The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) went back to Chicago, IL for the fifth straight year and produced a night of entertaining scraps. 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 20’s Post-Fight Bonus-Award winners were… Eddie Wineland earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) Wineland turned back the clock and looked like his former self by outstriking, hurting and eventually finishing the very game Frankie Saenz via TKO in the third and final round of action. Wineland showed great patience by looking for his openings and not wasting energy. He picked his shots and ultimately got the stoppage victory, arguably his best inside the Octagon. Noteworthy T/KO(s): – Francis Ngannou defeated promotional newcomer Bojan Mihaljovic via TKO just over a minute into the opening round. This heavyweight bout was a complete mismatch, as the betting odds certainly indicated. Ngannou did what was expected of him and made quick work of the Serbian. Felice Herrig earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Submission of the Night) Herrig returned to action following an extended layoff, and ultimately back into the win column with a first round rear naked choke submission victory over Kailin Curran, making quick work of the young Hawaiian prospect. Adding another highlight to her reel in front of her hometown crowd, fight fans look forward to seeing Herrig back inside the Octagon…for one reason or another… Noteworthy Submission(s): – Luis Henrique defeated promotional newcomer Dmitry Smolyakov via second round rear naked choke submission. The Brazilian took the Russian into deep waters, as Smolyakov had never been past the three minute mark in his professional mixed martial arts career before. When fatigue began to play a factor, it was all Luis Henrique, as he gained superior position on the mat and battered away with hammerfists to the side of the Russian’s head until he made a move to get up, at which point Henrique quickly capitalized by taking his back and sinking in the choke for a quick tap from Smolkyakov, ultimately earning his first victory inside the Octagon. Jason Knight and Jim Alers earn Fight of the Night honors for their three round battle on the main card for this past Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 18 in New Jersey. Rivera put up a great performance and took home a unanimous decision victory over the Brazilian veteran, and he is now enjoying a three fight winning streak in the UFC. This was a very fun fight in which both 135-pounders had their moments, but “El Terror” did most of the damage over the course of 15 minutes to take home a clear cut decision. Noteworthy fight(s): – Valentina Shevchenko defeated former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following five rounds of main event action. – Edson Barboza defeated former Strikeforce lightweight champion and former UFC lightweight title contender Gilbert Melendez via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following three rounds of co-main event action. – The aforementioned Wineland vs Saenz bout.
