Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg moves from UFC Atlantic City to new date

One UFC card’s loss is another card’s gain.

The light heavyweight bout between [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] is still on the books. It’ll just take place later than expected.

Initially scheduled for March 30 in Atlantic City, N.J., the bout now will take place at UFC Fight Night event on May 11.

Two people with knowledge of the change recently informed MMA Junkie of the shift but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Menifield (15-3-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) is on one of the best streaks of his career as he’s 4-0-1 in his most recent five. He most recently competed at UFC 296 in December when he defeated Dustin Jacoby in a thrilling striking battle.

Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has won five straight since a failed UFC debut against Kennedy Nzechukwu. Wins in that stretch include Fabio Cherant, Tafon Nchukwi, Nicolae Negumereanu, Ihor Potieira, and Da Un Jung.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night card for May 11 includes:

  • Jake Hadley vs. Charles Johnson
  • Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics
  • Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 22-28)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 22-28.

Dominick Reyes out, Carlos Ulberg now faces Alonzo Menifield at UFC Atlantic City

With former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes out, Carlos Ulberg gets a new assignment on March 31.

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] is out of his scheduled bout against [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag].

The pair were scheduled to meet on March 30 at a UFC Fight Night event in Atlantic City, N.J., but Reyes (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will no longer compete due to undisclosed reasons. As a result, Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will now face Alonzo Menifield, the promotion announced Tuesday.

Reyes, 34, was eyeing a return to the win column after four consecutive defeats. His rough stretch began with a title challenge loss to then-champion Jon Jones.

Ulberg, 33, is running hot on a five-fight winning streak that has him knocking on the door of top 15 status. On his current run, he has stopped Tafon Nchukwi, Nicolae Negumereanu, Ihor Potieria and Da Un Jung.

Menifield (15-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) has made five straight appearances without defeat. His current run includes a pair of first-round TKOs of Askar Mozharov and Misha Cirkunov, and a second-round submission of Jimmy Crute.

With the change, the lineup on March 31 includes:

  • Sean Brady vs. Vicente Luque
  • Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorot
  • Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg
  • Dennis Buzukja vs. Connor Matthews
  • Loopy Godinez vs. Virna Jandiroba
  • Jacob Malkoun vs. Andre Petroski
  • Bruno Silva vs. Chris Weidman
  • Sedriques Dumas vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
  • Caolan Loughran vs. Angel Pacheco
  • Rhys McKee vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • Julio Arce vs. Herbert Burns
  • Ibo Aslan vs. Anton Turkalj

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for December: A bloody women’s bantamweight war

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for December.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

Alonzo Menifield knew power would level the playing field in UFC 296 win over Dustin Jacoby

With another win at UFC 296, Alonzo Menifield quietly has gone 6-1-1 over the past three years at light heavyweight.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag] beat Dustin Jacoby with a unanimous decision Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Menifield, who quietly has gone 6-1-1 over the past three years at light heavyweight.

UFC 296 post-event facts: Colby Covington joins rare company with 0-3 title fight record

The best facts to come out of UFC 296, which saw Colby Covington and Tony Ferguson join exclusive and unfortunate clubs in defeat.

The UFC’s final event of the 2023 started with a bang, but ended somewhat slow as UFC 296 unfolded at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The two championship fights to close out the calendar year saw both belts stay put. [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defeated [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend welterweight gold in the headliner, while [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) also got the nod on the scorecards over [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) to retain flyweight gold.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 296.

UFC 296 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2023 total closes at $8.1 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.

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 296 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC 296 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Martin Buday[/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 $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: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,707,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.

UFC 296 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 296 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC 296 took place Saturday with 12 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC 296 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.

Alonzo Menifield def. Dustin Jacoby at UFC 296: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Alonzo Menifield’s unanimous decision win over Dustin Jacoby at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA Today Sports)

UFC 296 pre-event facts: Inside the numbers of UFC’s stacked 2023 finale

The best facts and figures about UFC 296, which features a loaded card of title fights, contender matchups and notable names with records.

The UFC goes out with a bang for its final event of 2023 on Saturday as a loaded UFC 296 is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the main card set to air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.

The 43rd and final card of the year features two championship fights at the top of the bill. In the main event, [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) puts his welterweight title on the line against [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), while in the co-headliner, [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) looks to defend flyweight gold for the first time in a rematch with [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

The rest of the card features a mix of contenders, familiar names and more with history inside the octagon. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 296.

* * * *

Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington