UFC 308 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Ilia Topuria’s $42,000 leads card

Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway combined for $74,000 of the Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for UFC 308.

ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 308 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $252,000.

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 308 took place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+

The full UFC 308 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ibo Aslan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Rafael Cerqueira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Mateusz Rebecki[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Myktybek Orolbai[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Victor Hugo[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ismail Naurdiev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Leal[/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: $6,896,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,633,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

UFC 308 video: Kennedy Nzechukwu swarms Chris Barnett for first-round TKO

Kennedy Nzechukwu’s size proved to be too much for Chris Barnett at UFC 308.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]’s size proved to be too much for [autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag] at UFC 308.

In his return to heavyweight, Nzechukwu (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) was able to overwhelm Barnett (23-9 MMA, 2-3 UFC) by landing a knee to the body, followed by a right hook that sat “Beast Boy” down at the 4:27 mark of Round 1 Saturday at Etihad Arena. Barnett appeared to have sustained an injury during the fight and was carried out of the octagon.

Check out the replay of Nzechukwu’s finish below (via X):

Nzechukwu was able to snap a two-fight losing skid after back-to-back losses to Dustin Jacoby and Ovince Saint Preux. Barnett has now lost two of his past three.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 308 results include:

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Chris Barnett at UFC 308: Best photos from Abu Dhabi

Check out the best photos from Kennedy Nzechukwu’s first-round TKO win over Chris Barnett at UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]’s first-round TKO win over [autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag] at UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. (Photos by Craig Kidwell, special to MMA Junkie; MMA Junkie; UFC)

Hurricane Milton forces Chris Barnett to withdraw from UFC Fight Night 244

Chris Barnett won’t fight Saturday due to “issues related to Hurricane Milton,” according to the UFC.

Heavyweight [autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag] has been forced off Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 244 because of Hurricane Milton.

The UFC officially announced Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) won’t be fighting [autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex because of “issues” related to the storm.

The promotion did not elaborate on the exact issues facing Barnett, who resides in the Tampa, Fla. area, which is in the path of Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 storm expected to hit Florida on Wednesday night local time.

Barnett will be replaced by newcomer [autotag]Sean Sharaf[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC). That bout was first reported by Code Sports.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 244 lineup includes:

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

  • Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • JunYong Park vs. Brad Tavares
  • Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
  • Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
  • Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
  • Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
  • Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
  • Sean Sharaf vs. Junior Tafa
  • Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
  • Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Chris Barnett gets new opponent for UFC Fight Night 244

Waldo Cortes-Acosta is out of UFC Fight Night 244, but a substitute has been found to fight Chris Barnett.

[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag] has a new opponent for his long-awaited return to the UFC cage.

[autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag] has stepped into UFC Fight Night 244 in place of [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag], the promotion recently announced. The three-round heavyweight bout will take place Oct. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Cortes-Acosta’s manager Javier Torres, of Skillset Management, told MMA Junkie on Sunday an injury was cause for his client’s withdrawal. Cortes-Acosta is expected to return in six to eight weeks.

Tafa (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) most recently competed at UFC 305 in August when he lost to Valter Walker by verbal submission. Tempers flared after the stoppage. Tafa slapped Walker and the two were separated in the cage by security after the fight. The loss was his second straight.

Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) hasn’t competed since September 2022. He was booked for two other dates since, but withdrew from each. Barnett’s most recent outing was a TKO against Jake Collier at UFC 279.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 244 lineup includes:

  • Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares
  • Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
  • Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
  • Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
  • Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
  • Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
  • Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
  • Chris Barnett vs. Junior Tafa
  • Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
  • Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

UFC books Chris Barnett to fight Waldo Cortes-Acosta in October

A pair of UFC big “Boys” will throw down this fall when Chris Barnett and Waldo Cortes-Acosta meet in October.

A pair of UFC big “Boys” will throw down this fall when [autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag] and [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] meet in a heavyweight fight Oct. 12.

Two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the matchup between “Beastboy” and “Salsa Boy” to MMA Junkie on Monday. They requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement. Instagram account NTRD_MMA was first to report the booking.

A location and venue have not been determined for the UFC Fight Night event.

It will have been more than two years since Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) last stepped foot in the octagon. He last competed in September 2022 when he rallied to defeat Jake Collier by second-round TKO. Barnett was slated to compete in April 2023 against Chase Sherman and this past March against Mohammed Usman, but both fights fell through.

Cortes-Acosta (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will look to keep rolling as he enters on a three-fight winning streak. A Dana White Contender Series alum, Cortes-Acosta is coming off wins over Łukasz Brzeski, Andrei Arlovski and most recently Robelis Despaigne in May.

Below is the updated UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 12:

  • Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
  • Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
  • Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
  • Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha
  • Cory McKenna vs. Polyana Viana
  • JunYong Park vs. Brad Tavares
  • Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
  • Chris Barnett vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta

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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 Vegas 89 adds three new fights to lineup, but loses fan-favorite

Three new UFC fights have been booked for March 23 – but a fan-favorite is lost in the shuffle.

Three fights have been added to the UFC Fight Night event March 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The card is currently headlined by former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) as she battles perennial contender Amanda Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a flyweight bout.

In the current co-main event, “TUF 31” lightweight winner Kurt Holobaugh (20-7 MMA, 1-4 UFC) takes on gritty veteran Trey Ogden (16-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC).

Check out the three newest additions that the promotion announced Tuesday, as well as the entire UFC Vegas 89 fight card below.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

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. 15-21.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 27-April 2)

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 March 27-April 2.