The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded it’s “Fight Night” winners from UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz with an extra $70,000 payout for their efforts on Saturday in England.
Winning the bonuses were Renan Barao and Brad Pickett for “Fight of the Night”, while Che Mills earned “Knockout of the Night”, and Terry Etim for “Submission of the Night”.
The “Fight Night” bonus winners were announced at the post fight press conference for UFC 138, which went down on Nov. 5 at the LG Arena in Birmingham, England.
The preliminary card aired live on the web at Facebook.com/UFC, while the main card aired live in select countries. In the U.S., the event is scheduled to air by tape delay on Spike TV.
Barao and Pickett fought a spirited affair through the beginning half of the first round, before Barao was able to score with a knee to his opponents head. With Pickett reeling, Barao was able to gain the Brits back, sliding an arm under his chin, and forcing the tap at 4:09 of the first round. The win was Barao’s twenty-seventh straight victory.
Mills went on offense from the start, landing a right hand and a knee to opponent Chris Cope, leaving the American buckling from the assault. With Mills swarming, referee Marc Goddard looked about to step in but opted to give Cope the benefit of the doubt. As Cope began to rise, Mills landed a second knee dropping Cope again, this time for good ending the fight at 40-seconds of the first.
Etim made an impressive return to the Octagon after a year-and-a-half absence, needing just 17-seconds to defeat Edward Faaloloto in the first round. Etim landed a few punches early, forcing Faaloloto into a takedown only to get caught in an arm-in guillotine. Unable to escape from the submission he was forced to tap giving Etim his first win in two years.