Chepe Mariscal and Morgan Charriere may not have been the headliners, but they fought like they were the main event.
The talented featherweights dueled in a closely-fought three-round contest at UFC Vegas 90 on Saturday that saw Mariscal eke out a split decision. Though it was Mariscal who kept his win streak going, neither man should go home too unsatisfied as they were both given $50,000 bonuses for putting on the Fight of the Night.
Making their achievement more impressive is that they won the award over main event middleweights Brendan Allen and Chris Curtis, who were praised by their peers for putting on one of the best fights of the year.
Performance of the Night bonuses went to finishers Ignacio Bahamondes and Cesar Almeida.
Bahamondes bounced back from a loss to Ludovit Klein by taking out Christos Giagos with a powerful head kick in the first round. This is the second $50,000 bonus the Chilean standout has received in his brief UFC career.
Almeida cashes a bonus check in his very first UFC appearance. The veteran kickboxer and recent Contender Series signing finished Dylan Budka via strikes in the second round of their preliminary bout.