After every UFC event, Zuffa officials pay out bonuses to fighters based on exceptional performances. These bonuses are paid in addition to the contracted salary or fighter purse of each honored athlete.
The awards for Fight of the Night went to heavyweights Pat "HD" Barry and Christian Morecraft for their rumbling, tumbling one-round affair. Pat Barry, an elite striker who's playing catch-up training wrestling late in the game, was able to successfully escape having been mounted twice by Morecraft, and was also able to masterfully escape a nasty-looking armbar. Barry's determination to improve his grappling at Brock Lesnar's Death Clutch gym is clearly paying off. With the two big men back on their feet, Barry dropped Morecraft with a left hook counter, and then put his lights out by dropping a BOMB of a right hand. Here's a GIF by ZombieProphet for Iron Forges Iron:
Knockout of the Night went to Nick "The Ninja of Love" Denis. The Canadian UFC neophyte notched a 22-second knockout of Joseph Sandoval. Denis landed a succession of elbows to the temple of Sandoval, who wilted to the ground as another elbow was whizzing over his head. A beautiful display of violence from The Ninja of Love. And one hell of a way to make a first impression in the UFC's 135-pound division.
Submission of the Night went to Jim Miller for his first-round rear-naked choke tapout victory over Melvin Guillard, a fighter with exceptional athleticism and dynamite in his hands, but with one of the lowest fight IQs in the UFC. Nine out of ten of Guillard's losses have been by submission. Against a master technician like Jim Miller, Guillard simply got outwitted. Having been on the cusp of lightweight title contention after a 5-fight winning streak, Guillard is now in the midst of a career meltdown with back-to-back losses.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft
KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT: Nick Denis
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Jim Miller
All 4 of these fighters banked bonus paychecks, each taking home an extra $45,000, all on top of their UFC on FX 1 salaries, enriching their fighter purses. The main card of this event aired live on FX, and the undercard aired live on FUEL TV.
