‘Touch of Gloves’: MMA figures show appreciation to those who shined brightest in 2021

It’s all love as 2021 comes to a close.

‘”As real as it gets” is the UFC’s slogan describing just how realistic the combat in our sport can be. But before fighters get to any of the face punching, they share a moment of respect, a moment of peace that represents their mutual acknowledgment for the struggle to arrive at this moment – the touch of gloves.

Fighters might beat each other up for 15 to 25 minutes, but the respect for one another and the sport of MMA never goes away. The martial arts spirt is always with them.

In this first edition of “Touch of Gloves,” we see that spirt come to life as fighters, coaches and more show appreciation to the people they think especially deserve a shoutout for what they did in 2021:

  • [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] on [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] on [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] on [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] on [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Rashad Evans[/autotag] on [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag]
  • Marc Ratner on Dana White
  • Brendan Fitzgerald on John Gooden
  • Eric Nicksick on Laura Sanko
  • [autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag] on [autotag]Forrest Griffin[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] on Chael Sonnen
  • [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] on [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag]
  • Shannon Knapp on [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] on the UFC fans

Enjoy!

[listicle id=1960092]

UFC on ESPN 31 video: Chris Curtis shocks Brendan Allen for upset TKO

Chris Curtis pulled off his second major upset in less than a month when he stopped Brendan Allen at UFC on ESPN 31.

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] did it again at UFC on ESPN 31.

After making his octagon debut in at UFC 268 in November with an upset of Phil Hawes, Curtis did it again on Saturday’s card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when he finished [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] for a second-round TKO.

Following a back-and-forth opening round, Curtis (28-8 MMA, 2-0 UFC) rocked Allen (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) with a right hook in the second frame of the middleweight bout. He showed strong finishing instincts, as he walked Allen down and landed more shots before dropping his opponent and forcing Herb Dean to wave it off at the 1:58 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of the win below (via Twitter):

Curtis retired from MMA twice before returning in 2021, and it’s been the best year of his career. He’s 6-0 overall this year, and said his self-confidence is better than ever.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Curtis said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I don’t have a sterling record. I’m a dog. Everyone dismissed me. Brendan dismissed me. Phil did a little bit too. I don’t need anyone to believe in me.”

Up-to-date UFC on ESPN 31 results include:

[vertical-gallery id=1807038]

[vertical-gallery id=1807041]

[listicle id=1805904]

UFC on ESPN 31 predictions: Can ex-champ Jose Aldo upset Rob Font?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 31 main card, featuring Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo.

Font
vs.
Aldo
Fiziev
vs.
Riddell
Crute
vs.
Hill
Guida
vs.
Santos
Allen
vs.
Curtis
Gall
vs.
Morono
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2021: 200-109
aldo2021
Aldo
(51%)
riddell2021
Riddell
(52%)
crute2021
Crute
(69%)
santos2021
Santos
(67%)
allen2021
Allen
(76%)
morono2021
Morono
(75%)
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2021: 203-106
font2021
Font
fiziev2021
Fiziev
crute2021
Crute
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2021: 197-112
aldo2021
Aldo
fiziev2021
Fiziev
crute2021
Crute
guida2021
Guida
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2021: 193-116
trophy copy 2014 Champion
font2021
Font
riddell2021
Riddell
hill2021
Hill
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2021: 192-117
aldo2021
Aldo
riddell2021
Riddell
hill2021
Hill
santos2021
Santos
curtis2021
Curtis
gall2021
Gall
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2021: 191-118
font2021
Font
fiziev2021
Fiziev
crute2021
Crute
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2021: 190-119
trophy copy 2020 Champion
aldo2021
Aldo
riddell2021
Riddell
crute2021
Crute
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2021: 186-123
aldo2021
Aldo
fiziev2021
Fiziev
crute2021
Crute
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2021: 184-125
trophy copy 2018 Champion
aldo2021
Aldo
fiziev2021
Fiziev
crute2021
Crute
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
gall2021
Gall
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2021: 180-129
font2021
Font
fiziev2021
Fiziev
hill2021
Hill
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
gall2021
Gall
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2021: 179-130
trophy copy 2017 Champion
font2021
Font
fiziev2021
Fiziev
hill2021
Hill
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2021: 179-130
font2021
Font
riddell2021
Riddell
hill2021
Hill
guida2021
Guida
curtis2021
Curtis
gall2021
Gall
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2021: 178-131
aldo2021
Aldo
fiziev2021
Fiziev
crute2021
Crute
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
2021: 120-73
aldo2021
Aldo
riddell2021
Riddell
hill2021
Hill
santos2021
Santos
allen2021
Allen
morono2021
Morono

The UFC starts to wind down 2021 this week in Las Vegas with a former champion at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 31 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) takes on former featherweight champ [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) at bantamweight. Font is a -150 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Aldo is +120. But our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with the slight underdog, Aldo, by the narrowest possible margin at 7-6.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at lightweight. Fiziev is a slight -130 favorite, and he’s got an 8-5 edge from our pickers.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at light heavyweight. Crute is a -180 favorite, but he has just a 7-6 lead in the picks.

Longtime fighter [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] (36-21 MMA, 16-15 UFC) takes on [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC) at lightweight. Santos is a -180 favorite and has a big 11-2 picks lead.

[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) fights [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] (27-8 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at middleweight in what is a quick turnaround for Curtis. Allen is the biggest favorite on the entire card at -350, and he’s got an 11-2 lead in the picks.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Mickey Gall[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] (20-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at welterweight. Morono is a -180 favorite, and he’s got a big 9-4 lead from our staff pickers.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Aldo (51 percent), Riddell (52 percent), Crute (69 percent), Santos (67 percent), Allen (76 percent) and Morono (75 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

[vertical-gallery id=1803053]

UFC on ESPN 31 pre-event facts: Rob Font, Jose Aldo battle for more accolades

The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 31, which features a Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo main event.

The UFC kicks off its final stretch of 2021 events Saturday with UFC on ESPN 31, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN.

A very important fight in the bantamweight division serves as the main event of the card. [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) will attempt to keep his winning streak alive in pursuit of a title shot when he takes on former longtime featherweight king [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who continues chase a second belt at 135 pounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 31.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Nov. 22-28)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 Nov. 22-28.

With Roman Dolidze out, Chris Curtis steps in to face Brendan Allen at UFC on ESPN 31

Brendan Allen will get yet another switch in opponent when he meets Chris Curtis at UFC on ESPN 31.

[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] will get yet another switch in opponent.

Roman Dolidze has withdrawn from UFC on ESPN 31 and [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] (27-8 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will step in on short notice to face Allen (17-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 31 on Dec. 4.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media Monday following an initial report from MMA DNA.

Making a less than one month turnaround is Curtis, who came up big as an underdog in his promotional debut when he knocked out highly touted Phil Hawes at UFC 268 in November. His fight against Allen will mark the 34-year-old’s sixth fight in 2021.

Winner of nine of his past 10, former LFA champion Allen will look to make it three straight. After submitting Karl Roberson in the first round at UFC 261, Allen bounced Punahele Soriano out of the ranks of the unbeaten at UFC on ESPN 27 in July.

The latest UFC on ESPN 31 lineup now includes:

  • Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill
  • Jake Matthews vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Claudio Puelles
  • Rafael Fiziev vs. Brad Riddell
  • Cheyanne Vlismas vs. Mallory Martin
  • Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Matt Brown
  • Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Manel Kape
  • Vince Morales vs. Louis Smolka
  • Clay Guida vs. Leonardo Santos
  • Mickey Gall vs. Alex Morono
  • Maki Pitolo vs. Dusko Todorovic

[vertical-gallery id=1577933]

[vertical-gallery id=605931]

UFC 268 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Venum era total passes $5 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

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 268 took place at the Madison Square Garden. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 268 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Al Iaquinta[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Williams[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Allan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Souza[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,112,500
Program-to-date total: $5,112,500

Video: Chris Curtis pulls off upset, stops Phil Hawes to win long-awaited debut at UFC 268

Watch Chris Curtis pull off the upset and put away Phil Hawes to win debut at Saturday’s UFC 268.

It’s been a long time coming for [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag].

The UFC welterweight made plenty of noise in his promotional debut, stopping heavy-favorite Phil Hawes in the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC 268 in New York City. Curtis (27-8 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stopped Hawes at the 4:27 mark of Round 1.

It was a showing where Curtis was being dominated by Hawes, who looked very sharp early on. For the majority of the bout, Hawes kept connecting and having his way on Curtis with little resistance. In the last minute of the round, Curtis connected with a left hand that wobbled Hawes. He then followed up with a few shots to put away the 32-year-old.

With the victory, Curtis now finds himself on a six-fight winning streak. The last time he was defeated was back in 2019 when he was stopped by two-time PFL champion Ray Cooper III.

Below you can watch Curtis finish:

After the fight, Curtis was overcome with emotion, given his long road to the UFC. The 34-year-old veteran of 35 fights finally got his chance to shine on the big stage and capitalized on the opportunity.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 268 results include:

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01f5k5h8pz3brj4xqb image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[vertical-gallery id=1577711]

[vertical-gallery id=1577716]

With Deron Winn out, Chris Curtis gets short-notice shot vs. Phil Hawes at UFC Fight Night 194

Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 194 event has an 11th hour change to the lineup.

Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 194 event has an 11th hour change to the lineup.

With [autotag]Deron Winn[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) out of his welterweight fight to open the main card against [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will take an extreme short-notice fight for his UFC debut.

A person with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of Curtis’ short-notice opportunity Friday. The new booking first was reported by MMA DNA.

Curtis, a former CES welterweight champion, posted short videos on his Instagram stories early Friday showing him in the sauna, as well as covered in towels in an apparent weight cut ahead of the official weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night 194. The videos were presented without commentary.

UFC Fight Night 194 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Curtis, who trains in Las Vegas, had a shot at the UFC in 2018 on Dana White’s Contender Series. But despite a third-round TKO win, he wasn’t awarded a contract. He went on to sign with the PFL, where he went 1-3 in the promotion’s inaugural 2019 season.

But since three straight setbacks in PFL, Curtis is on a five-fight winning streak. Most recently, he outworked former longtime UFC fighter Kenny Robertson for a unanimous decision at XMMA 2 in July.

Hawes has a seven-fight winning streak. He got his UFC shot after a 78-second knockout win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, then knocked out Jacob Malkoun in just 18 seconds in his promotional debut at UFC 254. Since then, he has back-to-back decision wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Kyle Daukaus in 2021.

The UFC has not yet made a formal announcement about Winn’s withdrawal from the card.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 194 lineup now includes:

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

  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Randy Brown vs. Jared Gooden
  • Tim Elliott vs. Matheus Nicolau
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Sabina Mazo
  • Chris Curtis vs. Phil Hawes

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1:30 p.m. ET)

  • Felipe Colares vs. Chris Gutierrez
  • Alexandr Romanov vs. Jared Vanderaa
  • Damon Jackson vs. Charles Rosa
  • Loopy Godinez vs. Sam Hughes
  • Steve Garcia vs. Charlie Ontiveros

With Chris Curtis out of Bellator 251, Austin Vanderford now meets Vinicius de Jesus

Thursday’s Bellator 251 card has encountered three lineup changes.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] has a new opponent for Thursday’s Bellator 251 card at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Originally expected to fight [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag], Vanderford (9-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) now faces former LFA welterweight title challenger and current CES MMA welterweight champion [autotag]Vinicius de Jesus[/autotag] in a middleweight bout.

A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of the booking Monday but did not give a reason for Curtis’ withdrawal. MyMMANews recently reported Curtis withdrew from the fight due to a positive COVID-19 test.

De Jesus (9-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) has four of his most recent five fights. Six of his nine pro wins have come by knockout.

Curtis isn’t the only fighter to have withdrawn from Bellator 251. A promotion official also informed MMA Junkie that [autotag]Nainoa Dung[/autotag] is out of his prelim fight against [autotag]Piankhi Zimmerman[/autotag] (5-4-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and is replaced by [autotag]Ali Zebian[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).

Additionally, the light heavyweight fight between [autotag]Terrance Jean-Jacques[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Gustavo Trujillo[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has been canceled for unknown reasons, per a promotion official.

With the changes, the Bellator 251 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (CBS Sports Network/DAZN, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Corey Anderson vs. Melvin Manhoef
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Said Sowma
  • Vinicius de Jesus vs. Austin Vanderford
  • Derek Anderson vs. Killys Mota

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, TBA)

  • Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Bryce Logan
  • Julius Anglickas vs. Alex Polizzi
  • Janay Harding vs. Jessy Miele
  • Ali Zebian vs. Piankhi Zimmerman
  • Jaylon Bates vs. Joe Supino
  • Sumiko Inaba vs. Jessica Ruiz

[vertical-gallery id=383973]