The welterweight stalwart, who defeated Dan Hardy in Sunday’s main event at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, was awarded both “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” by Ultimate Fighting Championship brass. The bonuses were worth $65,000 apiece, as was Donald Cerrone’s “Knockout of the Night.”
True to his crowd-pleasing style, the 36-year-old stood toe-to-toe with fellow banger Hardy, 29, for nearly three full rounds. Lytle’s left hook repeatedly found its mark on the Englishman’s face, putting the American up two rounds to none on judges Sal D’Amato, Nelson Hamilton and Glenn Trowbridge’s scorecards.
The final stanza began much like the first two, with Lytle swiping his left and ducking inside on the slowing Hardy. With less than a minute remaining in the fight, Hardy shot for a takedown and found himself snared in a guillotine choke. Lytle rolled atop his opponent and coaxed the tap at the 4:16 mark of round three, leaving a dazed Hardy on the canvas with his fourth consecutive defeat.
In his UFC career, Lytle earned 10 bonuses -- six “Fight of the Night,” three “Submission of the Night” and one “Knockout of the Night” -- for a total of $515,000 in disclosed bonus pay.
Cerrone, 28, proved too much for lightweight prospect Charles Oliveira, chopping the 21-year-old Brazilian wunderkind down after just three minutes. After assaulting Oliveira with low kicks, the “Cowboy” connected with a vicious uppercut to the sternum that left his opponent in bad shape at the base of the fence. Referee Mario Yamasaki waved the contest off at 3:01 of the first after Cerrone dropped approximately 20 unanswered punches.
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