UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro delivered the goods big time. And the organization appreciated its fighters’ efforts to hand out multiple bonuses. All in all, four fighters including Brazilian sensation Michel Pereira, debutant Mauricio Ruffy, Caio Borralho, and Alessandro Costa got Dana White’s bonuses as they pushed the envelopes to deliver blockbuster performances. It was the Brazilian fighters who stole the show as well.
They did not let their country down and took the performance of the night bonuses for it. All in all, $200,000 was paid to the above four fighters for their breakout performances. According to David Shaw, UFC’s Senior Vice President of Content and International Operations, the $50,000 bonuses were given to each.
According to Forbes, except for Anthony Smith and Joanderson Brito who also got in the finishes, all 11 fighters who had the finishes got the promised. Besides the performance of the night bonuses, UFC also announced its new Hall of Fame inductee.
Veteran fighter Mauricio Rua was the latest athlete to be honored and inducted into this prestigious group. Now coming to the performances of the night, let us take a closer look at what got the fighters on the money train.
Performances of The Night: From Pereira’s quick work of Potieria to Ruffy’s stellar TKO
The stage was set for the fifth PPV event of the calendar year in Rio de Janeiro at the Farmasi Arena. The event was headlined by the championship bout between flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Steve ‘Astroboy’ Erceg. It was followed by the co-main event featuring none other than the ‘King of Rio’ – Jose Aldo.
Credits: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
In all honesty, the event quenched the insatiable thirst of fight fans, delivering a blockbuster of an event with Brazilian fighters going all out. While Pantoja just edged out against the challenger Erceg, Michel Pereira did not change his flamboyant ways. The outlandish Brazilian earned a quick buck for his submission win against Ihor Potieria 54 seconds into round 1 in a featured middleweight clash.
Prior to Pereira’s bout, Caio Borralho KOed submission specialist Paul Craig in round 2 to earn another $50,000. Following his win, he went on to call out Jared Cannonier in what could be a future slugfest. Besides these two main card fights, debutant, Mauricio Ruffy snagged the $50,000 bonus with a spectacular round 1 TKO win over Jamie Mullarkey, handing the Australian his eighth career loss.
Lastly, flyweight prospect Alessandro Costa captivated the masses in his preliminary bout, defeating Kevin Borjas, stopping his opponent after pummeling him down to the canvas via stoppage in R1.
