Tag: Da Woon Jung

GFL draft results: Former UFC champions surprise with unexpected entries

Check out the GFL Draft results and see which of the hottest free agents and MMA legends were selected to compete in the inaugural year.

It’s not every day there’s an MMA draft, but Friday there was

The 2025 GFL Draft took place virtually with a live stream on MMA Junkie. Six teams, each representing a major city, drafted from a pool of approximately 500 fighters, including big-name free agents and rising prospects.

One-hundred-twenty athletes were be selected across 10 weight classes (heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, women’s bantamweight, women’s strawweight, and women’s atomweight). However, the weight classes are divided slightly differently than the traditional weight classes. The promotion says it’s an effort to combat weight cutting.

Click here to see which fighters are eligible for the draft.

The six teams are managed and coached by MMA notables, as follows: Dubai (manager Cain Velasquez and coach Javier Mendez); London (manager Luke Barnatt and coach Carl Prince); Los Angeles (manager Wanderlei Silva and coach Rafael Cordeiro); Miami (manager Thiago Alves and coach Conan Silveira); New York (manager TBA and coach Ray Longo); and Sao Paulo (manager Lyoto Machida and coach Andre Pederneiras.

While a specific date has yet to be revealed, the promotion says it will launch in April with regular season, semi-finals, and finals events held throughout the year.

The 2025 GFL Draft results are as follows:

Round 1

  • Pick 1 (Team Dubai): Tyron Woodley
  • Pick 2 (Team Los Angeles): Sage Northcutt
  • Pick 3 (Team London): Gegard Mousasi
  • Pick 4 (Miami): Junior Dos Santos
  • Pick 5 (Sao Paulo): Fabricio Werdum
  • Pick 6 (New York): Kevin Lee

Round 2

  • Pick 7 (New York): Chris Weidman
  • Pick 8 (Sao Paulo): Douglas Lima
  • Pick 9 (Miami): Anthony Pettis
  • Pick 10 (London): Alexander Gustafsson
  • Pick 11 (Los Angeles): Aspen Ladd
  • Pick 12 (Dubai): Abubakar Nurmagomedov

Round 3

  • Pick 13 (Dubai): Derek Brunson
  • Pick 14 (Los Angeles): Tony Ferguson
  • Pick 15 (London): Josefine Knutsson
  • Pick 16 (Miami): Yoel Romero
  • Pick 17 (Sao Paulo): Carlos Petruzzella
  • Pick 18 (New York): Holly Holm

Round 4

  • Pick 19 (New York): Melissa Amay
  • Pick 20 (Sao Paulo): Camilia Reynoso
  • Pick 21 (Miami): Natasha Kuizutina
  • Pick 22 (London): Brett Johns
  • Pick 23 (Los Angeles): Urijah Faber
  • Pick 24 (Dubai): Ali Isaev

Full team reveal (following Round 5):

Team Dubai

  • [autotag]Anastasia Nikolakakos[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Jessica Aguilar[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Faine Mesquita[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Randi Field[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Alexa Conners[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Farbod Iran Nezhad[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Timur Valiev[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Adilet Nurmatov[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Khumoyun Tukhtamurodov[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ali Isaev[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Todd Duffee[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team Los Angeles

  • [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Leslie Smith[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Ray Borg[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Tyler Diamond[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Louis Glismann[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Grant Neal[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Rashad Evans[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Frank Mir[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team London

  • [autotag]Chiara Penco[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Kelly Staddon[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Josefine Knutsson[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Karolina Owczarz[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Cameron Else[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Josh Hill[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Norman Parke[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Stuart Austin[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team Miami

  • [autotag]Kayla Hracho[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Natasha Kuziutina[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Hannah Goldy[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Eric Shelton[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Andre Harrison[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Dilano Taylor[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team Sao Paulo

  • [autotag]Joice Mara[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Pamela Mara[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Camila Reynoso[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Paula Bittencourt[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Renan Barao[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Maike Linhares[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Lucas Martins[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Carlos Petruzzella[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Alan Patrick[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team New York

  • [autotag]Bi Nguyen[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Marisa Messer-Belenchia[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Melissa Amaya[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Miao Ding[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Zviad Lazishvili[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Lance Palmer[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Kai Kamaka III[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Phillip Hawes[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] (heavyweight)

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:

* * * *

[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 293 post-event facts: Sean Strickland starts a new era at 185 pounds

The best facts to come out of UFC 293, which saw Sean Strickland force a changing of the guard with his title win over Israel Adesanya.

The UFC’s return to Sydney after nearly six years produced one of the most shocking main event results of the year as the middleweight title changed hands at Qudos Bank Arena.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) closed out UFC 293 with a massive unanimous decision upset of [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) to take the belt and force a reset at the top of the middleweight rankings.

For more on the numbers from the title bout, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 293.

* * * *

UFC 293 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean Strickland gets $32,000 for title win

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 293 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,000.

SYDNEY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 293 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,000.

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 293 took place at Qudos Bank Arena in Australia. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 293 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Austen Lane[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chepe Mariscal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jack Jenkins[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Landon Quinones[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Blood Diamond[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Gabriel Miranda[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shane Young[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/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 $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: $5,944,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,533,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

UFC 293 results: Carlos Ulberg awarded submission win after review of missed tap

It took a review after the final horn, but Carlos Ulberg earned his first submission victory in the final UFC 293 preliminary bout.

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] was getting his hand raised after the final horn sounded at UFC 293, but the method of victory was changed after review from the cageside officials.

In the final preliminary bout of UFC 293 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) picked Da Woon Jung (15-5-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) apart over the course of three rounds. In the closing seconds of the final round, Ulberg locked in a rear-naked choke that forced a tap. However, referee Herb Dean missed the tap, and the fight reached the final horn.

It was a solid display from Ulberg throughout the majority of the fight. He displayed his typical sharp striking and smooth movement about the cage, despite a few good moments from Jung, who proved he would not be an easy out. The fight belonged to Ulberg though, who won the first two rounds on the official judges’ scorecards and was winning Round 3.

While Ulberg thought he may have been getting his hand raised as the winner by unanimous decision, the cageside officials reviewed footage of the submission attempt, and determined Jung tapped from the rear-naked choke with 11 seconds remaining in the fight. Jung’s tapping hand was tough for Dean to see due to the fighters’ position on the ground close to the cage.

Ultimately, Ulberg now has a submission win on his record. Perhaps more importantly, he extended his winning streak to five straight and set his eyes on a step up in competition.

During his post-fight interview, Ulberg called out former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes for a future showdown.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 293 include:

[vertical-gallery id=2678080]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

UFC 293’s Carlos Ulberg: Da Woon Jung a ‘dangerous opponent’ despite losing skid

Carlos Ulberg is surprised to draw Da Woon Jung, but he’s not taking him lightly.

SYDNEY – [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] is surprised to draw [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag], but he’s not taking him lightly.

Ulberg (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) faces Da Woon Jung (15-4-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout Saturday. Ulberg is on a four-fight winning streak, whereas Jung will look to rebound from back-to-back losses.

City Kickboxing’s Ulberg still views Jung as a complete martial artist who’s a threat. He anticipates either a bloody war, or an easy night in the office – just like his past three fights which all ended in the first round. He sees a win over Jung catapulting his career to the next level.

Ulberg talked about that and more at Wednesday’s UFC 293 media day in Sydney.

Check out the full interview in the video above. UFC 293 takes place Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 5-11)

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 a promotion from June 5-11.