Even in defeat, Kyle Bochniak was riding high off of his last performance.
Matched up with blue chip featherweight prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC 223 in April, the two proceeded to put on a show that earned he and Magomedsharipov an extra $50,000 each for the Fight of the Night. The unanimous decision went Magomedsharipov’s way and Bochniak had to settle for winning over a swath of new fans, including a Brooklyn crowd that may not have been amicable towards the proud Bostonian at first.
In the months following, Bochniak and his team thought to strike while the iron was hot, which meant putting off a vacation to Spain that his wife had mapped out for the two of them.