On a night when he emerged as the world’s premier 145-pound fighter, Jose Aldo had 10,000 other reasons to smile.

Aldo pocketed a $10,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he stopped Mike Thomas Brown on second-round strikes and became the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion at WEC 44 “Brown vs. Aldo” on Wednesday at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

The 23-year-old Brazilian was calm and composed in his first main event, as he ran circles around Brown with his lethal combination of speed and power. Aldo capitalized on a scramble in the second round, seized back control and flattened out the defending champion. Unanswered blows to the head brought forth the stoppage 80 seconds into round two.

The post-fight windfall benefited Shane Roller, as well.

Roller banked a $10,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus after he coaxed a tapout from Danny Castillo with a third-round rear-naked choke. Their back-and-forth affair came to an end 3:32 into the final period, as Roller, a three-time collegiate All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, delivered his second consecutive victory.

Finally, Cub Swanson and John Franchi earned matching $10,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses after they engaged in a memorable featherweight scrap on the undercard. Swanson, on the rebound in wake of his eight-second technical knockout loss to Aldo in June, cinched a fight-ending guillotine choke with just 10 seconds remaining in the third round.