‘TUF 28’ Finale Bonuses: Usman, Benavidez, Espino, Roberts Pocket $50K Awards

Kamaru Usman, Joseph Benavidez, Juan Francisco Espino Dieppa and Roosevelt Roberts all received $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their work at ”The Ultimate Fighter 28” finale on Friday.

Usman earned a dominant unanimous verdict against Rafael dos Anjos in the evening’s headliner at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino in Las Vegas, giving him nine consecutive wins inside the Octagon. Usman landed 130 significant strikes and 12 takedowns as he controlled the majority of his 25-minute battle against the former lightweight king.

Meanwhile, two-time flyweight title challenger Benavidez was impressive in defeating Alex Perez via first-round technical knockout. After one near-stoppage by referee Yves Lavigne halted the momentum of a Benavidez salvo of ground-and-pound, the Las Cruces, N.M., native finished the job with another barrage of punches on the canvas at the 4:19 mark of the period.

Espino added to his bank account with a first-round submission of Justin Frazier in the heavyweight finals of “TUF 28.” Espino secured the tapout by moving to the crucifix position, isolating his opponent’s arm and stretching it into a straight armlock for the finish 3:36 into round one.

Finally, Roberts remained unbeaten in his MMA career thanks to a first-round submission of Darrell Horcher in a preliminary lightweight scrap. Roberts rocked his foe with a right hand, pressed him into the fence and locked in a standing guillotine. Shortly thereafter, Horcher asked out of the fight at the 4:50 mark.