UFC 126 Bonuses: Silva, Jones, Cerrone, Kelly Bank $75K

Middleweight king Anderson Silva (Pictured) earned a $75,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he crumpled Vitor Belfort with an otherworldly front kick in the UFC 126 headliner on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The end came 3:25 into round one, as Silva posted his 14th consecutive win in sensational fashion.

The two men circled one another for nearly two minutes before throwing any meaningful strikes. Belfort fired the first salvos, a pair of leg kicks and a right-left combination. Moments later, he was staring at the lights, the latest victim in Silva’s incredible run of dominance.

Meanwhile, Jon Jones snatched a $75,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus in wake of his guillotine-induced tapout of Ryan Bader. The 23-year-old Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative dominated the previously unbeaten Bader, ultimately securing victory with the second-round choke. The win earned Jones a crack at UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 next month in New Jersey.

Finally, World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Donald Cerrone and Paul Kelly pocketed matching $75,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses after their two-round lightweight encounter ended with the Brit submitting to a rear-naked choke. Cerrone took the tapout 3:48 into round two, as he made the most of his Octagon debut.

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WEC 53 Bonuses: 4 Fighters Pocket $10K

Former bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland turned Ken Stone into a projectile and walked away with a $10,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus.

Wineland knocked out Stone with a powerful first-round slam in their preliminary matchup at WEC 53 “Henderson vs. Pettis” on Thursday at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The violent end came 2:11 into round one, as Wineland won for the fourth time in as many appearances. Stone, who later regained consciousness, left the cage on a stretcher. The American Top Team representative had never before been finished.

Meanwhile, Shane Roller pocketed a $10,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus after he finished former lightweight champion Jamie Varner with a rear-naked choke. A three-time collegiate All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Roller, 31, cinched the choke and solicited the tapout 3:55 into the first round.

Finally, headliners Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis banked matching $10,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses after their unforgettable five-round duel ended in a unanimous decision for the latter. All three cage-side judges sided with Pettis, who dethroned Henderson and became the final lightweight champion in WEC history. Scores were 48-47, 48-7 and 49-46.

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UFC 122 Bonuses: Four Fighters Take $60K

Dennis Siver file photo: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

London Shootfighters product Karlos Vemola turned less than four minutes of Octagon combat into a handsome payday.

Vemola earned a $60,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he throttled Seth Petruzelli with punches and elbows en route to a first-round technical knockout at UFC 122 “Marquardt vs. Okami” on Saturday at the Konig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. Battered and bloodied, Petruzelli met his end 3:46 into round one.

A former heavyweight, Vemola made the most of his debut at 205 pounds. The 25-year-old Czech twice scored with slams, avoided triangle choke and armbar attempts from Petruzelli, took a dominant position on the ground and unleashed his considerable firepower against “The Silverback.” Petruzelli, a candidate to be pruned from the UFC roster, remains winless in four Octagon appearances.

Meanwhile, promotional newcomers Pascal Krauss and Mark Scanlon pocketed matching $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses in wake of their spirited three-round preliminary matchup. The unbeaten Krauss earned a unanimous nod from the judges in his UFC debut: 30-27 on all three scorecards.

Finally, Dennis Siver banked a $60,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus after he took out “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 finalist Andre Winner with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their lightweight scrap. Having been dropped by a left hand, Winner surrendered his back and succumbed to the choke 3:37 into round one.

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UFC 121 Bonuses: Four Fighters Pocket $70K

The afterglow of a career-defining performance included a handsome payday for newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

Velasquez earned a $70,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he demolished Brock Lesnar in the UFC 121 headliner on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The 28-year-old American Kickboxing Academy ace stopped Lesnar on strikes 4:12 into round one before a raucous crowd of 14,856.

Meanwhile, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez and the world-ranked Paulo Thiago banked matching $70,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses after their spirited three-round encounter ended in a unanimous decision for Sanchez. The Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts-based welterweight stopped a two-fight skid with the victory.

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Finally, Daniel Roberts pocketed a $70,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus, as he coaxed a tapout from former King of the Cage champion Michael Guymon with an opening-round anaconda choke in their preliminary welterweight matchup. Guymon met his demise 73 seconds into round one.

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