Andrea Lee had a lot of nice things to say about her UFC on ESPN+ 35 opponent in advance of their second meeting.
[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag] won’t do any trash talk in the lead-up to her next UFC bout.
The 31-year-old flyweight contender returns to the octagon Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 35 in a rematch against veteran [autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag]. Lee (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) fought Modafferi in 2014 for her third professional fight. Although Lee was new to the game at the time, Modafferi had already been fighting for more than 10 years and had almost 30 professional fights.
Six years later, they meet again, this time with both in the UFC flyweight top 10. Lee is impressed and admires Modafferi’s longevity in the sport.
“Roxanne does surprise me, but she does inspire me,” Lee told MMA Junkie at the UFC on ESPN+ 35 virtual media day. “The fact that she’s still in the UFC, has been in the top 10, like, she came back. She was cut from the UFC, went to Invicta FC, went on a winning streak and then got called back to the UFC, and she’s been in the UFC ever since — that’s super impressive and very inspiring to me.”
Lee, who lost to Modafferi via split decision in their first bout, is not surprised to be getting booked against “The Happy Warrior.” Lee had a feeling the two would get matched up again at some point.
“It doesn’t surprise me that her and I are matched up again,” Lee said. “I knew that was going to happen eventually. I’ve had people that are always asking me at the end of every fight, ‘You need to call out Roxanne,’ and I’m like, ‘No, because I don’t like to call out people.’
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“But people have been wanting for this match to happen and I always thought it was going to happen on its own time and it worked out perfectly. We both lost to Lauren (Murphy), she was our last opponent, and I had a feeling that they were going to match us up. When I got the call and the name was Roxy I was like, ‘I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.’ But I’m ready and I think it’s time. We’re both in the top 10 and I think it’s time we rematch. It’s in the UFC and we’re getting paid a lot more, can’t ask more than that.”
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Lee is now a veteran compared to when she first fought Modafferi. “KGB” hopes to change the outcome this time around and prove she’s a much-improved fighter.
“I don’t feel like I’m going out there to avenge anything because that was so long ago, but it’s exciting to get to rematch with Roxy and show how much better I have gotten since then because when I fought Roxy that was my third pro fight,” Lee said. “She had already something like 20 pro fights so I was a young up-and-comer and we took that fight on short notice because we thought it was going to be a great fight and it was.
“I lost a split decision, it was close. I learned a lot about that fight and I learned a lot about my career and I feel like I’ve gotten so much better because I feel like I learned a lot from that loss alone and every loss since then. I’m excited to go out there and prove that I could win that fight, that night just wasn’t my night.”
LPGA rookies used their downtime wisely to finish up degrees from the Pac-12 school.
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When Andrea Lee and Albane Valenzuela tee it up next week at the Drive On LPGA Championship, they’ll probably feel a little lighter than usual. In many ways, the LPGA restart will feel like the first day of school for the two LPGA rookies. Except that school is in the rearview mirror for these two. Over the COVID-19 break, Lee and Valenzuela became Stanford graduates.
“My mom bought this (graduation) cap off Amazon for $20,” said Lee, from her home in Hermosa Beach, California.
It was always going to be a tall task – juggling the beginning of an LPGA career with college courses. Never mind that it’s Stanford.
Andrea Lee celebrates her Stanford degree at home in Hermosa Beach, California. (Photo courtesy Andrea Lee)
Now, however, they can return to their new jobs free from homework assignments and make-up tests.
“It was definitely bittersweet,” said Lee of the June 14 online graduation. Both players snapped photos at the beach. Lee in California and Valenzuela in the Bahamas, where her family now resides.
Lee, a record nine-time winner at Stanford who took the McCormack Medal last year as the world’s leading amateur, said a few family members came over the day before for Korean barbecue and a Stanford-themed cake. On graduation day, she and her parents watched a 30-minute virtual ceremony. It wasn’t anything like she had pictured four years ago.
“Graduation happened and I cried,” she said. “My four years are over. Probably some of the best years of my life, and it just had a sad ending to it.”
Both Lee and Valenzuela earned LPGA status at Q-Series last November and decided to forgo their final semester of college to turn professional. They couldn’t know then that a global pandemic would wipe out spring college golf too.
The lockdown in the Bahamas was so strict, Valenzuela said, that there were times she literally could not step foot on the golf course outside her house.
“You could risk a fine of $20,000,” she said, “or five years in jail.”
When things did open up Valenzuela, a two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur finalist, got to work on her game. She also enjoyed games of squash with her brother and a growing passion for yoga.
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) June 14, 2020
For now, it will be a reunion of sorts at the Inverness Club, where 135 LPGA pros, including 15 rookies, will gather together to compete for the first time since mid-February. Lee competed twice on the LPGA before coronavirus halted play, taking a share of 62nd at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. Valenzuela will make her fourth LPGA start of the year next Friday. Both players are in the Marathon Classic as well, which takes place down the road from Inverness the following week.
“There’s no reshuffle for the rest of the year,” said Lee. “The only way to improve your status is to win. That’s definitely a goal of mine.”
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols chats with LPGA rookie Andrea Lee about what she did during quarantine, how Juli Inkster has been a mentor at Stanford, and what her hopes for the season are.
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols chats with LPGA rookie Andrea Lee about what she did during quarantine, how Juli Inkster has been a mentor at Stanford, and what her hopes for the season are.
Andrea Lee and Roxanne Modafferi both will look to get back in the win column when they square off.
The UFC is already beginning to map out its September slate.
A women’s flyweight matchup between [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag] and [autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] is expected to take place Sept. 12 in Las Vegas. Although the fight is not finalized, verbal agreements are in place.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an announcement.
No other Sept. 12 UFC fights have been made public or reported at this time, and the promotion has not made an official announcement pertaining to the event date or location.
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Lee (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing streak. After winning her first three promotional outings, Lee has dropped back-to-back split decisions to Joanne Calderwood and Lauren Murphy.
Modafferi (24-17 MMA, 3-4 UFC) competed as recently as June 20, losing a unanimous decision to Murphy at UFC on ESPN 11. Since her UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale in December 2017, Modafferi has alternated wins and losses during her promotional tenure.
Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes are facing short suspensions. Valentina Shevchenko, on the other hand, could be out for a while.
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] battled for five rounds at UFC 247, but it seems they’ve come out relatively unscathed.
The pair of headliners each received a 31-day suspension, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation document obtained Tuesday. The Texas commission was responsible for regulating UFC 247, which took place at Toyota Center in Houston.
Conversely, UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] is facing a potentially lengthy suspension after her third-round TKO victory over [autotag]Katyln Chookagian[/autotag] in the evening’s co-main event. According to the TDLR, Shevchenko is facing a 181-day suspension, while Chookagian was handed a potential 45-day term.
Two other winners, [autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag] and [autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag], are also facing potential 181-day suspensions.
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Check out a full list of the UFC 247 medical suspensions below.
(Note: No specific injury details were given. It’s also important to note that, due to the lack of specific information, it’s unclear if any fighters have the ability to have their suspensions shortened if cleared by a doctor.)
[autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: Suspended 10 days
[autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: Suspended 61 days
[autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
Andre Ewell: Suspended 181 days
[autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag]: Suspended 61 days
Journey Newson: Suspended 181 days
[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: Suspended 61 days
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]James Krause[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: Suspended 10 days
[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: Suspended 10 days
[autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag]: Suspended 31 days
The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 247, which saw Jon Jones defeat Dominick Reyes in the main event.
The UFC returned to Texas on Saturday with UFC 247, which took place at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card that aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
Two championship fights topped the card. In the main event, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) defended the UFC light heavyweight title by the skin of his teeth with a ultra-competitive unanimous decision win over [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), while [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) utterly dominated [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) en route to a third-round TKO in the co-main event.
Both fights for the gold provided some historic footnotes, but that’s not all the card had to offer. For more on the numbers, check below for 50 post-event facts to come out of UFC 247.
* * * *
General
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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $243,000.
UFC 247 drew an announced attendance of 17,401 for a live gate of $3,549,418.
Betting favorites went 6-5 on the card. One fight had even odds.
Betting favorites improved to 3-0 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 2:10:48.
Main card
Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes
Jones’ 14 victories in UFC championship fights are most in company history.
Jones’ 20 victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Jones’ 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest among active UFC fighters.
Jones 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest in company history.
Jones’ 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak in light-heavyweight competition is the longest active streak in the weight class and longest in divisional history.
Jones’ four-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied with Corey Anderson for the longest active streak in the division.
Jones’ 1,835 total strikes landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Jones’ 1,473 significant strikes landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Jones’ 42 takedowns landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are fourth-most in divisional history behind Anderson (53), Rashad Evans (50) and Ryan Bader (46).
Jones’ total fight time of 5:40:15 in UFC light heavyweight competition is most in divisional history.
Reyes had his 12-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko’s two consecutive UFC women’s flyweight title defenses are most in divisional history.
Shevchenko improved to 5-0 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in February 2018.
Shevchenko’s five-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Shevchenko’s five victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Shevchenko’s three stoppage victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (four).
Shevchenko’s two knockout victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Maycee Barber for most in divisional history.
Shevchenko earned the eighth knockout in UFC history to stem from the crucifix position. Gary Goodridge, Matt Hughes, Dong Hyun Kim, Paul Kelly, Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier and Tyson Pedro also accomplished the feat.
Shevchenko has completed at least one takedown against nine of her 10 UFC opponents.
Chookagian fell to 4-2 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in January 2018.
Chookagian suffered the first knockout loss of her career.
Justin Tafa
[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all four of his career victories by knockout.
[autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has suffered three consecutive losses after starting his career on a five-fight winning streak.
Adams has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]’s (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is the fourth longest active streak behind Arnold Allen (seven), Zabit Magomedsharipov (six) and Alexander Volkanovski (six).
[autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Bektic suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Derrick Lewis
[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) 14 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are fourth-most in divisional history behind Andrei Arlovski (17), Frank Mir (16) and Junior Dos Santos (15).
[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]’s (14-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.
Latifi was unsuccessful in his UFC heavyweight debut.
Preliminary card
Trevin Giles
Giles (12-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) improved to 2-2 since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in December 2017.
Krause (27-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has suffered three of his four UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) improved to 3-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in December 2017.
[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in her career.
Lee has suffered both of her UFC losses by split decision.
[autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his 10-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
[autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.
[autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 247 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.
HOUSTON – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 247 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.
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 247 took place at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
The full UFC 247 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’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 $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
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 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Check out the complete list of fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 247 event.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
Inside, see what the fighters from UFC 247 went with as their backing tracks in Houston.
