UFC Vegas 101 Bonuses: Cesar Almeida Pockets $50K for Violent Knockout
Cesar Almeida rallied from the brink of defeat to author a very early candidate for 2025 “Knockout of the Year.”
The 36-year-old Brazilian received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his one-punch knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan in a featured middleweight bout at UFC Vegas 101 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After being rocked during an early exchange, Almeida kept his wits and rendered his opponent unconscious with a vicious counter left hook at the 4:16 mark of Round 1.
Elsewhere, Mackenzie Dern garnered the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for her submission of Amanda Ribas in the evening’s strawweight main event. After two competitive rounds, Dern went to work in Round 3, methodically working her way into position for an armbar to force the tap from her Brazilian foe 4:56 into the period.
Finally, Roman Kopylov and Chris Curtis earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their back-and-forth middleweight scrap. While both fighters enjoyed success at different moments of the bout, Kopylov had the last word when he floored Curtis with a head kick, prompting a questionable stoppage 4:59 into the third stanza.
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