UFC Fight Night 228 post-event facts: Michelle Waterson-Gomez TKO’d after 14 years

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 228, including the end of Michelle Waterson-Gomez’s more than 14-year run without a TKO loss.

The UFC put a bow on its September schedule and a run of 17 straight weeks of events on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 228, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After a card with a handful of highlights, the lightweight main event ended in disappointing fashion when Rafael Fiziev (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) suffered a knee injury that ended the fight prematurely, giving Mateusz Gamrot (23-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) the TKO victory.

For more on the numbers from the card, check out MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 228.

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UFC Fight Night 228 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Tim Means’ $21,000 leads card

UFC Fight Night 228 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 228 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $164,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 228 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 228 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Michelle Waterson-Gomez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]A.J. Fletcher[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mizuki Inoue[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Hannah Goldy[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Montserrat Rendon[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2281 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,294,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,883,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.

UFC Fight Night 228 video: Bryan Battle survives first-round scare, taps A.J. Fletcher in second

If you didn’t know what Bryan Battle was saying before Saturday, you probably do now: His prospect label likely is gone.

If you didn’t know what [autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag] was saying before Saturday, you probably do now: His prospect label in the UFC’s welterweight division likely is gone.

Battle (10-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) had to face a little adversity from [autotag]A.J. Fletcher[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC), who dropped him in the first round. But Battle said afterward his fight or flight instincts kicked in. He survived, then smoothly transitioned to Fletcher’s back in a scramble and quickly had a tight rear-naked choke.

Battle’s finish, which was his ninth stoppage in 10 wins, came at the 4:32 mark of the second round on the main card at UFC Fight Night 228 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After he controlled much of the first round on the feet, Battle ran into a little trouble when Fletcher got a few solid jabs off, then hit Battle with an elbow that buckled his knees and put him on the canvas with 30 seconds left in the round.

But Battle popped back up quickly, got to the end of the frame, and set about recovering for Round 2. In the second, Battle controlled Fletcher on the fence for much of the first half of the round, and when the fight hit the canvas, he traded back and forth from ground-and-pound to brief submission attempts before he finally took advantage of Fletcher’s attempt to scramble out for the fight-ending choke.

Battle, who won Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2021, got his second straight finish on the heels of a 14-second knockout of Gabe Green in May.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 228 results include:

UFC Fight Night 228 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 228 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 228 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 228 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.

A.J. Fletcher wary of ‘dangerous’ Bryan Battle: ‘He can drop some fools’

A.J. Fletcher knows he’s going up against a dangerous finisher in Bryan Battle, but he’s ready.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]A.J. Fletcher[/autotag] knows he’s going up against a dangerous finisher in [autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag], but he’s ready.

Fletcher (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) takes on Battle (9-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 228 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Battle’s past two wins have come by devastating knockouts in under a minute, but Fletcher says his power shouldn’t be underestimated either.

“He’s good – he’s a tough kid,” Fletcher told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 228 media day. “He knows how to take a shot, fights real well off the back foot, uses the cage pretty good as like a good takedown defense, and he can drop some fools.

“He has two knockouts, I think, in his last three. Power-wise and explosiveness, I think I’m going to have the advantage, obviously, but he’s dangerous. I’ve got to take him seriously and I’ve got to handle him.”

After falling short in his first two fights, Fletcher scored his first UFC win in February when he submitted Themba Gorimbo – a job-saving performance for him.

“It was big,” Fletcher said. “My back was on the wall coming off of two losses. I don’t know how else to say it: It was big. It kept me in the UFC, kept my dream alive and I’m here today.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.

Video: UFC Fight Night 228 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 228 on Saturday, watch the main card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 228, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie was on-site.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.

A.J. Fletcher had $100 in bank before big win over Themba Takura Gorimbo at UFC Fight Night 219

A.J. Fletcher’s first win in the promotion at UFC Fight Night 219 couldn’t have come at a better time.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]A.J. Fletcher[/autotag] beat Themba Takura Gorimbo with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Fletcher, who picked up his first UFC win after a pair of decision losses in 2022.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Dec. 26-Jan. 1)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Dec. 26-Jan. 1.

UFC 278 salaries: Kamaru Usman, Jose Aldo top list of disclosed payouts

Former champions Kamaru Usman and Jose Aldo lead the way with six-figure paydays in Utah.

UFC 278 payouts have been released by the overseeing commissioning body.

Wednesday, MMA Junkie received a list of disclosed earnings from Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission head Scott Bowler, which oversaw the Aug. 20 pay-per-view event in Salt Lake City.

Atop the list of payouts is former UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag], who pocketed $500,000 for his head kick knockout loss to [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]. Edwards earned $350,000 with his upset victory.

Co-headliner winner [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] earned $130,000 for his win over [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag], who earned $200,000. Rockhold openly criticized fighter pay in the lead-up to the bout.

Former UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] took home $400,000 for a loss to [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag], who earned $198,000.

Heavyweight [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag] also pocketed $240,000 for his win over [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag] ($36,000) on the prelims.

Scroll below to see a full list of payouts. It’s important to note the figures only represent the disclosed pursues. Performance bonuses, locker room bonuses, and additional compliance bonuses are not included.

UFC 278 post-event facts: Leon Edwards’ last-minute knockout enters record book

Leon Edwards’ knockout of Kamaru Usman was one of the latest finishes in the history of UFC championship fights.

The UFC’s ninth pay-per-view event of the year took place Saturday with UFC 278 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

The main event saw a new champion crowd, with [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) scoring a fifth-round knockout of [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) to claim the welterweight title, making history in the process.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 278.