Marina Rodriguez's bloody beatdown of Michelle Waterson-Gomez earned her a Performance of the Night bonus at UFC Vegas 79. The two fighters met in a rematch from a previous main event in a higher weight class, this time at strawweight for a three-round fight. Rodriguez dominated the fight from the start, blasting Waterson-Gomez with hard strikes from the clinch. Waterson-Gomez showed her toughness, but Rodriguez was relentless offensively to get the second-round TKO. Rodriguez's impressive performance earned her a $50,000 bonus.
MAJOR pressure from Marina Rodriguez for the stoppage 💪 #UFCVegas79 pic.twitter.com/vYaYZYATGS
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 24, 2023
Charles Jourdain also earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his submission victory over Ricardo Ramos. Jourdain locked in a guillotine choke and forced the tap at the 3:12 mark of Round 1. Jourdain's tight squeeze earned him his second Performance of the Night bonus of his 12-fight UFC career.
To round out the bonuses on the night, Tim Means and Andre Fialho were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus after their war at UFC Vegas 79. This fight was back and forth for the majority of the fight with both fighters trading shots for the entirety of the contest. It was in round three where Means was able to take over and finish Fialho by TKO and get back into the win column while they both got $50k in the process.
In other news, Mateusz Gamrot emerged victorious at UFC Vegas 79 after Rafael Fiziev suffered a gruesome leg injury in the second round. Gamrot expressed his disappointment in the post-fight interview, saying that his goal was to have stronger defense against Fiziev's kicks. He wished Fiziev a quick recovery and said he was looking forward to his next fight. Gamrot is now setting his sights on the top of the lightweight division and expressed his desire to fight the champion, Islam Makhachev, but acknowledged that it's not yet his time.
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