After a rare week on the sidelines, the UFC returned to action on Saturday with UFC Vegas 97, one of the better Apex-based offerings, at least on paper, in recent memory. Headlined by Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady and featuring names like ex-women’s strawweight champ Jessica Andrade, the Fight Night show was solid if not spectacular, marred only by the loss of Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann at the last minute.
With six finishes on Saturday’s card, there was plenty of potential in terms of post-fight bonuses, which in the end went to Cody Durden, Steve Garcia, and the night’s co-main event between the aforementioned Andrade and Natalia Silva. For Durden, the extra 50K came after he caught Matt Schnell in a ninja choke in the second round of their main-card flyweight affair. All of Saturday’s bonuses, in fact, came from the main card, as Garcia, stepping in to replace Calvin Kattar, managed to put away Canadian Kyle “The Monster” Nelson via TKO in the first round.
Silva and Andrade went the distance, meanwhile, with Silva taking a unanimous decision win care of 30-27 scores from all three judges. The victory was the sixth straight for the Brazilian under the UFC banner, and twelfth consecutive win overall.
The fight, contested at flyweight, marked Andrade’s return to the weight class, where Natalia Silva had been ranked #8. Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko will face off with Grasso’s 125lb title on the line next weekend at UFC 306 (marketed as Riyadh Season Noche UFC), which should produce a path forward for the division’s other contenders.
All four bonus winning fighters at UFC Vegas 97 will pocket an additional $50,000 for their efforts on top of purse, outfitting pay, and so forth.
