UFC Fight Night 196 bonuses: Marvin Vettori gets extra $50,000 – but none for Paulo Costa

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including to the main event winner.

After UFC Fight Night 196, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

'Performance of the Night': Alex Caceres

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 23: (R-L) Alex Caceres punches Seungwoo Choi of South Korea in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 23, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Alex Caceres (19-12 MMA, 14-10 UFC) has found another level of late. The featherweight won for the fifth straight time when he submitted Seungwoo Choi (10-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) with a second-round rear-naked choke. Choi had good moments in the fight, but once Caceres took his back standing and dragged him to the canvas, he was in trouble and tapped quickly.

'Performance of the Night': Marvin Vettori

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 23: (L-R) Grant Dawson kicks Ricky Glenn in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 23, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Marvin Vettori (18-4-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) got put through a lot of drama during fight week thanks to opponent Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC). Their main event was supposed to be at middleweight. But when Costa arrived for fight week, he was way heavy and said he’d never make 185 pounds. He requested a light heavyweight bout – 20 pounds higher – and got it. There was bad blood between the two fighters, and Costa was the de facto fight week villain for the perception that he didn’t want to cut weight. But when the cage door closed, both fighters put on a show. In the end, Vettori won with a trio of 48-46 scores (Costa got a second-round point deduction). But instead of the bout getting “Fight of the Night” honors, it was Vettori who gets a solo performance bonus.

'Fight of the Night': Gregory Rodrigues vs. Junyong Park

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 23: (R-L) Gregory Rodrigues of Brazil punches Junyong Park of South Korea in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 23, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Gregory Rodrigues (11-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) said he felt the punches Junyong Park (13-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) landed on him in the first round, as well as into the second. The two slugged it out on the feet. But just past the midway point of the second round, Rodrigues landed a right hand that stunned Park. With his eyes looking out of sorts, Park started backing up. Rodrigues kept the pressure on him and landed a couple more punches until Park stumbled to the fence. There, Rodrigues landed a solid handful until Keith Peterson stepped in to give the Brazilian a standing knockout.

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