Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 196, which took place Saturday in Las Vegas.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 196 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
UFC Fight Night 196 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 196 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $157,500.
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 196 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 196 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Gregor Rodrigues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]David Onama[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Laureano Staropoli[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Khama Worthy[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jeff Molina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel da Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Livinha Souza[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zviad Lazishvili[/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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $4,489,000
Program-to-date total: $4,489,000
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Alex Caceres earned on of the most resilient wins of his career to date when he rallied to tap out Seungwoo Choi at UFC Fight Night 196.
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] earned one of the most resilient wins of his career to date when he rallied to tap out [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 196.
After struggling with Choi’s (10-4 MMA< 3-3 UFC) striking and getting dropped in the fight, Caceres (19-12 MMA, 14-10 UFC) turned in the tables and found his way to the back of his opponent in the second round for a come-from-behind submission victory courtesy of a rear-naked choke.
It was the 25th octagon appearance for Caceres, and his current five-fight winning streak is the longest of his tenure with the promotion.
Check out the replay of Caceres’ handiwork below (via Twitter):
BRUCE LEEROY with a vintage performance 🙌@BruceLeeroyGlow sinks in the choke! #UFCVegas41 pic.twitter.com/IxBX2RwtCW
— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2021
Make it 5️⃣ in a row for @BruceLeeroyGlow 🤩 #UFCVegas41 pic.twitter.com/W8sEX4LVme
— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2021
Caceres admitted post-fight that this was no easy result for him. He said he was hurt badly by Choi, but managed to gather himself and win the fight.
“I didn’t know what happened, honestly – he hit me really hard and I went to the floor,” Caceres said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I flashed and was like ‘Oh crap, this might be it.’ I gained my composure right away. I definitely thought I was going out for a second, but the fight in me is a little stronger than that.”
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Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 196 odds and lines between Alex Caceres vs. Seungwoo Choi, with MMA picks, tips and predictions.
In a featherweight bout on the main card, Alex Caceres meets Seungwoo Choi Saturday at UFC Fight Night 196 – also known as UFC Vegas 41 and UFC on ESPN+ 54 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. Below, we analyze the UFC Fight Night 196 Caceres vs. Choi odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The card can be viewed on ESPN+ with the prelims at 1 p.m. ET and the main card at 4 p.m. ET.
Caceres, who has one of the best nicknames in MMA as “Bruce Leeroy,” heads into the octagon with a four-bout win streak. Caceres has managed three unanimous-decisions, including against Kevin Croom last time out on Feb. 27, and he has a submission victory during his win streak.
Five of Caceres’ past seven pro fights have ended up going the distance. His Achilles’ heel is on the canvas as he has a 6-7 record via submission in 30 career professional bouts. The good news for Choi is he is 0-1 via submission in his 13 career fights.
Choi enters on a three-bout heater, including a first-round KO/TKO over Julian Erosa last time out on The Korean Zombie-Ige card June 19. However, like Caceres, he has been involving the judges a lot lately, with just two stoppages in his five fights at the UFC level.
Odds via Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:22 a.m. ET.
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Records: Caceres (18-12-0) | Choi (10-3-0)
CACERES (+220) is a value play over Choi, who enters as the overwhelming favorite. But Caceres heads in with a 4.10-to-3.31 significant strikes landed per minute advantage, and they’re nearly identical in strike-accuracy percentage. Neither of these fighters are particularly interested in going to the mat, but Caceres is better in submission average if it comes to that.
The value is on the underdog with a chance to more than double up on the two-way line.
YES (-180): FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE is the play in this one as neither fighter has been able to grab the finish lately.
In addition, CACERES ON POINTS (+380) is worth a roll of the dice to multiply your initial stake by four. If he wins, this is the way to go.
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Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 196 main event with Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa at light heavyweight.
| Costa vs. Vettori |
Dawson vs. Glenn |
Clark vs. Edwards |
Caceres vs. Choi |
Grant vs. Trinaldo |
Negumereanu vs. Villanueva |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 167-97 |
 Costa (57%) |
 Dawson (87%) |
 Clark (75%) |
 Choi (50.1%) |
 Trinaldo (63%) |
 Negumereanu (77%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 172-92 |
 Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 166-98 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
 Edwards |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 164-100 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Edwards |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 161-103  2020 Champion |
Vettori |
 Glenn |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
 Villanueva |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 160-104 2018 Champion |
Costa |
Dawson |
Edwards |
Choi |
 Grant |
Negumereanu |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 160-104 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 159-105 2014 Champion |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
 Caceres |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 155-109 2017 Champion |
Costa |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 154-110 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Edwards |
Caceres |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 153-111 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Caceres |
Grant |
Negumereanu |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 151-113 |
Costa |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 150-115 |
Costa |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 90-58 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Caceres |
Grant |
Negumereanu |
The UFC stays home in Las Vegas this week with a key middleweight matchup atop the card – thought it won’t be at that weight class.
UFC Fight Night 196 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (17-4-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) in a fight between the most recent two middleweight title challengers. They both lost to champion Israel Adesanya. But this fight won’t be at middleweight thanks to Costa’s failure to make weight. They’ll fight at 205 pounds after Costa came into fight week heavy and intially asked for a catchweight. Vettori is a -185 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Costa is +140. Our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Vettori with a 9-4 picks lead.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is the biggest favorite on the card at -420 in his lightweight fight against [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC). He’s a near-unanimous pick from our staff members at 12-1.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight bout. Clark is a -160 favorite, and she’s got a sizable 9-4 picks lead.
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (18-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC) meets [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Choi nearly is a 3-1 favorite, and he’s up big in the picks at 9-4.
It’s a close fight at the betting window between welterweights [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and [autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC). Trinaldo is just a -135 favorite, but he’s got a big 10-3 edge in the picks.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is a -230 favorite at light heavyweight against [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag] (18-12 MMA, 1-3 UFC). He’s a near-unanimous pick at 12-1 from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Costa (57 percent), Dawson (87 percent), Clark (75 percent), Choic (50.1 percent), Trinaldo (63 percent) and Negumereanu (77 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
Alex Caceres didn’t know much about Seungwoo Choi when the matchup was offered to him for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 196 event.
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] didn’t know much about Seungwoo Choi when the matchup was offered to him for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 196 event.
That was fine with Caceres (18-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC), because anyone who has followed his career knows the longtime octagon veteran isn’t picky when it comes to opponents. Caceres doesn’t follow MMA very closely, nor does he enjoy the world of sports. He’s all about the martial arts journey and evolving as a human and fighter.
When the contract was signed and the preparation began for the featherweight matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, though, Caceres does his homework. He doesn’t think Choi (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is a bad fighter by any means, but for someone who has shared the cage with the likes of Yair Rodriguez, Sergio Pettis, Urijah Faber, and more – there’s nothing that has Caceres overly concerned.
“He’s a great striker,” Caceres told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 196 media day. “We’ve seen fights where it seems like he doesn’t like to grapple, which is cool. I don’t necessarily like to grapple if I don’t have to either. It could be a good stand up fight. I do feel like my grappling is better if we go there. Not necessarily impressed with anything. Not to say he’s nothing. I’ve been in this thing – this is my 10th year in the UFC and I’ve fought some of the highest level guys from all ranges. I’ve seen it all.”
To hear more from Caceres, watch the video above for his UFC Fight Night 196 media day interview.
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Alex Caceres will put his four-fight winning streak up against Seungwoo Choi’s three-fight streak at UFC Fight Night on Oct. 23.
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag] is the latest addition to a UFC Fight Night event in October.
MMA Junkie on Saturday verified with multiple people close to the situation that Caceres (18-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC) and Choi (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) have agreed to face off in a featherweight scrap this fall following an initial report from ESPN. The person requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
UFC Fight Night on Oct. 23 does not have an announced location or venue, but is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Broadcast plans haven’t been revealed.
Caceres, 33, is in the midst of a four-fight unbeaten streak. He’s been shooting for a top-15 opponent at 145 pounds, but “Bruce Leeroy” has always been willing to take on all comers during an octagon tenure which dates back to his March 2011 debut.
He’ll get a tough test in streaking South Korean Choi, who has won his past three UFC fights including a vicious 97-second knockout of Julian Erosa at UFC on ESPN 25 in June.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup on Oct. 23 now includes:
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Dan Ige and Ryan Spann were among those who name-dropped their preferred next opponents at UFC Fight Night 187 in Las Vegas.
Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.
So, after Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 187 event in Las Vegas, who took advantage of their time on the mic?
See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.
Check out the full list of medical suspensions for UFC Fight Night 186.
Three fighters from last week’s UFC Fight Night 186 event could be out six months from competition.
[autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag], [autotag]Sabina Mazo[/autotag] and [autotag]Ronald Lawrence[/autotag], who competed at last Saturday’s UFC event in Las Vegas, all are required further testing and doctor clearance in order to avoid lengthy 180-day suspensions. Lawrence (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Moises (15-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) require foot x-rays to get clearance, while Mazo (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) needs an x-ray on her left leg.
On the other hand, headliners [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] and [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] do not need further medical clearance to return to competition after their five-round fight. Gane (8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) wasn’t given a suspension while Rozenstruik (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was given 21 days off with 14 days no contact.
MMA Junkie on Tuesday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.
The full list of UFC Fight Night 186 medical suspensions includes:
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 186, which saw Ciryl Gane beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik in Las Vegas.
The UFC’s final event of February took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 186 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The heavyweight main event saw [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) continue to flourish as a potential future title challenger when he outpointed [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) to a unanimous decision.
For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for 30 post-event facts to come out of UFC Fight Night 186.
