UFC Vegas 76 Bonuses: Sean Strickland and UFC debutant pockets $50K, bloody lightweight war bags FOTN
UFC Vegas 76 is now in the books and main event participant Sean Strickland pocketed a $50,000 performance bonus for putting away Abus Magomedov in ruthless fashion.
Sean Strickland entered the main event fight against the rising middleweight with hopes of earning his first consecutive win since losing to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier. The Extreme Couture standout, who has shown extreme vulnerability to leg kicks, faced adversity in the first round and survived severe eye pokes in the same round.
He came out strong in the second round and never allowed Magomedov to take the lead, finishing the fight via TKO. This was Sean Strickland’s first finish inside the UFC octagon since defeating Brendan Allen via TKO all the way back in 2020. He was awarded the fighter the performance of the night bonus.
Veteran of 45 fights and UFC debutant Nursulton Ruziboev, who opened the main card with a devastating one-punch KO of Bruno Ferreira, was the second performance of the night bonus winner that walked away with an additional $50,000 along with Sean Strickland
Elves Brenner and Guram Kutateladze beat Sean Strickland for Fight of the Night Bonus
The lightweight contest between Elves Brenner and Guram Kutateladze turned out to be a sleeper hit of sorts on a night that featured several prominent fighters in the male and female divisions.
Elves Brenner is a relatively unknown entity in the casual fans circuit. But in case you missed taking a look at his cornermen, those white-dyed hair and gritty fighting style might have given you a hint.
He belongs to the Chute Boxe martial arts school that has produced straight-up killers like former lightweight champion Charles 'do Bronx' Oliveira. ‘Georgian Viking’ Guram Kutateladze was closing in on top contenders of the division with his impressive performances in recent times.
The back-and-forth action saw Brenner getting hurt and overcoming early adversity to finish his Georgian opponent via TKO in the third and final round. With this win, Brenner improved his record to 15-3 overall with a perfect 2-0 run in the UFC. He now holds wins over notable fighters such as Zubaira Tukhogov and Guram Kutateladze.
Apart from Sean Strickland and other fighters that won the POTN bonuses, many fighters performed exceptionally well on the card. In the featured bout of prelims, Rinat Fakhretdinov spoiled returning Kevin Lee’s UFC debut.
He dispatched Lee via submission due to a guillotine choke in 55 seconds of the very first round. Joanderson Brito and Benoit Saint-Denis also earned TKO and submission wins over Westin Wilson and Ismael Bonfim, respectively.