UFC 273 Bonuses: Chimaev vs. Burns Easy Choice for ‘Fight of the Night’

When all is said and done, Khamzhat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns may have locked up “Fight of the Year.”

For now, the two welterweights will have to settle for “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece following their memorable slugfest at UFC 273 on Saturday night at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Chimaev, one of the most heavily-hyped talents in recent memory, passed the most significant test of his career to date with a unanimous decision triumph over Burns, a former No. 1 contender at 170 pounds.

Meanwhile, reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a dominant performance against Chan Sung Jung in the evening’s main event. The City Kickboxing representative battered Jung all over the Octagon before a pair of right hands had “The Korean Zombie” essentially out on his feet for a technical knockout stoppage 45 seconds into Round 4.

Finally, veteran submission specialist Alexey Oleynik earned the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award by virtue of a first-round tapout of Jared Vanderaa in a preliminary heavyweight affair. After surviving some early adversity, the 44-year-old Russian rallied to submit Vanderaa with a scarf hold at the 3:39 mark of the opening stanza.