Following an entertaining night of fights at the O2 Arena in London, four fighters are $50,000 richer for their efforts on the UFC 286 card.
And it was absolutely no surprise that two of those athletes were the co-main event lightweights, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev. Across three rounds, the pair battled in a very Gaethje-like war, with Fiziev giving as good as he got early on.
He even convinced “The Highlight” to use his wrestling a little. It was Gaethje, however, that turned it up in the third round, landing his jab and uppercuts repeatedly. Fiziev was bloodied, one eye swollen, and a final takedown by the American sealed the deal.
Fight of the Night? It was a no brainer. For Gaethje, it was his seventh Fight of the Night bonus, and #11 overall. He’s won a post-fight bonus in every single one of his fights, except his loss to Charles Oliveira last year.
The majority decision win also puts him back in the title hunt.
Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC 286 went to Jake Hadley and Gunnar Nelson. Flyweight Hadley, competing on the preliminary card in a catchweight bout after opponent Malcolm Gordon missed weight, ripped the Canadian with body shots to drop him, then brought about the finish with ground n’ pound, Donkey Kong style. Or “White Kong,” as Hadley is also known.
Nelson, meanwhile, made short work of Bryan Barberena on the night’s main card. He locked up an arm-bar submission just prior to the end of the opening round in their welterweight fight.
