UFC Fight Night 78’s Post-Fight Bonus’ went to… Andre Fili earned Performance of the Night honors for his first round knockout of TUF: Latin America 1 veteran Gabriel Benitez. The Mexican was getting the better of Fili on the feet, but “Touchy” completely changed everything around with one head-kick, putting Benitez out and getting himself back into the win column with the highlight reel finish. The Team Alpha Male product continues to be an exciting athlete to watch and fight fans certainly look forward to his next Octagon outing. Polo Reyes earned Performance of the Night honors for his first round knockout of TUF: Latin America 2 cast-mate Cesar Arzamendia. Arzamendia was getting the better of the striking and grappling exchanges, but he faded quickly and was easily knocked out by a Reyes punch which did not appear to have much power behind it. It was a come from behind knockout win for Reyes, who despite getting his hand raised, did not have a very good performance in this contest, in my opinion. Nonetheless, it was a fun fight and he finished it with a knockout. Other noteworthy performance(s): – Alvaro Herrera defeated fellow TUF: Latin America 2 team-mate Vernon Ramos via knockout at only 30 seconds into the very first round of action. It was a pitch-perfect Octagon debut for Herrera, who recently started training at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuqurque, NM. Personally, I think Herrera was more deserving of a $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus than Reyes. Neil Magny and Kelvin Gastelum earned Fight of the Night honors for their five round battle in the main event for UFC Fight Night 78 in Monterrey. It was a closely-contested scrap that saw both fighters have their moments, but the judges’ ultimately sided with Magny, giving him the biggest win of his professional mixed martial arts career in his first main event slot. Scores were all over the place, with most scoring the fight a Draw. If a rematch were ever to take place between these two welterweight warriors, nobody would complain. Other noteworthy fights: – Ricardo Lamas defeated Diego Sanachez via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following three entertaining rounds of action. Lamas gave Sanchez a sour welcome into the UFC’s featherweight division, and with the win over the veteran under his belt, he returns to the win column following a first round TKO loss to Chad Mendes earlier this year. It was certainly sad to see Diego get injured and beaten, but he put up a fight, had his moments and delivered another show for the fans. – The aforementioned Reyes vs Arzemendia bout.
