Tag: AJ Dobson

AJ Dobson predicts Tafon Nchukwi slugfest at UFC on ESPN 51: ‘We’re going for that $50,000’

If everything goes as planned for AJ Dobson on Saturday, not only will he have his first UFC win, he’ll also have an extra $50,000.

LAS VEGAS – If everything goes as planned for [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag] on Saturday, not only will he have his first UFC win, he’ll also have an extra $50,000.

Dobson (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) is set to take on Tafon Nchukwi (6-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a middleweight bout on the UFC on ESPN 51 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. And though he’s dropped his first two fights in the promotion, Dobson is expecting big things out of the matchup.

“He’s a mainly a striker, so it’s going to be one of those bangers,” Dobson said at Thursday’s media day. “We’re going $50K, so I’m excited. … We’re both fighting for our jobs. We both have a lot on the line. We have to get this win, so it’ll definitely make for an exciting fight – at least for me. I’m definitely going to try and take his head off in there.”

Check out Lucindo’s full interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.

Video: UFC on ESPN 51 media day interviews

Before UFC on ESPN 51 on Saturday, 12 athletes from the card spoke to reporters Thursday at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for August continues Saturday with UFC on ESPN 51, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

A welterweight bout serves as the main event, with [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (21-9-1 MMA, 14-5 UFC) set to take on former lightweight titleholder [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] (33-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC).

Before fight night arrives, though, 12 athletes from this weekend’s card spoke to reporters Thursday at media day.

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

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 5-11)

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 or officially announced by a promotion from June 5-11.

UFC 280 post-event facts: Aljamain Sterling’s resume enters 135-pound GOAT talks

Aljamain Sterling owns the longest winning streak in the history of the bantamweight division after his UFC 280 title defense.

The most anticipated UFC event of the year took place Saturday with UFC 280 from Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

In the main event, [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) became the new UFC lightweight champion when he seamlessly rolled through [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (33-9 MMA, 21-9 UFC) en route to a second-round submission that gave him the vacant strap.

The co-headliner saw [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) continue his run as bantamweight champion when he registered a second defense with a second-round TKO of [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC).

For more on the numbers to come out of the two title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 280.

UFC 280 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total tops $13 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 280 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $306,500.

ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 280 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $296,500.

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 280 took place at Etihad Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 280 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gadzhi Omargadzhiev[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Malcolm Gordon[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lina Lansberg[/autotag]: $6,000

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 $4,500; 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,929,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,106,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.

Armen Petrosyan def. AJ Dobson at UFC 280: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Armen Petrosyan’s unanimous decision win over AJ Dobson at UFC 280 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag] at UFC 280 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. (Photos by Craig Kidwell, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC 271 medical suspensions: Derrick Lewis gets two months; two fighters out indefinitely

As a result of their UFC 271 bouts, all 28 fighters were handed medical suspensions of varying durations by the Texas commission.

Two fighters are facing indefinite suspensions as a result of their UFC 271 bouts.

UFC 271 took place Saturday at Toyota Center and featured 14 bouts, including a middleweight title rematch between champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag].

Of the 10 main card competitors, hometown favorite Derrick Lewis received the longest suspension from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) for his upset knockout loss to Tai Tuivasa. He now faces two months on the shelf.

Two preliminary card fighters, Marcelo Rojo and Maxim Grishin, were suspended indefinitely. Unlike many other commissions, TDLR does not release injury details, so specific causes for their suspensions are not known.

On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the official record keeper of the Association of Boxing Commissions. All fighters’ suspensions can terminate sooner should they be cleared by a doctor.

Check out the full UFC 271 medical suspensions below.

7 reasons to watch UFC 271

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan walks you through the key storylines heading into UFC 271 in Houston.

The UFC returns to Houston for the third time in nine months, and a potentially epic middleweight title fight sits atop the bill.

While the championship matchup between reigning titleholder Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is deservedly getting the lion’s share of attention for Saturday’s UFC 271, it’s hardly the only intriguing storyline that will unfold at Toyota Center.

Ahead of this weekend’s pay-per-view event, here are seven reasons to watch.

DWCS 40 winner AJ Dobson wanted to ‘throw caution to the wind’ to deliver an exciting fight

AJ Dobson had no intention of playing it safe at Dana White’s Contender Series 40.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag] had no intention of playing it safe at Dana White’s Contender Series 40.

Dobson (6-0) faced fellow unbeaten knockout artist Hashem Arkhagha in the night’s headliner on Tuesday in what was a wild affair.

Both men came out swinging, but it was Dobson who was able to connect with the harder shots and stumble Arkhagha. The Jordanian showed incredible toughness, but Dobson never let him off the hook, earning the first-round submission and a UFC contract.

“I usually don’t fight like that,” Dobson told MMA Junkie and other reporters in attendance at the UFC Apex following Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 40 event. “I’m usually a lot more technical, and I like to display my skills, but I saw that there were no finishes, and I know the Contender Series, Dana was saying he wants you to be exciting. Michael Bisping said you’ve got to go video game style and try to go for the win, so I wanted to really throw caution to the wind, give an exciting fight. Next fight, I’ll be a little bit more technical, but I wanted to kind of just blow it out this first one.”

Dobson already has an idea of who and when he’d like to compete, as he hopes to share the same Dec. 4 card as his training partner [autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag].

“It would be amazing if I could get on the card of my mentor, Matt Brown,” Dobson said. “That would be a full circle, dream come true. It would be unbelievable. I definitely want to fight Bryan Battle. I was actually supposed to be on ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ I had the opportunity to be on ‘TUF,’ and then I got the opportunity to be on like the first week of Contender Series, and then they pushed it back to this week. So if I was on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ there would have been a different champion, and we both fought for a similar promotion … and they got me ranked higher than him, so Bryan Battle would be a great fight.”

To see the full interview with Dobson, check out the video above.

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Dana White’s Contender Series takes on international theme, 10 fights added to upcoming season

Ten fights are on the docket for Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

The lineup for Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 5 is slowly coming to form. Contracts are going out and fighters are putting their names on the dotted lines.

The upcoming installment has a different flare than recent years, with a large percentage of the roster coming from outside North America. The majority are from Brazil, Russia and beyond. Of the fights that have surfaced thus far, only a few Americans are set to partake in Season 5, which is set to begin in August.

The first known event date is Aug. 31. The series will extend at least through mid-October, with the latest event on the schedule currently set for Oct. 12.

A number of fights have leaked prior to the UFC’s official announcements. Scroll below to see the fights MMA Junkie has confirmed thus far.