UFC Macau bonus and aftermath: 4 fighters take home $50K after three stunning knockouts and a submission
The UFC Macau bonuses have just been announced, and despite flying under the radar, especially after UFC 309 having taken place last weekend, UFC Macau impressed with four bouts delivering exceptional finishes.
First, on the preliminary card, Shi Ming took on fellow Chinese countrywoman Feng Xiaocan in a three-round strawweight battle. In the third and final round, Shi faked a level change, as if to tease a body jab. When Feng took the bait, throwing a fruitless check hook, she opened herself up to a thunderous head kick.
She was unconscious before even hitting the mat, her body as stiff as a board before the referee jumped in to spare her from Shi's ground-and-pound. The knockout was of such ferocity that it not only earned Shi a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, but it also saw Feng have to be stretchered out of the octagon.
Several fights later on the main card, another stellar finish stole the spotlight when Zhang Mingyang faced Ozzy Diaz at light heavyweight. The stoppage came within two minutes of round, with Zhang tagging Diaz with his jab. The next time Zhang stepped in, Diaz was prepared to jab with him. Only, there was no matching jab.
Instead, Zhang stepped in with a stiff elbow, knocking Diaz off his feet. Wasting no time, Zhang pounced with ground-and-pound until Diaz turtled up and the referee waved it off, having seen enough. And for the promotion, the TKO was enough to award Zhang with a $50,000 performance bonus.
Two fights later, fans were treated to the first and only submission at UFC Macau. Gabriella Fernandes, a significant underdog, took on the then undefeated woen's flyweight Wang Cong and spent the better part of two rounds getting outworked on the feet. But halfway through round two, she sat Wang down with a one-two.
She jumped her, landing ground-and-pound, prompting Wang to turn over, exposing her back. It was the beginning of the end. Fernandes quickly seized back control and slapped on a rear-naked choke for the tap to pocket her performance bonus.
The final finish on the card came within three minutes of Muslim Salikhov's welterweight bout with Song Kenan, whose chin was obliterated by a spinning heel kick that sent him crashing into the mat and awarded Salikhov with his own bonus.
UFC Macau had no Fight of the Night
Despite the UFC Macau main event between Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo delivering on the action front, there was no Fight of the Night bonus awarded.
The two men dragged each other to their very limits in a competitive bout that Yan won, but the promotion still opted against a Fight of the Night.