Outside Source
Allen and Vettori had a three-round slugfest. | Getty/UFC
There was some stiff competition for “Fight of the Night” at UFC 318.
Ultimately, it was Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori who received $50,000 apiece for their middleweight clash at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday night. Allen and Vettori settled their differences in the Octagon for three hard-fought rounds, slugging it out to a tune of 220 combined significant strikes. When the dust settled, tt was Allen who emerged with a unanimous decision triumph after 15 minutes. Allen vs. Vettori was selected over a wild main card clash between Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland at welterweight as well as the evening’s five-round headliner — a lightweight duel between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier that lived up to advance billing.
Elsewhere, Ateba Abega Gautier garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for dismantling Robert Valentin in a preliminary middleweight affair. Gautier had his opponent on the retreat early, and he sealed his victory with one last salvo of power strikes at the 1:10 mark of Round 1.
Dulatov Impresses in UFC Debut
Meanwhile, newcomer Islam Dulatov took home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a dominant Octagon debut against Adam Fugitt. The Chechen-born German dropped his foe with a left hook and finished the job with a standing-to-ground right 4:06 into the opening stanza.
Finally, Carli Judice secured the card’s final $50,000 bonus by virtue of a third-round finish of Nicolle Caliari in the flyweight opener. After controlling the majority of the bout, Judice put a lasting stamp on the fight when she dropped Caliari with a knee to the liver. From there, the Louisiana native forced the stoppage with follow-up hammerfists at the 1:30 mark of the Round 3.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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