UFC Fight Night 244 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Brad Tavares gets $21,000 in record bout

UFC Fight Night 244 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 244 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,000.

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 244 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 244 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]JunYong Park[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sean Sharaf[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Julia Polastri[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Haddon[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Rocha[/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 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,630; 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 $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-63 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,488,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,225,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

UFC adds Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd added to October Fight Night event

Powerful middleweights Abdul Razak Alhassan and Josh Fremd will look to get back on track in October.

A pair of powerful UFC middleweights are set to clash in October.

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag] will look to get back into the winner’s column on Oct. 12 at a UFC Fight Night event. Two people with knowledge confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

The Oct. 12 event is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, although the promotion has yet to officially announce a location and venue.

Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) will look to overcome the disappointment of his last appearance. At UFC on ESPN 59 earlier this month, Alhassan’s battle against Cody Brundage was ruled a no contest. Repeated blows to the back of Brundage’s head from Alhassan during a takedown defense sequence in the opening moments led to a fast and frustrating result for both parties.

Alhassan, 38, was submitted by Joe Pyfer in his prior outing last October. His last win was a second-round finish of Claudio Ribeiro in January 2023.

Fremd (11-6 MMA, 2-4 UFC) will look to re-enter the win column and halt a two-fight skid. The 30-year-old dropped back-to-back fights against Roman Kopylov and Andre Petroski. Fremd’s last victory came by unanimous decision against Jamie Pickett last August.

With the addition, the current lineup on Oct. 12 includes:

  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
  • Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
  • Cody Garbrandt vs. Miles Johns
  • Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
  • Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

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Abdul Razak Alhassan wants UFC rematch with Cody Brundage to ‘put a f*cking hole in his face’

Abdul Razak Alhassan is still fuming in the aftermath of his no contest with Cody Brundage at UFC Denver, and wants to run it back.

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] is still fuming in the aftermath of his no contest with [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 59, and he wants to run it back.

After Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) rocked Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) early in the first round of their middleweight bout on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver, he followed up with an onslaught of strikes, two of which were deemed as illegal and to the back of the head by referee Dan Miragliotta.

Brundage was unable to continue after his five-minute recovery period, and the fight was ruled a no contest. That came much to the dismay of Alhassan, who insists there was no more than one illegal shot in the sequence, and said Brundage turned his head into it while fishing for a desperation takedown.

“I’m still pissed off about it,” Alhassan told John Morgan of Grind City Media. “Of course in that kind of situation where he’s turning and I’m trying to get my shots in – and even when I watched the video, it was only one time. And even that one was questionable when it hit him. I feel that guy, sorry for my curse, he just became a p*ssy. He decided, ‘I don’t want to fight any more. I don’t want to do it.'”

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Alhassan, 38, claims that he saw one of Brundage’s coaches from Elevation Fight Team urge him to choose not to continue during the recovery window, but not identify who. He ultimately thinks Brundage was trying to work himself into a disqualification win, citing what happened in his September bout with Jacob Malkoun at UFC Fight Night 228.

According to Alhassan, he is contemplating filing an appeal with the Colorado commission to have the no contest overturned to a win, but has not made any final decisions.

More than anything, Alhassan just wants to fight, and he will take any opponent on any date. He explained pre-fight that he has much rage to get out of his system after personal issues, and if he can get a rematch with Brundage, he has no shortage of motivation.

“I really want to contest this so bad (with the commission), but even if I don’t contest it, I want him back right away,” Alhassan said. “Let’s run it back and put a f*cking hole in his face.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $4 million

The UFC has now issued more than $4 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance to its fighters in 2024 after UFC Denver.

DENVER – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $180,500.

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 on ESPN 59 took place at Ball Arena in Colorado. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 59 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ange Loosa[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]: $11,000
vs. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fatima Kline[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Evan Elder[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darrius Flowers[/autotag]: $4,500

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 2011 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 $31,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-59 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,129,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,866,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

UFC on ESPN 59 results: Abdul Razak Alhassan’s illegal elbows to Cody Brundage lead to early no contest

A few strikes from Abdul Razak Alhassan went to the back of Cody Brundage’s head, leading to a quick no contest at UFC on ESPN 59.

The UFC on ESPN 59 main card opener between [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] and [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] ended quickly, but not in the manner anyone anticipated.

On paper, the middleweight bout promised to produce an explosive result as the dangerous striker Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) clashed styles with the aggressive wrestling of Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC). Indeed, the fight ended just 37 seconds into the fight, but as a no contest due to accidental illegal elbows.

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After referee Dan Miragliotta signalled for the fight to begin, the fighters touched gloves, and Brundage immediately shot in for a takedown. Alhassan countered with hard punches and elbows, rocking Brundage early. Brundage held on to the single leg as he scrambled to complete the takedown, trying to avoid damaging blows.

A few of Alhassan’s strikes went to the back of the head, for which he received warnings from Miragliotta. After another illegal shot landed in the heat of the intense moment, the referee paused the fight. Brundage was given time to recover, but could not continue.

Alhassan’s elbows were deemed accidental, likely because he was moving and actively defending a takedown while landing, and therefore the fight was declared a no contest.

Both fighters entered the contest seeking to avenge losses in their previous bouts.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 59 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage no contest at UFC on ESPN 59: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Abdul Razak Alhassan’s no contest with Cody Brundage at UFC on ESPN 59.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]’s no contest with [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver. (Fight and venue photos by Ron Chenoy, USA Today Sports)

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan prediction, pick, start time, odds for UFC on ESPN 59

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan could produce an explosive finish to kick off the UFC on ESPN 59 main card. Who will it be?

[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] and [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 59 from Ball Arena in Denver. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 2-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 54-51-2

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 preview

With a win here, Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) will avenge a loss to the highly-touted Bo Nickal, and also get back to .500 in his UFC tenure. Prior to the UFC 300 loss to Nickal, Brundage built steam with back-to-back first-round submissions of Jacob Malkoun and Zach Reese. … Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is also coming off a loss to a rising middleweight star in Joe Pyfer. Alhassan has traded wins and losses over his past four fights as he has struggled to build momentum.

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 expert pick, prediction

Despite having a perfect main-card opener like Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva, the UFC matchmakers opted to kick off this high-elevation main card with a couple of middleweights with suspect stamina and staying power.

Although this fight between Alhassan and Brundage is favored to finish inside the distance, I feel like this fight could easily turn into a slow and grueling slop fest if these guys can’t get to their games early.

I don’t disagree with Alhassan being favored and could see him getting a finish over Brundage early given that he’s the cleaner striker. That said, I suspect the wrestling dynamic could provide Brundage with some equalizers that help open up his offense.

You can’t be too confident backing either party here, but I’ll reluctantly take a flier on the underdog Brundage to force a stoppage by strikes in round 3.

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 odds

The oddsmakers and the public are siding with the former welterweight, listing Alhassan -170 and Brundage +138 via FanDuel.

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 start time, how to watch

As the featured bout, Brundage and Alhassan are expected to make their walks to the cage at approximately 10:05 p.m. ET (8:05 p.m. local time in Denver). The fight airs on ESPN and streams live on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Abdul Razak Alhassan: Dricus Du Plessis a ‘f*cking b*tch’ for calling himself real African champ

Abdul Razak Alhassan was fired up when addressing Dricus Du Plessis’ real African champion comments.

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] was fired up when addressing [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]’ real African champion comments.

South Africa-born and raised Du Plessis claimed that he’ll be the one to bring the belt to Africa, arguing that unlike him, Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou no longer resided in Africa when they became UFC champions.

Adesanya was irked by Du Plessis’ comments, and that narrative is a big storyline in the lead-up to their title fight at UFC 305 Aug. 17 in Perth. Ghana’s Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) did not take it easy on Du Plessis, blasting him for what he deemed as insensitive comments.

“I respect the things he’s done in MMA, but he’s a f*cking b*tch,” Alhassan said at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 59 media day. “He’s a f*cking asshole for that word that he used. If he’s a f*cking real African and he lived in Africa, he would have never used that f*cking word. He’s a f*cking b*tchass to use that word because if he was raised with the poor people in Africa, the way I was raised, the way I grew up, with how I go days without food.

“If we get the opportunity to leave that sh*t hole – I’m sorry, I’m not trying to call my country a sh*t hole, but if I’m poor and I can go to America or go to a different country to make a better life for myself, I’d f*cking cut off one of my legs to go. If he’s a true African, he would have understood that. That means he was living the comfortable life, his family had the money to feed him every day, so he didn’t have to worry about leaving (Africa) to go and make it.”

Alhassan returns to action in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 (ESPN/ESPN+) main card opener when he takes on Cody Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) at Ball Arena in Denver.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC’s Abdul Razak Alhassan vents on past sexual assault accusations: ‘It f*cked me up mentally’

Ahead of UFC on ESPN 59, Abdul Razak Alhassan opened up about dealing with mental struggles after being accused of sexual assault.

Just over four years ago, [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] received a verdict that cleared his name of sexual assault allegations.

Hearing “not guilty” from a Texas jury was a massive relief. However, the UFC middleweight has struggled mentally with the entire situation because it is still attached to him despite being cleared of the charges. Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) admits that moving past the accusations has been difficult as it has changed him as a person and fighter.

“I really don’t talk about this much, but there was a time in my life that some bad accusation happened to me, and I’m not going to lie, it f*cked me up mentally,” Alhassan started at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 59 media day (via Full Send MMA). “I swear to God. All my fights, I try to come back and try to find that ‘me.’ I couldn’t find it, no matter what I do.

“I would be walking in there, and I f*cking feel ashamed. Because that is the most evil, the most disgusting thing you could attach. For somebody who – I’m a very prideful person. To even have something to attach my name, it’s very disgusting. I tried to forget about it. I try to work on it mentally.”

Prior to dealing with the legal issues, Alhassan was 10-1 as a professional fighter, with his lone loss coming in the UFC by split decision. He was extremely confident, and built a three-fight winning streak of first-round knockouts in the UFC.

Then, everything changed.

Alhassan was burdened by false accusations of rape two weeks after he knocked out Niko Price in September 2018. He would not return to the cage until July 2020, over three months after being cleared. When he returned, things were not the same. He lost three straight, including missing weight for the first two. “Stuff just went south,” as Alhassan put it.

In everyday life, Alhassan has changed how he operates around women. He says he now records everything for his safety and that his phone is filled with audio recordings of interactions, even of the most routine events.

“I record everything, I swear to God,” Alhassan said. “I walk into an elevator right now, and if a woman walks in that with me, I turn my camera on right away. If I open my phone, my audio right now, I swear I have so many audios in my phone because I’m scared. I’m scared of what’s going to happen. Someone’s going to do the same sh*t to me? I’m worried.”

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Alhassan returns to the octagon at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver to take on Cody Brundage. It’s an opportunity to return to the win column after an October loss to Joe Pyfer. Although Alhassan lost to Pyfer, he believes the outing finally got things back on track for him mentally, as he passionately vented his frustrations.

“In my head I was thinking to myself, ‘I fixed myself. I fixed it,'” Alhassan said. “But I swear to God, I never (did) until – I’ll thank Pyfer for that last fight. Of course, I was injured for that last fight, but hey, you still have to make money. And I came in there, but after that fight, I feel like that guy made me find that f*cking demon in me.

“That ‘f*ck everything I’ve been thinking about myself.’ I’m going to cry. I’m going to do anything I have to do, but I will never give up. And this is that f*cking time, I swear to God I cannot wait to put my hand on this motherf*cker. I swear, all the anger I have in me, all the anger  – I’m going to unleash it on this motherf*cker, I swear to God. All the revenge I didn’t get on those evil motherf*ckers, that revenge that the law didn’t allow me to get from that – those b*tches. I swear, I’m going to unleash it on this motherf*cker. I swear to God.”

Alhassan issued a warning to Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC), but later clarified he has no personal issues with his upcoming opponent and would like to go out to eat or train with him after they meet in the cage.

For Alhassan, it’s purely business, and this fight is simply another part of the process of overcoming the accusations that caused him so much mental trauma.

“I’m telling you this now, if you’re watching wherever the f*ck you are, you better kill me in that f*cking ring,” Alhassan said. “You better knock me the f*ck out that I cannot move, but I swear to God, you will f*cking regret that you fought Razak, I swear to God. I’m going to unleash that f*cking demon in me.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC Fight Night 229 post-event facts: Drew Dober passes Dustin Poirier, sets KO record

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 229, which saw Drew Dober pass Dustin Poirier on the all-time lightweight KO list.

The UFC returned from a one-week hiatus on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 229, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw four of 10 fights end in a stoppage.

The quickest of those finishes came in the lightweight headliner, where Bobby Green (31-15-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) pulled off a stunning upset of Grant Dawson (20-2-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) courtesy of a 33-second knockout.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 229.