Following an upset-filled card, the post-fight bonuses for UFC Vegas 121 were revealed following the event.
There were 12 UFC fights on the card, with eight finishes. Check out the bonus winners below.
Fight of the Night ($100,000 to each fighter): Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos
In the main event, Raul Rosas Jr. defeated Raoni Barcelos via fifth-round TKO for the biggest win of his MMA career to date. Rosas won the first round before Barcelos took the next three rounds, meaning Rosas needed a finish in the fifth round to win. He got the job done when he took Barcelos down to the ground, and the Brazilian appeared to hit his head and got knocked out as Rosas picked up the biggest win of his career to date. For this absolute war of a fight, both Rosas and Barcelos won $100,000 each for Fight of the Night. We are still waiting for a medical update from the UFC, as it appeared that Barcelos suffered some sort of head injury or other health issue that led to him being knocked unconscious.
Performance of the Night ($100,000 to the fighter): Luis Hernandez
At light heavyweight, Luis Hernandez submitted Sedriques Dumas in the first round with a standing guillotine choke. Hernandez took this fight on two days’ notice after Mickey Gall was pulled for health issues, but he came into the match and won with a nasty submission to win his UFC debut.
Performance of the Night ($100,000 to the fighter): Yazmin Jauregui
In a women’s strawweight bout that kicked off the card, Yazmin Jauregui returned from a two-year layoff to brutally knock out Vanessa Demopoulos in the first round. The Mexican delivered an incredible performance, landing a 20-punch combination that sent Demopoulos crashing to the canvas, and she was then quickly finished via ground-and-pound KO.
Finish Bonus ($25,000 to each fighter): Tina Black, Brady Hiestand, Christian Edwards, Elves Brener, Montel Jackson
In the TUF 34 women’s strawweight finale, Tina Black knocked out Melissa Amaya with strikes in the second round. Both ladies had their moments in the fight, but Black landed some massive shots that badly hurt Amaya, putting her away in the second round for good.
At bantamweight, Brady Hiestand submitted Rinya Nakamura in the second round with a rear-naked choke in what was a massive upset. Hiestand hadn’t fought in over two years, but he returned to the Octagon with a terrific performance that saw him score one of the biggest wins of his MMA career to date.
At light heavyweight, Christian Edwards came back after being down the first round to come back and knock Rodolfo Bellato out in the third and final round. Edwards would have lost a decision, but he showed a ton of aggression in the third round to steal the victory.
In a lightweight matchup, Elves Bener earned a first-round KO win over Josiah Harrell. Brener landed a massive punch that stunned his opponent, who went flying in the air as he was stopped with a devastating punch.
At bantamweight, Montel Jackson knocked out Ricky Simon in the second round of their rematch. In 2018, Simon defeated Jackson via decision in his UFC debut, but eight years later, Jackson got revenge when he melted Simon with a brutal second-round KO.
Adam Martin Adam Martin is a sports journalist with over 15 years of experience. He has a speciality in MMA, while also covering the Big 4 Sports. Adam is currently a contributor to Heavy.com, with previous experience working for The Toronto Star, Sportsnet, theScore, Bookies, BJPenn.com, and MMAOddsbreaker.com. More about Adam Martin