UFC Vegas 32 Bonuses: Main Card Fighters Cash In
Kyler Phillips, Raulian Paiva, Adrian Yanez, and Darren Elkins all cashed out with an extra $50,000 in performance bonuses for their work at UFC Vegas 32. Phillips and Paiva were awarded Fight of the Night bonuses for their three round co-main event, while Yanez and Elkins were awarded for their TKO wins.
Phillips and Paiva were awarded for their back and forth three round fight. Phillips was dominant through the first round, with Phillips dropping him and landing a substantial amount of strikes on him. Paiva picked it up in the latter rounds, though, outstriking Phillips 20-14 in each round and adequately mixing in ground game as well.
Adrian Yanez secured his bonus with a comeback TKO victory over Randy Costa. Costa decisively won the first round and it appeared as if he had all the momentum going into the second. But Yanez turned the tides in the second round and landed a clean body shot followed by an uppercut that dropped Costa. From there, Yanez followed up with decisive shots that forced the referee to stop the fight.
Elkins got his $50,000 performance bonus by grinding out Darrick Minner on the ground. The 37-year-old maintained advantageous positioning on the ground. Elkins even got Minner in a crucifix position before eventually transitioning and landing strikes on the ground in rapid succession, which forced the referee to stop the fight in the second round.