The UFC was in a good mood after their return to Canada on Saturday. Just not as if the UFC 289 welterweight would like Mike Malott.
Malot called for bonuses for every Canadian on the card—the Canucks went 5-0 on the night, or 6-0 if you count Diana Belpita, a Romanian who now calls Canada home. While that wasn’t forthcoming, the promotion did offer an extra bonus at Performance of the Night at the end.
Malott was rewarded for the guillotine choke finish of Adam Fugit, a main tag match that felt like a star turn for the Ontario-born fighter, who fell to his knees in the octagon afterwards, overcome with emotion.
Charles Oliveira, arguably the biggest star on the UFC 289 card, also earned a $50,000 performance bonus for his finisher Benel Dariusz. Oliveira is now expected to face Islam Makhachev in a rematch for his lightweight title, though Dana White did not confirm this during Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
The third performance bonus was presented to Steve Erceg. The Australian flyweight debuted on Saturday and seemed to impress White, who sang backstage at Rogers Arena.
Fight of the Night at UFC 289 went to another Canadian, Marc-Andre Barriault, and former LFA champion Eryk Anders. Barriot won after a three-round middleweight fight.
Attendance for UFC 289 was 17,628, for a live gate of C$5,140,482.16 (US$3,834,893.25).