WEC 45: "Cerrone vs. Ratcliff" from "The Pearl" at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada., has officially wrapped, which means that it’s time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts.
The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses ($10,000) to six out of the 20 fighters on the card, including two, count them two, "Fights of the Night."
The main event lightweight battle between Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Ed "9mm" Ratcliff claimed one of those awards, while another main card contest between 135-pound studs Takeya Mizugaki and Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen earned the other.
It will probably come as no surprise who won "Knockout of the Night" after Anthony Njokuani's first round destruction of IFL import Chris "The Polish Hammer" Horodecki. It was actually the third consecutive time Njokuani has taken home the extra cash (WEC 43 and 40). However, this time around he likely had stiffer competition thanks to Joseph Benavidez's first round knockout over Rani Yahya.
"Cowboy" Cerrone probably would have pocketed another $10k for "Submission of the Night" had British fighter Brad Pickett not locked up the honor by sinking a fight-ending "Peruvian Necktie" late in the second round of an undercard battle against Kyle Dietz.
Here are the complete fight bonuses for WEC 45:
- Fights of the Night: Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone vs. Ed "9mm" Ratcliff and Takeya Mizugaki vs. Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen
- Submission of the Night: Brad Pickett
- Knockout of the Night: Anthony Njokuani
Cerrone, Ratcliff, Mizugaki, Jorgensen, Pickett and Njokuani all received $10,000 extra for their performances in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as possible.
For complete WEC 45 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.