UFC on ESPN 71 bonuses: Two Fight of Night winners in Vegas
After UFC on ESPN 71, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at the UFC Apex. Check out the winners below.
Fight of the Night: Chris Duncan def. Mateusz Rebecki
Chris Duncan (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Mateusz Rebecki (20-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) put on an absolute banger in the co-main event. The lightweights had a tough act to follow right after Esteban Ribovics vs. Elves Brener, and somehow did so with a Fight of the Year candidate. Rebecki was about a 2-1 favorite in the fight, but left disappointed. Both fighters left the cage a bloody mess and had to be transported to an area hospital following the bout.
Fight of the Night: Esteban Ribovics def. Elves Brener
In a strikers' delight lightweight slugfest, Esteban Ribovics (15-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Elves Brener (16-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) somehow each landed 123 total strikes. But where Brener tried to make a difference was in takedowns – and Ribovics stuffed all nine of them in a highly entertaining scrap.
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'After that last win [over Magomedov] I was expecting big names, and the name I got [offered], I was thinking, 'This doesn't make any sense,'" Page continued. "I beat one of your prospects. And the way it looked, if he had beaten me, he would have been in a title elimination and moving forward [up the division]. So what does that mean for me? He was a young, up-and-coming guy, talented. And I'd beaten him.' Page was expecting multiple fight offers from the UFC — from all directions. He didn't hear anything. He was expecting big names, but said it was 'irritating' as those big names were never presented. When those big names didn't come, Page wanted to bring himself to them instead. And so he issued public callouts. To Colby Covington. To Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. To anybody in the top 10 at welterweight. 'I thought that was the best way to make something happen,' Page said. 'There were no responses, at all, from anybody.' Even the UFC told him: 'It's difficult to match you.' 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