Brendon Marotte vs. Mohammad Yahya scrapped from UFC Fight Night 238

UFC Fight Night 238 has lost a bout.

UFC Fight Night 238 has lost a bout.

[autotag]Brendon Marotte[/autotag] has been forced out of his lightweight bout vs. [autotag]Mohammad Yahya[/autotag] on March 2 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas due to injury. Yahya will not remain on the card.

Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the news but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

New England Cartel’s Marotte (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was knocked out by Terrance McKinney in his UFC debut this past October when he stepped in on short notice.

Yahya (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was also looking to rebound. The former UAE Warriors champion fell short in his promotional debut when he was defeated by Trevor Peek at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 238 lineup currently includes:

  • Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev
  • Bekzat Almakhan vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
  • Muhammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez
  • Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Vinicius Oliveira
  • Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Loik Radzhabov
  • Eryk Anders vs. Jamie Pickett
  • Joel Alvarez vs. Ludovit Klein
  • Javid Basharat vs. Aiemann Zahabi
  • Stephanie Luciano vs. Julia Polastri
  • Tyson Pedro vs. Vitor Petrino
  • Stephen Erceg vs. Matt Schnell
  • Christian Duncan vs. Claudio Ribeiro

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event March 2.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Jan. 8-14)

There were 35 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 Jan. 8-14.

Four fights added to inaugural UFC Saudi Arabia fight card

The UFC is set to debut in Saudi Arabia with four fights recently added to its slowly growing lineup.

The UFC heads to Saudi Arabia for the first time and while much of the lineup has yet to come to light, a handful of fights were signed in recent days.

The UFC Fight Night event takes place March 2 at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh and does not yet have a publicized main event.

Check out the recent additions and full fight card for UFC Saudi Arabia below.

Fresh Ink: Meet the 14 fighters the UFC signed in October 2023

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

UFC Fight Night 230 post-event facts: Edson Barboza sets record for Fight of the Night bonuses

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 230, where Edson Barboza set a new record for most Fight of the Night bonuses.

The UFC’s second event of October got off to a slow start, but UFC Fight Night 230 closed with one of the best fights of the year.

The main event saw [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 18-11 UFC) rally from a vicious first-round beatdown to secure a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in a thrilling Fight of the Night matchup of ranked featherweights.

Check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from that fight and the rest of the UFC Fight Night 230 card from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

[lawrence-related id=2688153,2687648]

UFC Fight Night 230 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $21 million

UFC Fight Night 230 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 230 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $167,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 230 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]TJ Brown[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tainara Lisboa[/autotag]: $4,000
def. autotag]Ravena Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brendon Marotte[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melissa Dixon[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ashley Yoder[/autotag]: $11,000

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 2301 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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,651,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,170,00

UFC Fight Night 230 video: Terrance McKinney wastes Brendon Marotte in 20 seconds

Terrance McKinney was the biggest betting favorite at UFC Fight Night 230, and now it appears for good reason.

[autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag] was the biggest betting favorite at UFC Fight Night 230, and now it appears for good reason.

McKinney (15-6 MMA, 5-3 UFC) needed just 20 seconds to take out [autotag]Brendon Marotte[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Saturday. Marotte took the fight on short notice for a chance to get his foot in the door in the UFC, and McKinney made him pay.

McKinney came forward right away and threw a jumping knee that landed and knocked Marotte to the canvas within a few seconds. McKinney pounced on him and rained down punches until the fight was stopped.

McKinney’s 20-second finish is impressive, without question – especially when paired with the 7-second finish of Matt Frevola he had in his promotional debut in 2021. He joined Anthony Johnson and Matthew Semelsberger as the only fighters in UFC history with two finishes of 20 seconds or less.

The 29-year-old has back-to-back first-round TKO wins of Mike Breeden and Marotte on the heels of a pair of stoppage losses earlier in the year. His win over Marotte was his fourth fight in 2023 – and came quickly enough that he likely could squeeze in another one before the calendar turns to 2024.

Check out McKinney’s bonus-worthy finish below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 2-8)

All the UFC and Bellator 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 or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 2-8.

On the Doorstep: 5 fighters who could make UFC with May wins

For those who make it to the highest stage, the journey starts long before they strap on UFC or Bellator gloves.

Every champion in MMA history started out somewhere.

For those who make it to the highest stage, the journey begins long before they strap on UFC, Bellator, or PFL gloves. Modern-era fighters progress through the regional ranks with hopes of accomplishing the highest accolades. Many will try, few will succeed.

This month, five fighters on the verge of achieving major promotion notoriety – one for the second time – return to the cage for what could be their stepping-stone fight. There are dozens of fighters close to making the jump in the coming weeks, but these five are particularly exemplary.

  • A “TUF 30” cast member thinks it’ll be an Invicta FC title shot, if not a UFC opportunity, next if she wins her biggest fight to date.
  • A bantamweight fighter from Sierra Leone hopes another win under the Fury FC banner shoehorns him into becoming the first fighter to represent his birth country in the UFC.
  • After nearly three years away, a New Hampshire-based lightweight picked up where he left off and looks to catch the UFC’s eye with his second victory of 2023.
  • Point-fighting doesn’t simply result in decisions, as one karate specialist hopes to show the UFC with another potential highlight for the reel incoming.
  • One of Spain’s most experienced fighters has fought all around the world and hopes one more win allows him to check “UFC” off his bucket list.