Alex Pereira has given UFC and its fans plenty to celebrate.
Pereira, rushing into a fight against a dangerous opponent he had beaten just seven months earlier, delivered a stunning encore by once again defeating Jiri Prochazka with a strikeout in Saturday's main event in Las Vegas at UFC 303. Their first bout ended in an early but fair stoppage, but there was no doubt that Pereira dominated Prochazka in the rematch.
For his efforts, the light heavyweight champion was awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, his fifth since joining UFC in 2021.
Fight of the Night was awarded to featherweight veterans Andre Fili and Cub Swanson, who clashed in the preliminary bout of the card, with Fili winning a close split decision.
Earlier this week, UFC CEO Dana White hinted that two Fight of the Night bonuses would be awarded in honor of UFC 303. White hasn't said anything since, but six bonuses in total were awarded, with three fighters receiving Performance of the Night bonuses in addition to Pereira.
Macy Chiasson was the other main card fighter who received an additional $50,000 for the biggest win of her career against recent bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva. An elbow from Chiasson left Silva with a large cut over her right eye, forcing her to seek medical attention.
Preliminary fighters Peyton Talbot and Joe Pifer also earned quick knockout wins. Bantamweight prospect Talbot knocked out Yannis Ghemmouri in just 19 seconds, while Pifer bounced back from his first UFC loss to dominate Marc-Andre Barrio in under 30 seconds.
