Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Check out all the facts from UFC Sao, which saw Jailton Almeida log a record amount of ground control time over Derrick Lewis in the main event.
The UFC’s return to Sao Paulo after more than four years proved to be a forgettable one on Saturday, with UFC Fight Night 231 seeing six of 10 bouts go the distance with three canceled fights in the 48 hours leading up.
One of the fights go to the scorecards was the main event, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) earned a lopsided but somewhat underwhelming unanimous decision over [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) to remain undefeated in heavyweight competition.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 231.
UFC Fight Night 231 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
SAO PAULO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 231 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $145,000.
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 Fight Night 231 took place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Brazil. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 231 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Eudarda Moura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Montserrat Conejo[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Kaue Fernandes[/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 2311 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: $7,033,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,552,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.
Check out the best photos from Rinat Fakhretdinov and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos’ majority draw at UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag] and [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]’ majority draw at UFC Fight Night 231 at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. (Photos by Jason da Silva, USA TODAY Sports)
The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 231, where Derrick Lewis looks to build on his knockout record with another main event.
The UFC returns to Sao Paulo for the first time in nearly four years on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 231, which takes place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera and streams on ESPN+.
Heavyweight contenders will clash in the main event. Surging contender [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) meets two-time title challenger [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) in a five-round bout.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 231.
* * * *
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 Aug. 14-20.
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos knew he had done enough to get his hand raised at UFC on ESPN 45.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] knew he had done enough to get his hand raised at UFC on ESPN 45.
Zaleski dos Santos (24-7 MMA, 10-3 UFC) returned after serving a one-year suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to squeak past [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] by split decision in this past Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Nurmagomedov was only 1-for-8 in his takedown attempts as the Brazilian was able to fend off his grappling and outstrike him overall in the fight.
“I knew what I had done to win this,” Zaleski dos Santos told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter. “I thought I was more aggressive. I had more significant strikes. What he came to do was actually stall against the fence, and I was pretty confident about it.”
Zaleski dos Santos, who is expecting a baby girl within days, is ready to book his next fight. He has two welterweights in mind.
“As soon as possible,” Zaleski dos Santos said of his next fight. “Just want to go back home, my daughter is scheduled for the 10th (of June), so pretty soon. There are a couple of names that I mentioned: Gunnar Nelson and Neil Magny. I want to fight them as soon as possible. Hey, UFC, just make that happen, and I’ll be right back.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
Check out the facts and stats to come out of UFC on ESPN 45, where Jim Miller continued to stack historic figures on his resume.
The UFC opened a non-stop schedule of summer events on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 45, which took place at the promotion’s home base of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The main event saw [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) remain undefeated inside the octagon and take the next step as a flyweight contender when he edged [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) by split decision.
There were a number of other noteworthy results on the card. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 45.
* * * *
[lawrence-related id=2646818,2646356]
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.
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.
