The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to Chicago this past weekend with UFC on FOX 16: Dillashaw vs Barao II. Following the evening of memorable of fights, the promotion handed out four $50,000 checks to four fighters for ‘Performance of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. Betting lines to wager on such props were made available at Several Bookmakerss. And without further ado, UFC on FOX 16’s Post-Fight bonus’ went to… TJ Dillashaw earned Performance of the Night honors for his fourth round TKO of Renan Barao in the main event of the evening. Barao had his moments, but it was the champion who controlled every minute of the fight, until ultimately putting the Brazilian away with strikes less than a minute into the championship rounds. After a lengthy layoff, Dillashaw returned to action in impressive fashion, adding another highlight to his reel. Tom Lawlor earned Performance of the Night honors for his come from behind secound round knockout of Long Island’s Gian Villante. It was Villante who was getting the better of the action, dominating the fight and arguably earning a 10-8 score for the first round. However, it was one heavy handed punch delivered by “Filthy” that did the job less than a minute into the second stanza, giving him his second straight win inside the Octagon and an extra $50,000 in his bank account. Other noteworthy performances: – Joe Lauzon defeated Takanori Gomi via TKO in the very first round of action. “The Fireball Kid” was getting the better of Lauzon on the feet, but as soon as the fight hit the mat, it was all Lauzon. Many expected a submission victory, but he wrapped things up with a TKO, his fourth inside the Octagon. – James Krause defeated Daron Cruickshank via first round rear naked choke submission and returned to the win column following a pair of loses to Jorge Masvidal and Valmir Lazaro, respectively. “The Detroit Superstar” was getting the better of the exchanges on the feet, but as soon the fight hit the canvas, Krause took over and he wasted no time sinking in the choke to earn the tap, ultimately saving his job. Edson Barboza and Paul Felder earned Fight of the Night honors for their three round war on the main card of the evening for UFC on FOX 16 in Chicago. The two exchanged from begining to end, trading vicious shots for 15-minutes of action en route to a judges’ decision, which went to Barboza, unanimously. It was a very impressive outing by the Brazilian, and a great way for him to get back into the win column after being bested by Michael Johnson for three rounds in his previous outing. Felder entered the fight as an undefeated fighter and got his first taste of defeat, though he won over many fans with his performance. Other noteworthy fights: – The aforementioned Dillawshaw vs Barao main event rematch. – Miesha Tate defeated Jessica Eye via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following three entertaining rounds of action that saw the former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champ control the majority of it. After Eye got off to an early start, Tate turned the tables with a hard punch, sending Eye to the canvas. From then on, it was more-or-less all Miesha Tate, as he dominated Eye until the final bell, coming close to finishing the fight on multiple occasions.
