UFC Vegas 83 post-fight bonus winners
By Jaren Kawada
Though the promotion did not go overseas to Shanghai, UFC Vegas 83 still exceeded expectations with an abundance of finishes and eye-opening performances on the card.
In the main event, Song Yadong defeated Chris Gutierrez to hold his spot in the bantamweight top 10. While not a Fight of the Year contender, Yadong proved his elite talent belongs amongst the division's best and called for a fight with Petr Yan after his victory.
Khalil Rountree Jr. also took care of business in the co-main event, knocking out Anthony Smith to enter the light heavyweight top 10. Rountree Jr. continued his impressive win streak with another big knockout, this time showing patience and precision.
Earlier in the night, rising prospects shined on the prelims including Tatsuro Taira and Hyun-Sung Park. Both young flyweights earned impressive TKO victories as heavy favorites.
The card in total featured six finishes with five of them being knockouts. Tim Elliott secured the only submission victory of the night, choking Su Mudaerji unconscious in round one despite taking the fight on short notice.
With many Performance of the Night contenders and no obvious Fight of the Night, the UFC front office had a lot to discuss for post-fight bonus distributions.
UFC Vegas 83 Fight of the Night
There was no Fight of the Night bonus awarded at UFC Vegas 83.
UFC Vegas 83 Performance of the Night
In replace of a Fight of the Night, there were four Performance of the Night winners. Tatsuro Taira, Hyun-Sung Park, Tim Elliott and Khalil Rountree Jr. all received an extra $50,000.
Park and Taira were the biggest favorites of the card but both won by knockout. Both flyweights are known for their grappling skills but impressed with high-level finishes. Taira defeated Carlos Hernandez and Park TKO'd Shannon Ross with body shots.
With a short notice first-round submission, Elliott was an obvious Performance of the Night winner. Elliott submitted Su Mudaerji with an arm triangle, handing the once-touted flyweight giant his second straight submission loss.
With perhaps the best highlight of the night, Rountree Jr. was the final bonus recipient of the night after dominating and dismantling divisional veteran Anthony Smith. Though the fight was not finished until the third round, Rountree Jr. hurt Smith in every round and nearly had the former title challenger out in round two.
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