On Saturday, UFC closed out 2018 with UFC 232 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Following the event, the fight promotion revealed the winners of the fighter bonuses. Amanda Nunes, Ryan Hall, Alexander Volkanovski and Chad Mendes took home the $50,000 performance-based incentives.
Fight of the Night honors went to featherweights Mendes and Volkanovski. The two kicked off the main card with a back-and-forth battle that resulted in Volkanovski extending his winning streak to 16 fights and emerging as a contender in the 145-pound division.
After a competitive opening round, things picked up in the second frame. Mendes dropped Volkanovski with a right hand but the Australian quickly got back to his feet and took the fight to the former title challenger. He hurt Mendes with an elbow along the cage and finished with a perfectly placed right hand to the temple.
Nunes earned a bonus for her stunning first-round finish of Cris Cyborg in the fight card’s co-main event. Cyborg hadn’t tasted defeat since 2005. The superfist pitted champion against champion with the greatest female fighter of all time title on the line. Nunes hurt Cyborg with a right hand and didn’t let up. She rocked her with a combination before face-planting the fellow Brazilian with a right hand. Nunes became the first female fighter to win titles in two divisions in the fight promotion’s history.
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Hall took home a bonus for his quick finish of UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn in preliminary action. Penn hadn’t fought since June 2017. It was Penn’s return to the lightweight division, a weight class he once held the title in. Midway through the opening round, Hall rolled for a leg and caught Penn in a heel hook. Penn immediately tapped out. It was the first time Penn has been submitted in his 17-year career.
UFC 232 featured 13 bouts. Three fights went the distance, six ended in knockout finishes, and four resulted in submission wins.
