Barboza and Burgos received “Fight of the Night” honors and $75,000 apiece for their main card bout at UFC 262 at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday night. In an entertaining back-and-forth striking battle, Barboza hurt Burgos with a right hand in Round 3, a blow that sent his foe staggering backward to the mat following a delayed reaction. The Brazilian sealed his win with a few follow-up blows on the ground 1:16 into the period.
Elsewhere, newly-crowned lightweight champion Charles Oliveira captured a $75,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his comeback win over Michael Chandler in the main event. After being on his heels on more than one occasion in Round 1, “Do Bronx” dropped Chandler with a left hook, then overwhelmed his foe with punches to secure the finish 19 seconds into the second frame.
Finally, Christos Giagos garnered the evening’s other $75,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a submission of Sean Soriano in the evening’s opening bout at lightweight. After struggling in the first five minutes, Giagos shot for a takedown and then locked in a brabo choke following a scramble to elicit the tapout 1:01 into Round 2.
Note: All fighters $75,000 bonuses at UFC 262 — a one-time increase of $25,000 promised by UFC president Dana White at the request of Tony Ferguson ahead of Saturday’s card.