UFC 153 Results: Recapping the Fight Night Bonuses

UFC 153 was one of the most injury troubled cards of the year, yet the UFC came through and delivered with an explosive card that featured great fights top to bottom.

The main event, that all came about just two weeks ago, featured Anderson Silva finishing Stephan Bonnar by TKO in the first round and pushing his winning streak to a remarkable 17.

There were plenty of fights worthy of bonuses Saturday night, but here are the actual winners of the UFC 153 post-fight bonuses.

Knockout of the Night

Knockout of the Night went to Ultimate Fighter: Brazil winner Rony Jason as he defeated Sam Sicilia by second-round TKO.

Jason looked very good as he showed his well-rounded striking ability and rocked Sicilia on multiple occasions.

The bout between Jason and Sicilia was also a definite Fight of the Night contender, as both men stood right in front of each other and traded blows for the majority of the fight, but a nasty counter right hand and some vicious ground and pound ended the night for Sam Sicilia.

Many were surprised Knockout of the Night didn't go to Anderson Silva, but I doubt Silva is in much need of a bonus. 

Submission of the Night

The Submission of the Night award was a tough one, as four fights—including three on the main card—ended by tapout, but in the end, the legend Minotauro Nogueira took home the bonus for his armbar victory over "the unsubmittable" Dave Herman.

Herman stated before the fight that jiu-jitsu didn't work, which we all know Big Nog would not take too kindly to.

So, to prove a point, Nogueira worked Herman on the ground and ended up with a picture-perfect armbar to end the night and—likely, for the time being—the UFC career of Dave Herman. 

Other nominees for Submission of the Night include Phil Davis' nasty signature Anaconda Choke on Wagner Prado and Demian Maia's neck crank/rear-naked choke over Rick Story.

Fight of the Night

The Fight of the Night went home with Jon Fitch.

No, seriously. Jon Fitch and Erick Silva were in a 15-minute battle as Fitch worked his stellar wrestling game along with some nice ground and pound to earn a unanimous decision over the top prospect.

Fitch was in trouble a few times. Once, Silva had a rear-naked choke completely sealed in, but Fitch showed why many consider him to have the best submission defense in all of MMA as he escaped and put the pressure right back on Silva.

Fitch has been very outspoken the past few weeks about wanting to be more exciting, but instead of doing something drastic or crazy, he came out and did what he does best—win.

Fitch proved at UFC 153 that he is still one of the best welterweights in the world.

The only other fight that really had a chance to slip in and steal the Fight of the Night award away from Fitch and Erick Silva was the clash between Glover Teixeira and Fabio Maldonado. Teixeira dominated the first four minutes of the round, with a few people on Twitter even suggesting a 10-7 judging score, while others were criticizing the official for not stopping the bout. 

Next thing you know, Maldonado pulled out his inner-Cheick Kongo and nearly knocked out Teixeira with one punch that staggered Teixeira, but he survived and moved on the second round. The second saw Teixeira continue to pick apart Maldonado, and the doctor stepped in and stopped the bout at the end of the round.

Each fighter who received a bonus goes home with a nice $70K.

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