UFC 276 bonuses: Bryan Barberena and Robbie Lawler brawl wins Fight of the Night, three fast finishes rewarded
Bryan Barberena and Robbie Lawler were expected to throw down and they delivered in spades.
In a featured UFC 276 main card bout, Barberena went toe-to-toe with the former UFC welterweight champion, eventually putting him away near the end of the second round after almost 10 minutes of back-and-forth action. Though Lawler took the loss, both fighters were awarded with the Fight of the Night award and an extra $50,000 bonus.
Their award win should come as a surprise to no one given that both fighters have now won Fight of the Night five times.
Three $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses were handed out to Alex Pereira, Jalin Turner, and Julija Stoliarenko.
Pereira likely punched his way to a UFC middleweight title shot with a spectacular first-round knockout of Sean Strickland on the main card. The win improved Pereira’s UFC record to 3-0 and now there is nothing standing in the way of a fight between him and Israel Adesanya, who Pereira has defeated twice in kickboxing.
Turner and Stoliarenko were both awarded for fast submission finishes, with Turner needing just 45 seconds to defeat Brad Riddell with a guillotine choke and Stoliarenko topping that with a 42-second armbar finish of Jessica-Rose Clark.