The Ultimate Fighting Championship was live from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for the first time in promotional history with UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko II. It was a solid night of scraps that saw six out of 11 of them end inside the distance. When the action concluded, the promotion handed out four $50,000 checks to four fights for ‘Performance of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. The betting lines to wager on such props were made available at Several Bookmakerss. UFC 215’s Bonuses went to…
Henry Cejudo earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night)
Cejudo earned a TKO stoppage in the second round of their main event bout and finds himself back in the win column following a controversial split decision loss to Joseph Benavidez. In back to back contests, Cejudo has looked the best he has ever looked in his professional mixed martial arts career, and this fantastic, highlight reel finish earned him an extra 50k for his efforts. Following his loss to Demetrious Johnson, people were down on him and no interest in seeing that fight again. However, his stock has gone back up with the past two bouts and he now has drawn back some interest for a potential rematch with the champ.
Other noteworthy knockout(s):
– Alex White defeated Mitch Clarke via second round TKO, ultimately sending the Canadian into retirement.
– Kajan Johnson defeated Adriano Martins via third round round knockout following an uneventful two rounds of action. I thought this was the best finish of the night and was personally surprised it did not earn Johnson a bonus. Maybe his beef with the UFC is more real than I thought.
Rafael dos Anjos earns Performance of the Night honors (formerly, Submission of the Night)
RDA delivered one of the best performances of his career, defeating Neil Magny via first round arm triangle choke submission to extend his winning streak in the UFC’s welterweight division to 2-0. The former UFC lightweight champion has his sights set on welterweight gold, and he is on the right path. There is no clear cut number one contender at the moment, so perhaps his next bout will be a title eliminator or simply for the belt.
Other noteworthy submission(s):
– Ketlen Vieira defeated Sara McMann via second round arm triangle choke to pick up her third straight victory inside the Octagon and remain undefeated at 9-0. It was an impressive, come from behind victory for the Brazilian, who was outwrestled by McMann in the opening stanza.
– Sarah Moraes defeated Ashlee Evans-Smith via first round armbar to bounce back into the win column following an extended two year layoff.
Jeremy Stephens and Gilbert Melendez earn Fight of the Night honors for their three round affair that kicked off the UFC 215 main card on Pay Per View. Stephens dominated the bout, dismantling Melendez with heavy leg kicks and almost getting a TKO stoppage via leg kicks en route to what was ultimate a one-sided unanimous decision win on the judges’ scorecards. It was quite an impressive outing by Stephens and one of the best of his career. It was a picture perfect way for him to bounce back into the win column following his recent two-fight losing skid. Melendez did not come close to winning this bout at any point, but he showed great heart and got the Edmonton fans into it, which helped the pair notch the bonus.
Other noteworthy fights:
– None.
