The UFC’s second pay-per-view and first title fight of the year are both in the books as, as UFC 258 went down on Saturday night.

As with every UFC event, four fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses for outstanding work in the octagon on the evening. This time around, the promotion didn’t give out a “Fight of the Night” bonus, but rather went with four “Performance of the Night” awards.

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Polyana Viana, Anthony Hernandez, and Julian Marquez all earned post-fight honors.

UFC 258 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Here’s a look at each of the competitors who earned post-fight bonuses.

‘Performance of the Night’: Kamaru Usman

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Gilbert Burns gave Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) his best, and it wasn’t close to good enough to unseat a fighter who seems well on his way to becoming the UFC’s next dominant champ.

Usman shook off an early knockdown, roared back, picked Burns apart, and finished him at the 34-second mark of the third round.

That’s three successful title defenses for Usman, and his fourth career post-fight bonus.

‘Performance of the Night:’ Anthony Hernandez

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

The middleweight bout between Hernandez (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Rodolfo Vieira wasn’t just exciting, but it had an incredible finish: Hernandez used a guillotine to submit Vieira, marking the first time in history a former ADCC gold medalist was ever submitted in the octagon.

If that’s not worth an extra $50K, nothing is. It marked the first post-fight bonus of Hernandez’s UFC career.

‘Performance of the Night:’ Polyana Viana

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Brazilian submission ace Viana (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) was at it again on Saturday night.

Viana went for the finish early in her flyweight preliminary bout against Mallory Martin as she held a triangle tight. When the tough Martin wouldn’t surrender, Viana transitioned into a fantastic armbar and that was all she wrote.

That’s two straight submission wins for Viana and her second career post-fight bonus.

‘Performance of the Night’: Julian Marquez

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Marquez (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Maki Pitolo got the pay-per-view portion of the card off with a bang, but it was Marquez who got the job done in the end.

Fighting for the first time in 31 months, Marquez used a nifty anaconda choke to end things at the 4:13 mark of the third round.

That’s the middleweight competitor’s second career post-fight bonus.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-258-bonuses-kamaru-usman-four-performance-of-the-night-honors

UFC president Dana White couldn’t think more highly of Kamaru Usman following the welterweight champion’s successful title defense at UFC 258.

Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) recorded an impressive third-round TKO of Gilbert Burns (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) in Saturday night’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, setting a record for the longest winning streak in welterweight history with his 13th consecutive triumph.

That record was previously held by Georges St-Pierre, leading to comparisons comparison’s between Usman and the future UFC Hall of Famer.

In White’s opinion, Usman’s legacy is already in line to surpass that of St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC), and he thinks it might not be long until that happens.

“He just broke his record tonight,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 258. “If you look at what he just did, he broke his record tonight for consecutive wins (in the welterweight division), and if this guy keeps rolling, if Usman can keep doing what he’s doing, he’s going to go down as the greatest welterweight ever. Fact.

“Just look at who he’s fought and who he has to fight here in the future, it’s undeniable that this guy will go down as the best welterweight. The question is, where will he go down in the history of the sport?”

Although he’s been nothing short of dominant throughout his UFC career, Usman’s name has yet to truly resonate. A performance like what “The Nigerian Nightmare” displayed against Burns could be a moment that turns the corner, and White thinks it’s high time Usman gets his complete and proper due.

“The kid’s the real deal,” White said. “For the people that know, for the people that actually know about fighting, they know that this win tonight was a big deal over a very motivated, well trained, mentally tough, confident, badass kid.

“This guy’s got nothing but badass dudes lined up ahead. If he doesn’t have the respect now, he should’ve got it after the Covington fight. I can’t stop talking about the Covington fight. One of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen. Anyone who didn’t respect him after that? That’s your problem, not his.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-258-dana-white-praises-kamaru-usman-goat-georges-st-pierre

Kamaru Usman is out for Jorge Masvidal’s blood following his successful title defense at UFC 258.

After battering Gilbert Burns to a third-round TKO in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Usman made it clear there’s a fight he’s interested in above all others: a rematch with Masvidal.

Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) earned a dominant unanimous decision win over Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) last July at UFC 251, but the fight didn’t meet the expectations of many – including the champion himself – after coming together on just six days’ notice. Usman isn’t satisfied with that and wants a second go with Masvidal to leave no questions.

“He had a built-in excuse,” Usman told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 258. “That’s the only reason he took that fight. We tried to make that fight twice before; he said no. … He’s been saying no. The only reason he took that fight on ‘Fight Island’ is because there was a built-in excuse. He was training the whole time, but he said, ‘Oh, I only had six days’ notice so that’s why that went that way.’ Well guess what? I’ll give you a whole training camp, and this time I will stop him. I promise you.

“That’s why I was disappointed in myself that last fight, because I know I can stop him. But with all the circumstances that took place, I just went out there and dominated him from start to finish. So this time I will stop him if he wants to step up, but I guaranteed you he doesn’t want to. He’s going to be quiet.”

There has been ongoing discussions about Masvidal’s next fight coming against former best friend turned heated rival Colby Covington. With Usman’s demand, though, there’s a possibility the promotion switches gears.

UFC president Dana White was noncommittal, however, but made it clear he would at least listen to Usman’s request.

“There’s a lot of options for him right now,” White said. “If that’s the fight he wants, and that’s the fight Masvidal wants, and I’m sure the people would like to see it, too. … I don’t know.”

Usman said he’s ultimately going to knock down any obstacle put in front of him, but it’s obvious that Masvidal is the most appealing to him. If he gets his wish, he promised it would end worse for “Gamebred.”

“I’m going to put him in a coffin this time,” Usman said. “He don’t want that fight. He don’t want that fight. I guarantee he don’t want that fight. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t want it. Have I lied up here yet? Have I lied to you guys yet about anything? Nothing. I said what I wanted to do, and that’s what I’m going to do. We’ll see if it materializes.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-258-kamaru-usman-wants-jorge-masvidal-rematch

Hear everything Gilbert Burns had to say after the battle against Kamaru Usman. At the UFC 258 post-fight press conference, hear what Burns had to say as to why he lost to Usman.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/gilbert-burns-why-i-lost-to-kamaru-usman-ufc-258-post-fight-press-conference

Hear everything Kamaru Usman had to say at the post-fight press conference after defeating Gilbert Burns at the UFC 258.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/kamaru-usman-admits-it-was-a-difficult-night-taking-out-friend-gilbert-burns-at-ufc-258