Tag: Gaston Bolanos

Gaston Bolanos boosted confidence with UFC Fight Night 247 win: ‘I showed that I belong’

Gaston Bolanos feels he proved he’s UFC quality following Saturday’s win over Cortavious Romious at UFC Fight Night 247.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag] took a big weight off his shoulders with his latest victory inside the octagon.

The Peruvian fighter picked up a unanimous decision win over Cortavious Romious (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 247, bouncing back from his TKO defeat to Marcus McGhee earlier this year.

Entering Saturday’s event off a defeat and 1-1 in the octagon, Bolanos (8-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) thought he needed to prove fans his place is among the best fighters today.

“I think I showed that I belong,” Bolanos told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 247 post-fight press conference. “I think that I showed I’m a UFC fighter. I feel like so many people have been doubting me. I think that I was able to show that with a quality opponent. Not anybody just wins a contract from Dana White, so I knew it was a tough fight. I’m happy about that. I didn’t get the finish that I wanted. I think I was very close.”

As far as what’s next, Bolanos would like to amp up his activity level. He’s only fought twice since debuting for the UFC in April 2023, and would like that to change come next year.

“I hope early 2025, that’s something realistic,” Bolanos said regarding a return. “I’m definitely a fighter that likes to stay active. Hopefully the first three months of 2025, we’ll get something going. I would like to fight at least three times next year. I want to show that ‘Dream Killer’ is here to stay. I’m a quality fighter for this organization, and this division.”

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UFC Fight Night 247 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $30 million

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out more than $30 million to athletes since its deal began with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 247 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $188,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 247 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cortavious Romious[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Mansur Abdul-Malik[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Zach Scroggin[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Antonio Trocoli[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melissa Mullins[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Klaudia Sygula[/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 2471 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:

Year-to-date total: $7,281,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $30,018,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 247.

Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 247

Bantamweights Gaston Bolanos and Cortavious Romious look to establish their names at UFC Vegas 100. Who has the edge?

[autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag] and [autotag]Cortavious Romious[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 247 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 1-3
UFC main cards, 2024: 91-88-3

Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious UFC Fight Night 247 preview

Bolanos (7-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) aims to stay above .500 in his young UFC career. The 32-year-old suffered his first loss in the promotion in his last outing at the beginning of the year, when Marcus McGhee finished him. Bolanos, a Bellator veteran, won his UFC debut against Aaron Phillips last April. … Romious (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his debut after a contract-earning unanimous decision win over Michael Imperato on Dana White’s Contender Series in August. It was his second shot on DWCS and he got the job done to enter the promotion. Romious will debut on a two-fight winning streak.

Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious UFC Fight Night 247 expert pick, prediction

Getting an impromptu promotion to the main card is a bantamweight bout between Bolanos and Romious.

Romious is a well-rounded fighter with potential, but I was not impressed with his last Contender Series performance despite winning the fight and a UFC contract.

Aside from having a fight that was there for the taking, Romious displayed highly questionable fight IQ en route to ignoring his coaches and corner down the stretch.

Should Romious show suspect decision-making this Saturday, that could spell trouble against a striker the caliber of Bolanos.

The smaller octagon should help Romious’ efforts if the American elects to grapple, but I’m not sure it will be enough to control Bolanos, who has made efforts to improve his grappling.

I’ll take the Peruvian Bolanos to win a competitive but clear decision.

Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious UFC Fight Night 247 odds

The oddsmakers and the public favor the American fighter, listing Romious -215 and Bolanos +172 via FanDuel.

Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious UFC Fight Night 247 start time, how to watch

Bolanos and Romious are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:05 p.m. ET (5:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 247.

UFC Fight Night 234 post-event facts: Jim Miller adds more records to epic resume

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 234, which saw Jim Miller grow his all-time wins record and add more history to his resume.

The UFC returned from its holiday hiatus on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and although it wasn’t the most stacked lineup, UFC Fight Night 234 delivered seven stoppage results out of 11 bouts.

In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) produced definitive closure on his rivalry with Johnny Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC), scoring a second-round knockout in their light heavyweight rematch to potentially set himself up for a championship opportunity.

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 234.

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 video: Marcus McGhee batters Gaston Bolanos for standing TKO

Marcus McGhee beat Gaston Bolanos at his own game at UFC Fight Night 234, lighting up the striker on the feet for a TKO.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag] continued the hot start to his octagon tenure on Saturday when he overwhelmed [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag] en route to a stoppage win at UFC Fight Night 234.

McGhee (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) put the pressure on Bolanos (7-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) early and was utterly relentless throughout the featherweight bout at the UFC Apex, landing punches and kicks until he rocked his opponent and forced referee Mark Smith to stop it at the 3:29 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of McGhee’s handiwork below (via X):

McGhee was humble in the aftermath of his win, crediting his opponent and saying he’s determined to reach the top of the 135-pound division, but won’t make any callouts.

“I was blessed to get this fight with Gaston, he has a great striking pedigree,” McGhee said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I’m a great striker too and I’m blessed to get in here and have that striking battle with him and win that game. … Whoever they send me next, that’ll be the task.”

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.

Gaston Bolanos ready to kick career into high gear at UFC Fight Night 234

Gaston Bolanos says anything good he’s done thus far in his MMA career has just been the warmup.

[autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag] says anything good he’s done thus far in his MMA career has just been the warmup.

Now that he’s in the UFC, Bolanos thinks the ride is about to get really interesting. Bolanos had nine fights under the Bellator umbrella before he signed with the UFC in 2023, and he’s hoping the experience at what was at the time the sport’s second most visible entity pays dividends now that he’s at the promotion at the top of the food chain.

“I can’t tell you I didn’t feel any pressure,” Bolanos told MMA Junkie Radio about his career before the UFC. There was always pressure for every fight, but I was lucky enough that I started my career in such a big platform as Bellator, and before that Lion Fight. So coming into the UFC, I was like, ‘Wow – is this where I’ve always meant to be?’

“I felt like I was at home, if anything. I felt like, ‘Wow – this is it.’ I wouldn’t say (I felt) pressure. I just felt like this is where I make my name and this is where I become who I’ve always Supposed to be. So coming into the second (UFC) fight, I’m excited.”

Bolanos (7-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) returns to bantamweight action next week against Marcus McGhee (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at the ESPN+-streamed UFC Fight Night 234 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The two were set to meet this past August, but Bolanos had to pull out with an injury.

McGhee has a 100 percent finishing rate and has been on a tear since the lone loss of his pro career in LFA in 2022. Since he came to the UFC in 2023, he has back-to-back stoppages and both won $50,000 bonuses.

Bolanos knows he’s in for a test against McGhee, but also knows a win could kick off something big.

“I know Marcus is bringing everything into this fight,” Bolanos said. “I’m bringing everything into this fight. I know we’re both ready to really die in there and give everything that we have. I’m prepared to die, and (other fighters are like, ‘I have nothing else to prove. I’ve done so much in the sport.’

“I just want to give everything that I have, and I just want to show everyone who ‘Dream Killer’ really is.”

A kickboxing and muay Thai standout, Bolanos said no one should be surprised if he brings out some wild striking against McGhee.

“I think as long as people get to see world-class striking from me, which they can always expect when I’m fighting, I think that’s what my fans want to see,” he said. “That’s what they come to see. When I do seminars, they’re always like, ‘You already showed us all this, now show us the spin.’ You can always expect me to spin at some point in the fight. It could happen – it could be a knockout. It could not. There’s been like seven, eight knockouts that way. I’m just looking forward to letting it all loose. I feel like a complete mixed martial artist, and I’m looking forward to showing that.”

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

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 2-8)

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 the promotions from Oct. 2-8.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 26-July 2)

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 June 26-July 2.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 5-11)

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 June 5-11.