Reinier de Ridder may have been in the co-main event at UFC Des Moines, but he arguably scored the biggest win on Saturday after he knocked off highly touted prospect Bo Nickal, and now he’ll go home with an extra $50,000 as a result.
Following the first UFC event in Iowa in 25 years, the promotion ultimately handed down four Performance of the Night bonuses with an extra $50,000 going to de Ridder following his stunning upset over Nickal — a three-time NCAA champion wrestler with a ton of hype surrounding him ever since he first signed with the UFC.
The win moved de Ridder to 3-0 in the UFC with his knockout over Nickal earning him his first post-fight bonuses.
UFC Des Moines main event winner Cory Sandhagen also scored an extra $50,000 after he secured a reversal during a grappling exchange that resulted in Deiveson Figueiredo suffering a gruesome knee injury that forced him to tap out.
Replays showed Sandhagen sitting up in a perfect position to trap Figueiredo’s leg and the Brazilian immediately grimaced in pain as he tapped out to end the fight.
Quang Le is also going home with a $50,000 bonus after he scored a rear-naked choke submission over Gaston Bolanos on the prelims.
The final bonus went to Azamat Bekoev after he moved to 2-0 in the UFC with his second straight stoppage victory. This time around, Bekoev delivered a vicious right hook followed by punches on the ground to finish TUF winner Ryan Loder in the first round.
