Seven finishes decorated the UFC 277 card, but while the UFC has opened up their wallet for a number of recent cards, they stuck to the traditional four post-fight bonuses (a shared Fight of the Night, and two Performance of the Night bonuses) on Saturday.
Among the night’s big winners, the co-main event interim flyweight title fight between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France took home Fight of the Night honors. That, despite stiff competition from the main event (Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes 2) and the lightweight fight between Drew Dober and Rafael Alves.
Moreno looked to be in trouble in the third, with Kara-France finding considerable success. But late in the round, the former champ caught Kara-France with a kick to the body, dropping him. Kara-France covered up as Moreno unloaded with ground n’ pound, bringing about an end to the fight.
Performance bonuses at UFC 277 went to the aforementioned Dober and Alexandre Pantoja. Dober had to contend with a very game Rafael Alves, who at times seemed to duck and dodge punches Matrix-style. But in the third, Dober dug the body with a hook, sending Alves face-down to the canvas.
Pantoja, meanwhile, made a statement against ex-flyweight title challenger Alex Perez, storming out of the gate on the PPV main card. He locked up a rear-naked choke just 91 seconds into the fight.
All four bonus-winning fighters will pocket $50,000 U.S. for their efforts at UFC 277 in Dallas, TX.
