UFC Nashville post-fight bonuses: Swanson, Perry among $50K winners

The Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee was home to an entertaining night of fights, with four (T)KOs, two submissions, and seven decisions, including a majority decision. We also saw an incredible comeback from Stevie Ray in his bout against Joe Lauzon that would have received FOTN honors on most cards.

Al Iaquinta had a spectacular performance that saw him put Diego Sanchez away early in the first round, but he also would be passed over for a bonus. There was an incident where the “Ragin’” one missed a fighter’s summit and was made ineligible for a fight bonus for three fights. Perhaps the exclusion stems from that. Either way, he did not take too kindly to the notion, as evidenced by his tweets.

Here’s who actually walked away with the $50k bonuses tonight.

Performances of the Night: Mike Perry and Brandon Moreno

Mike Perry landed an incredibly powerful short elbow on a dazed Jake Ellenberger to earn a $50,000 performance of the night bonus. His corner seems to have avoided saying anything controversial this time, as well.

Brandon Moreno made it clear that his “hot prospect” tag is well deserved in Nashville, with a submission victory over the tough and talented Dustin Ortiz. After a back-and-forth opening stanza, Moreno managed to hurt Ortiz standing and pounced on the hurt Tennessee native with a rear-naked choke, putting Ortiz to sleep and earning himself a $50k bonus in the process.

Fight of the Night: Cub Swanson vs. Artem Lobov

On paper, tonight’s main event seemed like a mismatch. Lobov was 2-2 against guys outside of the Top 10, while Cub Swanson came into the fight as the UFC’s No. 4 featherweight, on a three-fight win streak. Five minutes into the bout, the matchmaking suddenly made a lot more sense, as Lobov won the round on two of the judges scorecards.

The next four rounds were full of action, with Cub landing huge head kicks and punches to the Terminator-like Lobov, who walked through each and every shot like a robot sent from the future to derail Cub Swanson’s path to a title shot. Lobov was firing back with his own bombs as well, but for every two he landed, Swanson would land three, and in the end, that was enough to give the Jackson-Wink fighter the unanimous decision after an exciting fight. Cub walks out with the win, and both guys walk out with 50Gs, baby!