Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov battled it out over five rounds in the co-main event of UFC 311, and the bantamweight fighters’ hard work paid off.
On Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov received “Fight of the Night” honors and a bantamweight championship scrap prize of $50,000. Nurmagomedov’s superior speed and athleticism were on display early on, but Dvalishvili gradually took control through a combination of pace and conditioning, earning a hard-fought unanimous decision victory.
Elsewhere, Jiri Prochaska took home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for stopping fellow former champion Jamahal Hill in a thrilling light heavyweight bout. Prochaska dropped her opponent early and then endured some punishment before putting Hill away with another knockdown and a volley of attacks at 3:01 of the third round.
Finally, Jailton Almeida shortstopped Sergey Spivac in the featured heavyweight pairing, earning him another $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus on the card. The Brazilian rocked his opponent with a right uppercut and gained momentum from there, landing Spivac on the canvas. Almeida then clinched the victory with a ground-and-pound 4:53 into the opening stanza.
