UFC 183 Results: Recapping Fight Night Bonuses

All in all, UFC 183 was an entertaining show. Aside from Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tyron Woodley, the show delivered the requisite amount of violence and then some. Several performances were worthy of post-fight bonuses, as the event featured five impressive finishes and more than one fight worthy of “Fight of the Night” honors.

The “Fight of the Night” at UFC 183 was Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch. Leites has been on a tear since his original departure from the UFC, and Boetsch was looking to halt the Brazilian's ascent back to title contention.

Leites ate some hard punches from Boetsch that nearly finished the fight in the first round, but he endured the punishment and made it out of the round. The Brazilian was able to get the fight to the ground in Round 2, and after Boetsch slipped the first attempt, Leites put him to sleep with an arm-triangle choke at 3:45 of the second round.

Leites also took home a separate “Performance of the Night” bonus for the finish, and it was well worth it after what he endured in the previous round only to come back and render his opponent unconscious.

The other performance bonus went to Thiago Alves, who decimated Jordan Mein with a body kick and a swarm of strikes that earned him a second-round TKO in the UFC 183 main card opener. People had questioned whether Alves could still perform at a high level, but against a young and dangerous opponent like Mein, he showed the killer instinct that had brought him to welterweight title contention in the past.

The body kick that Alves landed instantly floored Mein and had him crumpled on the mat frozen and grimacing in pain. The Pitbull aggressively pursued the finish and came in with a flying knee to the body of a grounded Mein. After a few more hard shots from Alves, referee Herb Dean waved it off.

Mein had Alves busted up in the first round, and for Alves to come back and emphatically finish him proved he can still overcome adversity inside the cage. Whether he can still contend at the very top of the welterweight division remains to be seen, but that is certainly where he is headed.