Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are the top four honorable mentions and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Year” award for 2023.
With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie takes a look at the best knockouts from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Year” award for 2023.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Knockout of the Year.”
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After opponent Ismael Bonfim came in heavy, Vinc Pichel decided to pull the plug on their UFC Sao Paulo bout.
[autotag]Vinc Pichel[/autotag] isn’t pleased with should-have-been opponent [autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag]’s blunder on the scale Friday in Sao Paulo.
Hours after Bonfim’s weight miss during the UFC Fight Night 231 official weigh-ins, Pichel (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) released a statement that voiced his displeasure. Bonfim (19-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) missed by 3.5 pounds and did not re-weigh in. Pichel initially weighed 157, but used additional time to come in at 155.5, under the lightweight limit.
Shortly after the fighters touched the scales, the promotion announced the fight was canceled. While it was not explicitly stated, Pichel indicated he declined the fight so as not to be complicit with an opponent who did not fulfill contractual obligations.
“So as you know my fight is cancelled,” Pichel wrote. “My opponent didn’t even try to make weight and I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money for this unprofessionalism which I’m sure he regrets. I am huge on self responsibility and he showed none by his actions and by missing weight by so much so I decided to give him some for his actions. I’m sorry to everyone who was excited to watch me throw down and also happy to ruin parlays against me at the same time. In my 15+ year career, I have never missed weight. If you are upset about my decision, I’m sorry but there is no one else to blame but my opponent. You will see me fight again soon!”
— Vinc Pichel 🇺🇸 (@FromHellPichel) November 3, 2023
Pichel, 40, has not competed since a March 2022 loss to Mark Madsen that snapped a three-fight winning streak. Bonfim had a 13-fight winning sneak snapped in July when he was submitted by Benoit Saint-Denis.
The full UFC Fight Night 231 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.
The UFC’s return to Sao Paulo for the first time in nearly four years will go on with a couple fewer Brazilians than planned.
The UFC’s return to Sao Paulo for the first time in nearly four years will go on with a couple fewer Brazilians than planned.
Two UFC Fight Night 231 bouts were canceled Friday following the event’s official weigh-ins, where four fighters missed their marks on their first attempts. Ultimately, three missed weight – which led to a pair of cancellations, the UFC announced.
[autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was set to open the main card against [autotag]Vinc Pichel[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at lightweight. Bonfim came in at 159.5 pounds and didn’t attempt to cut additional weight. Pichel missed on his first attempt, too, at 157 – but used his extra hour to get official at 155.5. After that, though, the fight was scrapped.
Bonfim, from Brazil, was set to fight a few bouts before his brother, Gabriel Bonfim, a welterweight who takes on Nicolas Dalby in the co-main event. Bonfim and Dalby each made weight.
On the prelims, Brazil’s [autotag]Victor Hugo[/autotag] (24-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was set to make his UFC debut on less than three weeks’ notice against [autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC). Marcos was 136 pounds, but Hugo came in at 138.5. He didn’t attempt to cut additional weight, and the bantamweight bout was scrapped after the weigh-ins.
With the changes, the UFC Fight Night 231 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.
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 Sept. 11-17.
UFC lightweights Ismael Bonfim and Vince Pichel look to get back in the win column when they fight in Sao Paulo.
A lightweight bout is the newest addition to UFC Sao Paulo.
[autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag] and [autotag]Vinc Pichel[/autotag] look to bounce back from losses when they fight each other in a lightweight bout Nov. 4 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Bonfim (19-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) looks to bounce back from a first-round submission loss to Benoit Saint-Denis in July. The defeat snapped a 13-fight winning streak that included a flying knee knockout of Terrance McKinney in Bonfim’s promotional debut. Bonfim’s brother, Gabriel, fights Nicolas Dalby on the same card.
Pichel (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has not competed since April 2022 when he lost a unanimous decision to Mark Madsen. The appearance was his only since August 2021. Pichel is 3-1 in his most recent four outings dating back to June 2019.
With the addition, the UFC Sao Paulo lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Sao Paulo.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 48, where Grant Dawson joined an exclusive club by putting together a nine-fight unbeaten streak in the octagon.
The UFC’s loaded July schedule got off to a hot start on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 48, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and featured six stoppages out of 12 fights.
One of those finishes came in the main event, when [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) held serve as a top middleweight when he turned back [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] (25-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a second-round TKO before calling for a title shot.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 48.
UFC on ESPN 47 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 47 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $144,500.
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 47 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 47 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Melissa Gatto[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000
def.[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ivana Petrovic[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Blagoy Ivanov[/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 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 $47,000 while title challengers get $47,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-47 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $4,109,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,698,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
Benoit Saint-Denis plans on making a statement against Ismael Bonfim at UFC on ESPN 47 then a quick turnaround at home.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag] plans on making a statement against [autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag] then making a quick turnaround at home.
Saint-Denis (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) meets Bonfim (19-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Bonfim is coming off a highlight-reel knockout of Terrance McKinney at UFC 283, and Saint-Denis wants to steal his momentum.
“He’s a tough Brazilian, tough opponent,” Saint-Denis told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 47 media day. “I think he must be better ranked than I am because he knocked (out) Terrance McKinney, so it’s a great opportunity to go higher in the rankings. I think it will be a great fight because it’s a good opponent to show your skills.”
Saint-Denis took part in the UFC’s debut show in Paris, where he had a standout performance against Gabriel Miranda this past September. His second-round TKO earned him a Performance of the Night.
The 27-year-old French fighter hopes he can beat Bonfim, then make a quick turnaround for the UFC’s next Paris show, which takes place on Sept. 2 at Accor Arena.
“First thing, I have to take Bonfim’s head off on Saturday,” Saint-Denis said. “And if it works, of course I would like to be in France. But first mission is to take Bonfim down.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
Ismael Bonfim delivered a highlight for the ages in his octagon debut, and he wants to produce something even better at UFC on ESPN 47.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag] delivered a highlight for the ages in his octagon debut in January, and he wants to produce something even better at UFC on ESPN 47.
Bonfim (19-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stopped Terrance McKinney in spectacular fashion at UFC 283, which was deemed MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month. Now he moves on to his sophomore promotional appearance against Benoit Saint-Denis (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex and airs on ESPN/streams on ESPN+.
The lightweight bout has potential for serious fireworks, and Bonfim knows the world expects him to produce a strong encore from his first appearance in a UFC cage.
“There’s a bit of a pressure because more people see that, they expect you to do that and better,” Bonfim told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 47 media day. “The pressure’s on me to go back and there and go inside and do it even better.”
Bonfim said he expects a “tough fight” against Saint-Denis, but his end goal will be the same as always: Put his opponent away inside the distance.
If Bonfim could do that, he said he anticipates bigger and better matchups going forward. He named Drew Dober and Matt Frevola as two notable lightweights he would like to face in the near future.
“I think with a good performance on Saturday, having another victory like that, I could be facing a ranked fighter or someone very close to the rankings,” Bonfim said. “I do think I deserve that.”
To hear more from Bonfim, check out his complete UFC on ESPN 47 media day interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
Before UFC on ESPN 47 on Saturday, 14 athletes from the card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day.
LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for July kicks off Saturday with UFC on ESPN 47, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
A middleweight bout serves as the main event, with [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) taking on [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a matchup between one established contender and an opponent looking to make a splash in just his second octagon appearance.
Before fight night arrives, though, 14 athletes from this weekend’s card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream above, check below for the archived videos of each media day session.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
