The UFC's recent event, UFC 295, held in New York, was a finish-heavy show that saw seven fighters being recognized for their exceptional performances with post-fight bonuses of $50,000 each. The bonuses were awarded to fighters who displayed outstanding skills and delivered memorable moments during the event.

Performance of the Night Bonuses

Diego Lopes

Rising featherweight star Diego Lopes put on a clinic when he took on surging featherweight prospect Pat Sabatini. Lopes was able to hang in there on the feet with Sabatini and defend the takedown attempt. Once he was able to defend the takedown he landed a flush right hand that had Sabatini stumbling to the octagon cage where Lopes was able to finish the fight with a flurry of punches on the ground as the referee called the fight. That is now two in a row for Lopes in just 3:08 of octagon time as the sky is the limit for this featherweight contender.

Benoit Saint-Denis

Benoit Saint-Denis started off his UFC career with an absolute beatdown when he stepped up in weight on short notice to take on the dangerous Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Since that loss, which is the only one of his career, Saint-Denis has won five straight fights with all five coming inside the distance and neither fight making it to the third round. His fight against Matt Frevola was no different as he brutally knocked him out with a perfectly timed head kick in just 1:31 which has now put him inside the top 15 of the UFC's lightweight rankings.

Jessica Andrade

The former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade turned back time finally getting back into the win column when she brutally battered the surging Mackenzie Dern to a knockout victory in the second round. Dern looked good early on even getting a judo throw takedown but Andrade was able to quickly get back to her feet where she had a massive advantage. Dern essentially had nothing for Andrade on the feet and was a standing punching bag until she was eventually finished with Andrade getting her hand raised as she got back on track.

Tom Aspinall

The interim heavyweight championship was on the line in the co-main event when Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich went to war. These two came out slugging early and often which ultimately led to Pavlovich's demise with his only second defeat in his professional career. Aspinall got hit early with a big right hand that he was able to take with absolutely no problem and that is when he was able to start getting his timing down. Once he was able to get that timing down he landed the perfectly timed right hand on the temple of Pavlovich which wobbled him and one more right hand had him crashing to the canvas. Aspinall took the fight on just two weeks' notice and flew from the United Kingdom to New York City to defeat the surging Sergei Pavlovich and become the interim heavyweight champion which was an incredible accomplishment.

Article Continues Below
More UFC News
UFC mixed martial arts heavyweight champion Jon Jones poses for a photo before a game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden.
Jon Jones breaks silence after shocking UFC retirement announcementRichard Pereira ·
Jon Jones (red gloves) reacts after defeating Stipe Miocic (not pictured) in the heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.
Jon Jones shockingly retires as Dana White announces new heavyweight championAlex House ·
sadykhov, nazim sadykhov, ufc baku
Nazim Sadykhov ignites UFC Baku with a blood-soaked KO, saving the card from decision boredomGarrett Kerman ·
Hill Rountree prediction, UFC Baku odds
Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. prediction, odds, pick for UFC BakuDominik Zawartko ·
Fiziev Bahamondes prediction, ufc baku odds
Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes prediction, odds, pick for UFC BakuGarrett Kerman ·
Blaydes Kuniev prediction, ufc baku odds
Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev prediction, odds, pick for UFC BakuJaren Kawada ·

Alex Pereira

The undisputed light heavyweight championship was on the line in the main event when the former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira took on the former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka in a back-and-forth battle. Pereira worked the legs early of Prochazka which were certainly felt as Prochazka landed the takedown and control time to finish out the first round. It was then in the second round that Pereira took over eventually knocking down and finishing Prochazka to become only the ninth two-division champion in UFC history.

Fight of the Night Bonus

Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Nazim Sadykhov

These two lightweight prospects put on an absolute show for the New York fans in their bloody back-and-forth brawl. Borshchev looked good early on in the first round doing what he does best by staying on the outside and utilizing his varied attacks outstriking Sadykhov. It was the second round where things started to heat up when Sadykhov landed a right hand followed by a head kick that dropped Borshchev. For the remainder of that round Sadykhov put it on Borshchev to get him out of there but ultimately couldn't get it done.

Then in the third and final round Borshchev was able to keep his composure and got back into the groove outstriking Sadykhov. With a total beatdown in round two by Sadykhov he was awarded a 10-8 round on two of the judge's scorecards which resulted in a majority draw after he lost both rounds one and three.