There’s something special at fighting at Madison Square Garden. It’s an arena that his a storied history, first in boxing, and now in mixed martial arts.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to New York City for its second event at MSG and it certainly seemed to excite the fighters, who delivered so many fantastic performances that UFC officials issued five Performance of the Night bonuses, even divvying one bonus between two undercard fighters.
Leading the charge was the championship heavy top end of the UFC 217 fight card.
Former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre looked better than ever as he moved up to middleweight following a four-year layoff to take the title from Michael Bisping. All three titles changed hands on Saturday night, as TJ Dillashaw recaptured the bantamweight belt, defeating former teammate Cody Garbrandt, and Rose Namajunas shocked everyone by dropping previously undefeated strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk and finishing her with strikes.
All three new champions earned $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses.
The two undercards that split a bonus were Ovince Saint Preux and Ricardo Ramos. Saint Preux blasted Corey Anderson with a head kick that left him laying on the Octagon floor, while Ramos took out Aiemann Zahabi with a wicked elbow.
- Performance of the Night: Georges St-Pierre
- Performance of the Night: TJ Dillashaw
- Performance of the Night: Rose Namajunas
- Performance of the Night: Ovince Saint Preux
- Performance of the Night: Ricardo Ramos
