Che Mills, Terry Etim, Renan Barao and Brad Pickett each earned $70,000 fight-night bonuses for their performances at Saturday's UFC 138 event.

Mills earned the night's "Knockout of the Night" award, Etim picked up the "Submission of the Night" bonus, and Barao and Pickett took home "Fight of the Night" honors.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the bonus winners and award amounts at UFC 138's post-fight press conference.

UFC 138 took place at LG Arena in Birmingham, England. Spike TV airs the fight in the U.S. via tape delay (while other countries air it live), and Facebook streamed the preliminary card live worldwide.

Mills, who competed on the preliminary card, battered fellow welterweight Chris Cope with a knee to the head that set up a TKO victory in just 40 seconds.

Etim, who opened the night's main card, needed just 17 seconds to secure a fight-ending guillotine choke of fellow lightweight Edward Faaloloto. It was a triumphant return after a 19-month layoff due to a lingering rib injury.

Bantamweights Barao and Pickett competed in the night's co-main event. After an initial slugfest, Barao buckled Pickett with a knee to the head, unloaded punches, and then followed the English fighter to the mat to secure the first-round submission victory via rear-naked choke at the 4:09 mark of the round. It marked his 27th straight victory.

Renan Barao believes he's ready for a title shot.

Of course, his 27 straight victories lend some credence to the argument.

After all, Barao, who scored a first-round submission victory over English fighter Brad Pickett in Saturday's UFC 138 co-headliner, said there's only one reason fighters come to the UFC: to fight for a championship.

Soon after his Spike TV-televised victory, which came via rear-naked choke at LG Arena in Birminghan, England, Barao answered the obvious question: Is he ready for a shot at bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz?

"The objective is this: When you come up here to the UFC, it's to fight for the title," he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) through a translator. "I'm ready any time."

Barao (27-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), a Brazilian who made his WEC debut in 2010, eventually moved to the UFC and made a successful octagon debut with a decision victory over Cole Escovedo back in May. But against Pickett (20-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a top British fighter on an impressive 10-1 run, he got a step up in competition and a chance to prove he's title-worthy.

But the "Fight of the Night" winner didn't last a single round. The fighters immediately engaged in a slugfest that brought a sold-out arena to its feet. But minutes later, Barao launched a violent and lightning-quick sequence. It began with a big knee up the middle that wobbled Pickett, continued with a quick combination that dropped the fighter, and concluded with ground and pound that eventually led to the rear-naked choke.

"We were training very hard for this fight, and Brad Pickett is a very tough opponent, one of the best out there," Barao said. "I was very excited for this fight. I trained very hard.

"My team put me in a lot of training – boxing, Muay Thai and everything – and I felt very confident I was going to put on a good show."

Barao is now undefeated (with 27 wins and a no-contest) since a split-decision loss in his 2005 pro debut. Although many of his victories have come against unknowns on the regional Brazilian circuit, recent wins have come over the likes of Anthony Leone, Chris Cariaso and Escovedo.

Additionally, Barao, who now has 19 finishes among his 27 career wins, perhaps got no bigger endorsement than the one from UFC president Dana White. As the UFC's newly adopted lighter weight classes still struggle to gain traction in the world's biggest MMA promotion, current champ Cruz has gone to a decision in eight of his past nine fights.

But in Barao's win over Pickett, White saw the top of stopping power that can result in championship bookings.

"It was just an awesome fight," he said.

Chris Leben cut nearly 21 pounds in 24 hours to make weight for his fight with Mark Munoz, Fighters Only was told ahead of last night’s bout.

The 31-year old middleweight had “a terrible weight cut” and was in such bad shape before the weigh ins that medical staff were keeping a very close eye on him.

A source close to Leben told Fighters Only on Friday that Leben had been left “shattered” by the amount of weight he had to cut on weigh-in day.

He was in the hotel sauna from Friday morning hooded up and wearing layers of clothing as he sweated water out of his body.

His dehydration and general condition was such that one of the medical team backstage said Leben would be pulled from the fight if thing deteriorated any further.

As it was, the bout went ahead but Leben was noticeably tired by the end of the first round - frenetic though the pace was - and was in seemingly worse condition than when he fought Yoshihiro Akiyama, his last lengthy outing.

Munoz was able to cut Leben over his right eye and that prompted a doctor’s inspection, although the bout was allowed to proceed. But at the end of the second round, Leben’s corner withdrew him from the fight.

It was thought the blood was to blame but Leben also appeared to be hurt and exhausted; his corner deemed him incapable of winning the fight and felt it would be dangerous for him to continue.

Cutting weight is common in most combat sports. Unlike losing weight, which is done over time, cutting weight is aimed at losing pounds quickly, usually via fasting and removing water from the body, so the fighter can hit the scales at the specified poundage.

Once that has been achieved, the fighter immediately begins eating and drinking to replenish himself. By fight night he can be a full weight-class heavier than he was on the scales.

Done properly, weight cutting allows the fighter to have a size advantage or at least match the size of his weight-cutting opponent. But done improperly, it threatens the fighter’s health and has a crippling effect on performance.