Following Saturday’s UFC Vegas 59 fight card at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, officials from the fight promotion announced the winners of the performance-based bonuses.
Fight Of The Night: Thiago Santos vs Jamahal Hill
In the main event, Jamahal Hill survived an initial onslaught of heavy punches and takedowns from Thiago Santos, eventually breaking him down over four rounds and earning the TKO victory.
Despite finishing past opponents far cleaner, a back-and-forth battle is just what Hill needed as he propels toward the top of the light heavyweight division and could potentially face former champion Jan Blachowicz, who he called out post-fight.
Performance Of The Night: Geoff Neal
In a fight that striking fans have been dreaming of for years, Geoff Neal delivered his most impressive performance to date, defeating No. 6 Vicente Luque by knockout in Round 3.
It didn’t take long for Neal to let his hands fly, swarming Luque with heavy strikes early and often that visibly damaged “The Silent Assassin”. Executing a lot of patience, Neal didn’t charge in for the finish, and bided his time until he could eventually drop Luque for the third and final time of the night at 2:01 of Round 3.
Performance Of The Night: Mohammed Usman
On the biggest stage of his professional mixed martial arts career, Mohammed Usman shined in his The Ultimate Fighter Season 30 finale against Zac Pauga. After a close first round that offered little to no insight on the future of the bout, it took 36 seconds into round 2 for Usman to shut the lights out.
Landing a check left hook, Pauga was out on his feet before Usman landed the final blows of the bout that sealed the deal. Usman’s victory makes him an interesting proposition for UFC heavyweight contenders.
Performance Of The Night: Bryan Battle
On a night where The Ultimate Fighter had its two finals showcased on prime time, the TUF 29 winner Bryan Battle stunned the APEX crowd with a jaw dropping 44 second, head kick knockout against Takashi Sato.
Watch Battle’s Head Kick Knockout
With the highlight reel finish, Battle extends his UFC win streak to three and sends a message to the welterweight division that he’s a rising contender eager to rise the ranks.
