UFC 276 Bonuses: Alex Pereira Garners $50K for Spectacular Knockout Win

Alex Pereira may have punched his ticket to a middleweight title shot with his first-round knockout victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 276.

While that opportunity is still a little ways down the road, “Poatan” did garner a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his work in the Octagon at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Pereira buckled Strickland with a clean left hook, then finished off his opponent with two right hands for a stoppage at the 2:36 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Bryan Barberena and Robbie Lawler received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their entertaining welterweight slugfest. Both men traded willingly in the pocket throughout the fight, but Barberena gradually overwhelmed Lawler with superior volume en route to a technical knockout victory 4:47 into the second stanza.

Earlier, Jalin Turner pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to his fifth consecutive finish, a first-round tapout of Brad Riddell in a preliminary lightweight tussle. Turner rocked his foe with a right hand, and when Riddell shot out of desperation, secured a mounted guillotine for a tapout just 45 seconds after the bout began.

Finally, Julija Stoliarenko took home the card’s final $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payout by virtue of a quick submission victory against Jessica-Rose Clark at bantamweight. Stoliarenko took her opponent down, landed in side control and quickly transitioned to an armbar, forcing a tapout 42 seconds into Round 1.