UFC 223 bonuses: Magomedsharipov-Bochniak an all-time no-brainer for 'Fight of Night'

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Chris Gruetzemacher, Zabit Magomedsharipov and Kyle Bochniak each earned $50,000 bonuses for their performances at Saturday’s UFC 223 event.

Magomedsharipov and Bochniak earned the “Fight of the Night,” while Aubin-Mercier and Gruetzemacher each won “Performance of the Night” honors.

UFC President Dana White announced the winners at the post-fight news conference, which MMAjunkie attended.

Aubin-Mercier (11-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) needed just 53 seconds to take out Evan Dunham (18-7-1 MMA, 11-7-1 UFC) in their lightweight fight on the preliminary card. Dunham started quickly with solid strikes, but not long after Aubin-Mercier landed a big knee, and another put Dunham on the mat after a few punches. It was the first knockout win of Aubin-Mercier’s career. (Check out the fight’s best photos here.)

Gruetzemacher (14-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) lit up veteran lightweight Joe Lauzon (27-15 MMA, 14-12 UFC) for 10 minutes, nearly closing both his eyes. And before the third round, Lauzon’s corner waved the fight off before a doctor could. (Check out the fight’s best photos here.)

Despite being the card’s biggest underdog, Bochniak (8-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) stood right in front of Magomedsharipov (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) to trade punches for 15 minutes. He lost a unanimous decision, but made plenty of fans in the process for the featherweight slugfest.

UFC 223 took place Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For complete coverage of UFC 223, check out the UFC Events section of the site.