UFC Fight Night: Dublin Bonus Report: McGregor and Nelson Earn Well-Deserved Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Mike King vs. Cathal Pendred
Cathal Pendred was on the verge of defeat in the first round and got his butt whooped so badly, even Dana White proclaimed it was a 10-8 round for Mike King. King came out looking strong in the second round but Pendred never gave up. Pendred landed a takedown and quickly transitioned to the back of King. King was in trouble right away and Pendred worked for a rear-naked-choke immediately. King had no other choice but to tap out, or else he was going to pass-out. The fans in attendance roared with approval in what had to be the biggest pop of the night.

Performance of the Night: Gunnar Nelson
Gunnar Nelson ate a few hard shots in the opening round of his fight against Zak Cummings, but he chose his spots carefully and attacked when the time was right. Tonight’s UFC commentary team compared Nelson to a “Toyota Prius”. This would usually be taken as an insult, but what they meant was that he conserves his energy very well but can switch gears at any given moment. Nelson countered a takedown attempt with a guillotine which Cummings defended by going belly-first on the mat. Nelson quickly transitioned to the back of Cummings and applied the body-triangle. With plenty of time left on the clock, Nelson distracted Cummings with punches and jumped for the rear-naked-choke at the perfect time. Nelson picked up the submission win and in turn, a Performance of the Night bonus.

Performance of the Night: Conor McGregor
What’s that old saying? “It’s not cockiness if you can back it up”? Well, McGregor talked plenty of trash leading into his bout with Diego Brandao and he backed it up plenty tonight. He threw multiple spinning back kicks and even dove into the guard of black-belt Brando multiple times. Brandao threatened a leg-lock but McGregor showed great awareness and escaped each attempt with ease. Once the fight made it back standing, it was all McGregor. He landed a kick to the body of Brandao and finished the bout off with a beautiful flurry of punches and elbows that caused the fans in attendance to explode.