Tag: Ion Cutelaba

UFC Fight Night 252 payouts: Nine fighters receive six-figures for Seattle battles

UFC Seattle payouts were released by the Washington State Department of Licensing on Thursday, including Song Yadong vs. Henry Cejudo.

Nine fighters walked away from the UFC’s recent return to Seattle with six-figure disclosed payouts, according to the Washington State Department of Licensing (WSDOL), which oversaw the event.

UFC Fight Night 252 took place Feb. 22 at Climate Pledge Arena and featured 12 bouts.

Main event competitors [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] and [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] joined [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag], [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag], [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag], [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag], [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag], [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag], and [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] as the fighters who received six-figures.

Thursday, MMA Junkie acquired state documents of the disclosed payouts from WSDOL, which can be seen below. Forbes was first to report the payouts Wednesday.

It’s important to note the amounts are strictly the disclosed amounts for show and win. They do not include side letter payments, sponsorships, or discretionary/performance bonuses. Additionally, they do not include taxes or miscellaneous deductions.

  • Song Yadong: $320,000 (includes $160,000 win bonus)
  • Henry Cejudo: $150,000
  • Anthony Hernandez: $144,000 (includes $72,000 win bonus)
  • Brendan Allen: $210,000
  • Rob Font: $320,000 (includes $160,000 win bonus)
  • Jean Matsumoto: $26,000
  • Jean Silva: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
  • Melsik Baghdasaryan: $35,000
  • Alonzo Menifield: $240,000 (includes $120,000 win bonus)
  • Julius Walker: $12,000
  • Ion Cutelaba: $190,000 (includes $95,000 win bonus)
  • Ibo Aslan: $35,000
  • Melquizael Costa: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
  • Andre Fili: $110,000
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
  • Nick Klein: $10,000
  • Ricky Simon: $160,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus)
  • Javid Basharat: $30,000
  • Austin Vanderford: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
  • Nikolay Veretennikov: $12,000
  • Nursulton Ruziboev: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus)
  • Eric McConico: $12,000
  • Modestas Bukauskas: $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus)
  • Raffael Cerqueira: $10,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

UFC 315 adds Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ion Cutelaba to Montreal lineup

Some light heavyweight firepower will be on display when the UFC returns to Canada this spring.

Some light heavyweight firepower will be on display when the UFC returns to Canada this spring.

The promotion Monday announced a new 205-pound matchup for UFC 315 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), which is set for Bell Centre in Montreal on May 10. [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) vs. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (19-10-1 MMA, 8-9-1 UFC) has been added to the lineup, which is headlined by a pair of title fights. The bout’s placement on the card was not revealed.

Cutelaba is coming off a first-round upset of Ibo ASlan at UFC Fight Night 252. He submitted Aslan with an arm-triangle choke for his second straight win bo build on a split call over Ivan Erslan this past September.

Cutelaba, from Moldova but based in Las Vegas, has just one post-fight bonus from the UFC in nearly 20 walks to the octagon. But he currently has wins in three of his past four fights – a marked step up from when just a year ago, he lost to Philipe Lins for his fourth setback in five fights.

Bukauskas, a two-time Cage Warriors champion, is in his second stint with the UFC. He returned to the UFC in 2023 and has four wins in five fights this latest time around. And at UFC Fight Night 252, a few hours before Cutelaba’s win, Bukauskas opened the show with a first-round TKO of Raffael Cerqueira.

Like Cutelaba, post-fight bonuses have been hard to come by. He has one in his nine UFC fight, and it came in his debut with the promotion in 2020.

With the addition, the UFC 315 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena – for welterweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot – for women’s flyweight title
  • Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Morales
  • Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi
  • Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Bruno Silva
  • Bekzat Almakhan vs. Brad Katona
  • Joel Alvarez vs. Benoit Saint Denis
  • Mike Malott vs. Charlie Radtke
  • Ivan Erslan vs. Navajo Stirling
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ion Cutelaba

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

UFC Fight Night 252 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Andre Fili leads way with $21,000

UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance money was sent out after UFC Seattle, with veteran Andre Fili topping the card.

SEATTLE – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 252 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $185,000.

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 252 took place at Climate Pledge Arena in Washington. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 252 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jean Matsumoto[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Julius Walker[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ibo Aslan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Mansur Abdul-Malik[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nick Klein[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nikolay Veretennikov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Eric McConico[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rafael Cerqueira[/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 2521 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 2025 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,224,500
2024 total: $8,280,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $32,242,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

UFC Fight Night 243 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Renato Moicano’s $16,000 among top earners

UFC Fight Night 243 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $173,500.

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 243 took place at Accor Arena in Paris. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 243 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Benoit Saint Denis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]William Gomis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Morgan Charriere[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Miranda[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Matt Frevola[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ivan Erslan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Oumar Sy[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ludovit Klein[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roosevelt Roberts[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darya Zheleznyakova[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Barez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jacqueline Cavalcanti[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nora Cornolle[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Bolaji Oki[/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 2431 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: $5,895,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $28,632,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.

UFC 299 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean O’Malley’s $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 299 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $359,000.

MIAMI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 299 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $359,000.

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 299 took place at Kaseya Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 299 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: $21,000;

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Katlyn Cerminara[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Kyler Phillips[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Asu Almabaev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joanne Wood[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/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 $4,500; 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: $1,362,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,069,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

Philipe Lins def. Ion Cutelaba at UFC 299: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Philipe Lins’ unanimous decision win over Ion Cutelaba at UFC 299.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]’ unanimous decision win over [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] at UFC 299 at Kaseya Center in Miami. (Fight and venue photos by Sam Navarro, USA Today Sports)

UFC 299 pre-event facts: Inside the numbers of stacked Miami lineup

The best facts and figures about UFC 299, which features an absolutely stacked lineup with history on the line for multiple fighters.

The final event in the 200s-era of numbered UFC cards goes down Saturday at UFC 299, and the event from Kaseya Center (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) is one of the most stacked in recent memory.

A lineup filled with a plethora of former title challengers, top-ranked contenders and more, is headline by a bantamweight title rematch. Reigning champ [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) will attempt to make his first defense while simultaneously trying to avenge his only career loss against [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC), who won the first matchup by first-round TKO at UFC 252 in August 2020.

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 299.

* * * *

Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera

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 229 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Bobby Green, Drew Dober top card

UFC Fight Night 229 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 229 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $189,000.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 229 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joe Pyfer[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Hernandez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Mateus Mendonca[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kanako Murata[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Munoz[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]JJ Aldrich[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/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 2291 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: $6,483,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,072,500

Ion Cutelaba ‘not happy’ with state of career entering crucial UFC Fight Night 229 bout

Ion Cutelaba sees his UFC Fight Night 229 matchup with Philipe Lins as an important step for the stability of his career.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] sees his UFC Fight Night 229 matchup with Philipe Lins as an important step for the stability of his career.

After a career-long three-fight losing skid, Cutelaba (17-8-1 MMA, 6-7-1 UFC) got a crucial win in April when he stopped Tanner Boser by first-round TKO. “The Hulk” hasn’t put together consecutive wins since 2018, but the light heavyweight matchup with Lins (17-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC), which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+, gives him the chance to change that.

The performance against Boser was good building block for Cutelaba, he said, but the next matchup has even more significance in his mind.

“I’m not happy with where I’m at just yet,” Cutelaba told MMA Junkie and other reporters during Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 229 media day. “I worked a lot on myself in preparation for this fight. I worked on a lot of my thoughts, a lot of my mistakes. A lot on my skills. I’m really very much waiting this fight to see where I’m at and what questions can be answered.”

Cutelaba, 29, thinks the fight against a former heavyweight in Lins will be a good barometer for the state of his career. The 2018 PFL champion brings a three-fight winning streak into UFC Fight Night 229, and Cutelaba said it’s his duty to end that.

“When I was offered this opponent I was really happy about it,” Cutelaba said. “He’s a really good opponent, he’s a really great fighter. He’s a strong fighter. He’s got three victories in a row, so I think he’s a really good level for me just to test myself against a fighter on that level. I think it’s a very good fight for me.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 229.