Tag: Ilir Latifi

UFC parts ways with eight fighters, including two after decade-long tenures

Eight fighters are no longer on the UFC roster including two fighters who have been with the promotion for approximately a decade each.

Eight fighters are no longer on the UFC roster, including two athletes who were with the promotion approximately a decade each.

Whether it was the impending wave of fighters who will be signed to compete on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Season 7 or simply performance or contract-based decisions, the promotion parted ways with these fighters in recent weeks.

Algorithm-based Twitter account UFC Roster Watch first published the transactions when the promotion removed the fighters from official rankings eligibility.

Unless denoted, it is unclear whether each athlete was released or fought out their contract.

UFC Fight Night 224 post-event facts: Mackenzie Dern climbs strawweight bonus list

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 224, which saw Mackenzie Dern rack up another $50,000 bonus in the main event.

The UFC closed out its May schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) by unanimous decision in the Fight of the Night, with the grappling specialist landing a career-best 126 significant strikes over the course of five rounds.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Two fighters net max non-title money

UFC Fight Night 224 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 224 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $179,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 224 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Hayisaer Maheshate[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Nick Fiore[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Takashi Sato[/autotag]: $6,000

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 2241 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: $3,214,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,803,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 224 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Mackenzie Dern (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Angela Hill (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) in a women’s strawweight bout. In the co-feature, Anthony Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at middleweight.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC Fight Night 224 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway ) on Twitter.

UFC Fight Night 224 pre-event facts: Will third time be the charm for Mackenzie Dern?

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where Mackenzie Dern will make her third attempt at a UFC main event victory.

After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.

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 for UFC Fight Night 223.

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

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. 20-26.

Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento heavyweight bout in the works for UFC Fight Night on May 20

A UFC heavyweight bout pitting Ilir Latifi and Rodrigo Nascimento is on tap for May.

[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]’s heavyweight run continues.

The former UFC light heavyweight contender is expected to return to the cage against [autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag] as they will join the lineup for a UFC Fight Night on May 20. The location and venue for the event have yet to be announced.

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the matchup on Wednesday but requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

Latifi (16-8 MMA, 9-6 UFC) is currently on a two-fight winning streak. After losing a decision to Derrick Lewis in his return to the heavyweight division, Latifi has outpointed Tanner Boser and most recently Aleksei Oleinik. In his last fight against Oleinik this past October, Latifi was suspended for three months by the Nevada Athletic Commission for revealing he had staph infection in his post-fight interview – something he didn’t disclose to the NAC prior to the fight.

Nascimento (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is also fresh off a win over Boser. The Brazilian defeated him by split decision in his most recent outing back in September.

Prior to that, Nascimento had gone over a year without competing as he served a six-month suspension by the NAC after testing positive ritalinic acid, a metabolite of methylphenidate, which is a banned stimulant. His TKO win over Alan Baudot was overturned to a no contest in consequence of the positive test.

The updated lineup for the UFC’s May 20 event includes:

  • Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
  • Anthony Hernandez vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento

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Farewell, fighters: A list of former UFC champs and more MMA notables who retired in 2022

The MMA world said goodbye to more than 35 notable fighters in 2022, from former UFC champions to future UFC Hall of Famers and more.

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently fighters from the era that helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves to move on to the next chapters in their lives.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete and, perhaps more importantly, get a payday will continue to drive fighters back, even well beyond their expiration dates.

In 2022, there was an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are retired, and we have a list of those who opted to walk away last year.

Nevada suspends Ilir Latifi three months, sets precedent for athletes competing with non-disclosed injury or illness

Nevada vows to crack down on fighters who compete ill or injured after a recent situation with UFC heavyweight Ilir Latifi.

The Nevada Athletic Commission now has precedent when it comes to disciplining fighters who compete injured or ill but do not disclose their health ailments.

On Wednesday, the NAC suspended UFC heavyweight [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] for three months after he competed Oct. 1 at UFC Fight Night 212 with a possible staph infection. Latifi revealed the ailment in his in-cage interview and said he fought with a swollen leg and fever.

While his purse was not fined, Latifi won’t fight until Jan. 1 and will have to pay legal fees for the commission’s process.

In October, the commission said Latifi failed to inform the promotion or commission of his infection prior to admitting it on camera. The commission called the decision “risky” and added the “behavior cannot be tolerated.”

Nevada commissioners declared the suspension a precedent for similar issues going forward. The commission also denoted harsher punishments could come in the future, depending on the circumstances surrounding each incident.

One commissioner also mentioned a recent incident involving Darrick Minner, a fighter who allegedly competed injured, which drove a suspicious betting line the UFC is currently investigating. The commission said it too will investigate the matter to see if Minner did not disclose an injury.

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NAC temporarily suspends UFC’s Ilir Latifi after in-cage interview admitting he fought with staph infection

Following his UFC Fight Night 211 win, Ilir Latifi revealed to the world he fought with a fever and swollen leg caused by a staph infection.

[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] is facing disciplinary action for an admission he made in the cage after his recent win at UFC Fight Night 211.

At a monthly Nevada Athletic Commission meeting held Tuesday, Latifi was temporarily suspended for admitting to knowingly competing with a staph infection in his Oct. 1 win vs. Aleksei Oleinik. The suspension will end when a resolution on disciplinary action is reached.

“Even this week, my leg is swollen,” Latifi told commentator Paul Felder post-fight on the broadcast. “I didn’t even tell my coaches, but I got a staph infection two days ago. As you can see, my leg is all swollen. It’s an amazing sport, but the margins are so small. You put in so much work, and this thing happens the last day. Today, actually when I woke up, my leg was swollen. I was like, ‘I can’t cancel again.’ So I had to fight like this with a fever and a staph infection. That’s part of being a fighter.”

According to the NAC, Latifi failed to inform the promotion or commission of his infection prior to admitting it on camera. The commission called the decision “risky” and added the “behavior cannot be tolerated.”

The NAC has been in touch with Latifi, whom it described as “remorseful.” Latifi will not be permitted to compete until an agreement is reached and announced.

Latifi, 40, also indicated in his in-cage interview the win over Oleinik could be his final MMA fight. If so, he finishes on a two-fight winning streak with a 16-8 overall record and 9-6 in the UFC.

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