Fiziev and three others pocket $100,000 bonuses after UFC Baku finish fest

Rafael Fiziev earned a $100,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus alongside three other fighters at UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday, as the card at the National Gymnastic Arena produced four stoppages worthy of the top award.

Fiziev, known as ‘Ataman’, dispatched Manuel Torres in the lightweight main event with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches just 15 seconds into Round 2 — a finish as emphatic as it was swift.

The most statistically striking performance of the night came from Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev at light heavyweight. Yakhyaev knocked out Julius Walker eight seconds into Round 1, tying the second-fastest finish in UFC history at 205 pounds and placing seventh on the all-time list across all weight classes.

In the flyweight division, Asu Almabayev claimed his bonus — and his third consecutive UFC victory — by submitting Charles Johnson with a kneebar at 3:33 of the third round. The finish underlined Almabayev’s growing reputation as one of the division’s most dangerous grapplers.

Daniil Donchenko rounded out the bonus recipients with a welterweight stoppage of Theodor Berggren, putting his opponent away with a head kick and punches 1:35 into the second round.

The clean sweep of ‘Performance of the Night’ awards to finishers reflected a card that offered little in the way of decisions among its standout bouts, with each $100,000 recipient ending their fight before the judges were needed.