UFC Fight Night 55 Post-Fight Bonuses: Rockhold, Smolka Bank $50,000 For Finishes

Tonight’s (Fri., November 7, 2014) UFC Fight Night 55 from the AllPhones Arena in Sydney, Australia, delivered an unprecedented 11 finishes in 11 total fights, breaking the UFC record and making it extremely difficult to decide just who deserved the post-fight bonuses.

No. 5-ranked middleweight Luke Rockhold continued to state his case for a title shot by destroying No. 9-ranked Michael Bisping with a vicious second round flurry of strikes ended by a tight guillotine choke.

For the win, which will rank as the biggest of his career, Rockhold earned one of the card’s $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses.

The other “Performance of the Night” award went to flyweight Louis Smolka, who finished Richie Vaculik with a jaw-dropping third round sidekick.

“Fight of the Night” was shared by none other than The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) veterans Robert Whittaker and Clint Hester. The fight saw both fighters land creative power shots. Hester bloodied Whittaker with a huge spinning elbow in round one, but the Aussie came back to finish Hester with an absolutely brutal knee in the second round.

All in all, it was a night that will go down in UFC history for its sheer finishing power. What were your favorite moments of the amazing night of fights?

Photo Credit: Joshua S. Kelly for USA TODAY Sports