UFC 268 took place Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The night saw many great performances and finishes and the UFC had some tough choices in awarding its bonuses.
There were 4 $50K bonuses that went to Marlon Vera, Chris Barnett, Alex Pereira and Bobby Green. Fight of the Night went to Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler.
The Fight of the Night was a foregone conclusion even before the event started and it lived up to its billing. Both fighters emptied the tank and threw big punches at each other. Gaethje ended up on the winning side of this fight.
Marlon Vera used an Anderson Silva-like front kick that hit Franke Edgar square on the chin that ended the night for the former lightweight champ. Chris Barnett was the star of the early prelims. The big man hit a spinning wheel kick to the side of the head of Gian Villante to end the night for the retiring vet. Former Glory kickboxing champ Alex Pereira did not disappoint in his debut. As the feature fight on the televised ESPN Prelims Pereira survived grappling in the first round from Andreas Michailidis. However, Pereira stunned him with a jumping knee to get the KO in the 2nd round.
Payout Perspective:
It was a big night for the UFC and there could have been many more bonuses with some great performances from the fighters. Barnett stood out on the early prelims for his dancing during the walkout, finish and graciousness with the retiring Gian Villante. Pereira came as advertised with his kickboxing acumen and should be someone to watch.
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