UFC on ESPN 38 Bonuses: Gamrot, Tsarukyan Receive ‘Fight of the Night’ Honors

While the scorecards of the UFC on ESPN 38 headliner figure to be a hot topic in the coming days, both Mateusz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan received some extra compensation for their work on Saurday night.

Gamrot and Tsarukyan garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their competitive lightweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Thanks to multiple takedowns and a strong finish, Gamrot emerged with a closely-contested unanimous decision triumph, but there were plenty of observers who felt Tsarukyan deserved the nod in a back-and-forth bout.

Elsewhere, Shavkat Rakhmonov received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to his second-round submission of Neil Magny in the welterweight co-main event. Rakhmonov dominated the contest from top position before forcing his opponent to tap to a guillotine choke at the 4:58 mark of Round 2.

Josh Parisian earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a comeback victory over Alan Baudot in a featured heavyweight bout. After being dropped and nearly finished in Round 1, the “Ultimate Fighter 28” cast member rallied to finish Baudot with ground-and-pound 3:04 into the second stanza.

Finally, Thiago Moises was the recipient of a third $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus by virtue of a first-round submission of Christos Giagos in a lightweight feature. Moises secured an early takedown before jumping on his opponent’s back to secure a rear-naked choke victory at the 3:05 mark of Round 1.