A rarely-seen reverse triangle by British bantamweight Davey Grant that sent Raphael Assuncao into retirement was among the bonus winning performances at UFC Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The sole Fight Night event to be hosted outside the UFC Apex but still unfold in Las Vegas since the coronavirus pandemic set in saw the promotion set up shop at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels. That’s the same venue where the PFL will kick off its regular season next month (formerly known as The Joint when the site was The Hard Rock Hotel, MMA is not new to the venue).
The UFC’s excursion to The Theater was brought about by Dana White’s Power Slap running its final at the Apex the very same night as UFC Fight Night 221, as the Las Vegas card is otherwise known. But it was White’s MMA venture Saturday, under-promoted, that out-performed with standout performances from Merab Dvalishvili, Jonathan Martinez, Grant, and others.
It was Grant’s comeback win in the third round against Assuncao that captured 50K in bonus money, however. Already trailing on the scorecards, Grant was deducted a point for a fence grab, and had no choice but to finish. When a spinning back fist connected on Assuncao, Grant took advantage, locking up the reverse triangle on the ground and squeezing with all his might.
Assuncao went out for the technical submission win.
Also rewarded for his efforts was flyweight Bruno Silva, who also secured a technical submission victory at UFC Las Vegas when he choked out Tyson Nam early on the preliminary card. That earned Silva the second Performance of the Night bonus at the event.
Fight of the Night on Saturday was awarded to Vitor Petrino vs. Anton Turkalj, a light heavyweight affair that saw the debuting Petrino pick up a unanimous decision win.
All four bonus-winning fighters will pocket at extra $50,000 for their efforts at UFC Las Vegas.
