Nazim Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta left it all inside the octagon and are now leaving Azerbaijan with extra six-figure checks.
On a UFC Baku card filled with competitive—and occasionally uneventful—decisions, Sadykhov and Motta stole the show with main card bout that went deep into the second round before Sadykhov finished Motta with strikes. It was a back-and-forth encounter, one that almost ended in Round 1 with Motta firing punch after punch after punch as Sadykhov covered up against the fence.
At the evening’s post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White praised both fighters and said both would receive an extra $100,000 for their Fight of the Night-winning effort. Normally, Fight of the Night winners get $50,000 each with two other $50,000 bonuses going to Performance of the Night winners, but with few finishes on the card, Sadykhov and Motta walked away with all of the bonus money.
Of the 12 bouts that took place at UFC Baku, only two ended inside the distance: Sadykhov defeated Motta via TKO, and Myktybek Orolbai submitted Tofiq Musayev with a kimura. White said Orolbai was ineligible for a bonus after the lightweight struggled to make weight for his fight, causing it to be changed to a 165-pound catchweight bout.
Sadykhov has now won three Fight of the Night awards in just five UFC appearances, while earns his first-ever post-fight bonus.
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