Tag: Bernardo Sopaj

UFC Fight Night 247 loses another co-main event one day out

It was a rough day at the UFC Fight Night 247 weigh-ins.

LAS VEGAS – It was a rough day at the UFC Fight Night 247 weigh-ins.

Two fighters missed their marks on the scale. But even though he hit his mark, [autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was pulled from his bantamweight co-main event against [autotag]Bernardo Sopaj[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), it was announced after the official weigh-ins, for medical reasons.

That fight only had been elevated to the co-main event when an original matchup between former champion Cody Garbrandt and Miles Johns was scrapped when Garbrandt pulled out earlier in the week. Now the middleweight bout between UFC newcomer and former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder (17-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Gerald Meerschaert (37-17 MMA, 12-9 UFC) presumably will get the esteemed second-billed spot, though the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement of the changes.

It is not yet known which fight from the prelims will move up to the planned five-fight main card, though all the fights stream on ESPN+, regardless. UFC Fight Night 247 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The new UFC Fight Night 247 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates
  • Reinier de Ridder vs. Gerald Meerschaert
  • Luana Pinheiro vs. Gillian Robertson
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Dusko Todorovic

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Denise Gomes vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious
  • Zach Scroggin vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
  • Charlie Radtke vs. Matthew Semelsberger
  • Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Cody Stamann
  • Tresean Gore vs. Antonio Trocoli
  • Melissa Mullins vs. Klaudia Sygula

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 247.

Bernardo Sopaj: ‘No pressure’ with UFC Fight Night 247 bout elevated to co-main

Bernardo Sopaj has UFC title aspirations, so starting 0-2 in the octagon at UFC Vegas 100 is not an option.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Bernardo Sopaj[/autotag] has designs on one day being a UFC champion, so Saturday’s matchup with Ricky Turcios at UFC Fight Night 247 has a high degree of importance.

Sopaj (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a 24-year-old bantamweight out of Albania, stumbled in his octagon debut in March when he was on the receiving end of an all-time highlight reel flying knee knockout against Vinicius Oliveira after starting the fight strong.

It was an ugly way to be introduced to the UFC, but an important lesson and setback for Sopaj. It didn’t deter his goal of being champion, but starting 0-2 in the octagon would make his title trajectory that much longer, although it’s been done before.

“(A victory is) just one step closer to what I want, one step closer to the belt because I’m here to take the belt and nothing else,” Sopaj told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 247 media day. “I didn’t come here to celebrate a victory. I didn’t come here to say that I’m a UFC fighter. If I would come here for this it would be the wrong decision. When I started with MMA I said, ‘OK, if I want to do this, I have to be the best.’

“To be in the UFC, for me, is just the beginning. My goal is to be the best, my goal is to get the belt and be the greatest fighter.”

Sopaj will look to secure his first octagon triumph when he takes on Turcios (12-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at the UFC Apex (ESPN+). His opponent brings an unorthodox style to the cage, but it’s not an approach that breeds any concern from Sopaj.

“He’s a very good all-around fighter,” Sopaj said. “He has a little bit of a weird style. He’s like a street fighter. But I believe I’m better than him everywhere. I’m a more complete fighter than him, stronger than him and more technical.”

Originally, the matchup between Sopaj and Turcios was merely a piece of the six-fight main card on Saturday. Then former champion Cody Garbrandt withdrew from the co-main event against Miles Johns, and the lineup was shifted with Sopaj vs. Turcios now in the co-headliner.

That’s a bigger spotlight for Sopaj, but he said it’s only enhancing his motivation to deliver a spectacular performance.

“No pressure,” Sopaj said. “I feel very good, very confident. This gives me extra excitement. I feel very good. I learned about this (on Tuesday) and I feel very good about it. I’m happy. … I feel very good. I’m very grateful.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 247.

UFC Fight Night 238 post-event facts: Umar Nurmagomedov on the rise in bantamweight books

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 238, which saw Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Muhammad Mokaev and Umar Nurmagomedov make noise.

The UFC opened its March schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 238, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main event saw [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) overcome a slow start to batter [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a referee TKO stoppage after the end of the fourth round, putting him back on the winning track.

For more on the numbers behind the card, which featured six finishes in 11 fights – and a couple of them unique – check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 238.

UFC Fight Night 238 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $24 million

UFC Fight Night 238 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 238 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $133,500.

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 238 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 238 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Bekzat Almakhan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Vinicius Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bernardo Sopaj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Aiemann Zahabi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Christian Leroy Duncan[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Claudio Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Ludovit Klein[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]A.J. Cunningham[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady[/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 2381 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 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,362,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,069,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.

UFC Fight Night 238 video: Vinicius Oliveira scores KO of the Year contender with vicious flying knee

Vinicius Oliveira scored one of the greatest knockouts by a debuting fighter in history with a brilliant flying knee at UFC Fight Night 238.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Vinicius Oliveira[/autotag] scored one of the greatest knockouts by a debuting fighter in history against [autotag]Bernardo Sopaj[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 238.

After getting beat up badly by Sopaj (11-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the first half of the bantamweight fight at the UFC Apex, Oliveira (20-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) flipped the script and dominated throughout the majority of the second and into the third and final round.

With just 19 seconds remaining, Sopaj stumbled away after taking a shot. Oliveira charged at him and flew into the air with a knee that landed flush across the jaw. Sopaj immediately folded to the canvas and was out cold for a good while at the 4:41 mark of Round 3, but he eventually regained consciousness and was helped out of the octagon by his team.

Check out the replay of the Knockout of the Year contender below (via X):

After the fight, Oliveira pleaded for a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus during his interview with Daniel Cormier. It would be nothing short of shocking if that didn’t come his way after an all-time highlight in his debut appearance.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 238 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 238.

Fresh Ink: Meet the 5 fighters the UFC signed in February 2024

Find out who joined the UFC in February and learn more about them here.

The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.

Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, “Dana White’s Contender Series” signees, or rare straight-up additions. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.

Check out the February 2024 list below.