J. Sherwood/Sherdog.com
The 29-year-old lightweight pocketed his third “Knockout of the Night” bonus in as many appearances, as he scrambled former International Fight League cornerstone Chris Horodecki with a wicked running head kick from behind and then finished him with ground strikes. The blows brought an end to the co-main event and put an extra $10,000 in Njokuani’s pocket at WEC 45 “Cerrone vs. Ratcliff” on Saturday at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Njokuani has moved into title contention at 155 pounds, having bounced back from his submission loss to interim champion Benson Henderson in January with three consecutive finishes.
World Extreme Cagefighting officials awarded $10,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses to headliners Donald Cerrone and Ed Ratcliff, along with bantamweights Scott Jorgensen and Takeya Mizugaki. Cerrone submitted Ratcliff with a third-round rear naked choke; Jorgensen outpointed Mizugaki in the night’s most significant upset.
Finally, K-1 veteran Brad Pickett banked a $10,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus in his promotional debut, as he coaxed a tapout from Kyle Dietz with a second-round Peruvian necktie. The 31-year-old Englishman has rattled off eight consecutive victories.