UFC 261 bonuses: Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas among $50,000 no-brainers
The UFC handed out four $50,000 post-fight bonuses after its return to full arenas Saturday.
UFC 261 took place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+. It was the promotion’s first event in front of fans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The card featured three title fights at the top of the bill, and all five fights on the main card ended in finishes – including a nasty broken leg suffered by former middleweight champion Chris Weidman.
Check out the post-fight bonus winners below.
Performance of the Night: Kamaru Usman
Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) fought one of his biggest rivals, Jorge Masvidal (35-15 MMA, 12-8 UFC), in the main event. The two fought in July 2020 when Masvidal took a title fight on six days' notice, and Usman defended his welterweight belt with a unanimous decision. But in the rematch, he left no doubt when he drilled Masvidal with a right hand that had him out before he hit the canvas. He became just the second fighter to knock out Masvidal in 50 fights, and first to stop him since 2009. [listicle id=605375]
Performance of the Night: Rose Namajunas
Namajunas (10-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) was the underdog to women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili (21-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC), but she reclaimed the 115-pound title when she took out Weili with a first-round head kick. Although Weili protested the stoppage, she stumbled when she got back up and it seemed clear Namajunas' finish was the right call. [listicle id=605380]
Fight of the Night: Molina vs. Aori
In the second fight of the night, Jeffrey Molina (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Qileng Aori (18-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) went back and forth for 15 minutes. Molina landed more than 200 total strikes in the fight and took home a unanimous decision for his first win in the promotion. He hoped for a bonus, and he got one. [vertical-gallery id=605883] [vertical-gallery id=605770]
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