UFC Jacksonville Bonuses: Ilia Topuria banks a bonus for dominating performance

UFC Officials announced the fighter bonuses following UFC Jacksonville on Saturday and four athletes took home the $50,000 performance-based incentives.

The Octagon returned to its regular haunt of Jacksonville, Florida, for the fifth-ever card broadcasted on ABC, and the fighters delivered with several statement-making performances. Featherweights headlined the action as Ilia Topuria proved his worthiness as a future title contender with his 5-round domination of former interim title challenger Josh Emmett. Contender Series alums Maycee Barber and Brendan Allen each extended their winning streaks to five and put their divisions on notice with wins over Amanda Ribas and Bruno Silva, respectively. As a whole, Jacksonville hosted yet another notable night of fights for UFC fans.

Fight Card | Final Results | Official Scorecards

Ilia Topuria of Germany punches Josh Emmett in their featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena on June 24, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

Fight of the Night: Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria

The main event delivered all of the fireworks that were promised in the build-up toward Jacksonville. Although the scorecards displayed Topuria’s dominance in the first main event of his career, Emmett’s heart, toughness and power made sure it wasn’t one-way traffic for the full 25 minutes.

Naturally, both guys came out throwing heat early and often, but Topuria’s defense and jab put him a little ahead early. He added a heavy and effective calf kick that impacted Emmett’s lead leg, but Emmett continued doing what he does best: biting down and throwing haymakers. None caught Topuria flush, but they did enough to keep “El Matador” from walking Emmett down with ease. Topuria, to his credit, remained viciously calm and composed, showing why he is due for a title shot sooner or later at 145 pounds.

Performance Of The Night Bonuses

Performance Of The Night: Maycee Barber

Barber extended her winning streak to five fights with one of the finest performances of her career. Against the always-game and highly-skilled Amanda Ribas, Barber showed the patience, power and finishing instincts that make her such a bright prospect at 125 pounds. After a back-and-forth first round finished with Barber pressing the action, the Colorado-native answered RIbas’ aggression in the second round well. With her nose bloodied and back against the cage, Barber placed a beautiful high kick on the Brazilian before stunning her with a right hand to start the finishing sequence.

Performance Of The Night: David Onama

After partaking in one of the best fights of 2022, Onama gave us one of the better knockouts of the first half of 2023 with an uppercut that shut down Gabriel Santos in the second round of their fight. Onama looked sharp and patient – attributes from training with the crew at Factory X in Denver, Colorado. While both men had their share of success, Onama shifted the fight completely in his favor and showed off that scary power that makes him so dangerous when a tight uppercut floored Santos.