UFC Baku was a battleground from start to finish, but the spotlight truly belonged to Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta. In what became the fight of the night, ‘Black Wolf’ rose from the brink of defeat to deliver a stunning knockout in the second round. Motta had the upper hand early on, nearly opening a cut on the hometown favorite, but Sadykhov weathered the storm and turned the tide with brutal precision. His comeback win electrified the crowd and caught the attention of UFC CEO Dana White, who rewarded him with a special bonus. Sadykhov’s emotional reaction? Heartwarming.

UFC’s official handle uploaded a video capturing Nazim Sadykhov’s reaction upon learning he had received a $100,000 bonus. One of his friends entered the room while recording and said, “UFC just called my phone—you just received a $100,000 bonus.” Upon hearing this, Sadykhov threw himself into a moment of exhilaration as the adrenaline kicked in and he screamed. A hundred emotions flowed inside of him as he deserved the bonus. Not only did he receive the ‘Performance of the night’ bonus but also the ‘Fight of the night.’

The fight began with Sadykhov pushing forward, trying to dominate Motta; however, his calculations backfired as his opponent countered perfectly and returned fire with power, hurting ‘Black Wolf.’ Motta landed a heavy shot that dropped him, followed by a barrage of punches that nearly ended the match in the first round. However, Sadykhov stayed calm, calculated his chances, and managed to endure the onslaught. By the end of Round 1, Motta clearly had the upper hand, and the judges awarded him the round.

Going into the second round, Sadykhov knew what he had to do. Since the very first minute, ‘Black Wolf’ pushed forward with calculated precision. Showcasing striking flair with spinning kicks and brutal elbows that busted open Motto, Sadykhov was unstoppable. An overwhelmed Motto finally suffered his fate as ‘Black Wolf’ knocked him out, winning the battle via strikes. After this last victory, Sadykhov is now riding an 11-fight winning streak and has yet to witness a defeat in his UFC career. Well, his $100,000 bonus surely got the attention of the MMA community as they took to the comment section of the post to congratulate him.

MMA community came in unison to celebrate Nazim Sadykhov’s double bonus at UFC Baku

Sadykhov received appreciation from several MMA athletes around the world, but the first to congratulate him was his fellow countryman and friend, Rafael Fiziev, who also fought on the same card at UFC Baku against Ignacio Bahamondes. Fiziev secured a victory, snapping a three-fight losing streak, and reacted to the UFC’s post with multiple fire emojis.

Then came a former UFC fighter who was released by the promotion for allegedly bad behavior. Muhammad Mokaev, came forward to react with cheering emojis. Fun fact: Mokaev is still trying to get back to the promotion. Furthermore, we have Aljamain Sterling, who wrote, “Well deserved, my brother.” 

Sterling shares a cordial relationship with the Azeri fighter, as Sadykhov is part of Syndicate MMA. In addition to that, he played a monumental role in Merab Dvalishvili‘s victory over Sean O’Malley at UFC 316, having trained alongside him during the camp. Moreover, women’s UFC bantamweight and flyweight fighter Liana Jojua took to the comments to congratulate Nazim for his victory, “Deservedly, the coolest fight was shown.”

That’s not all, as former UFC lightweight title contender, Al Iaquinta, took to the Instagram post to add his thoughts on Sadykhov receiving the double bonus, “Well served that fight was bonkers!!” Last but not the least, Team Khabib’s core member, Abus Magomedov, wrote, “Deserved” on the post.

With back-to-back victories, Nazim Sadykhov has cemented his status as the next big thing in the lightweight division, but is he ready to take on the top talents on the promotion? Well, time will tell, but for now, the champion will be busy spending his well-deserved prize money.