN 2) Saturday night. The City of Brotherly Love witnessed some not-so-brotherly violence, although there was nothing personal between the main event pairing. Instead, it was simply Gaethje being Gaethje, opening the affair with some nasty leg kicks, and going to town on Barboza after that.
Barboza fired back, traded a little. But post fight at the Wells Fargo Arena, Gaethje told reporters he wasn’t even sure the Brazilian had landed to the face. To the body, absolutely, a liver shot. To the legs, most certainly.
And at exactly 2:30 of the opening frame, a right hand from Gaethje put Barboza to sleep.
It was a curious pick as Fight of the Night only because it screamed Performance bonus instead. Even Gaethje himself seemed puzzled when informed of the news.
💰 50 Gs! 💰
FOTN: @Justin_Gaethje vs @EdsonBarbozaJR
POTN: @JackTheJokerMMA & @PCraigMMA#UFCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/RPsiNQdKaU
— UFC (@ufc) March 31, 2019
Instead, the Performance of the Night awards went to Jack Hermansson, for his co-main event submission of David Branch, and Paul Craig. Craig, who might now be known as Mr. Comeback, pulled off a late third-round triangle choke against Kennedy Nzechukwu, who might have taken home the win otherwise.
All four men will receive an extra $50,000 for their efforts.
