The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 14 event, a 9-bout fight card headlined by Paul Felder vs Rafael dos Anjos.
The former UFC lightweight champion, Dos Anjos, was initially slated to fight Islam Makhachev in tonight’s event headliner. However, the Russian standout tested positive for Covid-19 and was forced to withdraw from the contest.
With that, Paul Felder (17-5 MMA) stepped up on just five days notice to save the event.
Felder had entered tonight’s UFC Vegas 14 headliner looking to rebound, this after dropping a split-decision loss to Dan Hooker in his most recent effort. ‘The Irish Dragon‘ had gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall, which included a TKO victory over Charles Oliveira.
Meanwhile, Rafael dos Anjos (29-13 MMA) was looking to snap a two-fight losing skid when he squared off with Paul Felder this evening in Las Vegas. ‘RDA’ was coming off back-to-back decision losses to welterweights Michael Chiesa and Leon Edwards in his most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those setbacks, Dos Anjos had earned a submission victory over Kevin Lee.
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 14 main event proved to be an absolute war. Rafael dos Anjos and Paul Felder battled it out for twenty-five straight minutes much to the delight of fans watching worldwide. After five rounds of hard-fought action, it was pretty clear (well at least to two judges) that the Brazilian had done more than enough to walk away with victory. Ultimately ‘RDA’ was awarded a split-decision win (47-48, 50-45 x2).
The rest of the UFC Vegas 14 fight card also delivered with some memorable scraps and jaw-dropping finishes.
Following the conclusion of the event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that four fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.
Fight of the night: Lightweight standouts Rafael dos Anjos and Paul Felder each pocketed an extra $50k for their amazing battle in tonight’s main event. After twenty-five minutes of thrilling action, ‘RDA’ was awarded a split-decision victory from the judges in attendance.
Performance of the night: Khaos Williams earned an extra $50k for his amazing 30-second knockout victory over Abdul Razak Alhassan in tonight’s UFC Vegas 14 co-headliner. The win improved Williams overall record to 11-1 in mixed martial arts.
Performance of the night: Sean Strickland picked up an extra $50k for his sensational second round TKO victory over highly touted prospect Brendan Allen. The win marked Strickland’s second in just two weeks time.
Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC Vegas 14 event? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com November 14, 2020