The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced the winners of the UFC on Fox 22 fighter bonuses during the event’s post-fight press conference in Sacramento, Calif. on Saturday. Michelle Waterson, Paul Craig, Leslie Smith and Irene Aldana earned the performance-based $50,000 incentives.
Smith and Aldana were awarded Fight of the Night honors for their women’s bantamweight bout on the preliminary fight card. The back-and-forth battle went the distance with Smith winning by unanimous decision after fifteen minutes of fighting.
Waterson took home a Performance of the Night bonus for her first-round submission of Paige VanZant in the fight card’s main event. Waterson was winning the striking exchanges when she secured a takedown. As VanZant scrambled, Waterson took her back and locked on a rear-naked choke that put “12 Gauge” to sleep.
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Paul Craig earned the second Performance of the Night award for his second-round submission win over Luis Henrique da Silva in the Fox Sports 1 prelims. Approaching the midway mark in the second round, Craig applied an armbar that forced de Silva to tap out. It was Craig’s promotional debut. He remained unbeaten with the win.
The 13-fight card featured nine decisions, three submission victories, and one knockout win.
