Tag: Cameron Saaiman

UFC on ESPN 53 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Main event combines for $22,000

UFC on ESPN 53 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 on ESPN 53 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $148,000.

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 on ESPN 53 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 53 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Luis Pajuelo[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kurt Holobaugh[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Gibson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jarno Errens[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Steven Nguyen[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Dariya Zheleznyakova[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Montserrat Rendon[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Andre Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Igor Severino[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag]: $4,500

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 $4,530; 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 $53,000 while title challengers get $53,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-53 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,669,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,406,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

UFC on ESPN 53’s Cameron Saaiman reflects on first pro loss: ‘It was a tough pill to swallow’

Cameron Saaiman looks back at first pro loss ahead of his return at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 53.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag] enters UFC on ESPN 53 on the heels of his first professional defeat.

Saaiman (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) looks to bounce back Saturday from a decision loss to Christian Rodriguez back in October by defeating fellow prospect Payton Talbott (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the main card of UFC on ESPN 53.

“It was a tough pill to swallow,” Saaiman said at Wednesday’s media day. “Obviously, after that fight, I really thought I did enough to walk away with the win. Obviously, the judges didn’t think that. It was also quite heartbreaking. After the fight, I went to both my coaches and asked, ‘Do we have Round 1 and 3?’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, I think we do.’ I actually went to (Michael) Bisping at the time and asked, ‘Sir, we have Rounds 1 and 3, right?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, yeah. I think so.’ Yet the decision didn’t go my way.

“Afterward, I had the time to focus on some medical issues we had. I had a big surgery sorted out and after watching the fight I’m pretty proud of what we accomplished not only in the fight, but also the camp building up to that. I’m 23 years old, turning 24 in December. I want to be here for a long time, and in doing that looking at the bigger picture. So after every fight we assess where we can get better, and there’s obviously a lot of key points, and in the last six months we sorted out a lot of stuff, and you get to see that come fight night.”

Saaiman is technically still undefeated at bantamweight, given that the fight with Rodriguez took place at an 140-pound catch weight due to a weight miss by Rodriguez.

Still, there’s a lot he took from that defeat, and he’s excited to show his evolution against Talbott.

“I think this is probably the most excited I’ve ever been for a fight,” Saaiman said. “The moment we got this matchup, we were already in camp for someone else. Then we got the name. I watched his Dana White’s Contender Series, I watched that live, and then I watched his UFC debut as well back in South Africa and I saw a lot of social media hype about the guy. I was like, ‘Ok.’ The moment I saw a post on Instagram, I got the feeling that sooner or later we were going to meet each other, so I’m glad it’s happening now.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 29-Feb. 4)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 29-Feb. 4.

UFC adds Cameron Saaiman vs. Payton Talbott to March 23 lineup

Rising bantamweight prospects Cameron Saaiman and Payton Talbott will square off in March.

Rising bantamweight prospects will square off in March.

[autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on [autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event March 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Both fighters confirmed the news on social media after an initial report by MMA Fighting.

Saaiman, a training partner of UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, suffered his first-career setback this past October to Christian Rodriguez. Prior to that, the 23-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series graduate won his first three UFC fights, two by finish.

Talbott, also a DWCS graduate, impressed in his octagon debut when he notched his first-career submission of Nick Aguirre at UFC Fight Night 232. The undefeated 25-year-old has finished all but one of his professional wins

With the addition, the UFC’s March 23 lineup now includes:

  • Rose Namajunas vs. Amanda Ribas
  • Kurt Holobaugh vs. Trey Ogden
  • Gabriel Miranda vs. Billy Quarantillo
  • Mick Parkin vs. Mohammed Usman
  • Julian Erosa vs. Ricardo Ramos
  • Cody Gibson vs. Davey Grant
  • Jarno Errens vs. Steven Nguyen
  • Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dusko Todorovic
  • Fernando Padilla vs. Luis Pajuelo
  • Junior Tafa vs. Karl Williams
  • Shauna Bannon vs. Stephanie Luciano
  • Montserrat Rendon vs. Dariya Zheleznyakova
  • Cameron Saaiman vs. Payton Talbott

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event on March 23

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

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 21-27)

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 Aug. 21-27.

UFC 290 winner Cameron Saaiman says Cody Garbrandt callout ‘just out of respect’

Cameron Saaiman wants to fight Cody Garbrandt because he’s a fan of his.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag] wants to fight [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] because he’s a fan of his.

Saaiman (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) scored a first-round TKO of Terrence Mitchell in their bantamweight bout Saturday at UFC 290, which took place at T-Mobile Arena. According to Daniel Cormier, who was on commentary duty for the fights, Saaiman is interested in facing Garbrandt next.

When asked about Garbrandt (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), Saaiman explained that the former champion is merely a challenge he’d love at this point of his career.

“It’s just out of respect,” Saaiman told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 290 post-fight news conference. “I have massive respect for him. I’ve chatted a few times with him at the UFC (Performance Institute), as well. He’s a former champion. He’s someone that I’ve looked up to for years.

“So that fight is just plainly: I want to test my skills against some of the best in the world, and he’s up there in the rankings, as well. A win over him could really solidify my contention to get into those top spots.”

Garbrandt currently is booked to face Mario Bautista at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston. If not Garbrandt, Saaiman just wants someone who will propel him up the rankings.

“I just want to fight someone higher-ranked,” Saaiman said. “I’m 3-0 in the UFC. I’ve fought three times in the last eight months. I deserve someone higher-ranked and I want to start climbing the bantamweight rankings. Fighting Christian Rodriguez makes no sense.

“He’s ranked probably No. 50 somewhere and he beat a guy, (Raul Rosas Jr.,) that I was quite expecting him to beat him. So I would like to fight someone better ranked. Cody Garbrandt is fighting Mario Bautista. Whatever happens in that fight, maybe we can push our bout to later in the year. I would like to fight at least once more this year.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

UFC 290 post-event facts: Alexandre Pantoja benefits from rare split decision title change

The best facts from UFC 290, which featured a record amount of sub-minute finishes and saw Alexandre Pantoja win gold in rare fashion.

The UFC’s 11th annual International Fight Week closed on a memorable high Saturday with UFC 290, which took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

After a explosive and entertaining lead up to the night’s title fights, one belt stayed put while another changed hands.

In the main event, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC) dismantled [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) en route to a third-round TKO for his fifth featherweight title defense. The co-headliner saw [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) capture the flyweight strap with a split decision win over [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-7-2 MMA, 9-3-2 UFC) in a Fight of the Year contender.

For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 290.

UFC 290 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Robbie Lawler nets $21,000 in retirement bout

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 290 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $319,500, the highest number of 2023.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 290 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $319,500.

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 290 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 290 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Val Woodburn[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yazmin Jauregui[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Terrence Mitchell[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jesus Aguilar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shannon Ross[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kamuela Kirk[/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 $4,500; 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: $4,428,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $19,017,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

UFC 290 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 290 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC 290 took place Saturday with 14 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC 290 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.