UFC president Dana White announced the recipients of the UFC 287 performance-based bonuses during the event’s post-fight press conference on Saturday.
“Fight of the Night went to [Chris] Curtis and [Kelvin] Gastelum,”White said. “Performance of the Nights when to [Rob] Font and Israel [Adesanya].”
Fight of the Night: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Chris Curtis
Fight of the Night honor went to the middleweight bout the headlined the preliminary fight card between Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Curtis. The fight went the distance despite both men connecting with full impact a few times throughout the bout. When the dust settled it was Gastelum winning by unanimous decision and stopping a previous two-fight skid.
Performance of the Night: Israel Adesanya
The main event featured a middleweight title bout between Alex Pereira and former titleholder Israel Adesanya. After a competitive first round that saw Pereira connect with damaging leg kicks, Adesanya stopped his nemesis with a clean right hand followed by left as Pereira fell to the canvas. Adesanya delivered a followup shot leaving Pereira unconscious on the canvas.
Pereira had previous beaten Adesanya three times in combat sports. He held a decision win and a knockout win over “The Last Stylebender” in kickboxing before defeating Adesanya and taking the belt at UFC 281 in November.
Adesanya won back the title making himself a two-time UFC middleweight champion, and did so in brutal fashion. He also earned a bonus.
Performance of the Night: Rob Font
Bantamweight Rob Font fought an up and comer ranked below him in the weight class. The No. 6 ranked Font took on the streaking Adrian Yanez. Yanez entered the match riding a nine-fight winning streak. Yanez took the fight to Font in the early going but the veteran turned the tides. Font blasted Yanez with jabs and right hands. An uppercut sent Yanez crashing to the canvas and Font finished him off on the ground. It was enough to earn an extra $50,000.
UFC 287 took place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. It was the first time the fight promotion hosted a fight card in the jewel of South Florida in two decades.
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