The UFC took the show on the road to Columbus, Ohio on Saturday for the first non-pay-per-view event since the global pandemic.
The promotion brought 12 fights to UFC on ESPN 33, headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus. The main event produced a spectacular finish, but it was far from the only fight that met expectations.
Hometown welterweight Matt Brown met Bryan Barberena on the main card in what promised to be an intense battle. Somehow, the fight exceeded the expectations as the two engaged in an intense 15-minute brawl that left everyone in the arena standing and cheering. Although the split decision result didn’t go the way of Brown, he and Barberena both take home $50,000 for Fight of the Night, as a part of four total bonuses handed out by the promotion.
Check out who else took home a bonus for their performances below.
'Performance of the Night': Chris Gutierrez
Mar 26, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, UNITED STATES; Chris Gutierrez (red gloves) fights Batgerel Danaa (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
There were plenty of exciting results on Saturday, but none more flashy than Chris Gutierrez’s spinning back fist finish of Danaa Batgerel. The bantamweight prelim bout was filled with offensive displays from both fighters. However, many were questioning Gutierrez (18-3-2 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) for throwing a spinning back fist in the first round that missed, resulting in Danaa (13-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) taking control and stealing the round. Gutierrez would soon show everyone why he attempted the strike, as he threw one again in the second round. This time, however, it landed in a perfect spot, sending Danaa crashing to the canvas. The victory marked seven-straight fights without a loss, and the finish was worthy of the first Performance of the Night bonus of his career.
'Performance of the Night': Curtis Blaydes
Mar 26, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, UNITED STATES; Curtis Blaydes (red gloves) fights Chris Daukaus (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Curtis Blaydes didn’t need to lean on his bread and butter for this main event fight against Chris Daukaus. Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC), who is known for smothering the competition with his wrestling, didn’t shoot for a single takedown on Saturday. Instead, he opted to let his hands get the job done. After trading strikes with Daukaus (12-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the first round, Blaydes opened up the second round with a fight-ending counter punch. As Daukaus looked to land a right hand, Blaydes beat him to the punch and swarmed for the finish early in the second round. The win marked his second in a row, and the TKO finish was good enough to take home his third career $50,000 bonus.
'Fight of the Night': Bryan Barberena vs. Matt Brown
Mar 26, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, UNITED STATES; Matt Brown (red gloves) fights Bryan Barberna (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Although the end result wasn’t in favor of the hometown fighter, the Columbus crowd was treated to a special fight between Bryan Barberena and Matt Brown. For 15 minutes, Barberena (17-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Brown (23-19 MMA, 16-13 UFC) traded heavy punches, elbows in the clinch, and at times, threw caution to the wind and just brawled as the crowd went crazy. When the dust settled on this one, the judges were split in their decision, but two saw the bout in favor of Barberena. It was a close fight as the split would indicate, but Barberena certainly had his big moments, hurting brown on more than one occasion with hard strikes. For their efforts, both fighters walk away with a no-brainer $50,000 bonus.
