With the dust settled at UFC Vegas 79, four fighters are coming away $50,000 richer — and despite a promising start, neither of the main event players are among them.
While the highly anticipated lightweight showdown between Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot had a great start on Saturday, Fiziev appeared to blow out his knee off a kick in the second round, bringing about a premature end to his night, and the fight.
As a result, Gamrot picked up an injury TKO win, but was out of the running for a bonus. Instead, Fight of the Night honors went to welterweights Tim Means and Andre Fialho, who put on a thriller on the preliminary card.
Both fighters started the night on three-fight skids, and there’s a possibility that even off a bonus, this could be the last time Fialho fights in the UFC. Then again, he’s an action-fighter, and the promotion would be wise to give him another go.
Main card players Charles Jourdain and Marina Rodriguez picked up Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Vegas 79, meanwhile. “Air” Jourdain, best known as a striker, proved to be no slouch on the ground after submitting Brazil’s Ricardo Ramos with a guillotine choke in the opening round. The win puts Canada’s Jourdain on a modest two-fight win streak in a loaded featherweight division.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, battered a game and gutsy Michelle Waterson-Gomez before finally putting “The Karate Hottie” away via TKO in the second round of their strawweight fight.
All four bonus-winning fighters walk away from UFC Vegas 79 with an extra $50,000 for their efforts, beyond their purse, outfitting pay etc.
