UFC Fight Night Bonuses: Garbrandt, Stephens, Barao, Collier Pocket $50K Awards

Cody Garbrandt has his respect and the paycheck to go with it.

“No Love” garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round knockout of fellow prospect Thomas Almeida in the UFC Fight Night headliner at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday night. The Team Alpha Male standout rocked his opponent with a left hook early in the first round and finished the contest with a pair of wicked right hands and follow-up hammerfists at the 2:53 mark of the period.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Stephens and Renan Barao received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their spirited slugfest in the featherweight co-main event. Barao got the better of Stephens in the opening stanza, but “Lil’ Heathen” turned the tide with a massive uppercut in round two and outlanded his foe the rest of the way to win an entertaining unanimous decision.

Finally, Jake Collier survived a broken nose to best Alberto Emiliano Pereira and capture the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. Pereira blasted Collier’s nose with a knee from the clinch in the opening stanza, but the American recovered to finish his foe with a spinning back kick to the body 1:06 into the second frame.