UFC Vegas 19 was chock full of heavyweight bouts on Saturday night, and the heavyweights delivered. Three of them, in fact, nabbed UFC Vegas 19 bonuses.
UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Derrick Lewis
Leading the charge on the bonuses was Derrick Lewis, who tied a UFC record by knocking out Curtis Blaydes in the main event.
Blaydes looked like he was controlling the fight before he charged in for a takedown, running smack into a Lewis uppercut that put his lights out.
The victory moved Lewis into a tie with Vitor Belfort for the most knockout victories in UFC history with 12. Not only did he tie a record, Lewis also earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. It was one of four such bonuses handed out with no Fight of the Night bonus awarded.
UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Chris Daukaus
In just his third fight in the Octagon, Chris Daukaus scored the biggest win of his career with a knockout of Aleksei Oleinik just 1:55 into their main card bout.
Oleinik wanted to take the fight to the ground, his wheelhouse, but Daukaus wouldn’t let him. He cracked Oleinik and unleashed a fury of punches until the fight was stopped.
The Performance of the Night display was Daukaus’s third first-round finish in three UFC bouts.
UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Tom Aspinall
Much like Daukaus, Tom Aspinall notched the most important win of his career, as he took out former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in the UFC Vegas 19 main card opener.
Aspinall stormed Arlovski with punches in the first round, but couldn’t put him away. Early in the second frame, he shifted gears and secured a rear-naked choke that ended the fight and earned Aspinall a $50,000 bonus.
TRENDING > UFC Vegas 19 results: Derrick Lewis ties record with Curtis Blaydes knockout
UFC Vegas 19 Performance of the Night: Aiemann Zahabi
Aiemann Zahabi was in the second bout of the UFC Vegas 19 fight card, setting the tone for a night that ended with eight finishes.
Zahabi deftly avoided a Drako Rodriguez uppercut, only to counter with a straight right hand that put Rodriguez down and out on the canvas.
The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Zahabi and earned him a Performance of the Night award.
