The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) went to Hidalgo, TX for the first time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 94: Poirier vs Johnson. It was an entertaining night of bouts that saw seven of 12 matches end inside the distance. 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 Bookmakers. The post-fight bonus winners for UFC Fight Night 94 were… Michael Johnson earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) Johnson caught Dustin Poirier in a real firefight at the early going of the opening stanza, dropping him and following up with punches to get the knockout finish, ultimately snapping his two-fight skid and returning to the win column at 155 pounds. It was an impressive outing and highlight reel finish by Johnson, who looks to climb back up the ranks of the UFC’s lightweight division. He hopes for a fight against top-ranked contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is currently without an opponent. Noteworthy T/KO(s): – Derek Brunson defeated Uriah Hall via first round TKO for his fifth straight victory, four of which have come by first round T/KO. The stoppage may have come a tad early, but the outcome was clearly inevitable, as Hall appeared to be hurt and in serious trouble with heavy hands being rained down on him. – Belal Muhammad defeated Augusto Montano via TKO with less than a minute remaining in the third and final stanza. After failing to submit the Mexican, he secured the stoppage with his ground and pound, picking up his first victory inside the Octagon and returning to the win column following his debut loss to Alan Jouban a couple months ago. Chas Skelly earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Submission of the Night) Skelly attempted a flying kick at the opening bell of the first round, then went for a guillotine as the fight hit the mat, and quickly transitioned into an anaconda choke to put veteran Maximo Blanco to sleep, ultimately earning a technical submission victory and returning to the win column of the UFC’s featherweight division. It was an impressive outing by Skelly, and fight fans look forward to seeing him back inside the Octagon. Noteworthy Submission(s): – Gabriel Benitez defeated Sam Sicilia via second-round guillotine choke submission to return to the win column at 145 pounds. He got the better of Sicilia on the feet and wrapped up the show with a submission. – Randy “Rude Boy” Brown appeared to be en route to a decision defeat after a tight first round and a lopsided second in favor of his opponent Erick Montano, but he was quick to capitalize on a poor takedown attempt by Montano at the start of the third frame, locking in a high elbow guillotine choke and forcing the tap from the TUF: Latin America season two winner. Evan Dunham and Rick Glenn earn Fight of the Night honors for their three-round battle on the main card of the evening for UFC Fight Night 94 in Hidalgo. It was largely a one-sided fight in favor of Dunham, who took home a unanimous decision victory along with the $50,000 bonus. Glenn showed a lot of heart, stepping up a weight class on short notice to make his promotional debut against an established and respected veteran like Dunham. Fight fans look forward to seeig what he has to offer in the UFC’s featherweight division following this one-off at lightweight. Noteworthy fight(s): – Jose Quinonez defeated Joey Gomez via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following an entertaining three rounds of action. – Albert Morales and Alejandro Perez fought to a controversial draw after three exciting rounds of action. Perez was deducted a point for a late hit after the bell at the end of round two, but even without the deduction, many felt Morales had done enough to earn the nod, so with the deduction, the fight should have been in the bag. However, the judges Octagon-side did not see it that way, as two of them somehow had Perez winning two rounds.
