UFC on ESPN 5 Bonuses: Haqparast, Shevchenko, Pudilova, Schnell Receive $50K Awards

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Nasrat Haqparast is quickly establishing himself as a fighter to watch in the UFC’s lightweight division, and it’s benefitting his bank account as well as his record.

The Tristar Gym export earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his second-round knockout of Joaquim Silva in a featured lightweight encounter at UFC on ESPN 5 in Newark, N.J. on Saturday night. Haqparast sent his Brazilian foe to the canvas with an overhand right early in Round 2 and sealed his victory with a swarm of follow-up blows on the mat.

Elsewhere, Antonina Shevchenko and Lucie Pudilova garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their preliminary flyweight tilt. Shevchenko weathered a cut near her right eye that resulted from a nasty elbow in the first stanza and went on to submit her Czech foe with a rear-naked choke at the 1:20 mark of the second frame for her second promotional triumph.

Finally, Matt Schnell captured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a quick submission of Jordan Espinosa in a preliminary flyweight matchup. After denying a takedown from his adversary, Schnell transitioned from a guillotine to a triangle choke to secure the tapout 1:23 into Round 1, giving him four consecutive victories.