UFC 264 bonuses
Jul 10, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Michael Pereira moves in against Niko Price during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Instead of the customary $50,000 extra checks, the promotion went with $75,000 prizes at UFC 264, which took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event, headlined by the highly anticipated trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, was the UFC’s return to fighting in front of fans in “Sin City.”
Performance of the Night: Tai Tuivasa
Jul 10, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Tai Tuivasa lands hits for a knockout victory against Greg Hardy during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Tai Tuivasa (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) had just gotten clipped by Greg Hardy (7-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) in their heavyweight fight on the main card. But he fired back, clipped Hardy himself, and Hardy went down. Tuivasa pounced on him on the canvas and landed enough punches with Hardy covering up to get the stoppage in just 67 seconds.
Performance of the Night: Dricus Du Plessis
Jul 10, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Dricus du Plessis moves in for a kick against Trevin Giles during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Fight of the Night: Sean O’Malley vs. Kris Moutinho
Sean O’Malley (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was the biggest favorite on the card against short-notice replacement opponent Kris Moutinho (9-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC). The bantamweights opened the main card, and against a 10-1 favorite, Moutinho should have never been in the fight – on paper, anyway. O’Malley landed a whopping 230 total strikes, and Moutinho walked through most of them. But with just 27 seconds left in the fight, Herb Dean had seen him take enough punches and shut things down with Moutinho taking punches on the feet. Despite the loss, Moutinho likely picked up plenty of new fans for his ability to take punches and keep coming forward.
Jul 10, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Sean OÕMalley lands a hit against Kris Mountinho during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports