UFC 232 bonuses: Amanda Nunes, Ryan Hall awarded for epic finishes

MMAfighting.com

On Saturday, Amanda Nunes cemented her legacy as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, and picked up a nice bonus to boot.

“The Lioness” was awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night award for her 51-second drubbingof the seemingly indomitable Cris Cyborg in the co-main event of UFC 232 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. It was the first loss for Cyborg in her last 22 bouts dating back to Nov. 20, 2005 and her first-ever loss by knockout.

With the win, Nunes added Cyborg’s featherweight title to the bantamweight title she already holds, making her just the third fighter in UFC history (the others being Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier) to be champion of two divisions simultaneously. Nunes, who now has seven first-round finishes in the UFC and four Performance of the Night bonuses.

The other bonus went to lightweight Ryan Hall for his stunning submission of UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn. A former Ultimate Fighter winner, Hall tripped Penn up with an Imanari roll in round one and quickly locked on a heel hook that forced Penn to tap out for the first time in his 17-year career.

Saturday’s Fight of the Night award went to main card openers Alexander Volkanovski and Chad Mendes. The two featherweights went back-and-forth for almost two rounds before Volkanoski finished Mendes with a combination of strikes with less than a minute remaining in the second period.

Volkanoski improved to 6-0 in the UFC and earned his first post-fight bonus.

The event was announced as a sellout with an attendance of 15,862 and a gate of $2.06 million.