NEWARK, N.J. – Brendan Schaub, Erik Koch, Edson Barboza and Anthony Njokuani are each $70,000 richer after their performances at UFC 128 on Saturday night.
Those four top performers on the UFC's pay-per-view at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., were given post-fight bonuses for their work. UFC president Dana White announced the bonus winners and amount at the post-fight press conference.
The card was without a submission, so White elected to give two knockout bonuses instead – to Schaub and Koch. Barboza and Njokuani won bonuses for Fight of the Night.
After staving off several left head kicks from Pride legend Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Schaub dropped Cro Cop with a bomb of a right hand just as the head-kick specialist was coming forward with another one. Schaub appeared to be winning the fight on points – though a point taken from him for strikes to the back of Cro Cop's head made the second round 9-9.
But Schaub didn't let it get to the judges, and he followed the brutal right with another shot on the ground as Herb Dean moved in to stop it. Schaub (8-1, 4-1 UFC) has now won four straight after losing the Season 10 finale of "The Ultimate Fighter" to Roy Nelson. Cro Cop (27-9-2, 1 NC, 4-5 UFC) has lost two straight, both by knockout.
Koch (12-1, 1-0 UFC), a student at the rapidly rising Duke Roufus camp in Milwaukee, started the prelims off with a literal bang. After working some kicks and staying patient, Koch rifled off a right hook that dropped Raphael Assuncao instantly. Koch moved in to finish, but didn't need the follow-up shot. The featherweight went 3-1 in his WEC career, including a Knockout of the Night bonus over Francisco Rivera at WEC 52, and starts his UFC career with some extra cash, as well.
Koch gave credit after the fight to his boxing coach at Roufus' camp: "That's Duke Roufus and Scott Cushman right there. Scott worked that hook with me, so a big thanks goes out to him."
Njokuani and Barboza let their hands and feet fly for three rounds to open up the Spike TV-broadcast prelims. They traded evenly for most of the fight – until Barboza (8-0, 2-0 UFC) landed a huge spinning back kick with just seconds left in the fight. It connected flush on Njokuani's head – and if there was a question for the judges in the third round, he answered it with the kick and took a 29-28 unanimous decision sweep. Njokuani (13-5, 1 NC, 0-1 UFC) dropped his UFC debut after going 4-3 in the WEC, and has now lost three of his last four fights.
Those four top performers on the UFC's pay-per-view at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., were given post-fight bonuses for their work. UFC president Dana White announced the bonus winners and amount at the post-fight press conference.
The card was without a submission, so White elected to give two knockout bonuses instead – to Schaub and Koch. Barboza and Njokuani won bonuses for Fight of the Night.
After staving off several left head kicks from Pride legend Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Schaub dropped Cro Cop with a bomb of a right hand just as the head-kick specialist was coming forward with another one. Schaub appeared to be winning the fight on points – though a point taken from him for strikes to the back of Cro Cop's head made the second round 9-9.
But Schaub didn't let it get to the judges, and he followed the brutal right with another shot on the ground as Herb Dean moved in to stop it. Schaub (8-1, 4-1 UFC) has now won four straight after losing the Season 10 finale of "The Ultimate Fighter" to Roy Nelson. Cro Cop (27-9-2, 1 NC, 4-5 UFC) has lost two straight, both by knockout.
Koch (12-1, 1-0 UFC), a student at the rapidly rising Duke Roufus camp in Milwaukee, started the prelims off with a literal bang. After working some kicks and staying patient, Koch rifled off a right hook that dropped Raphael Assuncao instantly. Koch moved in to finish, but didn't need the follow-up shot. The featherweight went 3-1 in his WEC career, including a Knockout of the Night bonus over Francisco Rivera at WEC 52, and starts his UFC career with some extra cash, as well.
Koch gave credit after the fight to his boxing coach at Roufus' camp: "That's Duke Roufus and Scott Cushman right there. Scott worked that hook with me, so a big thanks goes out to him."
Njokuani and Barboza let their hands and feet fly for three rounds to open up the Spike TV-broadcast prelims. They traded evenly for most of the fight – until Barboza (8-0, 2-0 UFC) landed a huge spinning back kick with just seconds left in the fight. It connected flush on Njokuani's head – and if there was a question for the judges in the third round, he answered it with the kick and took a 29-28 unanimous decision sweep. Njokuani (13-5, 1 NC, 0-1 UFC) dropped his UFC debut after going 4-3 in the WEC, and has now lost three of his last four fights.