UFC Fight Night Sydney Bonuses: Whittaker, Hester, Rockhold, Smolka Earn $50K Awards

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UFC Fight Night “Rockhold vs. Bisping” in Sydney featured 11 fights, 11 finishes, so there were plenty of choices for Ultimate Fighting Championship officials in regards to post-fight bonuses.

In the end, Robert Whittaker, Clint Hester, Luke Rockhold, and Louis Smolka walked away $50,000 richer.

Middleweights Whittaker and Hester put together an impressive $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bout that ended when “The Reaper” finished Hester with a knee and punches in the second round. The fight served as an impressive debut for Whittaker at 185 pounds, while Hester suffered his first loss in seven scraps.

After what seemed like endless back-and-forth trash talk with Michael Bisping, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion Rockhold earned $50,000 for his guillotine choke finish of “The Count.” Following a close first round, the 30-year-old caught Bisping with a head kick that rocked the former light heavyweight, then sunk in the submission for the “Performance of the Night” victory.

In what amounted to an impressive comeback, Smolka took home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his side kick knockout of Richie Vaculik. The Australian nearly had Smolka beat at multiple moments in the contest, but just 18 seconds into the final round, “Da Last Samurai” caught his opponent off guard with the head kick and pounced on his fallen opponent for the finish.