Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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. 3-9.
The UFC recently signed the youngest fighter in company history. Here are the 17 fighters 23 years and under in the UFC.
When Dana White offered [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag] a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, he made history.
Rosas’ signing is impending, which will make him the youngest fighter in UFC history at just 17. He is also the only teenager on the roster and one of only 17 fighters 23 years old or younger.
Thirteen of said fighters have already made their promotional debuts, while Rosas and three other recent signees eagerly await their first UFC walks.
Scroll through the list below to see the 17 youngest fighters in the UFC.
Cory McKenna explains how she landed a historic submission finish at UFC on ESPN 40.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag] made history at UFC on ESPN 40.
McKenna (7-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) became the first woman in UFC history to earn a Von Flue choke submission when she tapped out Miranda Granger (7-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in Round 2 this past Saturday at the UFC Apex.
The Team Alpha MMA fighter talked reporters through the finish at the post-fight news conference.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I’m here, I’ll give it a try. Worst case I get out of her clinging onto my neck,'” McKenna told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “Then I heard her corner freaking out and I heard her breathing heavier and then she shouted at her corner, ‘I’m trying to get out,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, this is deep.’ Yeah, I’ve never finished a Von Flue before, so I was like this would be pretty cool.”
At just 23, McKenna, who is a graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, isn’t necessarily in a rush for a quick turnaround.
“It was only a round and a bit, but I’m sure there’s plenty to work on,” McKenna said. “There always is. So take at least a few weeks to work on the improvements that need to be made. I’ll sit down with the coaches and see what they offer us and have a look from there. But nothing really in mind as of yet, just gonna take things as they come.
“I’m very lucky to be where I’m at and that’s kind of why I want to take the time to enjoy it and really appreciate where I’m at right now.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 40.
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UFC on ESPN 40 was a historic card with all finishes, but Sam Alvey left with a dubious record attached to his name.
UFC opened its August schedule in historic fashion on Saturday. UFC on ESPN 40 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas featured a finish in all 10 fights.
The main event needed the additional rounds, however, because [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) battled with [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (22-11 MMA, 14-10 UFC) in the fourth frame before securing a TKO stoppage that continued to his rise in the light heavyweight division.
For more on the numbers behind the record-setting event, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 40.
UFC on ESPN 40 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 on ESPN 40 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $140,000.
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 40 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 40 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Juliana Miller[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brogan Walker[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Augusto Sakai[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Erick Gonzalez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Takashi Sato[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Miranda Granger[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/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 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 $40,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-40 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $5,393,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $11,560,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 40.
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Check out these photos from UFC on ESPN 40 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos from the fights at UFC on ESPN 40 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Fight and venue photos courtesy of the UFC via Getty Images)
Cory McKenna became the first female in UFC history to earn a submission victory by Von Flue choke at UFC on ESPN 40.
[autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag] earned the eighth Von Flue choke finish in UFC history on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 40.
McKenna (7-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who at 23 years old is the youngest female fighter on the UFC roster, got a finish with a rarely-utilized grappling technique against Miranda Granger (7-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in their strawweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The Welsh fighter overcame a 10-inch reach advantage by taking her opponent down all through the first round and into the second. Granger made a technical error defensively and allowed McKenna to lock in the submission and become the first female in UFC history to win by Von Flue choke.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
McKenna pulled off a Von Flue choke for the W 😲 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/QtpUq4iLB9
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 7, 2022
No question about that one @CoryMcKenna99 gets the second round submission 💪 pic.twitter.com/36LwC9NKgf
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2022
After the fight, McKenna was thrilled to put her name in the record books, and said she got tips on how to finish the Von Flue training with Team Alpha Male teammate Darren Elkins.
“I’ve never finished a Von Flue before in my life,” McKenna said in her post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I trapped her arm in my shoulder. I knew it was stuck. I got it bloody done, didn’t I?”
With the win, McKenna joins Jason Von Flue, Ovince Saint Preux, Jordan Rinaldi and Alonzo Menifield as the only fighters to win by Von Flue choke.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 40 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 40.
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 204, which saw a record-setting nine bonuses issued on a historic card.
The UFC put on one of the most memorable events in its storied history on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 204, which went down at The 02 in London and featured a remarkable nine finishes out of 12 bouts.
The show closed with a swift and decisive performance from [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who submitted fellow heavyweight contender [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] (34-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the first round of their fight to stay unbeaten inside the octagon.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 53 post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 204.
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 July 26-Aug. 1:
A strawweight bout between Cory McKenna and Emily Whitmire is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night on Sept. 18.
A strawweight bout between [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag] and [autotag]Emily Whitmire[/autotag] is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night on Sept. 18.
McKenna (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on Whitmire (4-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at a location and venue to be announced.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
McKenna, who inked a UFC deal on Dana White’s Contender Series, edged out Kay Hansen in her promotional debut in November 2020. The 21-year-old Team Alpha Male fighter suffered a torn ligament and broken right ankle in the win, which has forced her on the sidelines ever since.
Whitmire will also return after a significant time away from the octagon where she’ll look to snap a two-fight losing skid. After scoring two straight wins over Jamie Moyle and Aleksandra Albu, the Season 26 “The Ultimate Fighter” alum dropped back-to-back submission losses to Amanda Ribas and most recently Polyana Viana in August 2020. She was scheduled to face Sam Hughes at UFC Fight Night 186 in February but withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.
With the addition, the Sept. 18 lineup includes:
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