UFC Fight Night 245 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Darren Elkins’ $21,000 leads card

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out more than $29 million to athletes since its deal began with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 245 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $155,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 245 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Kyler Phillips[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cameron Smotherman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Asu Almabayev[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jean Matsumoto[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alice Ardelean[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Austen Lane[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/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 2451 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: $6,644,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,381,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Brad Katona gives himself ‘very OK’ passing grade at UFC Louisville, but knows you want a finish

Brad Katona got back in the win column after a January loss snapped a five-fight winning streak.

[autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag] beat Jesse Butler with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 57 at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.

Take a look inside the fight with Katona, who got back in the win column after a January loss snapped a five-fight winning streak.

Result: Brad Katona def. Jesse Butler via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Updated records: Katona (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC), Butler (12-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC)
Key stats: Katona had nearly 11 minutes of control time from his three takedowns and outstruck Butler 148-32.

Katona on the fight’s key moment

“A couple times in the fight, I thought I hurt him. I had him curled on his sided, hammered in some shots – I think I hurt my hand doing that because he’s got a thick, hard head. My elbow is hurt from elbowing him, which is kind of good soreness, but I was really wanting that finish. I know the criticism against me. I know that. I hear you. I should be able to (finish). … We’ll call that (performance) ‘very OK.'”

Katona on Butler’s size

“There was something about his frame size – he’s freaking large, man. I was in there with a featherweight, it felt like. All I had to do was take that one step forward. … It’s working in the gym, but you’ve got to fly it. We got a passing grade, but we’re not ready to put it out for commercial use.”

Katona on what he wants next

“It’s the little things in fight camp that we miss. I’m going to soak it in, try to be positive about it. I know John (Kavanagh) will give me a hard time about being hard on myself. But we’re chasing greatness. You can’t rest on this.”

To hear more from Katona, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.

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UFC on ESPN 57 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Nassourdine Imavov nets $6k for main event

UFC on ESPN 57 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 57 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,500.

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 on ESPN 57 took place at the KFC Yum! Center. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 57 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Punahele Soriano[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Miguel Baeza[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ludovit Klein[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jesse Butler[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Eduarda Moura[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Puja Tomar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Rayanne dos Santos[/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 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,570; 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 $57,000 while title challengers get $57,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-57 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,451,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,188,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.

UFC 297 post-event facts: Dricus Du Plessis, Raquel Pennington make history in title wins

The best facts to come out of UFC 297, which saw two new champions crowned with historic achievements attached to both new reigns.

The UFC’s first pay-per-view of the year is likely to prove to be far from the most memorable, but UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto did prove significant with two new champions crowned.

In the main event, [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) edged [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) by split decision in the Fight of the Night to claim the middleweight championship. In the co-headliner, [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) outlasted [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (10-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) for a unanimous decision for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.

For more on the numbers behind the title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts for UFC 297.

UFC 297 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean Strickland’s $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 297 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $285,500.

TORONTO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 297 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $285,500.

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 297 took place at Scotiabank Arena in Canada. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 297 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Sean Woodson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Sam Patterson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Malcolm Gordon[/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 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 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $445,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,152,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

Garrett Armfield def. Brad Katona at UFC 297: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Garrett Armfield’s unanimous decision win over Brad Katona at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag] at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. (Photos by Dan Hamilton, USA Today Sports)

Brad Katona explains why he sees UFC 297 fight vs. Garrett Armfield as career full circle moment

Brad Katona is having a full circle moment in his fighting career at UFC 297.

TORONTO – It looks like everything was meant to be for [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag] to be fighting at UFC 297.

Katona (13-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC), a two-time winner of The Ultimate Fighter, feels he’s hitting a “full circle” in his fighting career this Saturday when he takes on [autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag] to close out the preliminary card of UFC 297. It’s a weird coincidence, but also a good omen for Katona’s return to the octagon.

“If we’re talking about full circle, the first time I did The Ultimate Fighter, my first fight was UFC Toronto. It was UFC 231,” Katona explained at Wednesday’s UFC 297 media day. “And now, this time I came from the finale again and my first fight is UFC Toronto. So, completely full circle and looking to replicate history and getting that W again.”

Katona won The Ultimate Fighter tournament in July 2018. He then made his first regular UFC appearance at UFC 231 in Toronto in December of that same year.

The Canadian went on to lose his next two bouts and was cut from the promotion. Almost four years after his UFC release, Katona joined this past season of TUF and won it for a second time. Now, in his first fight after winning the show, he fights in Toronto.

Katona is determined to keep this second UFC run mirroring his first just for the first fight back. He intends to get his hand raised against Armfield (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and get his UFC career going once again.

“I was quite familiar with Armfield before taking this fight,” Katona said. “I remember watching his debut against David Onama on short notice. Every Sunday morning we watch the fights with some coffee, kind of like morning cartoons. There we were, my girlfriend and I, kind of cheering for Armfield. Maybe I’m just a sucker for the underdog. Go get the W, go get the contract. Now I’m here fighting him and that’s fine too. I have a lot of respect for him, but I’m me.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

Video: ‘UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis’ media day interviews

Before UFC 297 on Saturday, the main card and prelim fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.

TORONTO – UFC 297 takes place Saturday at Scotiabank Arena with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each fighter’s session.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

UFC 297 pre-event facts: Can Dricus Du Plessis’ output crack Sean Strickland’s defense?

The best facts and figures about UFC 297, which sees Dricus Du Plessis’ strong offense put Sean Strickland’s record defense to the test.

The UFC on Saturday returns to Toronto for the first time since December 2018 with UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena.

The first numbered event of the year features a title fight doubleheader. In the main event, [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) will attempt to defend the middleweight title against [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC. In the co-headliner, [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (10-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) are set to clash for the vacant women’s bantamweight belt.

For more on the numbers behind all four championship competitors, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC 297 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

UFC in 2023: A ridiculously robust look at the stats, streaks, skids and record-setters

Check out a full recap of 2023’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2023’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.