UFC Fight Night 51 Fighter Bonuses: Andrei Arlovski Punches His Way to $50,000 Performance Award

The Ultimate Fighting Championship released the performance-based fighter bonuses from UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski in Brazil on Saturday.  Andrei Arlovski, Gleison Tibau, Piotr Hallman and Godofredo “Pepey” Castro earned the $50,000 bonus awards.

The Fight of the Night award went to the co-main event fighters Gleison Tibau and Piotr Hallman.  Tibau came out aggressive in the early going.  He hurt Hallman in the second round with a spinning back fist, but Hallman came back in the third round, busting up Tibau with knees.  Tibau earned a split decision victory, his fifteenth win inside the famed octagon.

Former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski scored a first-round knockout over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the fight card’s main event.  The 35-year-old’s speed was a major factor in the fight.  He was able to stick and move and appeared light on his feet.  He stepped into the pocket with a right hand that had Silva covering up and backing way.  The Belarusian followed up with a combination that dropped Silva.  The Brazilian tried to cover up and recover, but Arlovski swooped in with hammer fists that put “Bigfoot” to sleep.

The Ultimate Fighter Brazil featherweight runner-up, Godofredo Pepey, earned a performance of the night award for his first-round submission win over Dashon Johnson in preliminary action.  Johnson secured a takedown late in the opening round that proved to be his undoing.  Pepey quickly applied a triangle choke and rolled Johnson over.  He finished with a mounted triangle-armbar.