Merab
Dvalishvili and Umar
Nurmagomedov engaged in an exhausting five-round battle in the
UFC
311 co-main event, and the bantamweight combatants were
rewarded for their efforts.
Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov received “Fight of the Night” honors
and $50,000 for their bantamweight championship scrap on Saturday
at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Nurmagomedov’s superior speed
and athleticism was on display in the early going, but Dvalishvili
gradually took control thanks to his blend of pace and conditioning
to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph.
Elsewhere, Jiri
Prochazka took home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check
for his stoppage of fellow former champion Jamahal
Hill in a thrilling light heavyweight affair. Prochazka dropped
his opponent in the opening period and then endured some punishment
before putting Hill away with another knockdown and a salvo of
offense at the 3:01 mark of Round 3.
Finally, Jailton
Almeida earned the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the
Night” bonus by making short work of Serghei
Spivac in a featured heavyweight pairing. The Brazilian rocked
his foe with a right uppercut and turned up the heat from there
before planting Spivac on the canvas. Almeida then sealed his
victory with ground-and-pound 4:53 into the opening stanza.