UFC veterans in MMA and bareknuckle action Feb. 16-17

Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC travels to Anaheim, Calif. for its second pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 298.

The event at the Honda Center features a featherweight title fight between champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Many other combat sports events are taking place that feature several familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Feb. 16-17.

Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

UFC veterans in MMA, boxing and bareknuckle action Feb. 24-25

Check out which veterans of the UFC are in MMA and boxing action this weekend across the globe.

The UFC is back in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 220. The event takes place at the UFC Apex, with a light heavyweight tilt between Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann.

Elsewhere, many other MMA events are taking place that feature familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

These 14 veterans of the global MMA leader are competing in MMA boxing this week from Feb. 24-25.

Check out the names and details about their bouts below.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

UFC parts ways with 12 fighters including Krzysztof Jotko, Misha Cirkunov, more

A dozen fighters are no longer on the UFC roster after a series of releases, retirements, and contract completions.

The UFC roster has been trimmed as a dozen fighters have parted ways with the promotion in the past three days.

While many of the departures were that of fighters who were two or three fights into their promotional tenure, two athletes with double digits in the promotion were among those to split.

News of the departures were first reported by algorithm-based Twitter account, UFC Roster Watch, which monitors the rankings-eligibility of the promotion’s roster.

Scroll below to read about the 12 fighters who are now free agents after leaving the UFC. The designation of each athlete’s departure, whether it be a release, a completion of contract, or a retirement, is unknown unless noted otherwise.

UFC 279 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Khamzat Chimaev nets $6,000

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 279 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $202,000.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 279 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $202,000.

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 279 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 279 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Macy Chiasson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Danyelle Wolf[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Darian Weeks[/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.

Year-to-date total: $6,171,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,338,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.

Yohan Lainesse def. Darian Weeks at UFC 279: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Yohan Lainesse’s split decision win over Darian Weeks at UFC 279 in Las Vegas.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]’s split decision win over [autotag]Darian Weeks[/autotag] at UFC 279 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports)

Photos: UFC 279 ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs

Check out these photos from the UFC 279 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos from the UFC 279 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas (Photos courtesy of Ken Hathaway – MMA Junkie)

Photos: UFC 279 official weigh-ins

Check out the photos from the UFC 279 official weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check out the photos from the UFC 278 official weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (Images by Ken Hathaway–MMA Junkie)

Former Glory champion Cedric Doumbe to make UFC debut in Paris

Cedric Doumbe is a UFC fighter after just two professional MMA bouts.

[autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] is a UFC fighter after just two professional MMA bouts.

Doumbe, a former Glory Kickboxing champion, will meet [autotag]Darian Weeks[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night on Sept. 3 at Accor Arena in Paris.

A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Sherdog was first to report the news.

Doumbe (2-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a two-time Glory welterweight champ, transitioned to MMA last October. The Cameroonian-born French fighter has won both his professional bouts by knockout.

Meanwhile, Weeks (5-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) will be in search of his first octagon win. The 28-year-old dropped unanimous decisions to Bryan Barberena and most recently Ian Garry at UFC 273 in April.

With the addition, the UFC Paris lineup includes:

  • Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
  • Marvin Vettori vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Joaquin Buckley vs. Nassourdine Imavov
  • Absupiyan Magomedov vs. Makhmud Muradov
  • Zarah Fairn vs. Ailin Perez
  • Alessio Di Chirico vs. Roman Kopylov
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. John Makdessi
  • Joel Alvarez vs. Magomed Mustafaev
  • Taylor Lapilus vs. Khalid Taha
  • Christos Giagos vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
  • Cedric Doumbe vs. Darrian Weeks

Ian Garry to fight Darian Weeks in second octagon appearance at UFC 273

What will Ian Garry have in store for a UFC encore?

[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag] officially has booked his second UFC fight.

Coming off a successful promotional debut, Garry will meet [autotag]Darian Weeks[/autotag] at UFC 273. On Saturday, the promotion announced the welterweight matchup set for April 9 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.

A former Cage Warriors champion, Garry (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made a splash in his UFC debut last November when he knocked out Jordan Williams in the closing seconds of the first round. Until that point, the 24-year-old Irish standout struggled, but he still got the job done in a big way to remain undefeated. Six of Garry’s eight career victories have been stoppages.

Weeks, 28, is 5-1 overall and coming off the first loss of his career after dropping a unanimous decision to Bryan Barberena this past December at UFC on ESPN 31.

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The current UFC 273 lineup includes:

  • Champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung – for featherweight title
  • Champion Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan – for bantamweight title
  • Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd
  • Pat Sabatini vs. Gavin Tucker
  • Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
  • Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov
  • Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
  • Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos
  • Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
  • Chris Curtis vs. Dricus Du Plessis
  • Albert Duraev vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks

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Bryan Barberena draws late replacement Darian Weeks at UFC on ESPN 31

Bryan Barberena will welcome short-notice replacement Darian Wells to the octagon at UFC on ESPN 31 on Saturday.

[autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag] will indeed fight on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 31.

After original opponent Matt Brown was forced to withdraw from the event due to a positive COVID-19 test, [autotag]Darian Weeks[/autotag] has agreed to step in and fight Barberena in a welterweight bout.

The UFC announced the new matchup between Barberena (15-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) and Weeks (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) following an initial report from MMA journalist Marcel Dorff.

UFC on ESPN 31 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Barberena, 32, has just one victory in his past four fights. Two of those performances, unanimous decision losses to Vicente Luque and Jason Witt, won “Fight of the Night.” Four of his six UFC wins have ended inside the distance.

Weeks, 28, meanwhile, will attempt to add to his undefeated record in a short-notice debut. He hasn’t competed since LFA 99 in February, but has finished his opponent in all of his career victories thus far.

The latest UFC on ESPN 31 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo
  • Rafael Fiziev vs. Brad Riddell
  • Clay Guida vs. Leonardo Santos
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill
  • Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis
  • Bryan Barberena vs. Darian Weeks

Preliminary ESPN, ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET Edit Delete

  • Maki Pitolo vs. Dusko Todorovic
  • Manel Kape vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
  • Jake Matthews vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Mallory Martin vs. Cheyanne Vlismas
  • William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Claudio Puelles
  • Azamat Murzakanov vs. Jared Vanderaa
  • Mickey Gall vs. Alex Morono
  • Vince Morales vs. Louis Smolka

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