The UFC announced the $100,000 bonus winners after UFC Fight Night 275. A heavyweight brawl earned Fight of the Night, and two fighters picked up Performance of the Night awards.
Bonus winners
UFC Fight Night 275 handed out three $100,000 bonuses. Fight of the Night went to the main-card heavyweight fight between Brando Pericic and Shamil Gaziev. The two Performance of the Night bonuses went to main event winner Carlos Prates and Quillan Salkilld.
Pericic vs. Gaziev — Fight of the Night
The heavyweight clash between Brando Pericic and Shamil Gaziev was a wild, back-and-forth slugfest. Pericic found his range early and began landing heavy shots to Gaziev’s head. Gaziev kept coming forward despite taking a lot of punishment, almost like he was in “zombie mode” for much of the fight.
Pericic finally rocked Gaziev with a right hand and followed with another clean shot to finish the fight by KO. The sustained action and dramatic finish made this the clear choice for Fight of the Night.
Prates dismantles Jack Della Maddalena
Main event winner Carlos Prates earned one of the Performance of the Night bonuses. He controlled the three-round bout against Jack Della Maddalena. Della Maddalena tried to pressure early, but Prates used long range well.
Prates’ calf kicks were a major weapon. They began to show damage late in round two, as Della Maddalena started limping. A hard calf kick shortly after left him in visible pain. In the third round Prates attacked the same leg again. Two more heavy kicks dropped Della Maddalena, and Prates followed with ground-and-pound to finish the fight by TKO.
Salkilld stops Dariush after fending off takedowns
Quillan Salkilld earned the other Performance of the Night. Early in his fight he had to defend takedown attempts from veteran Beneil Dariush in the clinch. Once Salkilld broke free, he moved forward with big punches.
A hard right hand put Dariush down and led to a TKO stoppage. Salkilld’s quick shift from defense to powerful offense was the key to his win and the bonus.
| Fighter | Recent Result |
|---|---|
| Brando Pericic | KO win over Shamil Gaziev (Fight of the Night) |
| Shamil Gaziev | KO loss to Brando Pericic |
| Carlos Prates | TKO win over Jack Della Maddalena (Performance of the Night) |
| Quillan Salkilld | TKO win over Beneil Dariush (Performance of the Night) |
This report is from UFCcoverage.
