Tag: Chase Hooper

UFC Fight Night 232 pre-event facts: Brendan Allen can climb all-time submission list

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 232, which features decorated submission artists Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig in the main event.

After celebrating its 30th anniversary this past week in New York, the octagon returns to its home base of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 232, which streams on ESPN+.

A matchup of middleweight grappling specialists is featured in the main event. [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will attempt to continue his surge up the division against [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC), who looks so stay unbeaten since dropping to 185 pounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 232.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 14-20)

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 a promotion from Aug. 14-20.

Joe Lauzon ‘really, really tried’ for potential last fight at UFC 292 in Boston: ‘I was told my services were not needed’

The last time Joe Lauzon competed was a 2019 win in Boston. Friday, he revealed he was denied a potential retirement bout at UFC 292.

BOSTON – Saturday’s UFC 292 marks the seventh card the promotion has held in Boston, but it is the first of the bunch without a single New England representative competing.

Among the local fighters watching the event as a fan will be lightweight [autotag]Joe Lauzon[/autotag], who has not competed since 2019, but remains open to another fight or two should a prime opportunity present itself.

At a Q&A held Friday at TD Garden prior to ceremonial faceoffs, Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) confirmed, as reported previously by MMA Junkie, he saw UFC 292 as an event that excited him and attempted to get on the card, but was turned down. He added he also requested a specific opponent.

“I tried. I tried. It didn’t work out,” Lauzon said. “… I texted many, many times. I was told my services were not needed. … I would’ve fought whoever, but I really wanted to fight [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]. He had just beat Nick Fiore, who is another local guy. I feel like it’d be a really good matchup for me. It could’ve maybe been the last one, but it just didn’t come together. I tried. I really, really tried, but it didn’t work out.”

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Lauzon, 39, has the longest continuous tenure of any fighter on the promotion’s current roster. Since his promotional debut at UFC 93 in 2006, Lauzon has competed 27 times under the promotion’s banner. He is fourth all-time in performance bonuses, with 15 total.

Since his most recent in-cage competition nearly four years ago, Lauzon was booked three times – all against the same opponent, Donald Cerrone. However, the bout was postponed once and canceled twice, and Cerrone eventually retired.

The owner of a successful Massachusetts gym that bears his name, Lauzon said he is not dependent on fighting, but also isn’t closing the door on competition either.

“I don’t need to fight, so whatever makes sense,” Lauzon said. “If the location, the date, the opponent, if it all makes sense, I’m 100 percent down to fight again. But my gym is doing great. I don’t need to fight. It’s one of those things I really like doing. If it makes sense, I’m down (and) I’ll do it again. If we’re done, we’re done. It doesn’t matter. We’ll see.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Heavier but happier: Relieved Chase Hooper no longer ‘trying to fight puberty’ in his new UFC weight class

A lot has changed over the past five years for Chase Hooper, but he thinks his UFC lightweight debut showed it all was for the better.

LAS VEGAS – Featherweight wasn’t kind to [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] physically, which is why he’s so happy lightweight is off to a great start.

On Saturday at UFC Fight Night 224, Hooper (12-3-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) dominated New England Cartel fighter Nick Fiore (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) en route to a sweep of every round on all three judges’ scorecards.

“It felt great this week,” Hooper told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “I think I showed with my performance I was able to push the pace. This is where I’m starting to hit my stride, in my seventh UFC fight.”

Hooper, 23, has been on the official UFC roster since 2019. He joined the UFC system a year prior when he earned a development deal on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. Hooper was 18 at the time. His youth posed unusual problems as Hooper not only needed to adjust to a fighter’s lifestyle, but his body was also going through changes as well. Eventually, featherweight didn’t make much sense.

“I was probably walking around at 185, which I was still making it,” Hooper said. “The issue is that my body would stop with the diet. It would stop losing weight at about 170, 175. I had to switch the last couple weeks of my fight camps to like protein shakes only. Protein shakes and then I’d have like little packets of honey before training. So I was murdering myself trying to get down to 145. I had to vegetarian that whole time, too. I was really restricting myself in and out of fight camp trying to fight puberty and stay at 145. I think, in the end, it was doing more harm than good. I feel great at 155 now.”

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Hooper indicated lightweight is his home for the foreseeable future. He hopes his performances in the cage continue to improve, as the online jabs decrease.

“I started eating meat again. I started lifting a little harder. Hopefully that shows in the fight,” Hooper said. “Hopefully I’m a little more muscular looking. Not as many people are calling me skinny on the internet. I don’t think I need to put any more size on and I think it showed tonight. I was able to keep up with a guy who’s been at (lightweight) his whole career. He’s a decent sized lightweight. He’s not undersized. Neither am I. It just let me know I’m in the right spot.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 post-event facts: Mackenzie Dern climbs strawweight bonus list

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 224, which saw Mackenzie Dern rack up another $50,000 bonus in the main event.

The UFC closed out its May schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) by unanimous decision in the Fight of the Night, with the grappling specialist landing a career-best 126 significant strikes over the course of five rounds.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 224.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 224: The newest version of Mackenzie Dern is a freaking problem

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 224, including Mackenzie Dern’s beastly showing.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC Fight Night 224 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Two fighters net max non-title money

UFC Fight Night 224 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 224 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $179,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 224 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Hayisaer Maheshate[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Nick Fiore[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Takashi Sato[/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 2241 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: $3,214,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,803,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 224 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Mackenzie Dern (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Angela Hill (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) in a women’s strawweight bout. In the co-feature, Anthony Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at middleweight.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC Fight Night 224 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway ) on Twitter.

UFC Fight Night 224 pre-event facts: Will third time be the charm for Mackenzie Dern?

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where Mackenzie Dern will make her third attempt at a UFC main event victory.

After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 17-23)

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 from April 17-23.