WEC 43 Bonuses: Semerzier Capitalizes on Fabiano Upset

Mackens Semerzier shocked the mixed martial arts community in his World Extreme Cagefighting debut and has some extra money to prove it.

Semerzier landed a $10,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus after he coaxed a tapout from former International Fight League featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano with a first-round triangle choke at WEC 43 “Cerrone vs. Henderson” in front of 5,176 on Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

The unbeaten but unheralded Semerzier, in just his fourth professional bout, locked up a tight triangle from the bottom on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and became the first man to ever finish or submit the Nova Uniao standout. The end came 2:14 into round one. A Pedro Sauer protégé, Semerzier has stopped each of his first four opponents, three of them by submission.

Headliners Benson Henderson and Donald Cerrone also benefitted from a post-fight windfall, along with Anthony Njokuani.

Henderson and Cerrone pocketed matching $20,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses after they engaged one another in a spirited, five-round battle for the interim WEC lightweight championship. Henderson won a unanimous decision -- scores were 48-47 across the board -- and set up a unification bout with recovering lightweight titleholder Jamie Varner.

Based out of The Lab in Glendale, Ariz., Henderson survived numerous submission attempts from the favored Cerrone, scored with takedowns and batted his foe with ground-and-pound. The composed 25-year-old has rattled off nine consecutive victories.

Njokuani, meanwhile, banked a $10,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he stopped EliteXC veteran Muhsin Corbbrey on second-round strikes.