UFC 302 Bonus Report: Islam Makhachev takes home $100k

The Octagon returned to New Jersey for tonight’s UFC 302 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier.

The highly anticipated lightweight title fight resulted in a thrilling back and forth affair. Islam Makhachev was able to get off to a strong start in the opening round, dominating Dustin Poirier on the canvas. However, ‘The Diamond’ had a much better second frame and was able to gain some confidence. Round three resulted in another good round for Makhachev, as he was once again able to get the fight to the floor. Then, in round four, ‘The Diamond’ was able to find success on the feet, opening up a bad cut on the reigning champ. Despite his best efforts, Poirier wound up getting taken down in the fifth and final round, which allowed Islam to lock up a fight-ending d’arce choke submission (see that here).

UFC 302 was co-headlined by a key middleweight bout featuring former champion Sean Strickland taking on Paul Costa. The bout proved to be a hard fought five-round affair. Sean Strickland was the one applying the pressure throughout the fight, landing his front kick and jab seemingly at will. While Paulo Costa was able to land some good low kicks and jabs to the body, he never had ‘Tarzan’ in serious danger. On the other hand, Strickland was able to score multiple knockdowns, including a big head kick late in round five.

Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that three fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.

Fight of the night: Lightweight fighters Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier each pocketed $50k for their thrilling war in tonight’s UFC 302 main event. Makhachev ultimately won the contest by fifth-round submission, stopping ‘The Diamond’ with a d’arce choke.

Performance of the night: Kevin Holland earned an extra $50k for his first-round technical submission victory over Michał Oleksiejczuk (see that here).

Performance of the night: Islam Makhachev also pocketed an extra $50k for his fifth-round submission victory over Dustin Poirier.

Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out by Dana White and company following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC 302 event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!