At Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 62, four fighters earned $50,000 bonuses on a night packed with finishes.
Veteran middleweight contender Jared Cannonier and up-and-coming Brazilian Caio Borrallo (17-1) fought as advertised in the main event of UFC Vegas 96 at The Apex in Las Vegas. Borrallo led in the first round, but Cannonier regained the momentum as the bout progressed. Both fighters rocked each other and were tied at two rounds apiece until the fifth round, with most online scorecards calling the fight evenly matched. Borrallo knocked down Cannonier (17-8) in the final stanza to secure the unanimous decision victory. Both fighters were awarded $50,000 for their “Fight of the Night” performances.
Meanwhile, middleweight veteran Gerald Meerschaert (37-17) earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus with an upset win over Edmen Shahbazyan (13-5). “GM3” turned the tide when Shahbazyan dominated the majority of the two rounds, but got the tap via arm triangle with under a minute left in the second period.
Unbeaten welterweight prospect Michael Morales (17-0) earned the other POTN bonus with his defeat of division gatekeeper Neil Magny (29-12). Morales, the second-highest-stakes favorite on the card, knocked down Magny with a devastating elbow strike and then unleashed a devastating ground-and-pound attack to stop the bout in the final seconds of the first round.
