Tag: Chris Duncan

‘What the f*ck?’: Inside the mind of Chris Duncan during bizarre UFC Fight Night 243 submission

Chris Duncan recounts his thoughts during his UFC Paris submission in which he had to alert the referee that his opponent was asleep.

An unusual finishing sequence at UFC Fight Night 243 in Paris on Saturday that resulted in a fighter snoozing even baffled the bout’s winner.

[autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag], like most viewers, was stunned when he determined [autotag]Bolaji Oki[/autotag] was snoozing on his chest after popping out of a guillotine choke in their lightweight prelim clash at Accor Arena.

The submission itself was not unfamiliar territory. Duncan (12-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) adores the guillotine choke. As he squeezed Oki’s neck, however, the math didn’t add up. Something was off.

“I remember being in that moment,” Duncan told MMA Junkie on Monday. “I’ve trained with the best guys in the world. I went with them and tapped them and stuff like that. I’ve never had it in there and had it locked up and feeling how tight my hands were and where his chin was. I said to myself, ‘Why is this guy not tapping?’ I was like, ‘I have tapped every person I’ve ever trained with with this submission, and this guy is not tapping.'”

Duncan struggled to find answers and eventually aborted the attempt when he heard his coach and former UFC fighter Thiago Alves’ instructions to abandon.

“He said, ‘Chris, if it’s not on, you need to move on. You can’t just sit here and hold onto his neck,'” Duncan said. “So the next part was to let go, put my hand on the back of his neck, and slow down his posture so he can’t punch me straight away or elbow me. So I let go of his head, and I was ready for him to posture up.”

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But Oki (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) didn’t posture up. He was limp. Duncan landed two short punches to Oki’s head before realizing his opponent was unconscious. Duncan notified the referee, who eventually waved the fight off, then scooted out from under the corpse-like weight of his unconscious foe.

“That’s why I was laughing,” Duncan said. “Because after the fight, I was like, ‘I can’t believe the guy went out like that. That’s f*cking insane.’ Obviously, people tap and people go out. But it was jut the way he was still on top of me. That’s why I was laughing. It was like, ‘Oh, he just went out. What the f*ck?'”

The laughs continued well into the night. Rather than stick around in the arena, Duncan elected to go stream teammate Robert Whiteford’s fight that was taking place in PFL, and then grab food.

Duncan and his team went for grub at a local kebab joint. When they walked in, his fight was being replayed, much to the delight of the other patrons eating there. They got to watch Duncan’s fight over with the man himself. Then, they watch Duncan break into tears when he was notified of his $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

“One of my mates is videoing me,” Duncan said. “I’m like, ‘No, 100 percent? Double check.’ He went on Wikipedia, all these different sites, Google, and it’s all coming up. I was just moved into tears in a kebab shop. All the people who were watching me laughing and cheering were watching me crying. It’s just such a mix of emotions and it’s in the middle of this kebab shop in the middle of nowhere in France which is insane. Yeah, these stories are a massive part of the journey and sometimes you’ve just got to take yourself back and enjoy these moments.”

For now, Duncan will continue to enjoy the moment – until he gets another assignment from UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby. Whether it’s a rebooking of a previously canceled matchup, such as Terrance McKinney and Nazim Sadykhov, or a totally new one, Duncan is ready for any challenge that awaits him next.

“These fights that have already been made are something I’d like to get back due to me pulling out and stuff like that,” Duncan said. “To be honest with you, man. I don’t think I really get a say being as low-level as I am. I’m right at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to fighting. I’m nowhere near the level of these guys in the top 10. I think just take the fights they put in front of me and do really well without being stupid and taking stuff on really late notice and cutting too much too early like I did earlier.”

Regardless of name, Duncan has an offer on the table to whomever he fights next.

“If anyone wants to take me down, feel free,” Duncan laughed.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC Fight Night 243 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Renato Moicano’s $16,000 among top earners

UFC Fight Night 243 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $173,500.

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 243 took place at Accor Arena in Paris. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 243 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Benoit Saint Denis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]William Gomis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Morgan Charriere[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Miranda[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Matt Frevola[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ivan Erslan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Oumar Sy[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ludovit Klein[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roosevelt Roberts[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darya Zheleznyakova[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Barez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jacqueline Cavalcanti[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nora Cornolle[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Bolaji Oki[/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 2431 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: $5,895,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $28,632,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC Fight Night 243 bonuses: KO of the Year contender a no-doubter for $50,000

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card in Paris, including a vicious KO of the Year contender by Fares Ziam.

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card in France, including a knockout that’s likely to be very high on everyone’s KO of the Year list.

After UFC Fight Night 243, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at Accor Arena in Paris. Check out the winners below.

Performance of the Night: Chris Duncan def. Bolaji Oki

Chris Duncan def. Bolaji Oki via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:34

Starting off the night in France with an impressive finish was [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]. To his surprise, Duncan didn’t even realize he finished Bolaji Oki until he wasn’t responding. Duncan (12-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) locked up a guillotine choke from the bottom, and released the hold, looking to punch. However, Oki (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was asleep. Duncan then motioned to the referee that his opponent was in la-la land, and the fight was over. Duncan earns the first bonus of his UFC career, one that quite literally fell in his lap.

Performance of the Night: Fares Ziam def. Matt Frevola

Fares Ziam def. Matt Frevola via knockout (knee) – Round 3, 2:59

The UFC might as well have just handed [autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag] his bonus check as he exited the octagon. His knockout of Matt Frevola is a sure-fire Knockout of the Year contender. Ziam (16-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was picking apart Frevola (11-5-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) in the first two rounds of the fight, but in the third, he blasted Frevola with a vicious knee on the exit of a clinch. Frevola went unconscious on contact, and a couple of follow-up punches got there before the referee could rush in. Ziam’s first UFC bonus is certainly one to remember.

Performance of the Night: Morgan Charriere def. Gabriel Miranda

Morgan Charriere def. Gabriel Miranda via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:27

Keeping the French crowd hyped up with another vicious finish was [autotag]Moragn Charriere[/autotag]. Gabriel Miranda found himself attempting to escape a clinch from Charriere, but didn’t expect a crushing punch to meet him as he turned back into his opponent. Charriere’s left hand sent Miranda to the canvas, and the celebration was on.

That’s three consecutive fights for “The Last Pirate” earning a $50,000 bonus. Charriere is pure excitement.

Performance of the Night: Bryan Battle def. Kevin Jousset

Bryan Battle def. Kevin Jousset via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:47

While the French crowd was amped with back-to-back bonus-earning finishes before his fight, [autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag] flipped the cheers to boos. Battle spoiled the party for France’s Kevin Jousset, boxing him up for a nasty second-round TKO finish. He then got on the mic and delivered one of the most emphatic heel promos on the mic, urging the French crowd to keep booing him. Battle will fly back to the States with an extra $50,000, the second bonus of his UFC career.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC Fight Night 243 video: Chris Duncan chokes out Bolaji Oki, tells referee to step in

Chris Duncan had to inform the ref that Bolaji Oki was out.

PARIS –  [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag] had to inform the referee that Bolaji Oki was out cold at UFC Fight Night 243.

Duncan (12-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) submitted Oki (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a guillotine choke at the 3:34 mark of Round 1 in their lightweight bout on Saturday at Accor Arena.

As soon as Oki tried to take Duncan down, “The Problem” latched onto his neck. After cinching in a deep choke, Duncan let go to throw some punches, only to realize that Oki was out cold on top of him.

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

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 243 results include:

  • Chris Duncan def. Bolaji Oki via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:34

Duncan rebounded after suffering his first octagon loss to Manuel Torres in February. He has now won five of his past six.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC Fight Night 237 post-event facts: Yair Rodriguez hits unprecedented career slump

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 237, which saw Yair Rodriguez hit the first losing skid of his career.

The UFC’s final event of February took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 237 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico.

A flyweight contender re-emerged in the main event, when replacement headliner [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) exacted revenge on former UFC champ [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) with a split decision victory in their rematch from November 2020.

For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 237.

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UFC Fight Night 237 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Headliners get combined $17,000

UFC Fight Night 237 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

MEXICO CITY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $135,500.

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 237 took place at Mexico City Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 237 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Fransisco Prado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yazmin Jauregui[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jesus Aguilar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mateus Mendonca[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ronaldo Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Erik Silva[/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 2371 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: $1,228,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,935,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Video: UFC Mexico fan drops two other spectators in large crowd melee

There were no TKOs on the UFC Mexico prelims, but one fan scored two knockdowns at the start of the main card.

There were no TKOs on the UFC Fight Night 237 prelims, but one fan scored two knockdowns at the start of the main card.

As fighters threw down inside the cage, some spectators decided to do the same in the crowd. Just before the decision was read for the [autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag] main card opener Saturday, a large melee broke out among fans in attendance on the floor at Mexico City Arena.

One large gentleman dressed in black put two other brawlers on their backs in succession, much to the delight of those who viewed from a distance. The rumble distracted many spectators from Bruce Buffer’s reading of the winner, Torres, who immediately attempted to de-escalate the situation on the microphone.

Check out videos of the brawl below:

Many fans were in attendance from the first preliminary card bout, a rarity at most UFC events. It’s quite possible the alcohol consumption was flowing for hours at the point of the squabble.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

UFC Fight Night 237 video: Manuel Torres squeezes Chris Duncan into submission

The UFC Fight Night 237 main card kicked off with a bang – or a submission rather – as Manuel Torres sent the crowd into a frenzy.

[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag] lived out a dream Saturday when he made quick work of [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag] in front of his home country’s crowd.

The lightweight bout kicked off the UFC Fight Night 237 main card and sent the Mexico City Arena faithful into a frenzy when Torres (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) submitted Duncan (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) with a rear-naked choke at the 1:46 mark of the opening round.

Duncan clipped Torres early and put him on his back foot, but the Mexican fighter weathered the storm and grabbed a hold. From there, he worked his way to the back and ended the fight.

The win was Torres’ sixth finish in a row. After the fight, Torres called for a top-20 opponent.

Scotland’s Duncan loses for the first time in the UFC.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 237 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Manuel Torres excited to put on a show in front of home fans at UFC Mexico

Manuel Torres vows to put on a show in front of his home fans.

MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag] vows to put on a show in front of his home fans.

Mexico’s Torres (14-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a lightweight bout which opens up Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237 (ESPN+) main card at Mexico City Arena.

Torres will look to continue riding the momentum from his viral elbow knockout of Nikolas Motta this past June.

“I’m really proud of myself, because of the hard work, I’m here fighting for the UFC,” Torres told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s media day. “Again, it’s in Mexico with my people, so of course I’m excited, and I’m going to make a spectacular fight.”

Watch Torres’ full media day interview in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Four fights added to UFC Mexico City as lineup nears completion

The UFC is headed to Mexico City for the first time since 2019 and it’s lineup continues to grow each day.

The UFC’s long-awaited return to Mexico is less than two months away and the lineup is nearing it’s filling point.

For the first time since September 2019, the promotion hits Mexico City for a UFC Fight Night event Feb. 24 at Arena CDMX.

Headlined by Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi, the card also features a second-five round co-main event between Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez.

With ticket presales beginning Friday, the UFC is putting it’s finishing touches on the lineup, including four recent additions:

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