The UFC was feeling generous following UFC 246, and handed out five Performance of the Night bonuses.
The UFC tends to hand out a Fight of the Night bonus, and two Performance of the Night awards following each event. However at UFC 246 they opted to go a different direction, skipping a Fight of the Night, but handing out a full five Performance bonuses.
Sorry, Modafferi vs. Barber, no Fight of the Night for you.
To be fair, individual efforts were a big part of UFC 246. And in this case, Drew Dober, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Brian Kelleher, Aleksei Oleinik, and Conor McGregor all pick up the extra $50,000 for their showings.
Dober was the first man to earn a finish inside the octagon in 2020, dropping Nasrat Haqparast and finishing him with strikes at just over a minute into the opening round of their lightweight affair. Carlos Diego Ferreira, meanwhile, gave Anthony Pettis a rude welcome back to the lightweight division. He submitted the ex-champ in the second round.
Brian Kelleher forced a foot tap from Ode Osbourne thanks to a tight guillotine.
Aleksei Oleinik, one of the most dangerous submission artists in heavyweight history at this point, earned his 46th submission victory. That’s thanks to an arm-bar finish of TUF 28 veteran Maurice Greene.
Leave it to Conor McGregor to cap off the night, however. His 40-second stoppage of Cowboy Cerrone was magical. Shoulder strikes, a flying knee attempt, a head kick — it looked and felt like a cathartic moment for a star who had become bogged down in controversy outside the cage.
UFC officials reported a gate of $11,089,129.30, with attendance of 19,040.
