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#4 Rafael Fiziev – defeated Bobby Green
The UFC weren’t shy in handing out bonus awards last night, giving a total of six $50k cheques in the end. The rightful winners of the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus were lightweights Rafael Fiziev and Bobby Green – but it was Fiziev who picked up a win to earn a spot on this list.
The fight was a back-and-forth war, with both men landing plenty of heavy strikes while also talking trash at one another throughout the contest. It was filled with high-level exchanges, with nothing sloppy on show despite Green using his trademark low-hands style of boxing.
In the end – despite a stirring third round from ‘King’ – Fiziev was handed a pretty clear-cut unanimous decision, giving him arguably his biggest win to date. Green isn’t a contender, but he’s extremely tough to look good against, and so for ‘Ataman’ to do so is huge.
The win puts Fiziev on a four-fight winning streak in the UFC, and despite competing in one of the promotion’s most loaded divisions, this victory should at least move him into position to fight on a main card next time out.
If that fight can be against someone in the UFC’s top fifteen, then that’s even better. Essentially, Fiziev has everything required to become a genuine contender in the near future.
#3 Jessica Penne – defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz
After missing the best part of four years of action due to a controversial USADA suspension, few fans could’ve blamed former UFC title challenger Jessica Penne for walking away from MMA altogether.
But the TUF 20 veteran instead returned earlier this year and picked up her first victory since 2014 over the overmatched Lupita Godinez. It was almost enough to make all that time on the shelf feel worth it.
Today, though, that win will pale in comparison to what Penne achieved at UFC 265. Not only did she defeat tough veteran Karolina Kowalkiewicz, but she did so in style, finishing the Polish fighter with a beautiful armbar in the first round.
It hardly came as a surprise to see Penne get emotional after the fight as the win has put her on a two-fight win streak - something that nobody could’ve foreseen while she was battling USADA a couple of years ago.
And while she’s not likely to move back into contention for the UFC strawweight title at the age of 38, this win was enough to net her a nice $50k bonus cheque from the UFC – comfortably making her one of UFC 265’s biggest winners.
