UFC 178 Post-Fight Bonuses: Cruz, McGregor Bank $50,000

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UFC 178 provided an insane amount of action, controversy, and finishes on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Sat., September 27, 2014) from the MGM Grand Gardena Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It’s tough to pick just who was deserving of the post-fight bonuses, but UFC President Dana White announced the first $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus went to Dominick Cruz, who returned from nearly three years off to finish tough No. 5-ranked bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki.

The second “Performance of the Night” went to rising Irish featherweight Conor McGregor, who finished No. 5 Dustin Poirier in the first round to continue his meteoric path up the 145-pound ladder.

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“Fight of the Night” went to none other than the extremely controversial Yoel Romero vs. Tim Kennedy bout. Kennedy had Romero out on his feet at the end of the second round, but Romero’s corner spent a significant amount of time rubbing Vaseline on him, leaving the stool in the cage much longer than was allowed.

Romero then came out and absolutely blasted Kennedy in the third round to earn the finish. Kennedy plans on appealing the strange finish, but in the meantime, both fighters earned $50,000 for their rousing battle.

UFC 178 drew a reported 10,544 attendance for a $2.2 million live gate.

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Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports