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Check out these photos from the UFC on ABC 3 ceremonial weigh-ins.
Check out these photos from the UFC on ABC 3 ceremonial weigh-ins which took place at the UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. (Photos courtesy of Gregory Payan, AP Images)
UFC Fight Night 205 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 205 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $149,500.
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 205 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 205 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lando Vannata[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Sergey Khandozhko[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cameron Else[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Evan Elder[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mike Jackson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dean Barry[/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 2057 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2051 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $2,470,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $8,638,000
UFC Fight Night 196 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 196 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $157,500.
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 196 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 196 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Gregor Rodrigues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]David Onama[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Laureano Staropoli[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Khama Worthy[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jeff Molina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel da Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Livinha Souza[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zviad Lazishvili[/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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $4,489,000
Program-to-date total: $4,489,000
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Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 195 odds and lines between Francisco Trinaldo vs. Dwight Grant, with MMA picks, tips and predictions.
In a welterweight bout on the main card, Francisco Trinaldo meets Dwight Grant Saturday at UFC Fight Night 196 – also known as UFC Vegas 41 and UFC on ESPN+ 54 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. Below, we analyze the UFC Fight Night 196 Trinaldo vs. Grant odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The card can be viewed on ESPN+ with the prelims at 1 p.m. ET and the main card at 4 p.m. ET.
Trinaldo is looking to bounce back from a unanimous-decision loss to Muslim Salikhov his last time out in June. That loss snapped a three-bout win streak. Trinaldo has gone the distance in four of his past five bouts.
Grant hits the octagon with three victories across his last four UFC fights, including a split-decision win over Stefan Sekulic at UFC 261 April 24. Three of his last five fights have gone the distance, all three resulting in split decisions.
Grant, a.k.a. “The Body Snatcher”, has a huge six-inch reach advantage and stands four inches taller than his Brazilian counterpart.
Odds via Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:08 a.m. ET.
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Records: Trinaldo (26-8-0) | Grant (11-3-0)
GRANT (+117) heads into this one with the physical attributes, now can he make them work for him? It’s worth the risk to find out.
He should be able to keep Trinaldo at a distance with that giant reach advantage, and as long as Grant avoids going to the mat he should be OK. Trinaldo has a distinct advantage if he gets the American to the canvas early.
YES (-160): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCES? is the lean here. I think Grant gets it done, but not without having to wow the judges. He’ll do just that if he can keep the fight upright and rock Trinaldo with big punches.
As such, I also like GRANT ON POINTS (+275) for the Method of Victory and a chance to earn more than two and a half times your initial stake.
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Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 196 main event with Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa at light heavyweight.
| Costa vs. Vettori |
Dawson vs. Glenn |
Clark vs. Edwards |
Caceres vs. Choi |
Grant vs. Trinaldo |
Negumereanu vs. Villanueva |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 167-97 |
 Costa (57%) |
 Dawson (87%) |
 Clark (75%) |
 Choi (50.1%) |
 Trinaldo (63%) |
 Negumereanu (77%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 172-92 |
 Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 166-98 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
 Edwards |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 164-100 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Edwards |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 161-103  2020 Champion |
Vettori |
 Glenn |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
 Villanueva |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 160-104 2018 Champion |
Costa |
Dawson |
Edwards |
Choi |
 Grant |
Negumereanu |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 160-104 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 159-105 2014 Champion |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
 Caceres |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 155-109 2017 Champion |
Costa |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 154-110 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Edwards |
Caceres |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 153-111 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Caceres |
Grant |
Negumereanu |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 151-113 |
Costa |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 150-115 |
Costa |
Dawson |
Clark |
Choi |
Trinaldo |
Negumereanu |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 90-58 |
Vettori |
Dawson |
Clark |
Caceres |
Grant |
Negumereanu |
The UFC stays home in Las Vegas this week with a key middleweight matchup atop the card – thought it won’t be at that weight class.
UFC Fight Night 196 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (17-4-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) in a fight between the most recent two middleweight title challengers. They both lost to champion Israel Adesanya. But this fight won’t be at middleweight thanks to Costa’s failure to make weight. They’ll fight at 205 pounds after Costa came into fight week heavy and intially asked for a catchweight. Vettori is a -185 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Costa is +140. Our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Vettori with a 9-4 picks lead.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is the biggest favorite on the card at -420 in his lightweight fight against [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC). He’s a near-unanimous pick from our staff members at 12-1.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight bout. Clark is a -160 favorite, and she’s got a sizable 9-4 picks lead.
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (18-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC) meets [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Choi nearly is a 3-1 favorite, and he’s up big in the picks at 9-4.
It’s a close fight at the betting window between welterweights [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and [autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC). Trinaldo is just a -135 favorite, but he’s got a big 10-3 edge in the picks.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is a -230 favorite at light heavyweight against [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag] (18-12 MMA, 1-3 UFC). He’s a near-unanimous pick at 12-1 from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Costa (57 percent), Dawson (87 percent), Clark (75 percent), Choic (50.1 percent), Trinaldo (63 percent) and Negumereanu (77 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
A welterweight matchup between a pair of fighters with a penchant for the exciting has been added to UFC 261.
A welterweight matchup between a pair of fighters with a penchant for the exciting has been added to UFC 261.
Promotion officials recently announced that [autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag] faces [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] on the card, which takes place April 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The night’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Brown and Oliveira were initially scheduled to meet in February, but “Rude Boy” was forced to withdraw from the card. Oliveira was then scheduled to face Ramazan Kuramagomedov on short notice, but the replacement opponent was also ultimately unable to compete, and the bout was scrapped altogether.
UFC 261 marks the return of fans at full capacity for the promotion, which has operated largely behind closed doors since March 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional bouts announced for the blockbuster event – which features a trio of title fights in the night’s headlining contests – include lightweights [autotag]Kazula Vargas[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Rong Zhu[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), welterweights [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Stefan Sekulic[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and strawweights [autotag]Ariane Carnelossi[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. [autotag]Na Liang[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
Brown (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) fought most recently in August, suffering a second-round knockout loss to Vicente Luque. Prior to the setback, Brown had picked up a “Performance of the Night” win over Warlley Alves and a third-round TKO of Bryan Barberena.
Meanwhile, “Cowboy” Oliveira (22-9-1 MMA, 11-7 UFC) looks to rebound from a UFC 254 loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov this past October. Before that defeat, Ooliveira had scored decision wins over Peter Sobotta and Max Griffin.
With the addition to the cards, the UFC 261 lineup now includes:
UFC 256 is down a fighter after Dwight Grant tested positive for COVID-19.
[autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] won’t be fighting Saturday night.
According to an Instagram post by Grant (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) on Monday, his UFC 256 fight vs. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag] was canceled after he recently tested positive for COVID-19.
The promotion has not yet made official announcements pertaining to Grant’s removal nor a replacement opponent for Jingliang (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC).
“Hey, what’s up everyone?” Grant wrote. “I gotta give y’all some bad news, I’m not going to be fighting this weekend. My last Covid 19 test came back positive but Luckily the symptoms haven’t been severe. This news hit especially hard because of all the hard work and excitement I have for this fight. It’s out of my control so (I’m) not going to try not to dwell on it too much, but to call it disappointing is an understatement.”
Check out Grant’s full Instagram post below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIg0hONpuIk/?igshid=a5kws42c8tlp
UFC 256 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.
The latest UFC 256 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMS (ESPN2/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
EARLY PRELIMS (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
An intriguing welterweight matchup is being planned for the big December show in Las Vegas.
It appears an interesting welterweight clash will go down in Las Vegas on Dec. 12.
[autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag] has been targeted, though not yet signed, for UFC 256 at the UFC Apex. MMA Junkie confirmed an initial report by MMA Fighting.
The veteran Jingliang (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) is looking to rebound from his first loss in awhile, which was a unanimous decision loss to Neil Magny at UFC 248. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for the 32-year-old Beijing native.
Grant (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC), meanwhile, is also looking to shake off a loss in his last outing. The former Contender Series competitor suffered a first-round KO at the hands of Daniel Rodriguez.
UFC 256’s main event has not yet been named, although a title fight between women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson has already been announced for the card.
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UFC on ESPN 15 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 15 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $88,000.
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 15 took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 15 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $20,000
[autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Shana Dobson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Mizuki Inoue[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Austin Hubbard[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Joseph Solecki[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Carlton Minus[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Timur Valiev[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Trevin Jones[/autotag]: $3,500
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’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 $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
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 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $4,052,000
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $35,056,500
Wow, what a comeback from Daniel Rodriguez to win his third UFC fight of 2020.
[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] came out on the winning end of a wild one-round fight with [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 15.
In an action-packed welterweight bout that’s likely to hold up as a “Round of the Year” contender, Rodriguez (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) produced a thrilling rally against Grant (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) for the first-round TKO at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Grant came out of the gate extremely strong and hurt Rodriguez badly. He was swarming, causing referee Chris Tognoni to vocalize multiple warnings to keep moving. Rodriguez did enough to stay in it, then when he got back up, the momentum changed.
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Rodriguez landed a hard shot that staggered Grant then applied the pressure. He landed multiple powerful shots against Grant, who tried to persevere. He couldn’t keep upright from a final strike, though, and the referee stepped in at the 2:24 mark of Round 1 to conclude a thrilling affair.
Check out the replay below (via Twitter):
On the verge of being put away earlier in the round, Daniel Rodriguez comes back and knocks out Dwight Grant 🤯 #UFCVegas7 pic.twitter.com/3GWwoh1pqK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 23, 2020
With the win, Rodriguez joined Merab Dvalishvili and Youssef Zalal as the lone fighters to win three times in the UFC in 2020.
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