Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from February 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from February 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for February.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
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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 Feb. 5-11.
Check out this must-see moment between Panthers greats Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly from Thursday:
Go grab your tissue box, Carolina Panthers.
Now that he’s a full-fledged YouTuber, franchise great Cam Newton has been setting up shop at radio row this week from the site of Super Bowl LVIII. And during his second outing on the job, he got a heartwarming surprise from an old friend . . .
Luke Kuechly surprises @CameronNewton mid livestream 🥹 pic.twitter.com/UkFXHmxvyw
— 4thand1show (@4thand1show) February 8, 2024
Former linebacker Luke Kuechly—one of Newton’s “favorite teammates of all-time,” per Newton—joined his pal on the set for a few minutes. Cam wasn’t stingy with more superlatives either—also presenting to some and introducing Luke to others as the “epitome of an ultimate teammate,” “a professional,” and, of course, “Captain America.”
Newton would then ask Kuechly how, during his illustrious eight-year NFL career, he could turn the switch from Clark Kent to Superman.
“You wanna compete, man. You wanna win,” Kuechly replied. “You work so hard and you wanna win. And I think that’s really what it comes down to is the competitive side of guys is ultimately what makes ’em a good football player.
“And you know how it was in Carolina—we had the best dudes. Whether it was Thomas [Davis] or G.O. [Greg Olsen] or [Ryan] Kalil or you or Chuck [Charles Johnson] or K.K. [Kawann Short] and Star [Lotulelei], and I’m missin’ guys, Roman [Harper] and Peanut [Charles Tillman] and Josh [Norman]—everybody on our team was so doggone competitive. Stew [Jonathan Stewart], [Mike] Tolbert, Fozzy [Whittaker]. And it was just kinda an understanding of like, this is how we do things in Carolina and if you don’t wanna be a part of it, then go on and get out.”
The way they did things resulted in the most sustained success in franchise history. With Newton and Kuechly leading the way, the Panthers captured three consecutive NFC South titles and an NFC championship between 2013 and 2015.
So, hopefully this new era in Carolina starts stacking up some competitors, or dawgs, of their own.
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Charles Johnson napped a three-fight skid of decision losses from 2023 to upset Azat Maksum at UFC Fight Night 235.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag] beat Azat Maksum with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 235 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Johnson, who snapped a three-fight skid of decision losses from 2023.
Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 235, which saw Randy Brown continue his run of success in the loaded welterweight division.
The UFC opened its four-event February schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 235, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) achieved his first octagon main event win to close out the card when he outworked [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to a majority decision in their matchup of ranked UFC middleweights.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 235.
UFC Fight Night 235 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 235 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $170,500.
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 235 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 235 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Aliaskhab Khizriev[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Azat Maksum[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Pete Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jeong Yeong Lee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Blake Bilder[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Marquel Mederos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Landon Quinones[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Thomas Petersen[/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 2351 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: $615,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,322,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.
The best facts about UFC Fight Night 235, which features the return of Drew Dober, who has the most KO wins in lightweight history.
The UFC kicks off its February schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 235, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
A pair of middleweights looking to take a big next step in the rapidly-evolving division meet in the main event. [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will battle in a five-round bout that will see both sides look to claim their first headlining win inside the octagon.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 235.
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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 Jan. 1-7.
Flyweight Charles Johnson has stepped up to replace the injured Nate Maness at the first UFC event in February.
Flyweight [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] is out of his scheduled bout at UFC Fight Night 235.
Maness (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was set to meet undefeated Azat Maksum on Feb. 3, but an injury has forced him out of the bout. As a result, Charles Johnson will step up to face Maksum (17-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at the event which takes place at the UFC Apex.
Verbal agreements are in place for the new matchup, with contracts expected to be signed soon. Three people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the change, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Johnson (13-6 MMA, 2-4 UFC) will look to right the ship early in 2024 after winning one of four bouts in 2023. “InnerG” started off the year with a TKO win over Jimmy Flick, but then lost decisions to Ode Osbourne, Cody Durden and Rafael Estevam.
Maksum made his UFC debut in July, when he picked up a split decision win over Tyson Nam to keep his professional record unblemished.
Maness will have to wait until he is healed from the undisclosed injury before building off of a first-round TKO finish against Mateus Mendonca in October.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 235 lineup includes:
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By far, nobody was disrupted by USADA in 2023 more than Paulo Costa. Could it be the flaunting of secret juice?
The UFC’s partnership with the United States Anti-Doping Agency nears its end, with a scheduled termination as soon as the calendar flips from 2023 to 2024.
In 2023, USADA tested 739 mixed martial artists a combined 4,231 times. While many athletes were randomly tested less than 10 times, some were tested two dozen – and some others, even more. The totals represented 48 more tests and 14 more athletes than in 2022.
With testing data available on USADA’s official website, here are the 12 fighters tested the most from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26, 2023.
Note: There may have been additional data from Dec. 27-31 that has not yet been updated in the USADA database.
