UFC Vegas 89 Bonus Report: Five fighters take home an extra $50k

The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 89 event, a thirteen-bout fight card headlined by Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas.

The highly anticipated women’s flyweight main event proved to be a hard-fought twenty-five-minute affair. Rose Namajunas got off to a strong start in rounds one and two, but Amanda Ribas stormed back to clearly outpoint ‘Thug’ in the third frame. Rounds four and five were closely contested, but Namajunas was able to do just enough to earn a decision victory on all three of the judges’ scorecards. The win marked Rose’s first professional victory at flyweight.

UFC Vegas 89 was co-headlined by a heavyweight bout between Karl Williams and Justin Tafa. The contest resulted in a unanimous decision victory for Karl Williams. The American was able to get the better of the Aussie in the wrestling department and utilized his grappling to grind out a decision victory. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Williams, as Justin Tafa cracked him on a couple of occasions that put him on wobbly legs. However, Tafa was never able to capitalize on those openings and ultimately was outpointed on the judges’ scorecards.

Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that five fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.

Fight of the night: Featherweight fighters Jarno Errens and Steven Nguyen each pocketed $50k for their thrilling war on tonight’s UFC Vegas 89 preliminary card. Errens ultimately won the contest by unanimous decision (30-27 x3).

Performance of the night: Payton Talbott pocketed an extra $50k for his second-round TKO victory over Cameron Saaiman (see that here).

Performance of the night: Fernando Padilla earned an extra $50k for his first-round submission victory over Luis Pajuelo.

Bite of the night: André Lima took home $50k after being bit by his opponent Igor Severino in the second bout of the evening. Lima won the contest by disqualification.

Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out by Dana White and company following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC Vegas 89 event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!