UFC 246 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Donald Cerrone doubles up on Conor McGregor

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 246 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $165,000.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 246 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $165,000.

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 246 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

The full UFC 246 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Askar Askarov[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Aleksa Camur[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Justin Ledet[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Sabina Mazo[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]J.J. Aldrich[/autotag]: $5,000

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:

Year-to-date total: $165,000
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $31,169,500

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC 246 with Led Zeppelin, Garth Brooks, Conor McGregor’s return

Check out the complete list of fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 246 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 246 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas.

Twitter reacts to Diego Ferreira’s submission of Anthony Pettis at UFC 246

See the top Twitter reactions to Diego Ferreira’s victory against Anthony Pettis at UFC 246.

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] earned the most significant victory of his carer thus far on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] at UFC 246.

Ferreira (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) beat a former UFC champ for the first time when he topped Pettis (23-10 MMA, 9-9 UFC) by second-round submission to extend his winning streak to six fights. The 155-pound bout opened the UFC 246 main card, which aired on pay-per-view from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Ferreira’s victory over Pettis at UFC 246.

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UFC 246 results: Diego Ferreira chokes Anthony Pettis into submission

Make it six in a row for Diego Ferreira.

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] celebrated his 35th birthday in style Saturday night.

At UFC 246, Ferreira (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) submitted former UFC champion [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] (22-10 MMA, 9-9 UFC) at the 1:46 mark of Round 2. The rear-naked choke topped off a dominant, one-sided showing.

The lightweight bout opened up the UFC 246 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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In the opening round, Ferreira showed unusual rhythm from the get-go. Lifting his leg up and down, Ferreria hopped into the pocket when pressuring Pettis.

The Brazilian lightweight mixed up his striking with his grappling roots. In the second round, Ferreira was able to get Pettis’ back. From there, the 35-year-old fighter sank in a rear-naked choke. Soon after it was locked, Pettis tapped.

With the victory, Ferreira has won six straight fights dating back to January 2016. A member of rising Dallas powerhouse Fortis MMA, Ferreira continues his ascent up the 155-pound rankings. In his most recent fightprior to UFC 246, Ferreira upset Russia’s Mairbek Taisumov by unanimous decision.

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As for Pettis, the loss is his second in as many outings. Prior to UFC 246, Pettis dropped a three-round unanimous decision to Nate Diaz at UFC 241 in August. The former UFC lightweight champion Pettis has competed in three weight classes since 2016. UFC 246 was marked return to lightweight after back-to-back welterweight fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 246 results include:

UFC 246: Anthony Pettis vs. Diego Ferreira odds, picks and best bets

What’s the smart play in the UFC 246 matchup between ex-champion Anthony Pettis and Diego Ferreira?

(Editor’s note: This story first published at SportsBookWire, part of the USA TODAY Network.)

[autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] and [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] will go toe to toe Saturday at UFC 246 in Las Vegas. We break down the Pettis-Ferreira betting odds and lines, with UFC betting picks, tips and best bets for UFC 246.

Pettis (22-9 MMA, 9-8 UFC) is looking to bounce back after a unanimous decision loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 241 in August, and he has alternated wins and losses in each of his past nine bouts. Since successfully defending the lightweight strap against Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181, Pettis has been in a freefall down the rankings, going just 4-7. However, he does have wins over Charles Oliveira, Jim Miller, Micheal Chiesa, and Stephen Thompson along the way, with the Thompson victory coming March 23 of last year in a knockout, so he is still very dangerous.

Ferreira (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) easily has the better record of the two fighters and is on a different trajectory. He also has a 74- to 72.5-inch reach advantage, and he hasn’t tasted defeat since back-to-back losses to Beneil Dariush at UFC 179 and a knockout at the hands of Dustin Poirier in 2015. His past two wins are by unanimous decision over Rustam Khabilov and Mairbek Taisumov.

Per BetMGM, Ferreira (-250) is a moderate favorite over Pettis (+180). The oddsmakers also lean to the match going the distance (three rounds), with odds there being set at -150 and the odds to not go a full three rounds at +115.

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Are you new to sports betting? A $10 wager on Ferreira to win returns $4 in profit. A bet on Pettis returns a profit of $18 with a victory.

Pettis is still very dangerous, but he hasn’t been able to show much consistency lately, while Ferriera is younger, quicker and a lot better in the significant strike department. As long as Ferreira doesn’t let his guard down and plays solid defense, negating a huge punch and kill shot, he should be able to grind out a unanimous decision. The play here is Ferrerira to win by decision/technical decision (+115), with the fight going a full three rounds (-150).

BetMGM is offering a special Bet $1, WIN $200 (in free bets) if McGregor wins in any manner vs. Cerrone January 18, 2020. Bet now at BetMGM! Available to new customers in New Jersey; visit BetMGM for terms and conditions.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship, and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Diego Ferriera plans on showing off jiu-jitsu game vs. Anthony Pettis at UFC 246

Diego Ferreira is looking to show a different side of his game vs. Anthony Pettis at UFC 246.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] is looking to show a different side of his game Saturday.

Ferreira will enter the biggest fight of his career when he takes on former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] at UFC 246.

Ferreira is currently riding a five-fight winning streak as he’s used his pressure and striking to stifle his opponents, most recently putting a halt to Mairbek Taisumov’s impressive six-fight unbeaten run.

But speaking to MMA Junkie at Thursday’s media day, the third-degree jiu-jitsu blackbelt Ferriera (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) said he plans on displaying his ground skills against Pettis.

“That’s what I do the most. I’m a fighter that puts a lot of pressure, moving forward, don’t care like how to get hit, just moving forward, but I still have jiu-jitsu, and I really want to work my jiu-jitsu a little bit too and get some submissions,” Ferreira said. “Because from the past few fights, I’ve just been looking to prove a little bit my strikes, and I already did it. Now it’s time to go out there and try to use my jiu-jitsu and get him in a good submission.”

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Pettis has won some of his biggest fights by way of submission and possesses a very dangerous bottom game. He captured the UFC 155-pound title with a first-round armbar and notched his first title defense with a guillotine, showing his versatility on the ground.

While Ferreira is well aware that he has to be cautious, he is confident in his abilities, too.

“You have to be careful the whole time,” Ferreira said. “You cannot slip, especially on a position like the way he does, triangles and armbars, but I like all type of submissions. I’ve been working at everything. I do a lot of jiu-jitsu competitions, too. I’ve been working on a lot of good techniques, and I can’t wait to show my fans and my friends what I can do on the ground, too.”

UFC 246 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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UFC 246 predictions: Is anyone picking Donald Cerrone against Conor McGregor in his return?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC 246 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone in the main event.

McGregor
vs.
Cerrone
Holm
vs.
Pennington
Greene
vs.
Oleinik
Ferreira
vs.
Pettis
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2019: 233-130 (64.19%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
(53%)
holm2020
Holm
(82%)
oleinik2020
Oleinik
(64%)
pettis2020
Pettis
(63%)
Simon Head
@simonhead
2019: 149-72 (67.42%)
trophy copy 2019 Champion*
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2019: 141-75 (65.28%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2019: 236-127 (65.01%)
trophy copy 2018 Champion
cerrone2020
Cerrone
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2019: 235-128 (64.74%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2019: 234-129 (64.46%)
cerrone2020
Cerrone
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
ferreira2020
Ferreira
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2019: 234-129 (64.46%)
trophy copy 2017 Champion
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
ferreira2020
Ferreira
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2019: 132-78 (62.86%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2019: 228-135 (62.81%)
trophy copy 2014 Champion
cerrone2020
Cerrone
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
ferreira2020
Ferreira
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2019: 228-135 (62.81%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
ferreira2020
Ferreira
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2019: 225-138 (61.98%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
pennington2020
Pennington
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2019: 223-140 (61.43%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
Dave Doyle
@davedoylemma
2019: 157-114 (57.93%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
oleinik2020
Oleinik
pettis2020
Pettis
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2019: 186-177 (51.24%)
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
greene2020
Greene
pettis2020
Pettis
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2019: 0-0
mcgregor2020
McGregor
holm2020
Holm
greene2020
Greene
ferreira2020
Ferreira

The UFC kicks off 2020 with the return of its most bankable fighter.

UFC 246 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former dual champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) returns after a 15-month layoff to take on [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC) in a welterweight bout. McGregor is more than a 3-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and he’s the pick of 11 of our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.

In the co-main event, former women’s bantamweight champ [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) takes on [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (10-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC). Holm is just a slight favorite, but she’s got a massive 13-1 lead in the picks with just one staff member taking Pennington in an upset.

At heavyweight, [autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is a slight favorite against [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] (57-13-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC). But it’s Oleinik who has a whopping 12-2 lead in the picks.

And to open the main card, former lightweight champ [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] (22-9 MMA, 9-8 UFC) is a sizable underdog against [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who has won six straight fights. But it’s Pettis with a 9-5 lead in the picks.

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A women’s strawweight fight between [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) was scheduled for the main card. But after Grasso missed weight by 5.5 pounds at Friday’s weigh-ins and came in at 121.5, the fight was canceled by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Grasso had been a 10-4 pick over Gadelha from our staff members in the fight, though it was Gadelha with a big 72 percent number from our readers..

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, McGregor (53%), Holm (82 percent), Oleinik (64 percent) and Pettis (63 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Anthony Pettis feeling rejuvenated before lightweight return at UFC 246

Anthony Pettis thinks he’s made the proper adjustments to punch his ticket back into the win column.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] most recently was seen inside the cage last August, coming out on the losing end of a hard-fought decision against Nate Diaz. According to the former UFC lightweight champion, many lessons were learned, and adjustments were made that night.

Pettis (22-9 MMA, 9-8 UFC) takes on Diego Ferreira (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 246 on the evening’s main card. The bout that will be contested at lightweight, the division where Pettis once ruled.

Why did Pettis drop back down the 155 pounds? Simply put, the Wisconsinite wanted to take some time off from weight cutting.

“I gave myself a year off from cutting weight,” Pettis told MMA Junkie at Thursday’s media day. “My choices were to take a year off completely because the ballooning (and) ballooning down was just hurting me or (I could) move up 170. I chose to go 170. I had some success, and I had some little bit of not success with the Diaz fight.

“The training camps, the mindset, and just the energy that I had in these fights? Oh, it felt so good. The reason I went back to 155 is my walk-around weight dropped about 12 to 15 pounds, so I was ready to start cutting down again.”

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Pettis was feeling sharp during preparations. However, when it came time to compete in one of the highest profile fights of his career against Diaz, his mind wasn’t all there. Pettis’ mental was likely effected by a pre-fight drug test mishap, but lessons were still learned.

“I’m sitting in the back about to fight, and that happens,” Pettis said. “It’s chaos. It just taught me. Wins and losses – people are going to judge me no matter what. All it takes is two or three wins for me to be right back on top. … I broke my foot. I don’t kick checks. That’s not something I do. I kicked a check from Nate Diaz, and I broke my foot. It was just a mental error, and I saw it (afterward).

“You look at the ‘Wonderboy’ fight. I got my nose broke, but I stayed so true to my gameplan. You saw my forward pressure, hands high, low kick, low kick, low kick. In the Diaz fight, I’m switching stances, throwing haymakers. It was a mental loss.”

UFC 246 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full UFC 246 pre-fight interview in the video above.

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6 burning questions heading into UFC 246

MMA Junkie senior editor Dave Doyle takes you through all the key storylines heading into Saturday night’s major event.

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The UFC’s 2020 calendar kicks off with a bang Saturday night, as the biggest star in mixed martial arts returns after a hiatus of more than a year.

Former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] headlines UFC 246 in a welterweight fight against popular veteran [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag]. On paper, the pairing simply seems like a fun fight for the fans, but it comes at an important juncture in both fighters’ careers. The result will also have a major impact on the UFC’s business plans for the rest of the year.

And while a casual fan might skim the evening’s lineup and think “one-fight card,” the truth is, with a little digging, you’ll find there are several matchups of major consequence to both their respective divisions and the career paths of the fighters involved.

UFC 246 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Without further ado, here are six burning questions heading into the card.

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Can Conor McGregor still bring it in the cage?

Conor McGregor against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016. (USA TODAY Sports)

Make no mistake about it: McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) still moves the needle. From the biggest mainstream sports shows to the comments section of MMA sites (where people complain “too much Conor” while still themselves reading every single McGregor story on any given MMA site), there has been more attention paid to the UFC this week than, well, the last time we saw McGregor fight 15 months ago.

So if people want to complain that the public is sick of McGregor, hate to break it to you: This week has shown otherwise.

But then, a significant part of the interest in this fight is based on a simple premise: Can McGregor still deliver the goods where it counts, in the cage?

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We’re more than three years removed from his last victory, his lightweight-title winning effort over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. Ask the Fedor Emelianenko of 2011 or the Chuck Liddell of 2009 just how much things can change in three years.

McGregor has been saying all the right things during UFC 246 fight week: He’s cleaning up his act, he’s never trained harder, he’s putting his indiscretions in his past. The UFC is giving him the best opportunity he’ll ever have to regain his fastball by putting him in with a fighter he should beat in Cerrone (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC).

If he does that, he’ll once again be able to call his own shots. If not? Well, at some point, no matter how big you talk, you need to be able to back up your words.

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