LAS VEGAS — On any other evening, Beneil Dariush ’s spinning backfist knockout of Scott Holtzman – only the eighth such finish in nearly 27 years of UFC action – would have been a no-brainer pick for a “Performance of the Night” award. But Dariush (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) missed weight by two pounds for the scheduled lightweight main-card opener of UFC on ESPN+ 32, and by policy was ineligible to win an extra $50,000. And while that would be enough to ruin most people’s nights, Dariush thinks because he didn’t live up to his end of the bargain by making the contracted weight, he didn’t deserve an award.
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