You had to be up early to catch it in the west, but UFC Macau, the promotion’s return to China on Saturday, delivered some big finishes.
Only one fight on the night’s main card went the distance (though one other, Alex Perez vs. Su Mudaerj, ended early due to a groin strike). That was Jake Matthews vs. Carlston Harris. On the prelims, five of seven bouts ended inside the distance.
With plenty of action to choose from, the UFC went with headliner Song Yadong, and former title challenger Kai Asakura, when the time for Performance of the Night bonuses arrived. In Song’s case, he submitted Deiveson Figueiredo in the second round with a guillotine choke, rebounding from a loss to Sean O’Malley earlier this year.
It was the lone bright spot for China on the UFC Macau card – while Japanese fighters fared well, every other Chinese star suffered defeat.
Speaking of Japanese stars, Kai Asakura’s move to bantamweight paid off. He absolutely crushed Cameron Smotherman, dropping the American and knocking him out inside of a round. After losing his first two UFC bouts including an immediate flyweight title shot upon arrival from RIZIN, Asakura finally looked like a viable contender on Saturday, though steps up in competition will be necessary moving forward.
Fight of the Night honors at UFC Macau went to Alonzo Menified and Zhang Mingyang, with their light heavyweight brawl landing just shy of the round. Menifield came out on top in that one.
All four bonus-winners earn $100,000 U.S. for their efforts. All other finishers pick up $25,000. That list is comprised of Sergei Pavlovich, Luis Felipe Dias, Cody Haddon, Rei Tsuruya, Rodrigo Vera, and Jaqueline Amorim.