The UFC kicked off 2024 with what turned out to be an exciting card in UFC Vegas 84, and the excitement factor showed out in terms of bonuses.
Four fighters pocketed $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses as a result, including headliner Magomed Ankalaev, and veteran Jim Miller.
Ankalaev was paired up with Johnny Walker in a rematch of their UFC 294 showdown last October, which wound up ending in a No Contest when the Dagestani clipped Walker with an illegal knee. Though Walker appeared ready to continue, the fight was halted, leaving both fighters far from satisfied.
No such bad luck presented itself on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 84, though Ankalaev did connect with a low blow in the opening round. He connected with a pair of knockout blows in the second, however, which put Walker down, and earned Ankalaev his post-fight bonus.
Miller took three rounds to put away Gabriel Benitez, but got the face crank submission in round three in a fight he was already winning. That victory makes the 40-year old lightweight 4-1 in his last five and hopefully lines him up for a fight at UFC 300.
Brunno Ferreira, for his finish of Phil Rowe, and Marcus McGhee, who stopped Gaston Bolanos in a sequence set up with a spinning wheel kick, were also rewarded for their efforts.
