The highly entertaining main event of UFC Vegas 96 becomes the fight of the evening

There were a few strong candidates, but in the end, Saturday's main event of UFC Vegas 96 secured the Fight of the Night bonus.

And at the end of the fifth round, there really was no big surprise.

Caio Borralho's name may have raised eyebrows when he was first booked to face UFC middleweight Jared Cannonier (#5) as the winner of Fight Night's event. Ranked 12th outside the top 10, he was a significant competitive advantage, as Cannonier had previously challenged Israel Adesanya for gold.

As it turned out, Borralho was more than up to the task. In an evenly matched fight in which both men did their share of damage, Borralho hurt “The Killa Gorilla” multiple times. Despite being rocked at least once himself, the Brazilian came close to finishing the fight, nearly knocking Cannonier out first with a ground n' pound and then with an arm-triangle choke in the final round.

The action-packed and highly entertaining main event was more than worth the $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus.

The Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Vegas 96 went to Gerald Meerschaert for his come-from-behind win over Edmen Shahbazyan. GM3 was nearly knocked out in the first round of the middleweight opening bout, but Shahbazyan knocked himself down and was caught by a sub in round two. The other performance bonus went to welterweight Michael Morales on Saturday after he stopped the tough Neil Magny by technical knockout.

All four bonus winners will receive an additional $50,000 for their efforts on Saturday, on a card that also ended The Ultimate Fighter 32.