Dana White hands out four performance bonuses following a plethora of finishes at UFC Fight Island 5
UFC president Dana White handed out four “Performance of the Night” bonuses following a plethora of finishes at UFC Fight Island 5.
There was something in the water on Fight Island on Saturday night, as all 26 fighters who were on the card put on a show. It was an absolutely incredible night of fights that saw a number of fighters pull off some amazing finishes. Although bonuses could have been given to at least 10 fighters, White and the UFC had to whittle down the list to just four.
Following UFC Fight Island 5, the promotion revealed the winners of the $50,000 bonuses. Below, check out the four fighters the UFC and White settled on giving the bonuses to.
Tonight's POTNs go down in history!
💰: Tom Breese
💵: @ChrisDaukausMMA
💸: @NewMansa94
💲: @Cors_Life pic.twitter.com/JAcxrnQOmQ— UFC (@ufc) October 11, 2020
One of the no brainers on a night that was full of amazing finishes saw a 50k bonus go to middleweight Joaquin Buckley for his incredible spinning back kick KO over Impa Kasanganary. The KO came out of nowhere and went viral as hardcore MMA fans and casuals shared the video of the amazing knockout all night over social media. If you didn’t know who Buckley was before this card, now you know. It was a star-making performance.
Also awarded a 50k bonus was Cory Sandhagen, who knocked out Marlon Moraes with a spinning wheel kick and punches in the main event. At heavyweight, Chris Daukaus earned his first UFC bonus for his TKO win over Rodrigo Nascimento. As well, Tom Breese, who knocked out newcomer KB Bhullar with a jab and follow-up ground-and-pound in a fantastic finish on the prelims, was also rewarded a bonus for his work inside the cage.
It was one of those nights where the UFC and White could have given the bonuses to many other fighters who didn’t end up receiving one. For instance, middleweight Dricus Du Plessis KOed Markus Perez in what could have been a bonus-worthy performance. The same goes for Tom Aspinall for his first-round TKO win over Alan Baudot. But in the end, the UFC chose to give the bonuses to Buckley, Sandhagen, Breese, and Daukaus.
Do you think Dana White and the UFC handed the bonuses out to the right fighters?
