Michel Pereira among four fighters to get $50k performance bonuses at UFC Vegas 81

UFC Vegas 81 took place in Nevada tonight, featuring eleven exciting fights. The main event was a featherweight showdown between Sodiq Yusuff and Edson Barboza, which lived up to the hype. Sodiq Yusuff came close to ending the fight in the first round, but Edson Barboza fought back and took over the fight in the next four rounds, landing a stunning spinning heel kick along the way (watch it here).

After a 25-minute war, Barboza got the unanimous decision win. The co-main event was a women’s flyweight bout between former title challenger Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araujo. It was a competitive and back-and-forth fight, which Araujo won by unanimous decision (29-28 x3).

At the end of the night, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that four fighters would receive performance bonuses.

Fight of the night: Edson Barboza and Sodiq Yusuff got ‘Fight of the Night’ awards for their epic main event. Barboza won the fight by unanimous decision in a thrilling battle.

Performance of the night: Michel Pereira got an extra $50k for his first-round TKO win over Andre Petroski

Performance of the night: Jonathan Martinez got an extra $50k for his third-round TKO win over Adrian Yanez. Martinez finished the fight with some vicious low kicks.