UFC on ESPN 18 Bonuses: Smith, Baeza, Mudaerji, Maness Earn $50K Performance Checks

Four $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses were handed out following UFC on ESPN 18 on Saturday night.

Anthony Smith earned a bonus for a first-round submission of Devin Clark in the evening’s main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smith landed an early takedown only to see his opponent reverse into top position. “Lionheart” was no less dangerous from his back, however, as he used a triangle choke to elicit a tap from Clark 2:34 into the opening stanza.

Meanwhile, Miguel Baeza received an extra check for his third finish in as many Octagon appearances after dispatching Takashi Sato in the welterweight co-main event. After spending most of the fight outlanding his foe on the feet, Baeza scored a takedown and eventually framed an arm-triangle, forcing Sato to submit 4:28 into Round 2.

Su Mudaerji padded his bank account with a 44-second knockout of Malcolm Gordon in a preliminary flyweight affair. A straight left from Mudaerji stopped Gordon in his tracks, and then a left hook resulted in a delayed knockdown, essentially ending the contest right there.

Finally, Joseph Nathan Maness rallied from a rough opening round to garner the evening’s final performance award thanks to a second-round submission of Luke Sanders in a 140-pound catchweight matchup. Maness survived his foe’s early onslaught and floored Sanders in Round 2 before landing a takedown, taking the back and securing a rear-naked choke for the tapout 2:29 into Round 2.