Tag: CJ Vergara

UFC on ESPN 43 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: ‘Chito’ tops card with $21k

UFC on ESPN 43 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

SAN ANTONIO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 43 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $137,000.

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 on ESPN 43 took place at AT&T Center. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 43 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Albert Duraev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Tucker Lutz[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Steven Peterson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Vinicius Salvador[/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 $43,000 while title challengers get $43,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-43 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,771,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $16,290,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

UFC on ESPN 43 play-by-play and live results

Get live play-by-play and official results from Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – UFC on ESPN 43 took place Saturday at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, Marlon Vera (20-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) takes on Cory Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in a fight between bantamweight contenders. In the co-feature, former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) met Yana Santos (14-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC on ESPN 43 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv ) on Twitter.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.

UFC on ESPN 43 video: San Antonio’s CJ Vergara pulls insane comeback to finish Daniel Lacerda

CJ Vergara went from running for his life in the first round to battering Daniel Lacerda for the finish in the second at UFC on ESPN 43.

[autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag] put himself in consideration for Comeback of the Year honors on Saturday with an insane rally against [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 43.

After taking a hellacious beating in front of his hometown crowd at AT&T Center in San Antonio to start the flyweight bout, Vergara (11-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) somehow managed to turn the tides on Lacerda (11-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC) and finish the fight by TKO late in the second round.

Lacerda came out of the gate on fire, hurting Vergara multiple times and nearly forcing referee Jason Herzog to stop it more than once. He somehow lasted the round, though, and it was clear Lacerda was fatigued going into the second frame.

Vergara took advantage, putting pressure on his opponent and securing top position. Vergara attacked with ground-and-pound and submission attempts until he wore Lacerda down and forced him to curl up so Herzog could step in to wave it off at the 4:04 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of the incredible fight below (via Twitter):

After the fight, an ecstatic Vergara celebrated in front of a raucous local crowd, sending inspiring words during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.

“I love this city so much, this city cut out the cloth for me to come and do what I do,” Vergara said. “I know I had a rough start in the UFC, but I showed the way. …. You can make your way to the top. Every single one of you.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

CJ Vergara def. Daniel Lacerda at UFC on ESPN 43: Best photos

Check out the best photos from CJ Vergara’s second-round TKO win over Daniel Lacerda at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]’s second-round TKO win over [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 43 at AT&T Center in San Antonio. (Photos by Aaron Meullion, USA TODAY Sports)

CJ Vergara details his crazy MMA journey, from backyard brawls to UFC on ESPN 43

Once CJ Vergara’s fighting career is over, he might have a future as a promoter. Saturday, he has a UFC on ESPN 43 home bout in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – Once [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]’s fighting career is over, he probably has a future as a promoter.

When Vergara was a teenager growing up in Texas near San Antonio, he found himself the de facto boss of a backyard fight club. Not only did he fight, but he said he also stirred things up behind the scenes to help with matchmaking.

But just being in that position to begin with, Vergara said, came from some of the typical trappings of American high school life.

“I was 15 years old when that happened. I was a freshman in high school and I was new to the area,” Vergara said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC on ESPN 43. “I was getting bullied, picked on, so I started a rumor that I was a trained fighter. Meanwhile, I was doing all of my back research: I was watching Matt Hughes takedown videos, Chuck Liddell takedown defense videos, Tito Ortiz ground-and-pound stuff, and putting all the pieces together that I could. Then I’d go practice it on the tough guys from the football team, whoever it was. I just kept getting better and better. Meanwhile, I had the passion that I had, but couldn’t convince my parents to put me in a gym yet. So that’s where (my fighting career) started from.”

Vergara (10-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on Saturday gets a home fight when he takes on Daniel Da Silva (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) in a flyweight bout on the UFC on ESPN 43 prelims at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

Vergara said there’s no pressure fighting at home – even if it’s in front of some of the same people he put hands on during backyard fights back in the day.

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“It was about 10 miles down the road that we were fighting in backyards every single weekend,” Vergara said. “At the time, I was telling everybody that I was going to be in the UFC some day. Here I am in that full-circle moment, living out that manifestation and dream that I set out to do in front of my hometown crowd. I have a massive following in San Antonio, so when I go out and perform this Saturday, it is going to put this city on the map having a fighter from the city coming up the way that I am.

“… That is what brought me to this position I’m in right now is because the specific pressure that comes with being a fighter. Things go really good or things go as bad as they possibly can. So for me to step into the octagon here in San Antonio and put everything that I’ve ever done and said on the line in front of everybody that I know, and everybody that knows me, is exactly what keeps me up every day and honestly keeps me up at night sometimes. So yes, the pressure is there. And the pressure is what keeps me improving.”

Check out Vergara’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

Video: UFC on ESPN 43 media day live stream, interviews

Watch Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 43 media day live from San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – The UFC is making its return to the great state of Texas, and they’re doing it with a pivotal bantamweight matchup leading the event.

Marlon Vera (20-7-1 MMA, 14-6 UFC) vs. Cory Sandhagen (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) headlines UFC on ESPN 43. On the co-main event of the card, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) takes on [autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC).

UFC on ESPN 43 takes place Saturday night at AT&T Center. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+. Below is the expected schedule for Wednesday’s media day (ET times):

  • 11:30 a.m. Cory Sandhagen
  • 12 p.m. [autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag]
  • 12:15 p.m. [autotag]Albert Duraev[/autotag]
  • 12:30 p.m. [autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]
  • 1 p.m. Yana Santos
  • 1:15 p.m. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]
  • 1:45 p.m. Marlon Vera
  • 1 p.m. [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]
  • 2:15 p.m. Holly Holm
  • 2:30 p.m. [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]
  • 2:45 p.m. [autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]
  • 3:15 p.m. [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]
  • 3:30 p.m. [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Dec. 12-18)

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 Dec. 12-18.

UFC targets Daniel da Silva vs. CJ Vergara for San Antonio event

Flyweights Daniel da Silva and CJ Vergara have verbally agreed to fight in San Antonio, MMA Junkie has learned.

Flyweights head to San Antonio, Texas.

Brazil’s [autotag]Daniel da Silva[/autotag] will enter enemy territory as he battles Texas’ [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag], pending bout finalization. Both parties have verbally agreed to fight at the UFC Fight Night event March 25, which takes place at AT&T Center.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Da Silva (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) searches for his first UFC win in his fourth attempt. An all-action fighter, da Silva has yet to go the distance in his pro MMA career. He was scheduled to fight Dec. 10 vs. Vinicius Salvador at UFC 282. However, the bout was scrapped due to weight issues with da Silva.

Vergara (10-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has one win sandwiched between two losses thus far in his promotional tenure. Following a loss to Ode Osbourne in his debut, Vergara defeated Kleydson Rodrigues. He most recently competed in October when he lost to Tatsuro Taira by submission.

With the addition, the UFC San Antonio lineup includes:

  • Maycee Barber vs. Andrea Lee
  • Albert Duraev vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • Daniel da Silva vs. CJ Vergara

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UFC Fight Night 212 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Main event nets $12k total

UFC Fight Night 212 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 212 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $151,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 212 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Misha Cirkunov[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mana Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Davis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Nick Maximov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Piera Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Pete Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mike Jackson[/autotag]: $4,500

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 2127 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2121 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,642,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,810,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.