Jai Herbert did anything he had to do to beat Kyle Nelson at UFC London

Jai Herbert isn’t really concerned with what anyone thought of his UFC Fight Night 208 performance – particularly Kyle Nelson.

LONDON – [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] isn’t really concerned with what anyone thought of his UFC Fight Night 208 performance – particularly Kyle Nelson.

Herbert (12-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Nelson (13-5 MMA, 1-4 UFC) on the preliminary card at The O2 in London on Saturday. Herbert took the fight with a trio of 29-28 scores.

Considering he needed to get back in the win column after a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at the same venue in March, the Brit said he was happy for 15 minutes of work to show himself a thing or two.

“I’m glad I got the three rounds. I literally wanted the three rounds,” Herbert said at his post-fight news conference. “Obviously, I want a quick finish. But I was saying to myself, ‘Pray for three rounds. You need to go in there and get three rounds.’ I needed to have that discipline for three rounds and prove to myself I can do three rounds and stay disciplined throughout the whole fight.

“I’m so happy the fight went the way it did. That is 100 times better, for me, than getting a first-round, 10-second knockout. That is what I needed to progress my career.”

Herbert said after the bout, Nelson threw some punches after the final bell – which he chalked up to frustration with how the action went and that it didn’t play out in what was a typical fan-friendly fight.

“He was frustrated, obviously, because he knew I won the round, and he probably assumed I was going to come here to swing it out with him,” Herbert said. “… I came here to be professional and get the victory. I didn’t come here for a bonus. I came here to get the ‘W,’ and that’s what I had to do.”

Check out Herbert’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

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Jai Herbert def. Kyle Nelson at UFC Fight Night 208: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Jai Herbert’s unanimous decision win over Kyle Nelson at UFC Fight Night 208 in London.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Kyle Nelson[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 208 at The O2 in London. (Photos by Per Haljestam, USA TODAY Sports)

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 13-19)

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 June 13-19.

UFC Fight Night 204 post-event facts: Molly McCann’s elbow, other finishes enter record books

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 204, which saw a record-setting nine bonuses issued on a historic card.

The UFC put on one of the most memorable events in its storied history on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 204, which went down at The 02 in London and featured a remarkable nine finishes out of 12 bouts.

The show closed with a swift and decisive performance from [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who submitted fellow heavyweight contender [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] (34-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the first round of their fight to stay unbeaten inside the octagon.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 53 post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 204.

Mike Davis isn’t facing Jai Herbert at UFC London because ‘it just doesn’t make sense to take the fight’

It appears that Mike Davis won’t be fighting Jai Herbert at UFC London after all.

It appears that [autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] won’t be fighting [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] at UFC London.

Promotion officials announced that Davis (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) would be heading into enemy territory to meet Herbert (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) March 19 at the O2 Arena, but according to Davis, the fight is no longer happening.

Speaking to Fight Bananas, Davis said while he’s still game to face Herbert, he’s not keen on competing in the U.K. for various reasons.

“First thing’s first, I want to apologize for that,” Davis said. “There are a couple of things at play, some variables that don’t make sense to take this fight. Herbert, amazing opponent, good fight, good card, good promotion, good arena. I was excited to go, but there are some things that people don’t know about in the athlete world, going forth as a professional athlete. Traveling overseas, they do income tax where it is obnoxiously – the amount is obnoxious. So take it this way: If I was to fight in London once and in the United States once, they’re gonna tax me 50 percent of my purse.

“My entire global income will be taxed by U.K. and by the U.S. Then I gotta pay management, and I gotta pay camp then I gotta pay gym, so I’m going home with like 5 percent of my purse, 7 percent of my purse, so it just doesn’t make sense to take the fight. However, I like the matchup. Jai Herbert, if you want to take the fight in the States sometime in the future, I’m all for it. An amazing matchup, good fighter, I love your skillset, it’ll be a fun fight to watch, fans would love it if we could set that up in the future here in the States.”

Davis also added that traveling halfway across the world for his past fight had him not performing his best, despite outlasting Mason Jones in a “Fight of the Night” effort at UFC on ESPN 20.

“Last time I performed in Abu Dhabi, I didn’t feel great,” Davis said. “I couldn’t sleep, it was a very disruptive performance for me, and I don’t wanna go down that path again. I want to figure out how I can travel and still sleep and perform the way I do here in the States. I do look forward to getting another opponent soon. I mean, the fight is off, but I’m ready to go April, May, June. Let’s go.”

Herbert took to social media to confirm the news, but alluded to the fact that he intends to stay on the London card.

“Opponent is out, but my focus remains the same #ufclondon.”

UFC Fight Night 196 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Paulo Costa gets $6,000

UFC Fight Night 196 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 196 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $157,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 196 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gregor Rodrigues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]David Onama[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Laureano Staropoli[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Khama Worthy[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jeff Molina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel da Silva[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Livinha Souza[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zviad Lazishvili[/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 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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,489,000
Program-to-date total: $4,489,000

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UFC Fight Night 196 video: Jai Herbert lights up Khama Worthy for early TKO

Jai Herbert was more than confident in his ability to trade shots with Khama Worthy at UFC Fight Night 196, and the result showed why.

[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] was more than confident in his ability to trade shots with [autotag]Khama Worthy[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 196, and the result showed why.

Herbert (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) achieved his first octagon victory on Saturday when he unleashed a savage combination of strikes on Worthy (16-9 MMA, 2-3 UFC) early in the opening round of their lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both fighters were keen to trade shots when the fight began, but it was Herbert who landed first and harder as he wobbled his opponent. Worthy tried to throw back, but Herbert was relentless with his output and connected with a shot that set up the fight-ending flurry on the mat for the stoppage at the 2:40 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay of Herbert’s handiwork below (via Twitter):

Herbert began his UFC career with back-to-back losses against tough competition in Francisco Trinaldo and Renato Moicano. The former Cage Warriors champ finally got his hand raised, and he was thrilled.

“I came in the UFC and I came (up short) against two top veterans,” Herbert said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I came against Khama and I knew I had to get the win to stay in the UFC and I did it.”

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UFC targets Renato Moicano vs. Jai Herbert for June 26 event

Renato Moicano aims to get back on track with a win in a lightweight bout vs. Jai Herbert.

[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] is in the middle of the bumpiest stretch of his professional career, but on June 26 he’ll have the opportunity to get back in the win column.

At UFC Fight Night, Moicano (14-4-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is expected to face off with former Cage Warriors champion [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] in a lightweight fight. Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking Monday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an announcement.

The event does not have a publicly known location or venue at this time.

Moicano, 31, has lost three out of his past four outings. In 2019, Moicano lost back-to-back fights by TKO to former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and former title challenger Chan Sung Jung. He rebounded in March 2020 with a 44-second submission of Damir Hadzovic. In his most recent appearance, Moicano lost to Rafael Fiziev by first-round TKO.

Herbert (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) made his promotional debut in July after streaking success for Cage Warriors. Against Trinaldo, Herbert was successful for two rounds before he was violently knocked out cold in Round 3.

With the addition, the UFC’s June 26 lineup now includes

  • Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Maxim Grishin vs. Ovince Saint Preux
  • Anthony Hernandez vs. Punahele Soriano
  • Tim Elliott vs. Su Mudaerji
  • Michel Prazeres vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
  • Justin Jaynes vs. Charles Rosa
  • Ed Herman vs. Danilo Marques
  • Raoni Barcelos vs. Timur Valiev
  • Jai Herbert vs. Renato Moicano

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With Jai Herbert out, Luis Pena steps in to face Drakkar Klose at UFC Fight Night 185

With Drakkar Klose needing a new opponent for UFC Fight Night 185, Luis Pena has stepped in on a week’s notice to take the challenge.

With [autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag] needing a new opponent, [autotag]Luis Pena[/autotag] has stepped in on a week’s notice to take the challenge.

[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] has been forced out of UFC Fight Night 185 on Feb. 20 due to COVID-19 related health issues and Pena (8-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will step in on short notice to face Klose (11-2-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Thursday. They asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the news.

Following the news, Herbert released a statement on Instagram explaining how a recent positive COVID-19 test forced him to withdraw.

“Unfortunately I’m out of my fight on Feb 20th…couple weeks ago I became ill…I then tested positive for COVID. Obviously this meant I had to isolate & was unable to get my medicals done, train or cut weight.
I was really looking forward to this fight, to show what improvements I’ve made since my last one.
It’s another set back…but there’s people being effected by this pandemic a lot worse then me so it is what it is.
Il be back soon, and cement myself in the @ufc lightweight division….what is life without a bit of adversity ….. 👊🏽 “

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLJaSSKhAJ0/

Klose will look to rebound from a second-round knockout loss to Beneil Dariush at UFC 248, where he was stopped in a thrilling back-and-forth contest. Prior to that, the Arizona native had scored three straight wins over Lando Vannata, Bobby Green and Christos Giagos.

Since moving back up to 155 pounds, Pena has split his past four appearances. After defeating Steve Garcia via unanimous decision in February, the Season 27 “Ultimate Fighter” alum suffered a third-round submission loss at the hands of Khama Worthy at UFC on ESPN 12 in June.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 185 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis
  • Yana Kunitskaya vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Darrick Minner vs. Charles Rosa
  • Chris Daukaus vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Rafael Alves vs. Patrick Sabatini
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Tom Aspinall

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Nassourdine Imavov vs. Phil Hawes
  • Danny Chavez vs. Jared Gordon
  • Drakkar Klose vs. Luis Pena
  • John Castaneda vs. Eddie Wineland
  • Julian Erosa vs. Nate Landwehr
  • Shana Dobson vs. Casey O’Neill
  • Drako Rodriguez vs. Aiemann Zahabi
  • Serghei Spivac vs. Jared Vanderaa
  • Jamall Emmers vs. Chas Skelly

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Jai Herbert vs. Drakkar Klose added to UFC Fight Night card for Feb. 20

Former Cage Warriors lightweight champion Jai Herbert is set to take on Drakkar Klose in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 20.

The UFC’s matchmakers are making strides as they start to fill out their fight cards for the early part of 2021, and they have booked a lightweight battle for the promotion’s Feb. 20 card.

The UFC Fight Night event, which currently does not have a confirmed venue or location, will feature a 155-pound clash between England’s [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag] and [autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]. Two people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the fight with MMA Junkie, but requested anonymity as the UFC has not officially confirmed the matchup.

Former Cage Warriors lightweight champion Herbert (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is looking to claim his first win inside the octagon after he suffered a dramatic knockout loss to Francisco Trinaldo at UFC on ESPN 14 in Abu Dhabi in July.

He’ll look to bounce back against Klose (11-2-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who is also looking to rebound from a knockout loss after his defeat to Beneil Dariush at UFC 248 back in March.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night card for Feb. 20 includes:

  • Chris Daukaus vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Jai Herbert vs. Drakkar Klose
  • Danny Chavez vs. Jared Gordon
  • Shana Dobson vs. Casey O’Neill