Saturday night was a fairly good outing for the UFC.
The prized flyweight champion remained as dominant as ever, while Canada's own Rory MacDonald forever solidified his spot as one of the welterweight division's next title contenders.
"...I was able to walk away with the finish. Next time I’ll show the fans just how good I can be...”- Tae Hyun Bang pic.twitter.com/SPLBqMnXFD
— UFC (@ufc) June 15, 2014
However, lackluster bouts featuring the return of Andrei Arlovski and the one-sided beatdown of light heavyweight knockout artist Rafael Cavalcante made UFC 174 a true up-and-down affair.
That said, somebody had to come out on top.
Here are the Fight Night bonus winners and what they did to earn a little extra green.
Fight of the Night: Tae Hyun Bang vs. Kajan Johnson
In a prelims bout featuring a dynamic striker vs. power puncher, Tae Hyun Bang secured a third-round knockout over Kajan Johnson that arguably stole the show.
After two rounds of bloody war, a Johnson body kick was returned with a straight right hand to the chin.
The explosive punch caught the Canadian off guard and gave Bang a highlight finish that could launch a productive stay at lightweight.
Performance of the Night: Bang
Not much of a surprise here.
With power for days, Bang dismantled Johnson like he fought at one weight class lower.
The knockout was the most definitive and memorable moment from UFC 174, unless you consider Ryan Jimmo's broken arm something you would want to remember.
Performance of the Night: Kiichi Kunimoto
Daniel Sarafian stood little chance opposite a well-rounded fighter like Kiichi Kunimoto.
Presented with an opportunity to secure a finish right before the pay-per-view main card spun its unpredictable head, Kunimoto sunk in a beautiful rear-naked choke halfway through Round 1.
The impressive submission victory leaves Kunimoto at 2-0 in the UFC welterweight division.
The 33-year-old will attempt to prolong success as he continues to look for ways to win fights other than the judges' scorecards.
For more UFC 174 news and coverage, Follow @DHiergesell.
