UFC 308 loses bantamweight fight days before event

UFC 308 has lost a fight three days out from the event.

UFC 308 fight week began with one more fight than it has now.

The bantamweight bout between [autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag] has been canceled, the promotion confirmed Wednesday. The card will continue with 13 bouts, which take place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.

Santos (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was “removed” from the bout according to the UFC, though no specific reason for the removal was cited. It’s Santos’ second-straight withdrawal.

Though he hasn’t competed since June 2023, Santos currently rides a two-fight winning streak consisting of victories over John Castaneda and Johnny Munoz.

Nurmagomedov (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has not competed since October 2023 when he bounced back into the win column with a 73-second submission victory over Muin Gafurov.

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With the removal, the UFC 308 fight card includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 2 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
  • Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
  • Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
  • Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 10 a.m. ET)

  • Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
  • Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
  • Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
  • Chris Barnett vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
  • Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
  • Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
  • Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
  • Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

UFC 308 adds Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos

One of the deepest UFC cards of 2024 just got deeper.

UFC 308 continues to deepen.

The most recent addition is a three-round bantamweight bout. [autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag] at the Oct. 26 pay-per-view event at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, the promotion recently announced.

Nurmagomedov (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will return almost exactly one year to the date from his previous fight. His most recent appearance was a 73-second submission win over Muin Gafurov on Oct. 21, 2023. The victory moved him to 4-1 in his most recent five.

Santos (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) aims to extend his winning streak to three after consecutive victories against John Castaneda and Johnny Munoz.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1836375366983635237

With the addition, the UFC 308 fight card includes:

  • Champion Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
  • Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
  • Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
  • Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
  • Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
  • Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
  • Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
  • Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
  • Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
  • Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
  • Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Justin Tafa
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

Adrian Yanez’s ideal return: Daniel Santos or John Castaneda at Noche UFC

Adrian Yanez would like to fight Daniel Santos or John Castaneda at Noche UFC on Sept. 14.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] wants to honor his Mexican heritage by partaking in the second annual Noche UFC event.

The UFC bantamweight is looking to compete on the card that celebrates Mexican Independence Day, and he already has a couple of names in mind for that potential opportunity.

“Daniel Santos or John Castañeda,” Yanez told MMA Junkie Radio on radio row at UFC X. “That gym has been calling me out, so I would like to take that fight. Also, Daniel Santos because he’s been calling me out.”

Yanez (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was recently called out by the hot prospect Payton Talbott after his victory at UFC 303. Speaking to MMA Mania, Yanez addressed the callout, saying he’d be down to fight him.

Noche UFC goes down on Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas. It’s been a highly requested card to compete in given its venue, which UFC CEO Dana White has hyped up to be one of the greatest combat sports event in history.

“Oh, man. I would do that all day, every day,” Yanez said regarding a potential fight at Noche UFC. “If they gave me the opportunity, I would take that opportunity and run with it. Fight there, so I could be the very first fight … get in, get out and then watch everything else. I don’t know, it would be fun. I would like to.”

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 9-15)

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. 9-15.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 28-Sept. 3)

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 Aug. 28-Sept. 3.

Daniel Santos wants Adrian Yanez for rumored UFC Sao Paulo card, Yanez responds

Daniel Santos is ready for a fight against a ranked UFC opponent, and he wants it in his home country.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag] is ready for a ranked opponent, and he wants it in his home country.

Santos (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) defeated Johnny Munoz via unanimous decision this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 45 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Training out of Chute Boxe Diego Lima alongside former champion Charles Oliveira, Santos hopes to land on the rumored Brazil card in Sao Paulo in November.

“I want to fight as soon as possible,” Santos told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter. “To be honest, I would love fighting next week with my brother Charles Oliveira, but I know it’s probably not gonna happen. I’m gonna be ready whenever the UFC wants me to fight. I’ve heard some rumors that UFC is going back to Sao Paulo in November, and it would be a dream to fight there because I live there.”

Santos is eyeing [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who’s coming off his first octagon loss to Rob Font in April.

“Right now when I was checking, there’s one guy in the rankings, Adrian Yanez, and I want to be in the rankings,” Santos said. “So, I think it would be a good name to fight there in Sao Paulo.

Yanez responded, but would rather fight much sooner.

“Let’s go July or August,” he tweeted. “… “Not trying to wait around. I waited a year just to fight. Can’t do that again.”

 

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

UFC on ESPN 45 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $18 million

UFC on ESPN 45 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 45 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $199,500.

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 on ESPN 45 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 45 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Jesse Butler[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Johnny Munoz[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Luan Lacerda[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maxim Grishin[/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 $45,000 while title challengers get $45,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-45 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,414,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,003,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

UFC on ESPN 45 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 45 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 45 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 224 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 30-Feb. 5)

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 Jan. 30-Feb. 5.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for October: A bloody Bellator brawl

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from October 2022.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from October 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for October.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees