Tag: Clayton Carpenter

Clayton Carpenter wants Steve Erceg next after UFC Fight Night 244 submission

Clayton Carpenter stayed unbeaten in his return after a 20-month layoff and called out recent flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] beat Lucas Rocha with a second-round technical submission Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 244 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Carpenter, who stayed unbeaten in his return after a 20-month layoff and called out recent flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg for his next test.

Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha

Clayton Carpenter

Result: Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:12
Updated records: Carpenter (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), Rocha (17-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stats: Carpenter has four of his past five wins by stoppage, including back-to-back rear-naked chokes.

Carpenter on the fight’s key moment

Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha, UFC Fight Night 244

“As soon as I took the back, I felt like it was pretty sunk already before it was really under his chin. It took me a second to really get my second hand involved. I was trying to choke him out with one arm. I wanted to ‘Nate Diaz’ him – I wanted to choke him out with one arm like Nate Diaz and try to get the $50K (bonus), but I was like, I’ll probably just stick to the finish.”

Carpenter on his layoff and Steve Erceg

May 4, 2024; Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BRAZIL; Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) fights against Steve Erceg (blue gloves) during UFC 301 at Rio Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

“It was the roughest sh*t ever. I mean, I could give two f*cks if people forgot about me. But for me, it was bullsh*t. It felt like the biggest c*ck block of my life: I get in here, first-round sub, win my (UFC) debut, the next thing you know, I’m out. And I was supposed to fight f*cking Stephen Erceg. I was all hyped. He was ducking me the first few times, ducking me on (Dana White’s Contender Series) and postponed our second fight (booking). It was after that postponed that I had my stuff happen to me (and I was out).”

Carpenter on what he wants next

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: (L-R) Clayton Carpenter punches Lucas Rocha of Brazil in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“I’m going to talk to my coaches about that. I dealt with some adversity in this fight camp that I had to power through. I’m going to talk to my manager and talk with my generals and see what the best decision on that is. I am counting the days (for Erceg) … counting the days. (I) can’t wait”

To hear more from Carpenter, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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

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UFC Fight Night 244 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Brad Tavares gets $21,000 in record bout

UFC Fight Night 244 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 244 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,000.

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 Fight Night 244 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 244 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]JunYong Park[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sean Sharaf[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Julia Polastri[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Haddon[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Rocha[/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 $4,630; 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 $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-63 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,488,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,225,500

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

UFC Fight Night 244 bonuses: Grant Dawson makes wife’s badunkadunk co-star, but won’t go home with extra $50K

The UFC handed out four bonuses, but a lightweight who promised a title run and had a memorable mic moment was left out.

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card, but a lightweight who promised a title run, [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag], was left out of the mix.

Despite a brutal TKO finish on the main card and a bootylicious moment when he thanked his wife for her support – and “a dump truck you could bounce a quarter off of” – Dawson got no extra check for the mic-drop moment with his wife covering her face cageside.

After UFC Fight Night 244, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

Performance of the Night: Clayton Carpenter

Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha, UFC Fight Night 244

Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:12

[autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was fighting about 20 months after his UFC debut win, but it was evident his game plan was to take the fight to the canvas to outwork Lucas Rocha (17-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the canvas. After he cut him open in the first round and controlled him on the mat, he took him down again in the second and deftly locked in a rear-naked choke that put the Brazilian to sleep without a tap.

Performance of the Night: Ramazan Temirov

Ramazonbek Temirov def. CJ Vergara, UFC Fight Night 244

Ramazonbek Temirov def. CJ Vergara via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:50

The UFC’s flyweights might have a new problem on their hands in Uzbekistan’s [autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC). He stormed out in a hurry against CJ Vergara (12-6-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) and stayed on him for as long as the fight lasted, which was just past the halfway mark when he put him away, mercifully.

Fight of the Night: Brandon Royval def. Tatsuro Taira

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: (L-R) Brandon Royval punches Tatsuro Taira of Japan in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Brandon Royval def. Tatsuro Taira via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

In a flyweight instant classic, [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) truly went back and forth for 25 minutes with regular momentum shifts. But a late takedown for Royval in the fifth and several close submission attempts down the stretch may have sealed the deal for the recent title challenger to hand Taira the first loss of his career. Royval said afterward Taira is a future flyweight champion and he wants to help him get there. He wants another title shot next.

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UFC Fight Night 244 video: Clayton Carpenter cuts open Lucas Rocha before choking him out

After taking a 20-month layoff, Clayton Carpenter returned to action at UFC Fight Night 244 and scored a violent win against Lucas Rocha.

After taking a 20-month layoff in the aftermath of his octagon debut, [autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] returned to action Saturday at UFC Fight Night 244 and put on a violent performance against [autotag]Lucas Rocha[/autotag].

It was largely one-way traffic for Carpenter (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the flyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He got top position on Rocha (17-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the opening round and landed a big elbow to open up a nasty cut. Then, in the next frame, he took the back of his opponent and locked in a deep rear-naked choke for the technical submission finish at the 2:12 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of the overwhelming finish from Carpenter below (via X):

With the win, Carpenter keeps his undefeated record in tact, while Rocha fell short in his promotional debut.

“My performance was pretty on point,” Carpenter said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “It took me a second to get calibrated, but I did my thing.”

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

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 24-30)

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 24-30.

Clayton Carpenter calls out newcomer after first UFC win: ‘I’m down to roll him up and smoke him’

After his first promotional win at UFC Fight Night 219, Clayton Carpenter reciprocated a recent callout from a top Australian flyweight.

LAS VEGAS – Minutes after his first UFC win, [autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] set his sights on another.

A rising flyweight fighter out of the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., Carpenter (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated Juancamilo Ronderos (4-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in short order Saturday at UFC Fight Night 219, which took place at the UFC Apex.

Minutes later, a sunglasses-wearing Carpenter had his callout ready when he took the stage for his post-fight news conference and revealed he’d like to fight one of the newest members of the UFC roster.

“I think I want to call out [autotag]Stephen Erceg[/autotag],” Carpenter told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “He kind of got screwed … with getting his visa for the Dana White’s Contender Series fight (against me). After his last fight, he was calling me out, all cute. He’s just like, ‘I want Clayton.’ It was hilarious. I loved it. I’m down to roll him up and smoke him.”

Erceg and Carpenter were lined up to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. The bout never materialized when Erceg encountered visa issues. Earlier this month, Erceg was offered a UFC contract after chief business officer Hunter Campbell and matchmaker Mick Maynard attended Eternal MMA 73, which he headlined.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 31-Nov. 6)

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 Oct. 31-Nov. 6.

Fresh Ink: Meet the 32 fighters the UFC signed in August 2022

The UFC added 32 fighters to its roster last month. Find out who joined and learn more about them here.

The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.

Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, Dana White’s Contender Series signees, or the increasingly rare straight-up additions. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.

Scroll below to check out the 32 fighters the promotion inked in August 2022.

DWCS 49 winner Clayton Carpenter critical of his performance: ‘I consider it damn near a loss’

“I’m going for the kill and I didn’t get the finish and I consider it damn near a loss in my opinion.”

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] may now be a UFC fighter, but he’s not happy with his performance.

Carpenter’s entertaining back-and-forth battle with Edgar Chairez at Dana White’s Contender Series 49 on Tuesday left him with a black eye, but he was able to rally using his grappling to earn a hard-fought win and a UFC contract.

Carpenter (6-0) came into the fight having finished his past two opponents in less than a minute and was disappointed to let the judges get involved.

“I let it get a lot closer than it should have,” Carpenter told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the post-fight news conference. “I got a little impatient in there and started getting a little bit more frustrated than I should have, and I started pushing a little bit more than I should have. It’s whatever though – it’s all a learning experience.

“I’m going for the kill and I didn’t get the finish and I consider it damn near a loss, in my opinion.”

However, despite the harsh opinion on his performance, Carpenter knew it was enough to ink a UFC deal.

“I believe that I put on a good show,” Carpenter said. “I don’t really know what it looks like from the outside until I study the tape, but I felt like I put in an adequate performance and it gave me a lot to think about. I faced adversity in that first round. I got clipped with a shot that I didn’t even really feel, but it looks a lot worse than it felt.”

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LFA 119: Clayton Carpenter lands brutal 13-second head kick KO

Clayton Carpenter wasted no time bringing the violence Friday night at LFA 119.

[autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] wasted no time bringing the violence Friday night at LFA 119.

Once the opening bell rang, Carpenter closed the distance on his opponent, Rodney Kealohi, and then went straight for the finish, connecting on a head kick that stiffened Kealohi’s body instantly and sent him crashing to the canvas after just 13 seconds.

Carpenter got in one more shot before the referee pulled him off, but it wasn’t needed as Kealohi was out cold.

Check out the finish below (via Twitter):

Carpenter, 25, moved to 5-0 with four finishes as a professional, including three consecutive wins with LFA. This was the second head kick knockout of his career.