UFC Fight Night 208 bonuses: Crowd favorites Pimblett, McCann earn $50K awards

Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann both delivered in a big way at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s second London event of 2022.

Pimblett received a $50K “Performance of the Night” award after surviving a rough opening stanza to submit Jordan Leavitt in a featured lightweight clash at UFC Fight Night 208 on Saturday at the O2 Arena. The former Cage Warriors champion hurt his foe with a knee to the head before taking Leavitt’s back and trapping one arm in a body triangle. Shortly thereafter, “The Baddy” forced a tapout with a rear-naked choke 2:46 into the second stanza.

Meanwhile, McCann captured a $50K “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a technical knockout victory against Hannah Goldy in their flyweight bout. “Meatball” rattled her foe with an overhand right and spinning back elbow before swarming with punches to get the stoppage at the 3:52 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Nikita Krylov earned a $50K “Performance of the Night” bonus for ruining Alexander Gustafsson’s return to the light heavyweight division. “The Miner” dropped his foe with a short left hand and then finished Gustafsson with standing-to-ground punches just 67 seconds into the opening round of their bout.

Finally, Jonathan Pearce garnered the card’s final $50K “Performance of the Night” payment by virture of a second-round stoppage of Makwan Amirkhani at featherweight. Pearce put Amirkhani away with a barrage of ground-and-pound 4:10 into Round 2 for his fourth straight victory.