The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to an early candidate for Comeback of the Year.
After UFC on ESPN 43, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in San Antonio. Check out the winners below.
Performance of the Night: Daniel Pineda
Daniel Pineda def. Tucker Lutz via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:50
Daniel Pineda (28-14 MMA, 5-5 UFC) was the biggest underdog on the card, but cared not. Pineda dropped Tucker Lutz (12-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in the first round, then dropped him again in the second. He pounced on him, then eventually locked up a guillotine choke to get the tap. Pineda has a 100 percent finishing rate across his 28 career wins.
Performance of the Night: Nate Landwehr
Nate Landwehr def. Austin Lingo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:11
Nate Landwehr (17-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) picked a fantastic time to get just the second submission win of his career. Landwehr was patient with short-notice replacement Austin Lingo (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who had a fight scrapped on him two weeks ago the day of the event. Landwehr wrapped up Lingo’s back and got a rear-naked choke in the second round to put him away.
Fight of the Night: CJ Vergara vs. Daniel Lacerda
CJ Vergara def. Daniel Lacerda via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:04
San Antonio’s own CJ Vergara (11-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) did his home fans proud in the second fight of the night with a second-round TKO of Daniel Lacerda (11-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC). But it took some work. Vergara was dominated and in near-constant retreat in the first round and managed to survive multiple instances that could have seen the fight stopped. But he worked through a certain 10-8 first frame to get to the second, then took over and put Lacerda away after a “that was ridiculous”-type comeback.
