UFC on ESPN 39 Bonuses: Mullarkey vs. Johnson Earns ‘Fight of the Night’ Honors

Jamie Mullarkey and Michael Johnson kicked off the UFC on ESPN 39 main card with a bang, and they were compensated accordingly for their efforts.

Mullarkey and Johnson received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their lightweight battle at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Johnson scored the only knockdown of the bout early in Round 1, but Mullarkey recovered to mount a rally and hurt “The Menace” later in the frame. From there, both men traded liberally for the rest of the fight, but it was Mullarkey who emerged with a split-decision triumph.

Meanwhile, Rafael Fiziev pocketed $50,000 for his fifth-round technical knockout victory against ex-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos in the evening’s main event. After four hard-fought frames, Fiziev floored his opponend with a left hook and sealed his victory with one standing-to-ground punch 18 seconds into the period for his sixth consecutive triumph.

Finally, Chase Sherman garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus thanks to a stoppage of Jared Vanderaa in a heavyweight slugfest. After two rounds of trading blows, Sherman picked up the intensity of his assault in the final frame, forcing Vanderaa to wilt under a barrage of punches 3:10 into Round 3.