The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 35 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze.
The highly anticipated featherweight main event turned out to be a thrilling back and forth affair for as long as it lasted. Giga was able to get off to a strong start in round one, but the Brazilian was quick to turn the tide in the second frame. Then, in round three, Giga Chikadze was able to rock Edson Barboza with a combination and shortly thereafter finished him off with strikes. The referee stepped in to call a stop to the action while Barboza was still on his feet, but the veteran fighter was clearly badly hurt.
In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 35, middleweight fighters Bryan Battle and Gilbert Urbina squared off in hopes of becoming the promotions latest TUF champion. The fight ended in the second round after Battle was able to secure a rear-naked choke submission.
Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that four fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.
Performance of the night: Giga Chikadze earned an extra $50k for his third round TKO victory over Edson Barboza in tonight’s UFC Vegas 35 main event.
Performance of the night: Gerald Meerschaert pocketed an extra $50k for his come from behind victory over Makhmud Muradov. ‘GM3’ was able to secure a rear-naked choke late in round two which forced his opponent to tapout.
Performance of the night: Pat Sabatiniearned an extra $50k for his heel hook submission win over Jamall Emmers on tonight’s UFC Vegas 35 prelims.
Performance of the night: Abdul Razak Alhassan pocketed an extra $50k for his nasty 17-second head kick knockout victory over Alessio Di Chirico in tonight’s featured prelim.
