UFC on FOX 17 came and went, producing a night of entertaining fights that included seven consecutive underdogs getting their hands raised. After the event concluded, the UFC awarded $50,000 to two fighters for ‘Performance of the Night’ and two fighters for ‘Fight of the Night’. The lines to wager on these props were available at Several Bookmakerss. UFC on FOX 17’s Post-Fight Bonus-Award winners were… Rafael dos Anjos earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) The Brazilian successfully defended his UFC Lightweight title with a first round TKO of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, starching the WEC veteran only 66 seconds into their five round rematch. Cerrone is known to be a slow starter and dos Anjos capitalized on that fact in this bout, putting pressure on “Cowboy” from the opening bell. It was a knee that initially hurt him, a kick to the body made it strike two, and a barrage of punches against the cage and on the mat made it “strike three, you’re out!” for Cerrone, who sees his eight fight winning streak snapped and makes a trip back to the drawing board. Knowing him, he will be back inside the Octagon sooner than later. Noteworthy T/KO(s): – Alistair Overeem scored a second round TKO of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos and made it three in a row for himself inside the Octagon, fulfilling the final fight on his current UFC contract with a big victory. The fight started out slow, with both big men respecting the power of the other. Things picked up in the second frame, where “The Reem” started finding his range and getting in his groove. He busted the former champ up with a few shots until a left hook sealed the deal with seconds remaining in the stanza. If Overeem re-signs with the UFC, a heavyweight title shot will very likely be part of the deal. – Nate Marquardt scored a come from behind second round knockout over CB Dolloway, putting an over-aggressive “Doberman” out cold just seconds into the second frame of action. In what appeared to be a loser goes home match-up, “The Great” saved his spot on the UFC’s middleweight roster with the highlight reel finish. – Francis Ngannou scored a second round knockout over fellow promotional newcomer Luis Henrique. I think it was one of the most vicious knockouts I have ever seen, seeing his uppercut nearly take Henrique’s head right off his shoulders in that replay. Completely brutal. Vicente Luque earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Submission of the Night) The Brazilian made quick worke of Hayder Hassan, hurting him on the feet, forcing a takedown and catching him in an anaconda choke to earn the first round technical submission finish. It was an impressive way for him to score one over Hassan in this rematch of a TUF exhibition fight which Hassan won by decision. A solid win for Luque and a pitch-perfect way for him to bounce back into the win column following a unanimous decision loss to Hassan’s team-mate Michael Graves in his promotional debut back in July. Noteworthy Submission(s): – Charles Oliveira made quick work of Myles Jury, who was making his 145-pound debut, by latching on to a guillotine choke in the first round and earning the tap from the fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. It was a great win for “Do Bronx” who missed weight for the contest and a nice way to get back into the win column following his head-scratching hiccup against Max Holloway earlier this year. – Tamdan McCrory submitted Josh Samman via third round triangle choke in his return to the Octagon. It was a very entertaining back and forth battle between the middleweights that ultimately saw McCrory get the better of Samman by capitalizing on an error on the mat and securing the submission for the tapout victory. Nate Diaz and Michael Johnson earn Fight of the Night honors for their three round war on the main card for UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando. The two lightweights went toe to toe exchanging blows and the massive underdog Diaz started getting the better of Johnson and outboxing him. Diaz looked great in his return to the Octagon following a year-long layoff, and with the crowd on his side, he took over the fight in the second round and put on a show en route to a unanimous decision win on the judges’ scorecards. This scrap was a favorite to take home the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors at Several Bookmakers sportsbooks, and we witnessed why. Noteworthy fight(s): – The aforementioned McCrory vs Samman bout.
