Reinier de Ridder scored a major upset at UFC Des Moines by defeating Bo Nickal, earning a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, alongside Cory Sandhagen, Quang Le, and Azamat Bekoev who also received bonuses for their respective victories.
Reinier de Ridder may have been in the co-main event at UFC Des Moines, but he arguably scored the biggest win on Saturday. He knocked off highly touted prospect Bo Nickal and will now go home with an extra $50,000. Quite the payday, right?
This event marked the first UFC fight in Iowa in 25 years. The promotion handed out four Performance of the Night bonuses. De Ridder snagged one after his stunning upset over Nickal—a three-time NCAA champion wrestler with tons of hype. Quite the feat!
The win moved de Ridder to 3-0 in the UFC. His knockout over Nickal earned him his first post-fight bonus. Not too shabby for a night’s work.
Meanwhile, UFC Des Moines main event winner Cory Sandhagen also scored an extra $50,000. He secured a reversal during a grappling exchange, leading to Deiveson Figueiredo suffering a gruesome knee injury. Ouch!
Replays showed Sandhagen sitting up perfectly to trap Figueiredo’s leg. The Brazilian grimaced in pain and tapped out, ending the fight. Talk about a game-changer.
Quang Le is also heading home with a $50,000 bonus. He scored a rear-naked choke submission over Gaston Bolanos on the prelims. Nice move!
The final bonus went to Azamat Bekoev, who moved to 2-0 in the UFC. He delivered a vicious right hook, followed by ground punches, to finish TUF winner Ryan Loder in the first round. What a finish!