TUF 23 Finale was full of great performances, but which ones were worthy of the extra $50,000?

The UFC announced the bonus winners at the TUF 23 Finale post-fight press conference.

Fight of the Night: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha

The rematch between TUF 23 coaches Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha was everything the fans asked for and more. Gadelha knocked the champion down almost immediately. Joanna Jedrzejczyk weathered that storm, but more thunder was on the way from Claudia. Gadelha took Jedrzejczyk down several times in the first, second, and third round while holding her own on the feet.

However, mid-way through the third round, Claudia Gadelha’s energy was sapped out of her due to all the aggressive grappling. From there it was the Joanna show. Combination after combination, elbow after elbow, all unanswered strikes from the champion. Gadelha gave her all in the fifth round attempting to get a takedown, but it never came to fruition. The momentum shifts in this amazing title fight certainly earned each fighter a $50,000 check.

Performance of the Night: Doo Ho Choi

“The Korean Superboy” only needed one punch to put away Thiago Tavares. Granted, it took him over two minutes to land his first punch, but when he did, it was nighty-night Thiago.

Tavares knew he had no business on the feet with Choi. Immediately, the Brazilian shoot for a takedown and succeeded. Choi did not expend any wasteful energy, and waited for the right opportunities to stand up. That is plural because he was taken down three times in the early goings. After the third standup, Choi was able to separate himself, throw a jab, then nail Thiago with a right straight that knocked him down. A few finishing touches later and that was that, the meteoric rise continued and he was able to collect a $50,000 check along the way.

Want your voice heard? Join the Cage Pages team! Write for us!

Performance of the Night: Tatiana Suarez

Tatiana Suarez utilized her fantastic wrestling to get her opponent, Amanda Cooper, to the mat early. Although Cooper was able to reverse position and gain top position temporarily, the ground is Tatiana’s world and she had control every second of the fight.

Suarez pulled off a sweep from half guard when Cooper had top position and executed another takedown while fending off a guillotine. While Suarez was landing ground-and-pound, Cooper attempted to stand and Suarez slapped on a D’arce choke, ending Cooper’s night. Not only did she receive a new Harley Davidson and a TUF trophy, Suarez got to take home an extra $50,000.

Honorable mention has to be given to Joaquim Silva. The Brazilian kicked off the main card with a bang by knocking out Andrew Holbrook in just 34 seconds. After tripping Holbrook due to a caught kick, Silva nailed Holbrook with a left that put him away. A bit of ground-and-pound later and that was that.

The UFC’s momentum kept rolling at TUF 23 Finale. It only gets better from here, on the eve of UFC 200. Do you agree with the bonuses?