UFC Raleigh bonuses: Brett Johns vs. Tony Gravely earns Fight of the Night

The UFC rolled out the Brink’s trucks in North Carolina as Alex Perez, Herbert Burns, Brett Johns and Tony Gravely pocketed an extra $50,000 for their performances at UFC Raleigh.

For Perez, a veteran of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, this marked his first post-fight bonus since debuting with the promotion in 2017. Entering his scrap against Jordan Espinosa, the flyweight contender looked to pick up his fifth win in six contests, with his only loss coming to current No. 1 contender Joseph Benavidez.

While the majority of his career wins have reached the judges’ scorecards, Perez didn’t even need a second frame as he choked the oxygen from Espinosa’s lungs a little over two minutes into the fight.

Similarly, Burns, another vet from DWCS, kicked in the door of his UFC debut with a jaw-dropping first knockout over Nate Landwehr. This win not only marked his eighth career stoppage win but his first by knockout.

Johns, on the other hand, was making the walk to the Octagon for the first time since August 2018. Since then, a myriad of injuries forced the Welshman to watch from the sidelines. Riding a two-fight losing skid, Johns wasted no time in erasing his past losses with a back-and-forth war against UFC newcomer Gravely. While Gravely, played his part in pushing Johns to his limits, he inevitably succumbed to a third-round rear-naked choke.

For Johns, this marked his second career post-fight bonus, while Gravely picked up his first.