The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card in “Sin City,” including one to the heaviest favorite on the card (yawn) rather than rewarding lower-paid fighters with finishes from the prelims.
After UFC Fight Night 278, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Additionally, five fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
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Check out the list of winners below.
Fight of the Night: Brendan Allen, Edmen Shahbazyan ($100,000 each)
Brendan Allen (27-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC) continued to put together standout performances at middleweight after a two-fight skid with a unanimous decision win over Edmen Shahbazyan (16-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in the co-feature. Allen took a pair of 30-27 scores as part of the win, which was his third straight and second with a post-fight bonus.
Performance of the Night: Iwo Baraniewski ($100,000)
Iwo Baraniewski (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) made almost embarrassingly easy work of Junior Tafa (7-6 MMA, 3-6 UFC) to open the main card. He kicked his lead leg a couple times to take the Australian off his feet. Then he rushed in and punched him while he helplessly covered up with nowhere to go. Baraniewski was the biggest betting favorite on the card at 5-1 and his finish came in just 85 seconds.
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Performance of the Night: Edgar Chairez ($100,000)
Edgar Chairez (14-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) delivered a classic club-and-sub performance when he took out Bruno Silva (15-9-2 MMA, 5-6 UFC) with a first-round rear-naked choke. The submission came after Chairez continually floored Silva with punches on the feet. Then he took advantage with precision grappling, as well.
Finish bonus: Bryce Mitchell ($25,000)
It looked like Bryce Mitchell (19-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) was on his way to an easy unanimous decision win over Santiago Luna (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC). But he stayed after a submission throughout the last round, and with just eight seconds left, he forced Luna to tap for the first loss of his career.
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Finish bonus: Alessandro Costa ($25,000)
Alessandro Costa (16-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) made reasonably quick and easy work of longtime flyweight gatekeeper Matt Schnell (17-11 MMA, 7-9 UFC) and put him away with a hammerfist ground-and-pound TKO just past the midway point of the opening round. It was his second straight stoppage win.
Finish bonus: Chelsea Chandler ($25,000)
Chelsea Chandler (7-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) hadn’t been in the cage in a year, but her return was quick and vicious. She tapped Priscila Cachoeira (13-9 MMA, 5-9 UFC) with a slick armbar after they started grappling – which came after Chandler floored the Brazilian on the feet.
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Finish bonus: Joanderson Brito ($25,000)
Joanderson Brito (19-5-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) had to fend off submission attempts from Jordan Leavitt (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in the first round of their featherweight fight on the prelims, but he turned the tables in a slick way late in the frame when he tied Leavitt up with a ninja choke against the fence. Shortly after that, Leavitt had to tap, which gave Brito his eighth career submission win.
Finish bonus: Ketlen Souza ($25,000)
Ketlen Souza (17-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) started the show with a bang when she took out Ariane Carnelossi (15-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) with a brutal head kick. Carnelossi started off aggressive, but 90 seconds in, Souza drilled her with a punch that sat her down, and as she was getting up, Souza met her with a kick to the jaw. Souza avenged a loss to Carnelossi from more than seven years ago.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Fight Night 278 bonuses: Show’s heaviest favorite gets $100K
