After an exciting night of fights that saw nearly the entire cast of The Ultimate Fighter Live make their official UFC debuts, the fight night bonuses have been announced for the TUF Live Finale on Friday.
All fighters made $40,000 for their awards, and 22-year-old Team Cruz member Justin Lawrence earns $80,000 due to winning two separate bonuses.
Knockout of the Night: Martin Kampmann and Justin Lawrence
Both the first and last fights of the night on FX featured brutal knockouts.
In the opening bout of the main card, Justin Lawrence went toe-to-toe with John Cofer for two full rounds before hitting him with a brutal head kick early in the third.
The first pick of the entire show, Lawrence had a lot of hype coming into his first Octagon bout, and he proved he was worth it with an awesome finish.
Unlike Lawrence, who was easily in control of his bout for the majority of the fight, Martin Kampmann came back from the dead to finish off top welterweight Jake Ellenberger.
After being rocked in the opening minute of the fight and surviving several tough exchanges with “The Juggernaut,” Kampmann landed a number of knees in the clinch and put his opponent away.
The win earns Kampmann his first-ever knockout of the night bonus, also making him one of the few fighters to have earned a KO, submission and fight of the night check.
Submission of the Night: Michael Chiesa
Not only did he win The Ultimate Fighter Live title, but Mike Chiesa ended up taking home a nice bonus check as well.
Chiesa was an underdog going into the fight against Al Iaquinta, but after battling it out on the feet for the first minute, the wrestler decided to take the fight to the mat, and he quickly locked in the fight-ending rear-naked choke.
Chiesa’s ability to overcome the death of his father to win the show was a heart-warming tale, and the $40,000 bonus is just the icing on the cake of an incredible night for Chiesa.
Fight of the Night: Justin Lawrence vs. John Cofer
Obviously Lawrence was the victor in this fight, but he didn’t have an easy time against an extremely tough John Cofer.
Despite being unable to get the fight to the ground where he would have preferred it, Cofer was game the entire fight against Lawrence and landed some decent shots on the feet against the superior striker.
Cofer showed a lot of heart before he was finally put away in the third round, and he most likely earned himself a spot on the UFC roster to go with his bonus money.
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