SPINNING WHEEL KICK KO #UFCMACAU pic.twitter.com/25KJ8OqmSx
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 23, 2024
Muslim Salikhov has a knack for spinning offense.
“The King of Kung Fu” received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his first-round finish of Kenan Song in their welterweight clash at UFC Macau on Saturday at Galaxy Arena. Salikhov dropped his adversary with a perfectly placed spinning wheel kick and sealed his victory with a standing-to-ground hammerfist at the 3:49 mark of Round 1. It is the second time the 40-year-old has used a spinning wheel kick to end a contest in UFC competition.
Elsewhere, Gabriella Fernandes garnered a $50,000 bonus for her upset victory over Cong Wang in a women’s flyweight bout. Wang appeared to have a comfortable lead on the scorecards when Fernandes hurt her foe with a head kick and dropped her with an ensuing left hand. From there, the MMA Masters product secured a rear-naked choke to get the tap 3:49 into the second frame.
Earlier, Mingyang Zhang took home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for making short work of Osman Diaz in a light heavyweight showdown. Zhang floored Diaz with a standing elbow and unloaded with punches until the bout was halted at the 2:25 mark of Round 1. Zhang has won 11 straight fights — all inside the distance.
Finally, Ming Shi captured the card’s final $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus with a stoppage of Xiaocan Feng in the “Road to UFC” women’s strawweight final. Shi secured victory with a head-kick knockout 46 seconds into the third period.
