The main card at UFC 321 may not have lived up to expectations, but the undercard certainly delivered plenty of memorable moments for fans in attendance at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena on Saturday night.
While most of the post-fight discussion has centered around Ciryl Gane’s eye poke on Tom Aspinall in the main event, four fighters from the preliminary card walked away with an extra $50,000 in the aftermath of the year’s penultimate pay-per-view event.
Performance of the Night: Valter Walker
Valter Walker (15-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) entered his heavyweight clash with Louie Sutherland (10-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) riding a streak of three consecutive wins by heel hook — a feat never before seen in UFC history. You’d think pulling off a fourth in a row would be impossible, especially against an opponent who knew exactly what to expect. Yet somehow, Walker made the unthinkable happen again. Incredibly, despite this unprecedented run of submissions, he’s only received Performance of the Night bonuses for his last two finishes.
Performance of the Night: Quillan Salkilld
Quillan Salkilld (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) accepted a short-notice bout against Nasrat Haqparast (18-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and made the long trip from Australia to Abu Dhabi. Midway through the opening round, Salkilld connected with a perfectly timed head kick that left Haqparast unconscious before he even hit the mat. The veteran remained down for a concerning stretch, making it one of the most chilling knockouts of the year — and almost certainly a contender for Knockout of the Year honors when awards season rolls around.
Fight of the Night: Ludovit Klein def. Mateusz Rebecki
Ludovit Klein (24-5-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) and Mateusz Rebecki (20-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) delivered one of the bloodiest battles in recent memory during the prelims. Klein dominated the first two rounds, but after the fight, he revealed in his post-fight interview that he had broken his ankle midway through the third. The injury left him struggling to stay mobile as Rebecki surged back, earning a 10-8 round from one judge. Even so, the other two judges scored the final frame 10-9 for Klein, giving him the win by majority decision.
