UFC 277 bonuses: Brandon Moreno, Kai Kara-France among four $50,000 winners in Dallas
The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a former and now interim champion
After UFC 277, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Dallas. Check out the winners below.
Performance of the Night: Drew Dober
Jul 30, 2022; Dallas, TX, USA; Drew Dober (red gloves) reacts after defeating Rafael Alves (blue gloves) in a lightweight bout during UFC 277 at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Drew Dober (25-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC) spent 10 minutes in a Fight of the Night-worthy battle with Rafael Alves (20-11 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Then early in the third, when Dober had Alves backed against the fence, he threw a left hand that drilled Alves in the ribs. Alves took a one-second beat, then dropped straight to the canvas on his knees, then to his head. Dober landed one extra punch just as Mike Beltran was getting there to shut him down with the knockout.
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Performance of the Night: Alexandre Pantoja
Jul 30, 2022; Dallas, TX, USA; Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) fights Alex Perez (blue gloves) in a flyweight bout during UFC 277 at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Alexandre Pantoja (25-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) put on arguably the best performance of his career when he took out Alex Perez (24-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) with relative ease. Pantoja blitzed Perez immediately after the opening bell. He threw bombs at Perez and backed him up. Shortly after that, he tripped Perez to the canvas and took his back. He stayed latched onto Perez’s back with Perez standing and worked for a rear-naked choke. Even though he didn’t get under Perez’s chin, Pantoja forced him to tap from the pressure just 91 seconds into the fight, which was thought by many to be a flyweight title eliminator.
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Fight of the Night: Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France
Jul 30, 2022; Dallas, TX, USA; Brandon Moreno (red gloves) fights Kai Kara-France (blue gloves) in a flyweight interim title bout during UFC 277 at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Brandon Moreno (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-2 UFC) was in a dogfight with Kai Kara-France (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the co-main event. He had a cut under his right eye that quickly was turning into a big mouse. And Kara-France was getting off plenty of offense. But almost out of nowhere, Moreno landed a big kick to Kara-France’s liver. Kara-France hit the canvas a second later, doubled over in pain. Moreno was on him in a hurry and landed a dozen or so punches until referee herb Dean stopped the fight to make Moreno, a former undisputed champion, the interim flyweight titleholder.
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