UFC Fight Island 3 bonuses: Fabricio Werdum and five others bank an extra $50,000
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced the recipients of the fighter bonuses stemming from Saturday's event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till was the final of four events held on 'Fight Island' and six finishers were rewarded. Fabricio Werdum, Tom Aspinall, Khamzat Chimaev, Paul Craig, Tanner Boser, and Jesse Ronson took home the $50,000 performance incentives.
Former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum faced former three-time light heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson on the main card. It wads Gustafsson's heavyweight debut and Werdum welcomed him to the new weight class by finishing him in the first round. Werdum got the fight to the ground and put his jiu-jitsu skills on display. He quickly took Werdum's back and transition to an armbar. Gustafsson was forced to tap out midway through the opening round.
Light heavyweight Paul Craig earned a bonus for his first-round submission win over Gadzhimurad Antigulov. After being taken down by Antigulov, Craig set up a triangle choke. He slowly tightened it down until the Russian was forced to tap out.
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Welterweight Jesse Ronson's first-round submission win over Nicolas Dalby was bonus worthy. Heavyweight Tom Aspinall made an impact in his promotional debut by scoring a 45-second knockout win over Jake Collier and earning a bonus. Welterweight Khamzat Chimaev stopped Rhys McKee in the first round to bank his incentive check while heavyweight Tanner Boser's second-round stoppage of Raphael Pessoa banked him a bonus.
UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till featured 15 bouts. Eight fights went the distance. Three bouts ended in submission wins, and four ended in knockouts.
