A back-and-forth UFC on ESPN 40 headliner between Jamahal Hill and Thiago Santos garnered “Fight of the Night” honors at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Hill and Santos received $50,000 apiece for their light heavyweight clash, which saw the Brazilian attempt to impose his will through a wrestling-heavy approach in the early going. Hill weathered that storm and ultimately finished with a flourish, winning via technical knockout at the 2:10 mark of Round 4.
On a night when all 10 bouts on the UFC on ESPN 40 card featured finishes, only three others — Geoff Neal, Mohammed Usman and Bryan Battle — earned $50,000 “Performance of the Night” awards.
Neal become the first person to defeat Vicente Luque via KO or TKO, finishing “The Ultimate Fighter 21” competitor with a volley of power punches against the cage at the 2:01 mark of Round 3.
Usman, meanwhile, capped off a run through “The Ultimate Fighter 30” with a knockout of Zac Pauga in a featured heavyweight bout. The younger brother of UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman started slowly but dropped Pauga with a left hook and finished his foe with hammerfists on the mat 36 seconds into Round 2.
Finally, Battle earned his third UFC triumph in emphatic fashion against Takashi Sato. The “TUF 29” winner floored Sato with a head kick and landed a couple follow-up blows to force a stoppage 44 seconds into the opening round of their preliminary welterweight contest.
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