UFC 218 Bonuses: Alvarez-Gaethje, Medeiros-Oliveira Both Get ‘Fight of the Night’ Honors

One lived up to the hype. The other exceeded expectations. Both were found deserving of $50,000 post-fight bonuses.

Eddie Alvarez vs. Justin Gaethje and Yancy Medeiros vs. Alex Oliveira both received “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC 218 in Detroit on Saturday night. Both bouts, as anyone watching the card can attest, were worthy recipients.

Alvarez-Gaethje was perhaps the most anticipated matchup on the entire bill. The two lightweights did not disappoint, trading liberally throughout the contest. While Gaethje found the mark on many of his trademark leg kicks, Alvarez attacked the ex-World Series of Fighting Champion with body blows repeatedly. That work took its toll, and Alvarez capitalized with a knee and follow-up punches for a thrilling victory 3:59 into the third round.

Meanwhile, Medeiros and Oliveira set the stage nicely in a preliminary welterweight scrap. Oliveira had Medeiros reeling with a pair of knockdowns in the opening stanza, but the Hawaiian survived the onslaught. Medeiros took control in the second frame and finished the contest in the third, putting the Brazilian away with a stream of punches and elbows at the 2:02 mark. Medeiros and Oliveira combined for four knockdowns in the fight.