UFC 304 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Leon Edwards, Tom Aspinall lead with $42,000

Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall fetched maximum $42,000 payouts under the Promotional Guidelines Compliance for entering UFC 304 with belts.

MANCHESTER, England – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 304 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $307,500.

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 304 took place at Co-op Live. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 304 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]King Green[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Christian Leroy Duncan[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Bruna Brasil[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Oban Elliott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Sam Patterson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Shauna Bannon[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alice Ardelean[/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 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,575,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $27,312,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Jake Hadley def. Caolan Loughran at UFC 304: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Jake Hadley’s unanimous decision win over Caolan Loughran at UFC 304.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag] at UFC 304 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. (Photos by Ben Roberts, Getty Images; UFC; MMA Junkie)

Caolan Loughran expects plenty of fan support at UFC Manchester

Loughran, an Irish teammate of former UFC title challenger Darren Till in nearby Liverpool, thinks he’ll feel the love Saturday.

MANCHESTER, England – [autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag] met the media Wednesday ahead of his fight at UFC 304.

Loughran (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on Jake Hadley (10-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a bantamweight fight on the ESPN2 preliminary card at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. At media day in Manchester, Loughran took questions from media members before his fight.

Loughran, an Irish teammate of former UFC title challenger Darren Till in nearby Liverpool, was scheduled to fight Ramon Taveras on Saturday, but gets Hadley as a late replacement. He’ll be trying to make it two straight after he suffered his first pro loss this past September.

He said because of Manchester’s proximity to Dublin, he expects a big Irish fanbase – plus his fanbase from training in Liverpool most of the year.

“I trained in my own gym this morning – just a 30-mile drive up the road (to Manchester) or so,” Loughran said. “I’m not the home fighter, but I don’t expect to be too bad this weekend. It’s as close as we’re going to get to UFC Dublin as we can get, so I expect a big Irish contingent in the crowd.”

Check out Loughran’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Caolan Loughran thinks Payton Talbott is getting ‘too much hype,’ would absolutely fight him next

Caolan Loughran hasn’t seen enough out of Payton Talbott to warrant all his buzz.

MANCHESTER, England – [autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag] hasn’t seen enough out of [autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag] to warrant all his buzz.

Talbott (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) continued to live up to his hype after a 19-second knockout of Yannis Ghemmouri at UFC 303 in July.

Loughran (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) thinks Talbott is skilled, but was particularly critical of his UFC debut win over Nick Aguirre, in which he was taken down twice and controlled before ultimately winning by third-round submission.

“Payton Talbott is a good fighter – 100 percent a good fighter,” Loughran told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 304 media day. “Fair play to him going well, but Jesus Christ, man: Cool the jets. I watched his debut. Whenever (Conor) McGregor was coming up, people were saying when he fights a grappler, he’ll get smashed. When (Sean) O’Malley was coming up, when he fights a grappler, he’ll get smashed. But it was speculation, really. We hadn’t seen it. I watched his debut, some lad (Aguirre) – I don’t know who the guy was – comes out, takes him down, takes the back, flattens him out, gasses.

“Comes out second round, gassed again, finds himself on his back. I’m like, ‘Jeez, lad, you’re giving your back every time.’ He is a good fighter – 100 percent and fair play to him. He sparked that kid (Yanis) Ghemmouri who pulled out on me Tuesday morning. I would urge anyone who’s watching this to hit pause and watch UFC France – there’s a video of him warming up for that fight – before you blow Payton up over that win. He is good, but he’s getting a wee bit too much hype at the weight class. There’s definitely tougher fights at 135 for less hype.”

Loughran will look to make it two straight when he takes on short-notice replacement Jake Hadley (10-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+) prelims at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

He expects to run through Hadley – who will be moving up to bantamweight for the fight, then he’s open to fighting Talbott next.

“If the UFC want me to do that at the end of this year or the next, absolutely no f*cking problem,” Loughran said. “I’ll fight Payton Talbott next, no problem.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Ramon Taveras withdraws from UFC 304 vs. Caolan Loughran: ‘It sucks that it came to this’

UFC 304 is down a man due to a “serious injury.”

UFC 304 is down a man.

Bantamweight [autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag] is off the July 27 event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England due to “serious” injury, he announced Wednesday in a lengthy Instagram post.

Taveras (10-2 MMA, ) was matched with Ireland’s [autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). It’s unclear if the promotion is seeking a replacement.

“It’s unfortunate I have to make a post like this but I’m going to trust in Gods plan and make the smart decision to avoid making my situation worse and prolong my return,” Taveras wrote on Instagram. “Today I had to pull from my fight next Saturday due to a serious injury. I worked so hard this fight camp and it sucks that it came to this.”

While Taveras didn’t reveal the specifics of the injury, he indicated camp was a mental and physical battle that ended in unfortunate fashion.

“I worked my way out of depression and into getting in the best shape I’ve been in,” Taveras wrote. “I stayed disciplined and got myself out of being fat (176) and mentally fu*ked. … But I promise to keep this same mentality during my recovery and become the best version of myself through this recovery process. You guys deserve the best version of me and that’s what I will give you guys. Wouldn’t want this midget getting a dub over me cause of an injury.”

Not typically one to bite his tongue, Loughran voiced displeasure in a social media post minutes after Taveras’ announcement. Loughran indicated he wants to remain on the card.

“Catch deez hands just pulled out,” Loughran wrote on X. “I text him a few days after the bout was signed saying he would. This Games not for everybody. The UFC are the best in the world and they’ll sort it. Been here before will fight anyone. Yeno that.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9iaBeWRgaQ/

With the change, the UFC 304 lineup includes:

  • Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad – for welterweight title
  • Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes – for interim heavyweight title
  • Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann
  • Caolan Loughran vs. TBA
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs. Mick Parkin
  • Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues
  • Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons
  • Kiefer Crosbie vs. Sam Patterson
  • Shauna Bannon vs. Alice Ardelean
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachnio

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

UFC on ESPN 54 winner Caolan Loughran: ‘I feel like a d*ckhead’ calling out Raul Rosas Jr., but it makes sense

As a 27-year-old man, Caolan Loughran didn’t feel completely right calling out a teenager after his UFC on ESPN 54 win, but that’s the fight game for you.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – As a 27-year-old man, [autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag] doesn’t feel completely right calling out a teenager but, hey, that’s the fight game for you.

Loughran got back in the win column Saturday by earning a clean-sweep unanimous decision against Angel Pacheco at UFC on ESPN 54, with one judge awarding him a 30-26. Afterward, Loughran turned his attention to 19-year-old “d*ck lips” [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag] during his octagon interview.

Backstage at Boardwalk Hall, Loughran (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) expanded on his callout of Rosas (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) with MMA Junkie and other reporters.

I feel like a d*ckhead calling out a 19-year-old lad, but we’re in the same position, same record, let’s do it,” Loughran said.

They don’t exactly have the same record, but they’re close enough.

Loughran, a former Cage Warriors champion, continued his callout by throwing out some possible dates and locations – the expected July event in Manchester, England; the undercard of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler (whenever that might be); and he’s even willing to face the young Mexican at the Sphere on Mexican Independence Day.

“We can do it (at) the pay-per-view in Manchester, we can do it on the undercard of Mac vs. Chandler, or we can go to the Sphere on Mexican Independence Day and have 15 f*cking million Mexicans boo me. I don’t give a f*ck,” Loughran sad. “We’ve got the same record now. I’m in no position to be calling out ‘Sugar’ (Sean O’Malley) or calling out Merab (Dvalishvili). But that’s a realistic fight.”

As for his early thoughts on the matchup?

“I think I’ll punch his f*cking head,” Loughran said. “He’s dangerous but stupid. Let’s go, Rosas. Let’s go.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

UFC on ESPN 54 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $24.5 million

UFC on ESPN 54 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 54 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $173,000.

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 54 took place at Boardwalk Hall. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 54 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Kyle Nelson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jamall Emmers[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Herbert Burns[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Dennis Buzukja[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Connor Matthews[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ibo Aslan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Angel Pacheco[/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 $4,540; 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 $54,000 while title challengers get $54,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-54 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,842,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,579,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

UFC on ESPN 54 play-by-play, live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC on ESPN 54 in Atlantic City.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – UFC on ESPN 54 took place Saturday, and MMA Junkie live play-by-play and official results. UFC on ESPN 54 (ESPN/ESPN+) took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

In the main event, Erin Blanchfield (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) took on Manon Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in a likely women’s flyweight title eliminator. Joaquin Buckley (18-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) took on Vicente Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) in the welterweight co-feature, and former middleweight champion Chris Weidman (16-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) returned against Bruno Silva (23-11 MMA, 4-5 UFC).

Below, you can check out the results and play-by-play from UFC on ESPN 54.

Caolan Loughran def. Angel Pacheco at UFC on ESPN 54: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Caolan Loughran’s win over Angel Pacheco at UFC on ESPN 54.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag]’s win over [autotag]Angel Pacheco[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 54 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. (Fight and venue photos by Ed Mulholland, USA Today Sports)

UFC on ESPN 54 official weigh-in results: Fighter somehow gains weight between attempts, misses mark

The UFC on ESPN 54 weigh-ins ended oddly as Julio Arce somehow gained 0.25 pounds between attempts and his team was scratching their heads.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Ahead of Saturday’s fights at Boardwalk Hall, the 28 fighters involved in UFC on ESPN 54 hit the scales at the host hotel. One missed weight.

Atop the event, which airs on ESPN/ESPN+, is a pivotal women’s flyweight main event between top contenders [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

In the co-main event, welterweight standouts [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) and [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) collide. Also on the card, former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) attempts to reenter the win column against [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

All of those fighters made weight, but one from the prelims. [autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag] missed the featherweight limit after previously missing at bantamweight in April 2022. He was given two attempts and gained 0.25 pounds between attempts.

Arce’s re-weigh was the last weigh-in of the day. A different New Jersey State Athletic Commission (NJSAC) representative than who weighed in the other 27 fighters and Arce’s first attempt, weighed in Arce the second time. This caused further frustration and disbelief from Arce’s team, who said they had weighed 146 on their own scale. Arce was fined 20 percent of his purse and the fight will continue as scheduled.

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Check out the full UFC on ESPN 54 weigh-ins results below:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Erin Blanchfield (125) vs. Manon Fiorot (125.25)
  • Joaquin Buckley (170) vs. Vicente Luque (170)
  • Bruno Silva (186) vs. Chris Weidman (186)
  • Sedriques Dumas (185) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (185)
  • Bill Algeo (146) vs. Kyle Nelson (145)
  • Rhys McKee (170.25) vs. Chidi Njokuani (170)

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

  • Nate Landwehr (145.25) vs. Jamall Emmers (145)
  • Loopy Godinez (115) vs. Virna Jandiroba (115)
  • Julio Arce (147)* vs. Herbert Burns (145)
  • Dennis Buzukja (145.25) vs. Connor Matthews (145)
  • Ibo Aslan (205) vs. Anton Turkalj (205)
  • Viktoriia Dudakova (125) vs. Melissa Gatto (125)
  • Jacob Malkoun (185) vs. Andre Petroski (186)
  • Caolan Loughran (135) vs. Angel Pacheco (135)

* Arce missed featherweight limit by 1 pound; 20 percent fine

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.