UFC Fight Night 117 Bonuses: Main Card Stars Bank Cash

USATSI 10298790 168382968 lowres

UFC Fight Night 117 emanated tonight (Friday, September 22, 2017) from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The main event saw a weird, late-notice pairing between 205-pound Ovince St. Preux and former middleweight title challenger but recent welterweight Yushin Okami.

OSP would garner himself one of the two $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus checks for somehow hitting his signature move, the Von Flue shoulder choke, on the experienced Okami in the first round. OSP now has two more Von Flue chokes than Jason Von Flue, perhaps solidifying it as the “Von Preux choke” from now on.

The other $50k Performance of the Night bonus went to Gokhan Saki, whose highly anticipated debut delivered the violence and highlight-reel finish blood-thirsty fight fans sought. His victim, Henrique “Frankenstein” da Silva, lived up to his nickname, eating insane amounts of punishment and refusing to go away. The Brazilian finally seemed to be turning the momentum in his favor with a flurry of knees, elbows, and punches on the fence when a counter left hook ended it in a flash.

READ MORE:  Jake Paul plans to test power punching of Mike Tyson in July boxing clash: 'I can't wait to give him a death stare'

The Fight of the Night and its matching $50,000 bonus checks went to the strawweights in the bloody co-main event clash. Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Andrade tore into each other for three rounds, with Andrade gradually taking over in a more and more one-sided affair. Brutal power hooks on the fence, jaw-dropping slam takedowns, and merciless ground and pound highlighted Andrade’s upset and statement-making victory over a fellow former title challenger.

Keep it locked to LowKickMMA for all your UFC Japan post-fight news and analysis.