It was never going to be an easy decision for the UFC decision makers when it came to the bonus money at UFC 322.
There were a lot of big finishes, a lot of deserving fighters. Newcomer Ethyn Ewing shocked many with an upset of Malcolm Wellmaker. Erin Blanchfield presented Tracy Cortez in a rematch of their Invicta days, in 2019.
However, four other fighters took home the bonus money at UFC 322. Each received a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus; no Fight of the Night was announced for the New York card, a common theme lately.
Peloton leader Bo Nickal, the only one of the four winners, appears on the preliminary map. Nickal knocked out BJJ star Rodolfo Vieira with a head kick in the evening’s preliminary round to bounce back from his first career loss to Reinier de Ridder. If there was any question as to whether the loss to RDR had shocked the decorated collegiate wrestler, he certainly answered it.
Lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis kicked off the main card, defeating Beneil Dariush in just sixteen seconds. Then, consecutively in the next two fights, Carlos Prates became the first man to defeat former welterweight champion Leon Edwards, while Michael Morales scored a TKO finish of Sean Brady.
Morales extended his winning streak and overall record to 19-0 with that performance, cementing himself as the frontrunner for a 170-pound title shot.
According to UFC CEO and President Dana White, the number of announced attendees was 20,464.
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