The UFC 286 bonuses, gate and attendance where announced following UFC 286 on Saturday in London, England. UFC president Dana White announced the recipients of the performance-based bonuses during the event’s post-fight press conference.
To no surprise, the co-main event between Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev earned Fight of the Night honors. The other two bonus award winners were Gunnar Nelson and Jake Hadley.
White also announced the gate and attendance numbers. “The gate was 8.58 million. That’s US Dollars. The attendance was 17,588. Sold out. Highest grossing single night event in arena history.”
Fight Of The Night: Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev
The co-main event between Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev exceeded the expectations it had set from the moment it was announced. It was a back and forth battle, ultimately being sent off to the judges who sent Gaethje home the winner by majority decision.
Fiziev started off quick earning success against “The Highlight” in the first round, but Gaethje soon started to pick things up, landing punches that started to cut open Fiziev. The bruising and bloodiness continued into the third round with Gaethje shooting some punches that had the crowd filled with excitement.
It was an unforgettable matchup between two exciting lightweights that will be talked about for some time to come.
Performance Of The Night: Jake Hadley
It was an easy night in the office for Jake Hadley as he submitted Malcolm Gordon 61 seconds into the fight. After the two spent a few seconds feeling each other out in the canvas, Hadley threw a body shot followed by some jabs that sent Gordon down.
From there, the night was over after the ref stepped in, sending Hadley and the O2 crowd into celebration mode. This marks Hadley’s second victory in a row.
Performance Of The Night: Gunnar Nelson
Gunnar Nelson earned his second straight win in London after submitting Bryan Barberena by arm bar with seconds left in the first round.
Nelson showed his grappling abilities from the beginning of the fight and continued to march forward even after Barberena tried to throw a few leg kicks. Once the two made their way to the canvas, there was no going back as Nelson threw elbows, continuing to work as he made his way to the arm bar submission.
UFC 286: Edwards vs Usman 3 Attendance, Records and Gate
Attendance: 17,588 (sold out)
Gate: £7,030,490/$8,577,197
Highest grossing event in O2 Arena history
UFC 286 Bonuses, Gate, and Attendance
