Despite defeat in his debut, Diego Lopes earns 'Fight of the Night' bonus at UFC 288

D. Lopes almost submitted M. Evloev in the UFC 288 (Photo: Twitter/@ufc_brasil)

Even with the defeat to Movsar Evloev on the main card of UFC 288, the brazilian Diego lopes leaves New Jersey with plenty of reasons to celebrate his debut in Ultimate. Praised by Dana White after the fight against the Russian, the Brazilian athlete won the 'Fight of the Night' award along with his rival and will take home the prize of US$50 thousand (around R$247 thousand). Light weight (up to 70,3kg) Matt frevola and straw weight (up to 52,2kg) XiaonanYan were also decorated.

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Last-minute replacement Bryce mitchell, the brazilian Diego lopes had the tough task of facing the top-1st in the featherweight division (up to 65,7kg) Movsar Evloev. Even though he was defeated by the judges' decision, the Brazilian athlete gave a tough confrontation to the ranked Russian and, showing sharp jiu-jitsu, he was very close to getting a submission during the 15 minutes of the duel.

Awarded 'Performance of the Night' at the UFC 288, XiaonanYan e Matt frevola were responsible for two of the event's knockouts. The athletes hit Drew dober e Jessica Stacker, respectively, before the first gong sounded and also took home the US$50.