Robbie Lawler and Bryan Barberena were both expected to deliver and it was a great performance.
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 probably punched his ticket to the UFC Middleweight Title shot by knocking out Sean Strickland in the first round. Pereira improved his UFC record by 3-0. Now there’s nothing stopping Pereira from fighting Israel Adesanya in a UFC fight. Pereira beat Israel Adesanya 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.
