Tag: Felipe Lima

Felipe Lima, 2-0 at featherweight, makes bantamweight title plan after UFC Tampa

Felipe Lima moved to 2-0 at featherweight in just a few months after his win at UFC on ESPN 63.

TAMPA, Fla. – [autotag]Felipe Lima[/autotag] moved to 2-0 at featherweight in just a few months after his win at UFC on ESPN 63.

But the 145-pound division probably doesn’t have a new prospect on its hands. Instead, after his win over Miles Johns (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) on Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., Lima (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) said his plan is to move back to bantamweight – where he wants to win a title.

“I want to take my time, of course,” Lima said at his post-fight news conference. “We’re going to say yes to all the (names) that come. We’re going to be right for everything and let it flow. (Whatever name) comes, we’re going to grab it.

“One day I’ll move up, but right now I’m ’35. My goal is to be a bantamweight champion one day.”

Lima was the Oktagon MMA bantamweight champion when he signed with the UFC earlier this year for a short-notice fight against Muhammad Naimov after Melsik Baghdasaryan pulled out. That fight was at featherweight, and Lima jumped at the chance to get into the UFC even at the higher weight.

He took advantage of the opportunity in a big way with a third-round submission and a $50,000 post-fight bonus award. The follow-up was Johns’ move to featherweight after a pair of bantamweight bouts against ex-champ Cody Garbrandt were scrapped, but he ran into a tough out in Lima – who said he wants to keep moving up, particularly now that he’s felt some international love outside Brazil.

“By the end of the 2025, I want to finish in the top 10, top 11. That’s my goal. Doesn’t matter (who I fight) – who’s above? I want to fight them.

“It feels amazing to be in UFC, especially because it’s my first time in America. Fighting here is something else. The American fans, they were great. They were super nice and they have a great energy. I was walking on street to get some fresh air. (Fans) stopped me. I felt so much love.”

Check out Lima’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

UFC on ESPN 63 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total tops $8.2 million

With 2024 a wrap for the UFC, see a breakdown of how much money was paid under the Promotional Guidelines Compliance program.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 63 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $208,500.

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 63 took place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The card aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 63 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Navajo Stirling[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tuco Tokkos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Ottman Azaitar[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Sean Woodson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Felipe Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Piera Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Josefine Knutsson[/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 $4,630; 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 $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-63 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $8,280,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $31,017,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

Felipe Lima def. Miles Johns at UFC Tampa: Best photos

Check out these photos highlighting Felipe Lima’s unanimous decision win over Miles Johns at UFC on ESPN 63.

Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]Felipe Lima[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over Miles Johns at UFC on ESPN 63 from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. (Photos by Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images)

UFC on ABC 6 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Ikram Aliskerov gets $4,000 in main event save

UFC on ABC 6 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ABC 6 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,000.

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 ABC 6 took place Saturday at Kingdom Arena. The main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC on ABC 6 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Antonio Trocoli[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Felipe Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Magomed Gadzhiyasulov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]ChangHo Lee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Xiao Long[/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 $40,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-40 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,637,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,374,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.

UFC on ABC 6 video: Felipe Lima shocks Muhammad Naimov with late finish on short notice

Felipe Lima got a motivation speech from his corner going into the final round against Muhammad Naimov UFC on ABC 6, and it worked.

[autotag]Felipe Lima[/autotag] got a motivation speech from his corner going into the final round of his debut against [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] at UFC on ABC 6, then he went out and got a finish.

After stepping in as a late replacement for the featherweight fight with Naimov (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Lima (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was putting on a competitive fight over the course of three rounds, but had no assurances of where he stood on the scorecards.

His corner told him to push for the finish for his mother, who he hadn’t seen in nearly two years. He took advantage of an opportunity to take his opponent’s back and got the rear-naked choke at the 1:15 mark of Round 3.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):

Lima, 26, suffered a loss in his professional MMA debut in August 2015, but since has reeled off 13 consecutive victories. None of them were bigger than this, and Lima appears to be a compelling addition to an already deep 145-pound weight class.

“It’s short notice, but I’m professional,” Lima said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I’m always in amazing shape, every day in the gym and I was ready. In the second round, I was a little bit sleeping, but my coach woke me up, and I will get to see my mom.”

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Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 58 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.