Tag: Gabriel Benitez

UFC on ESPN 55 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $25 million

UFC on ESPN 55 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 55 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $175,000.

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 55 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 55 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bogdan Guskov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ariane Da Silva[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jhonata Diniz[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Austen Lane[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]David Onama[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Uros Medic[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Rani Yahya[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Austin Hubbard[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michal Figlak[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Marnic Mann[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Padilla[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]James Llontop[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ivana Petrovic[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Na Liang[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Hayisaer Maheshate[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $11,000

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 $4,550; 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 $55,000 while title challengers get $55,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-55 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $2,640,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $25,377,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 55.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 5-11)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Feb. 5-11.

UFC Fight Night 234 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jim Miller, Andrei Arlovski get max non-title payouts

UFC Fight Night 234 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 234 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $159,500.

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 234 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 234 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Felipe Bunes[/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 2341 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 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

  • “UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” – $159,500

Year-to-date total: $159,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,866,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

UFC Fight Night 234 results: Jim Miller taps Gabriel Benitez, calls out Paul Felder for UFC 300

Jim Miller picked up his 13th UFC submission by tapping Gabriel Benitez, and then called out Paul Felder for a fight at UFC 300.

With a potential slot on UFC 300 hanging in the balance, [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] needed a solid performance at UFC Fight Night 234, and preferably one that left him relatively unscathed.

Miller (37-17 MMA, 26-16 UFC) found himself in an intense battle with fellow lightweight Gabriel Benitez through nearly two and a half rounds. However, Miller found a way to end the co-main bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas by submission, tapping Benitez (23-12 MMA, 7-7 UFC) with a face crank at 3:25 of Round 3.

Miller was on the attack early with crisp combinations and digging leg kicks. Seemingly every strike Benitez landed prompted Miller to return fire even harder. A pair of brief clinch battles were won by Miller, connecting with nice knees to the body.

Benitez looked to build momentum quickly in Round 2, but Miller answered immediately, making for intense exchanges. Switching things up, Miller completed a double leg to take the fight to the ground. Hard short elbows from Miller scored, but Benitez kept him honest with a slick armbar attempt. Miller escaped, scrambled, and controlled the back until the horn.

Both fighters sported bruises and swelling to begin the final frame. Heavy punches and kicks were traded for the first half of the round. Miller once again scored a clean takedown, and found his way to Benitez’s back. This time, Miller got his arm fully under the neck, and forced the tap for his 12th UFC submission win.

“I’ve got three months to heal up and stay in shape and stay ready,” Miller said during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Now it’s just find an opponent at this point. There’s a couple of names that have been thrown out that intrigued me a bit, one sitting at the desk, Paul Felder. I think that would be a fun fight.”

Felder hung up his gloves in 2020 and has since transitioned to the commentary desk, but has recently teased a potential return to action.

With the win, Miller makes it two in a row following a first-round stoppage of Jesse Butler in June. Now the 40-year-old turns his attention to preparing for the promotion’s upcoming milestone event, UFC 300. UFC CEO Dana White previously stated Miller would be placed on the card to be the only fighter to compete on all three century mark cards.

Benitez falls to .500 in his UFC career. He entered on the heels of a first-round finish of Charlie Ontiveros in August 2022, which ended a two-fight skid.

[lawrence-related id=2708567,2708727,2708696]

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 234 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

Cain Velasquez to serve as UFC Fight Night 234 cornerman

Ex-UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will corner in the promotion for the first time since he was arrested on attempted murder charge.

Former heavyweight champion [autotag]Cain Velasquez[/autotag] will Saturday corner his first UFC fight since his 2022 arrest for attempted murder and other charges.

Velasquez will corner longtime friend and American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) student [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who fights Jim Miller (36-17 MMA, 25-16 UFC) on the UFC Fight Night 234 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Claro Sports first reported the news, which was later confirmed by Benitez.

Velasquez was present Friday at the UFC Apex for the official weigh-ins and ceremonial faceoffs where he became a popular subject for fighters, coaches, and personnel to take photos with.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2Ahy8VrIQZ/

In order to embark on fight week as a cornerman, Velasquez received special permission from the Santa Clara County (Calif.) court. Saturday’s bout marks the second time Velasquez has served as a cornerman for a high-profile bout, also having been in the corner for Usman Nurmagomedov a Bellator 300 in October.

Velasquez is currently on release after he posted $1 million bail. He has to partake in around-the-clock GPS surveillance and other stipulations. Velasquez recently received a warning for a surveillance violation, but was not handed any further punishment from the hearing judge – despite the district attorney and alleged victim’s in-person advocation for stricter discipline.

The next court date for Velasquez is Feb. 14, which will serve as both a subpoena and trial setting hearing. Velasquez is accused of pursuing and shooting a gun at a man, Harry Goularte, who allegedly molested his young son. Velasquez allegedly struck the man’s stepfather Paul Bender causing injury.

Goularte is due back in court for a trial setting hearing of his own Jan. 17.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2BHAt4PwTz/

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

Gabriel Benitez proud to have ex-champ Cain Velasquez in corner for UFC Fight Night 234

Most fighters don’t have the prestige and luxury of a former UFC champion in their country, or at least very often.

LAS VEGAS – Most fighters don’t have the prestige and luxury of a former UFC champion in their country, or at least very often.

For [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag], he’ll experience that Saturday with not just an ex-champ, but an ex-heavyweight titleholder. Cain Velasquez will walk out with Benitez (23-11 MMA, 7-6 UFC) when he takes on MMA ironman Jim Miller (36-17 MMA, 25-16 UFC) in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 234.

“Cain was the champ before, and he has a lot of experience,” Benitez said at Wednesday’s media day in Las Vegas. “But the good thing, he knows how to share the experience. A lot of fighters, they’re super good. Or coaches, they’re super good, but they don’t know how to (work with you). I’m glad (to have him), and I feel like right now, Cain is like a big brother for everyone else. I’m grateful to have him in my corner again.”

Benitez is looking to put together a second straight win for the third time in the UFC. He’s yet to win three straight in the promotion after his appearance on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America.”

In August 2022, he took out Charlie Ontiveros with a first-round TKO to snap a two-fight skid. But 11 months ago, with a chance to fight Miller and built on that win, Benitez had to pull out. Now that fight is rebooked and a win would give the 35-year-old Mexican fighter his first two-fight streak in nearly six years.

And while the bulk of the MMA world knows Miller as a record-setting legend, Benitez is taking the “just another fighter” tack.

“To be honest, I don’t watch fights, so I didn’t know (who he was) before (the matchup),” Benitez said. “But I heard about him and I know he has a lot of fights and he’s a good fighter. I’m excited, and I know he’s a tough fighter, and he’s not new in this. He’s like me. He wants to put on a show, so I’m ready for that.”

UFC Fight Night 234 (ESPN+) takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Benitez fights Miller in the featured bout on the main card.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

Video: ‘UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2’ media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 234 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 234, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Nov. 20-26)

All the UFC 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.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Nov. 20-26.

Jim Miller books 43rd promotional appearance – but not for UFC 300 (yet)

UFC 300 has long been a dream for Jim Miller, but he’s taking a fight in the meantime.

[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] has made it clear he wants on UFC 300, but he’s taking one more before then.

Wednesday, the UFC announced Miller’s next bout (his 43rd) will be Jan. 13 against [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]. The UFC Fight Night event is slated for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The two were originally expected to fight in February, but the bout was canceled.

Barring an unexpected Brock Lesnar comeback, Miller (36-17 MMA, 25-16 UFC) has the opportunity to be the only fighter to compete at each of UFC 100, UFC 200, and UFC 300, should he be ready to compete at the promotion’s tricentennial April pay-per-view. First, he’ll have to get through the Benitez (23-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC) unscathed enough to make a three-month turnaround.

Miller, 40, is the UFC’s all-time fight leader (42). He debuted in the promotion at UFC 89 in October 2008. Despite his longevity in the sport, Miller has racked up wins in recent years. He’s 4-1 in his most recent five including a 23-second knockout of Jesse Butler in June.

Benitez, 35, has been with the UFC since 2014 after a stint on “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 1.” He enters the bout 2-2 in his most recent four outings. Benitez most recently competed in August 2022 when he pounded out Charlie Ontiveros.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Jan. 13 includes:

  • Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
  • Norma Dumont vs. Yana Santos
  • Macy Chiasson vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Mario Bautista vs. Ricky Simon
  • Manel Kape vs. Matheus Nicolau
  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Marcus McGhee
  • Bassil Hafez vs. Preston Parsons
  • Brunno Ferreira vs. Phil Hawes
  • Denys Bondar vs. Felipe Bunes
  • Faris Basharat vs. Taylor Lapilus

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event Jan. 13.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 6-12)

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 Feb. 6-12.