The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 81 event, an eleven-bout fight card headlined by Sodiq Yusuff vs. Edson Barboza.
The highly anticipated featherweight main event resulted in an absolutely thrilling war. Sodiq Yusuff almost finished the contest in round one, but Edson Barboza battled back to turn the tide in rounds two through five, even scoring a sensation spinning heel kick (see that here). After twenty-five minutes of action, Barboza was awarded the unanimous decision victory.
UFC Vegas 81 was co-headlined by a women’s flyweight fight featuring former title challenger Jennifer Maia (21-9 MMA) taking on Viviane Araujo (11-5 MMA). The bout proved to be a closely contested back and forth affair, which Araujo ultimately won by unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
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: Featherweight fighters Edson Barboza and Sodiq Yusuff earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors for their thrilling war in tonight’s UFC Vegas 81 main event. Barboza won the bout by unanimous decision in an absolute thriller.
Performance of the night: Michel Pereira earned an extra $50k for his first-round TKO victory over Andre Petroski (see that here).
Performance of the night: Jonathan Martinez pocketed an extra $50k for his third-round TKO victory over Adrian Yanez. Martinez earned the finish with some nasty low kicks.
Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out by Dana White and company following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC Vegas 81 event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
