The Octagon returned to Texas for tonight’s UFC Austin event, a 12-bout fight card headlined by Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan.
The highly anticipated lightweight main event proved to be a coming out party for Arman Tsarukyan. The 27-year-old Armenian was able to land a big knee to punch combination on Dariush in the opening minute, which sent the veteran crashing to the Octagon canvas. From there, Tsarukyan promptly finished the bout with ground and pound.
UFC Austin was co-headlined by a lightweight bout featuring Bobby Green taking on Jalin Turner. The bout resulted in one of the worst referee stoppages of all time. Turner rocked Green with a big punch and then sent him crashing to the floor with a follow up right hand. Once on the ground, ‘The Tarantula’ unleashed some heavy ground and pound which rendered ‘King’ unconscious. Unfortunately, multiple shots were allowed after Green was out, spawning some serious outrage from fellow fighters.
Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that four fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.
Fight of the night: Light heavyweight fighters Rodolfo Bellato and Ihor Potieria took home ‘FOTN’ honors for their thrilling war on today’s UFC Austin prelims. Bellato won the contest via second-round TKO.
Performance of the night: Arman Tsarukyan earned an extra $50k for his first-round knockout victory over Beneil Dariush in tonight’s headliner (see that here).
Performance of the night: Miesha Tate pocketed an extra $50k for her third-round submission victory over Julia Avila.
Performance of the night: Drakkar Klose earned an extra $50k for his sensational slam KO win over Joe Solecki (see that here).
Performance of the night: Jared Gordon pocketed an extra $50k for his second-round submission victory over Wellington Turman.
Performance of the night: Jalin Turner earned an extra $50k for his first-round knockout victory over Bobby Green in tonight’s UFC Austin co-main event (see that here).
Performance of the night: Cody Brundage pocketed an extra $50k for his first-round knockout victory over Zachary Reese.
Performance of the night: Sean Brady earned an extra $50k for his third-round submission victory over Kelvin Gastelum (see that here).
Performance of the night: Dustin Stoltzfus pocketed an extra $50k for his second-round submission victory over Punahele Soriano.
Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out by Dana White and company following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC Austin event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!