On a card brimming with stoppages, Eubanks vs. Ladd took home Fight of the Night, while Dawson and Pereira earned Performance bonuses at UFC Rochester.
There were plenty of finishes on the UFC Rochester card Saturday night at the Blue Cross Arena. Five straight stoppages opened the event, an occurrence that has not happened since the Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale in 2017. Which made handing out Performance bonuses no easy task.
Julio Arce made a case. So did Ed Herman and Grant Dawson. Ultimately, however, newcomer Michel Pereira and the aforementioned Dawson took home the extra $50,000 dollars. Welterweight Pereira (22-9) earned his bonus bucks thanks to a flashy debut that included an attack off the cage right up Anthony Pettis’ alley. He eventually knocked Danny Roberts out at 1:47 of the first round. A knee set up the finish.
Dawson (14-1), meanwhile, joined the Brazilian with the extra bonus bucks. The featherweight became the first man to beat TUF 27 winner Mike Trizano, inside the distance no less. A second round rear-naked choke sealed the deal.
Fight of the Night honors went to Aspen Ladd and Sijara Eubanks for their three round war. It was a rematch of a fight outside the UFC from not that long ago — but once again, it was Ladd coming out on top, improving her perfect record to 8-0.
Attendance for the night was 8,132, for a gate of $643,840.50
