UFC 311 Bonuses: Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov Garner 'Fight of the Night' Honors

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.