Tag: Aleksandre Topuria

UFC 312 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Dricus Du Plessis, Zhang Weili lead with champ money

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out nearly $32 million to athletes since its deal began with Venum.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 312 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $254,500.

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 312 took place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2/Disney+ and ESPN+.

The full UFC 312 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Tallison Teixeira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Rodolfo Bellato[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Fransisco Prado[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gabriel Santos[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jack Jenkins[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Wang Cong[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruna Brasil[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Aleksandre Topuria[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Colby Thicknesse[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rong Zhu[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kody Steele[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jonathan Micallef[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Quillan Salkilld[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Anshul Jubli[/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 $4,500; 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 2025 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $871,500
2024 total: $8,280,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $31,889,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.

How UFC 312’s Aleksandre Topuria put his career on hold to help brother Ilia

Aleksandre Topuria wanted to focus on helping his brother, Ilia Topuria, become UFC champion before pursuing his own career.

[autotag]Aleksandre Topuria[/autotag] wanted to focus on helping his brother, [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag], become champion before pursuing his own UFC career.

Aleksandre, UFC featherweight champion Ilia’s older brother, hasn’t competed since a first-round TKO win in May 2023. He was gearing up for his next fight on the Spanish regional scene, but put his career to the side when Ilia was granted a UFC title shot.

Ilia went on to knock out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February 2024 to become champion, then decided to return the favor to his older brother. Aleksandre was planning on notching at least one more win before getting the UFC call, but his opportunity arrived earlier than expected.

“I had a fight after my (last) fight, like after four or five months I was supposed to fight, but Ilia got the UFC call to fight with Volkanovski so, I had to put everything on the side,” Topuria told Kevin Iole. “Focus on him, I did, we got the job done thank God. My plans were a little different. Make some fights outside of the UFC.

“I actually spoke with Sean Shelby and I told him I’ll do another fight outside the UFC and after that, for sure. If I do a good fight, and make the weight, and everything is going clear, he sends me the contract. But yes, after Ilia became UFC champion, he pushed to send me a UFC contract. I didn’t even talk to him. He just felt himself like I have to do it because I would do the same.”

Aleksandre (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his octagon debut on Saturday’s UFC 312 prelims when he takes on Volkanovski’s teammate, Colby Thicknesse (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a bantamweight bout at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).

Ilia rose to superstardom at a fast rate, but can Aleksandre do the same?

“I’m 29 years old so, I have a lot of time,” Topuria said. “I’m not focused on how far I’ll do it. Right now I’m here. I’m enjoying everything, and I’m climbing the mountain, and I don’t know how much it’s going to take, but I’ll keep going.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.

UFC 312’s Colby Thicknesse: Aleksandre Topuria ‘not his brother’ and hasn’t beaten anybody

Colby Thicknesse not impressed by Ilia Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre, ahead of their clash at Saturday’s UFC 312 in Australia.

[autotag]Aleksandre Topuria[/autotag] might be Ilia Topuria’s brother but that doesn’t mean he can fight like him, says [autotag]Colby Thicknesse[/autotag].

Thicknesse (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) takes on the UFC featherweight champion’s older brother, Aleksandre (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), this Saturday on the preliminary card of UFC 312 (pay-per-view, ESPN2/Disney+, ESPN+), which takes place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

Ahead of his UFC debut, Thicknesse is not letting the Ilia’s influence affect his assessment of his fight.

“He’s definitely got the same sort of style because they train together, but he’s not his brother, and I’m going to go out there on (Saturday) and show it,” Thicknesse told reporters at the UFC 312 media day. “He hasn’t really beaten anybody noticeable. His opponent’s combined records aren’t that great. Come (Saturday), I get to go out and show that against him.”

Although critical of Aleksandre, Thicknesse appreciates the situation. He will be cornered by Alexander Volkanovski, and Aleksandre will be cornered by Ilia, prompting a lot of attention of the fight given the history between Volkanovski and Ilia.

“Without a doubt, this is the biggest opportunity I could possibly get for my debut,” Thicknesse said. “There’s a built-in narrative with it and I get to fight on a (numbered event) and open up the prelims against a very hyped opponent that has a lot of support. I’m coming in with just as much support from Australia, so I really can’t wait to go out there on (Saturday). For my debut, I didn’t envision this, but it happened to turn out a lot better than I could’ve envisioned it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.

Broken foot results in Topuria vs. Volkanovski team battle at UFC 312

At UFC 312, Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski will compete against one another in a different fashion.

With a featherweight title rematch heavily rumored for later in 2025, [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] will indirectly face off Feb. 8 at UFC 312.

One fighter’s loss is another’s gain. After [autotag]Cody Haddon[/autotag] suffered a broken foot that forced him out of a fight on the Sydney card vs. [autotag]Aleksandre Topuria[/autotag], the UFC enlisted newcomer [autotag]Colby Thicknesse[/autotag] to fill the void.

News of the change was first reported recently by Alvaro Colmenero and confirmed by the teams and the promotion Wednesday on social media.

Topuria (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is the brother of the UFC featherweight champion, Ilia. UFC 312 will mark his promotional debut just six fights into his professional career. He’s never gone the distance in his career, with three TKOs and two submissions across five wins.

Thicknesse (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a training partner of Volkanovski, who won the HEX Fight Series bantamweight title in November. Four of his seven pro wins have come inside the distance.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/DFbCqruzE2_/?img_index=1

With the change, the UFC 312 lineup now includes:

  • Champion Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland – for middleweight title
  • Champion Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez – for women’s strawweight title
  • Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira
  • Rodolfo Bellato vs. Jimmy Crute
  • Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado
  • Anshul Jubli vs. Quillan Salkilld
  • Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Tom Nolan
  • Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Cong Wang
  • Kody Steele vs. Rong Zhu
  • Kevin Jousset vs. Jonathan Micallef
  • Hyun Sung Park vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
  • Colby Thicknesse vs. Aleksandre Topuria

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.

Ilia Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre, targeted for debut at UFC 312 in Sydney

Aleksandre Topuria is set to make his highly anticipated UFC debut in February.

[autotag]Aleksandre Topuria[/autotag] will make his highly anticipated UFC debut in February.

Topuria (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the older brother of featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, has been targeted to meet [autotag]Cody Haddon[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a bantamweight bout Feb. 9 at UFC 312 from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The bout was first reported by social media account Australian MMA.

Topuria hasn’t competed since a first-round TKO win in May 2023. Although he started his professional career in 2015, the 28-year-old has competed just six times in nine years. Three of his five wins have come by finish.

Haddon, a Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, made good in his octagon debut when he defeated Dan Argueta by unanimous decision this past October at UFC Fight Night 244. The 26-year-old Aussie’s lone-career loss came to former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg.

The latest UFC 312 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland – for middleweight title
  • Champ Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez – for women’s strawweight title
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio
  • Anshul Jubli vs. Quillan Salkilld
  • Stewart Nicoll vs. Rei Tsuruya
  • Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Tom Nolan
  • Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
  • Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira
  • Cody Haddon vs. Aleksandre Topuria

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.

Ilia Topuria says brother Aleksandre has UFC champion potential: ‘Maybe he’s even better than me’

Ilia Topuria believes he and his brother Aleksandre will soon be the first pair of siblings to simultaneously become UFC champions.

There have been more than three dozen sets of siblings to compete under the UFC banner throughout the history of the promotion, but none of them have managed to both capture UFC gold.

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] thinks he and his brother, new UFC signee [autotag]Aleksandre Topuria[/autotag], will change that.

Ilia (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is currently the reigning UFC featherweight champion, who will look to defend his title for the first time in the UFC 308 main event on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi when he takes on Max Holloway. Roughly around the time his bout became official, news surfaced that Ilia’s older brother, Aleksandre (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has inked a deal with the company.

“I’m telling you: He’s the next UFC world champion,” Ilia told MMA Junkie in a recent interview. “Maybe he’s even better than me. He’s a very, very good fighter. Very technical. People will enjoy his fights.

“Of course, he can do the same path as mine. He has the level. He will decide.”

Ilia said a date, location and opponent for Aleksandre, who competes at bantamweight, to make his octagon debut is still being discussed. It might not happen until after his bout with Holloway occurs.

“I don’t think they’re going to put him in Abu Dhabi,” Ilia said. “We asked for him to fight in Paris. They told us that that Paris card was full. Then we tried to put him in the same card but they told us that they don’t have a good experience putting two brothers on the same card. So I thunk they’re going to put him after my fight.”

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