In what can only be called a rare occurrence, only three post-fight bonuses were awarded at UFC Vegas 43. Not surprisingly, rising bantamweight talent Adrian Yanez claimed one of them.
The Fight Night card, which took place at the UFC Apex on Saturday, didn’t exactly serve up a boatload of finishes. In fact just one fight ended inside the distance, with Taila Santos submitting Joanne Wood (nee Calderwood) in the opening round of their flyweight affair.
Every other fight on the card went three (and in the case of the main event, five) rounds. While a fight ending in decision is not inherently bad — as Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler will show you — that sort of average isn’t a sign of a healthy card in general. And UFC Vegas 43 was anything but healthy: low on star power, with some listless performances.
The upside is that the aforementioned Yanez once again shined when given the spotlight. Through a three round war with Davey Grant, Yanez gave as good as he got, walking away with a split decision win. The biggest surprise of the fight was actually the dissenting score of 30-27 for Grant, a questionable result at best. The duo earned Fight of the Night honors in the end.
Santos, not surprisingly, took home the lone Performance of the Night awarded at UFC Vegas 43. All three bonus winning fighters will pocket $50,000 for their efforts.
