Bolaji Oki surprised by split decision win at UFC Fight Night 236: ‘For me it was obvious that I won’

Bolaji Oki thinks he clearly won his UFC debut.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Bolaji Oki[/autotag] thinks he clearly won his UFC debut.

Oki (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated Tim Cuamba (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) by split decision this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 236 from the UFC Apex.

Oki, who extended his winning streak to nine, was stunned to hear the judges call the outcome a split decision.

“For me, it was obvious that I won the fight,” Oki told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 236. “He didn’t do anything except for the takedown in the second round, with the elbows maybe. So maybe he had the second round, but for me I had the first and the third for sure. So how is it a split decision? It has to be a unanimous decision.”

Oki punched his ticket to the UFC with a first-round TKO on Dana White’s Contender Series this past August. The 28-year-old was disappointed not to get the finish, but promises to deliver moving forward.

“I’m happy, but I know I could do better,” Oki said. “That’s not the best version of myself, but I am happy. It’s my first UFC win, but for sure I can do better. You’ve not seen the best ‘Zulu’ in there, but for sure you’re going to see with time.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.

UFC Fight Night 236 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Multiple veterans net max non-title money

UFC Fight Night 236 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 236 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $236,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 236 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Joe Pyfer[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Robert Bryczek[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Darrius Flowers[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Bolaji Oki[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tim Cuamba[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Bruna Brasil[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jeremiah Wells[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bogdan Guskov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Hyder Amil[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $6,000

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 2361 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: $850,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,557,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.

UFC Fight Night 236 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 236 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 236 took place Saturday with 14 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 236 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Dec. 18-24)

All the UFC fight announcements 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.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Dec. 18-24.

Fresh Ink: Meet the 30 fighters the UFC signed in August 2023

Find out who joined the UFC in August 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 August 2023 list below.

DWCS signee Bolaji Oki would make four-day turnaround at UFC Fight Night 226 in Paris, if needed

UFC newcomer Bolaji Oki is ready to get to action after his DWCS performance, and would fight again in the same week across the globe.

[autotag]Bolaji Oki[/autotag] is one of the newest additions to the UFC roster after his performance at Dana White’s Contender Series 60, and is willing to jet across the globe to make his promotional debut this week.

Oki (8-1), a 27-year-old Belgian lightweight, made quick work of his DWCS opponent Dylan Salvador (5-1), finishing their fight at the UFC Apex at 2:46 of Round 1. It was a quick and powerful display, and Oki was one of three fighters to earn a UFC contract at the end of the event.

Aside from being on the receiving end of a small number of strikes, “The Zulu Warrior” Oki appears unscathed and ready to get back into action as a UFC newcomer.

How soon? He’s game to debut this week in Paris at UFC Fight Night 226.

“Whatever, whenever, with whoever,” Oki told reporters during the DWCS 60 post-fight press conference about making his UFC debut. “If it’s in Europe, of course, it’s going to be better for me. France, Paris, I can even go, you know? First round, I don’t have nothing on my face. I can go tomorrow, you know?”

While it’s very unlikely Oki’s services would be needed on four days notice across globe, especially after just competing in a fight, the up-for-anything attitude is something the UFC brass loves to see. He’s riding an eight-fight winning streak that includes six stoppages, and is itching to make it nine.

“If they need me, I’m ready to go. Zulu never backs down for any fight, so yeah. I would love to fight anywhere. When the UFC calls, you get the call and you say yes. I’m that kind of guy.

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Dana White’s Contender Series 60 results: Three fighters get UFC contracts; two denied

Season 7, Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series goes down Tuesday, and MMA Junkie will have live results from on-site at the UFC Apex.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene at Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 69 event.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

The fourth episode of Season 7 saw 10 fighters compete for their shot at a UFC contract. A welterweight contest between Mitch Ramirez (7-1) and Carlos Prates (17-6) served as the featured matchup of the five-bout lineup.

Also on the card was Yousri Belgaroui (5-3), a former Glory Kickboxing standout who competed against both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. He took on Marco Tulio Silva (9-2).

Full results of Dana White’s Contender Series 60 include:

  • Carlos Prates def. Mitch Ramirez via TKO (punch) – Round 2, 1:14
  • Marco Silva def. Yousri Belgaroui via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Tim Cuamba def. Mateo Vogel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Thomas Petersen def. Chandler Cole via submission (keylock) – Round 2, 1:08
  • Bolaji Oki def. Dylan Salvador via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:46

Continue reading below for more details about each fight.

Dana White’s Contender Series 60 weigh-in results: 10 UFC hopefuls on point – including Glory Kickboxing standout

Check out the results from the official Dana White’s Contender Series 60 fighter weigh-ins in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene at Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 60 fighter weigh-ins.

The weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Las Vegas and lasted less than 15 minutes. The UFC Apex hosts Tuesday’s card, which streams on ESPN+.

Ten fighters will vie for UFC contracts in their fights, including welterweights [autotag]Mitch Ramirez[/autotag] (7-0) and [autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag] (16-6), who headline the show.

Also on the card is [autotag]Yousri Belgaroui[/autotag] (5-2), a former Glory Kickboxing standout who competed against both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. He takes on [autotag]Marco Silva[/autotag] (9-1).

The full Dana White’s Contender Series 60 weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Carlos Prates (170) vs. Mitch Ramirez (171)
  • Yousri Belgaroui (186) vs. Marco Silva (185.5)
  • Tim Cuamba (145.5) vs. Mateo Vogel (144.5)
  • Chandler Cole (264) vs. Thomas Petersen (264)
  • Bolaji Oki (156) vs. Dylan Salvador (155)