For the second week in a row, the UFC opted to forgo a Fight of the Night bonus on Saturday, instead awarded four Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC London.
That means that every fighter who came away with a finish at the O2 Arena picked up an extra $50,000 for their efforts. Unfortunately, it almost meant that there were nine fights that wound up going the distance, on a night that saw something of a changing of the guard.
Main event winner Sean Brady was on of the four fighters picking up Performance bonuses, after submitting ex-champ and English fave Leon Edwards with a mounted guillotine in the fourth round. Brady had been dominant up to that point, leaving no question that he’s now deserving to be in the title conversation. Of course, welterweight champ Belal Muhammad gets Jack Della Maddalena next, and Shavkat Rakhmonov continues to loom over the division, so Brady may have to fight again, or wait a good long while before any shot at gold is forthcoming.
Newcomer Alexia Thainara submitted “Meatball” Molly McCann on the main card at UFC London, spoiling the Liverpool native’s night and coincidentally or not, sending her into retirement. It was the fourth loss in five fights for McCann, who retires with 14 bouts inside the octagon and four post-fight bonuses of her own. The moment, and the win, belonged to Thainara however, a Contender Series winner who accepted the bout last Friday, replacing Istela Nunes.
The remaining Performance bonuses went to Shauna Bannon and Chris Duncan, both of whom also won their fights via submission.
