Four Performance of the Night bonuses were handed out at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday, and the always entertaining “Demolidor” was among the recipients.
Michel Pereira, a.k.a. Demolidor, absolutely demolished replacement opponent Ihor Poteiria of Ukraine in their main card middleweight fight, and as usual, it was his flashy style that left fans talking. In this case, Pereira even courted a little controversy- having knocked Potieria down, the Brazilian capoeira expert did a standing backflip onto his opponent, but appeared to graze the head with his knee. That would be an illegal knee, and after catching Potieria in a guillotine choke shortly after and putting him out, Pereira celebrated while cageside officials debated how to handle the scene.
Ultimately, it was ruled incidental contact, with Pereira awarded the submission win. The controversy, such as it was, didn’t seem to bother the UFC any, with David Shaw, Senior Vice President of International and Content, announcing Demolidor among the bonus winners during the post-fight press conference.
Also among the winners, newcomer Mauricio Ruffy, who stunned with his TKO finish of the rugged Jamie Mullarkey on the early prelims.
Two other Brazilians earned $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses as well: Caio Borralho, who stopped veteran Paul Craig, and Alessandro Costa, the flyweight who kicked off the event with a TKO win over Kevin Borjas.
No Fight of the Night was awarded at UFC 301; over 14,000 fans were in attendance for the event.
