UFC 198 Fighter Bonuses: Stipe Miocic Wins the Belt, Gets a Bonus for the KO
Not only did Stipe Miocic win the UFC heavyweight championship on Saturday night in Curitiba, Brazil, he also earned a $50,000 post-fight bonus for his efforts.
In handing out the UFC 198 bonuses, UFC officials had several easy choices. Miocic, in particular, was an easy selection for one of the two Performance of the Night honors.
Miocic was moving backwards when he fired off a single punch that put Fabricio Werdum‘s lights out, and took the championship spotlight from the Brazilian to shine it on himself. One punch and Miocic added a hefty check to go with his shiny new belt.
RELATED VIDEO > UFC 198 Highlights: Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic
The other Performance of the Night award was another fairly easy choice, as Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza forced the changing of the guard with his first-round victory over Vitor Belfort. Despite being one of the best grapplers in the world, and possibly the best in the UFC middleweight division, Jacare used a ground-and-pound assault to score a TKO stoppage 4:38 into the fight, earning his bonus.
Fight of the Night honors was another designation that wasn't at all difficult to hand out: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Yancy Medeiros.
Trinaldo had Medeiros in trouble in every round of their fight, but somehow, no matter how hard Trinaldo hit him, the Hawaiian's iron chin held up and he soldiered on. In fact, Medeiros had his own moments in the fight, as he dropped Trinaldo towards the end of the second frame, but much like Trinaldo couldn't find the finishing blow, neither could Medeiros.
They ended up going the distance with Trinaldo taking a unanimous decision from the judges, but each man earning a $50,000 bonus check for the exciting performance.
