UFC Vegas 121: Luis Hernandez post-fight interview
Luis Hernandez speaks to MMA Junkie and other reporters after his submission victory over Sedriques Dumas at UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card in “Sin City,” including two to the main event bantamweights.
After UFC Fight Night 284, four fighters picked up an extra $100,000 for their performances at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Additionally, five fighters got $25,000 extra checks for finishes that weren’t bonus-winners.
Check out the list of winners below.
Fight of the Night: Raul Rosas Jr., Raoni Barcelos ($100,000 each)
Raul Rosas Jr. (13-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and Raoni Barcelos (22-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) put on an absolutely epic bantamweight fight in the main event. In the fifth, with the fight hanging in the balance, Rosas landed a slam – and somehow, Barcelos was out. And he was out bad enough that he had to be taken out of the venue on a stretcher – in a way that absolutely did not look good. Rosas may have picked up a bantamweight title shot with the win.
Performance of the Night: Luis Hernandez ($100,000)
Luis Hernandez (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) took advantage of the spotlight on him and needed just 57 seconds to choke out Sedriques Dumas (10-6 MMA, 3-6 UFC) in their fight at light heavyweight. Hernandez, a Miami cop, was fighting Dumas, a Florida criminal – literally – with a lengthy rap sheet. He won just 11 days prior on DWCS at middleweight, and now wants to fight at welterweight for three wins in three divisions in three months. Stay tuned …
Performance of the Night: Yazmin Jauregui ($100,000)
Yazmin Jauregui (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) absolutely tore through Vanessa Demopoulos (11-9 MMA, 5-6 UFC) with the type of ferociousness reserved for someone who was as much as a 12-1 favorite. Jauregui was fighting for the first time in more than two years and needed just 62 seconds to land a couple dozen mostly unanswered clean punches on Demopoulos for a curtain-jerker knockout.
Finish bonus: Valesca Machado ($25,000)
Valesca Machado (16-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), known as “Tina Black,” looked like an absolute problem at strawweight when she ripped through Melissa Amaya (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) for a second-round knockout to win Season 34 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Finish bonus: Brady Hiestand ($25,000)
Brady Hiestand (9-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) became the first fighter to finish Rinya Nakamura (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) when he tapped him with a rear-naked choke in the second round to close out the prelims. Hiestand was fighting for the first time in two years.
Finish bonus: Christian Edwards ($25,000)
Christian Edwards (9-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) followed the advice of his corner to a T after the second round, and it paid off with his first UFC win – a brutal TKO of Rodolfo Bellato (13-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) in the third round. The light heavyweights each had their moments in the first 10 minutes, and the fight hung in the balance in the third until Edwards landed a bomb.
Finish bonus: Elves Brener ($25,000)
Elves Brener (17-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) made Josiah Harrell (11-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) fall in a positively highlight-worthy way when he drilled him with a right hand in the first round of their lightweight fight on the prelims. It was his first win in nearly three years.
Finish bonus: Montel Jackson ($25,000)
Montel Jackson (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) had his 1-2 on point all fight against Ricky Simon (22-8-1 MMA, 10-7-1 UFC) and finished him midway through the third round after his left landed one more time. Jackson extended his UFC bantamweight knockdown record with the win, which was a rematch of a loss he had eight years prior.
