UFC 206 Bonuses: Swanson, Choi, Holloway, Vannata Receive $50K Awards

Normal bonus payouts can’t quantify what Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi did at UFC 206 on Saturday night.

Nonetheless, Swanson and Choi earned a well deserved “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece for their unforgettable slugfest in a featured featherweight contest. The two men went toe-to-toe during a wild 15 minutes that will likely end up on most 2016 “Fight of the Year” lists. Both Swanson and Choi appeared to be on the verge of a finish at various points, but ultimately it was the WEC veteran who put his stamp on the contest down the stretch to win a unanimous verdict.

Elsewhere, Max Holloway captured a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his third-round technical knockout of Anthony Pettis in the evening’s main event. After a slow start, “Blessed began to find a rhythm, and a body kick followed by a series of punches to the body and the head of Pettis gave the Hawaiian the interim featherweight crown via TKO 4:50 into round three.

Finally, Lando Vannata received the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his spectacular knockout victory against John Makdessi at lightweight. “Groovy” connected with a spinning wheel kick to the chin — shades of Edson Barboza’s KO of Terry Etim at UFC 142 — that left Makdessi stiff on his back 1:40 into the opening stanza to give the Jackson-Wink MMA product his first Octagon triumph.