The UFC’s latest trip to Jacksonville, Florida is in the books, and four of the richest fighters are $50,000.
It was off to an early start at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday, as the main card for this year’s UFC Jacksonville aired on ABC. Early morning violence (or afternoon, depending on which coast you stayed on, apologies to our international friends), and some underrated fights – including a brawl between Trevor Peck and newcomer Chip Mariscal.
That fight, which ended in a disqualification, was excluded from the bonus money, and eventually replaced by a featherweight tilt between Elijah Topuria and Josh Emmett. A number of questions were answered in the fight, among them, that Topuria is already a major player in the event in the 145-pound class.
And in case you forgot, Emmett reminded everyone that he actually has a granite chin and rock-solid hands. However, what he didn’t have was a way to shut down Topuria, instead taking a beating that, although spread across five rounds, should at least indicate some concern at the age of 38 about how long the Team Alpha Male fighter wants to last. Sports.
However, the talk of retirement could come another day. For now, Emmett can at least take some small solace in the extra 50k he pocketed as half of the fight of the night.
Rewards for the night’s performance at UFC Jacksonville went to well-deserved efforts from Maycee Barber, who eliminated Amanda Ribas via TKO in the second round of her bloody war, and David Onama. Onama’s takeout from Gabriel Santos earned him his second consecutive post-fight bonus and third overall. One fight before that, Onama was awarded Fight of the Night for a war with Nate Landwehr.
Barber has improved her winning streak in the women’s flyweight division to five, and looks closer than ever to a coveted title shot.
All four award-winning fighters on the UFC Jacksonville card will receive $50,000 in head-to-head show/win money for the night.