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Check out the best photos from Cody Brundage’s first-round knockout win over Zach Reese at UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]’s first-round knockout win over [autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photos by Dustin Safranek, USA TODAY Sports)
UFC Austin will forever be remembered as the first UFC card to feature slam knockouts in back-to-back fights, courtesy of Cody Brundage.
AUSTIN, Texas – UFC on ESPN 52 now forever will be remembered as the first card in the promotion’s history to feature slam knockouts in back-to-back fights.
After Drakkar Klose scored a violent slam out of an armbar one fight prior, [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] followed up with a moment of his own when he escaped a triangle choke attempt from [autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag] in their middleweight bout at Moody Center.
It was shades of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Ricardo Arona from PRIDE when Brundage (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) gripped the arm of his opponent, hoisted him in the air then powered him into the mat. Reese (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was badly hurt, and Brundage postered up to land a few more shots to force the knockout stoppage at the 1:49 mark of Round 1.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):
Another one! Crazy. pic.twitter.com/z9iTA88O3k
— MS (@UFC_Obsessed) December 2, 2023
ANOTHER SLAM KO 😬#UFCAUSTIN pic.twitter.com/QvcQAa4LtW
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 2, 2023
Although he was on a high after the much-needed win, Brundage quickly came back down to earth during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. He revealed a loss in his family throughout fight week, and has to overcome that mental obstacle to get his hand raised.
“I keep falling short (in my fights),” Brundage said. “This one obviously did it. My grand dad passed away on Wednesday, so this has been a bad week. But I got it done.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 52 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
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 or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 30-Nov. 5.
Analysis of the biggest UFC Fight Night 228 storylines, from Bryce Mitchell’s post-fight scene to the legitimacy of Mateusz Gamrot’s win.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 228 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
* * * *
UFC Fight Night 228 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 228 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $164,500.
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 228 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 228 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Michelle Waterson-Gomez[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]A.J. Fletcher[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Mizuki Inoue[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Hannah Goldy[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Montserrat Rendon[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/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 2281 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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $6,294,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,883,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.
Jacob Malkoun was en route to victory at UFC Fight Night 228 before he threw and landed an illegal strike that got him disqualified.
[autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag] made a massive tactical error at UFC Fight Night 228, and as a result [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] was the one to get the victory.
Malkoun (7-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) was disqualified in the opening round of the middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when he landed an illegal blow to the back of Brundage’s (9-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) head. The fight was immediately halted after referee Mark Smith witnessed the forearm/elbow from Malkoun, and the review process began.
After the Nevada Athletic Commission and Smith reviewed the replay and confirmed the location of the strike, Brundage eventually said he couldn’t continue. That brought an end to the contest, and Brundage got the disqualification win. Smith’s choices were to either disqualify Malkoun for an intentional illegal strike, or call it unintentional – and rule it a no contest.
Check out the replay of the fight-ending shot below (via X):
Jacob Malkoun lands an elbow to the back of Cody Brundage pic.twitter.com/u81vUu3Jv1
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) September 23, 2023
Brundage refused to let the referee raise his hand when the fight result was announced, and he left the octagon in clear disappointment as Factory X coach Mark Montoya consoled him.
Due to illegal strikes to the back of the head, @CodyBrundage185 gets the win via DQ. #UFCVegas79 pic.twitter.com/hgimqeuK9m
— UFC (@ufc) September 23, 2023
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.
Check out what the UFC Fight Night 228 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 228 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex.
You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 228 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.
The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 228, which features multiple fighters on three-fight losing skids.
The UFC closes its September schedule ahead of a rare off week on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 228, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a lineup that streams entirely on ESPN+.
Lightweight contenders clash in the main event. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will meet in a high-stakes lightweight bout scheduled for five rounds.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 228.
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 or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 4-10.
Josh Emmett and Justin Tafa suffered graphic injuries at UFC on ABC 5 and are among those suspended indefinitely by the Florida commission.
UFC on ABC 5 took place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. and featured 13 fights.
There were back-and-forth battles, knockouts, an eye gouge, and a submission. Through these fights, the athletes involved sustained injuries that will put them on the shelf for some time, unless cleared by a doctor.
Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a list of athlete medical suspensions from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), the sanctioning body that oversaw the event. The DBPR does not disclose injury specifics, but does show the durations of the suspension.
Atop the card, [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] proved he’s a premiere contender when he dominated [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] en route to a unanimous decision, including a rare 10-7 scorecard. The two headliners were suspended indefinitely by DBPR afterward.
Seven fighters total were handed indefinite suspensions, while two were handed terms of specific durations and the rest of the card was cleared on fight night. Fighters are permitted to return prior to the end of their assigned durations if they are cleared by a doctor.
Scroll below to see the suspensions for the full UFC on ABC 5 card.
