Dominick Reyes earns UFC on ESPN 6 bonus for finishing Chris Weidman
UFC president Dana White announced the recipients of the performance-based bonuses stemming from the UFC on ESPN 6 fight card on Friday during the event’s post-fight press conference. Dominick Reyes, Yair Rodriguez, Jeremy Stephens and Charles Rosa banked an extra $50,000 for their octagon efforts.
Fight of the Night honors was awarded to the co-main event bout between featherweights Rodriguez and Stephens. The two headlined UFC on ESPN+ 17 on Sept. 21, but the fight was ruled a No Contest just 15 seconds into the bout due to an accidental eye poke. The rematch turned into a grudge match leading up to the event.
Rodriguez outworked Stephens in the opening round and nearly finished him in the second. After crumbling “Lil Heathen” with a kick to the body, Rodriguez Hammered away with punches, hammer fists and elbows but couldn’t get the stoppage. In the final round, Stephens knew that he needed a finish and fought that way. He pressured Rodriguez and secured takedowns. He delivered a steady dose of ground and pound but couldn’t do enough to win on the scorecards. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Rodriguez.
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Reyes remained undefeated in the fight card’s main event and ruined former middleweight champion Chris Weidman’s light heavyweight debut. Weidman secured an early takedown but Reyes worked his way back to his feet. After separating, Weidman moved in with a left hand and stepped right into a left hand counter from Reyes that sat him down on the canvas. Reyes finished with hammer fists seconds later.
Rosa took home a Performance of the Night bonus for his first-round submission win over Manny Bermudez in preliminary fight card action. Bermudez verbally tapped out to an armbar midway through the opening frame.
UFC on ESPN 6: Reyes vs. Weidman took place at TD Gardens in Boston, Massachusetts. 12,066 spectators attended the event generating $1.125 million in gate receipts. The fight card featured 13 bouts. Six fights went the distance, two ended in submission finishes, four resulted in knockouts, and one ended in a No Contest.