A big night in Newark saw four Performance of the Night bonuses awarded following UFC 316.
UFC CEO and President Dana White announced the post-fight bonuses following the event, with headliner and co-headliner Merab Dvalishvili and Kayla Harrison among the bonus winners. Kevin Holland and Yoo Joo-sang also pocketed $50,000 in bonus money.
Dvalishvili, rematching Sean O’Malley in the night’s main event, displayed improved striking, hanging with “Suga” Sean on the feet before putting him away with a north-south choke in the third round. “The Machine” from Georgia now has a claim to being the best bantamweight of all time, and sits on a 13-fight win streak that includes victories over Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Sean O’Malley twice.
Following his latest victory, Dvalishvili called for a fight with top contender Cory Sandhagen.
In the co-headliner, Kayla Harrison dethroned Julianna Pena, in a fight that seemed like it was destiny for the former PFL champ. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo, Harrison was able to get Pena down and impose her will, eating an illegal upkick early but surviving to submit the champ late in the second round via kimura.
A face-off with women’s GOAT Amanda Nunes ensued, setting up one of the biggest women’s title fights of all time.
Kevin Holland choked Vicente Luque with a d’arce, and Yoo knocked out Jeka Saragih with a punch inside of 30 seconds to collect UFC 316’s other Performance of the Night bonuses.
