Tag: Jamie Pickett

UFC 285 video: Press conference faceoffs with Neal vs. Rakhmonov, Nickal vs. Pickett, more

The non-title fights on the UFC 285 main card came face-to-face for staredowns at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.

ABU DHABI – The UFC 285 pre-fight news conference took place Thursday and the entire main card was in attendance to answer questions.

At the conclusion of the festivities, the entire main card, which airs on pay-per-view, and the featured prelims, which air on ESPNews and ESPN+, participated in some traditional staredowns.

oth championship fights were locked in, but so were the remaining pairings, including a high-stakes welterweight clash of [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), a pairing of ranked lightweights [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and debuting middleweight prospect [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] (13-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC).

The staredowns featured a range of emotions. Watch the video of the three non-title faceoffs above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

Video: ‘UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane’ pre-fight press conference live stream

Watch MMA Junkie’s live stream of the UFC 285 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas, featuring Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane as well as the entire main card.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC 285 pre-fight press conference takes place Thursday, and MMA Junkie will have a live stream of the event beginning at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

The entire main card will be in attendance, including [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag], who fight for the vacant heavyweight title in the main event; Women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag], who meet in the co-headliner; as well as the remaining matchups of [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag], [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] and [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag].

UFC 285 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

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Jamie Pickett admits he didn’t know Bo Nickal before booking, ready to spoil his debut

Jamie Pickett wasn’t aware of Bo Nickal’s hype when he was offered the fight at UFC 285. Now the huge underdog wants to spoil his party.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] wasn’t even aware of the hype surrounding [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] when he was offered the fight.

Pickett (13-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) welcomes fellow Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Nickal (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to the octagon on Saturday’s UFC 285 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Nickal is one of the most highly touted prospects in the sport. A three-time NCAA Division-I national wrestling champion and three-time Big Ten champion at Penn State, the 27-year-old is one of the most decorated wrestlers in MMA – but Pickett agreed to the matchup without knowing any of it.

“I didn’t understand who I was signing up to fight,” Pickett told reporters at the UFC 285 media day on Wednesday. “My manager was pushing it. Everybody was pushing it. I was like, ‘All right, man, I’ll do it.’ They said more money. I said, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’ I didn’t really realize who I was fighting. I’m not lying. I swear, I did not know who he was. Everybody else knew who he was except for me because I’m not really big into the wrestling like that. I don’t watch wrestling or anything.”

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Pickett also is well aware of the position he’s in for this fight. All the attention is on Nickal and he plans on coming up big as an underdog.

“I see another athlete that’s ready to compete,” Pickett said. “I’m ready to compete. He’s ready to compete. The UFC’s paying me for a test. That’s what I am – I’m a test for him. I’m not stupid. They want to see if he can fare against somebody that’s good all the way around. I’m not really great at one thing, but I’m good everywhere. So they want to see how he deals with me, and I plan on spoiling the party.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

Video: ‘UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane’ media day live stream

Before UFC 285 on Saturday,main card and prelim fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – A numbered UFC event returns to “Sin City” on Saturday for UFC 285, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie will have a live stream beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT.

That includes headliners Jon Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) and Ciryl Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who are scheduled to clash for the vacant heavyweight title in the main event.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

Bo Nickal off UFC 282 vs. Jamie Pickett; promotion targeting new debut plans

Fans will have to wait a little bit longer for the UFC debut of Bo Nickal.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] won’t make his UFC debut in 2022.

One of the hottest prospects in MMA history, Nickal (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is out of the UFC 282 bout vs. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] (12-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) that was scheduled for Dec. 12 in Las Vegas, people with knowledge of the matchup recently told MMA Junkie.

One person said Nickal withdrew due to an injury and that the promotion now is targeting March 4, an event expected to be UFC 285.

Nickal, 28, trucked CFFC champion Donovan Beard en route to a 52-second, UFC contract-earning submission at Dana White’s Contender Series in September. The win moved him to 3-0 in his pro MMA career with three quick first-round finishes. He has yet to absorb a strike.

Pickett enters the fight on a two-fight skid. Following a two-fight winning streak with victories over Laureano Staropoli and Joseph Holmes, Pickett was finished in back-to-back fights against Kyle Daukaus and Denis Tiuliulin.

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Spotlighted long before his MMA career kicked off, Nickal was a three-time Division-I national wrestling champion and three-time Big Ten conference champion for Penn State. He won a national championship and an under-23 world championship, both in 2019 in the 92kg (202.8-pound) weight class. He finished college with a 120-3 record, including a combined 61-0 record in his junior and senior years.

In 2019, Nickal earned the 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy, an accolade awarded to the nation’s best wrestler. He also twice won the Schalles Award, an honor given to the nation’s best pinner. In addition, in 2019 he was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year. Nickal is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and trains at American Top Team in South Florida.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 26-Oct. 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 from Sept. 26-Oct. 2.

Bo Nickal set to debut at UFC 282 vs. Jamie Pickett

Two days after he earned a UFC contract, Bo Nickal already has his debut booked.

It’s two days after [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] earned a UFC contract and he already has his promotional debut booked.

Thursday, the promotion finalized a middleweight bout between Nickal (3-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] (13-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) for UFC 282, which takes place Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by ESPN, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Nickal, 28, trucked CFFC champion Donovan Beard en route to a 52-second, UFC contract-earning submission Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series. The win moved him to 3-0 in his pro MMA career with three quick, first-round finishes. He has yet to absorb a strike.

Meanwhile, Pickett enters the fight on a two-fight skid. Following a two-fight winning streak with victories over Laureano Staropoli and Joseph Holmes, Pickett was finished in back-to-back fights against Kyle Daukaus and Denis Tiuliulin.

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Spotlighted long before his MMA career kicked off, Nickal was a three-time Division-I national champion and three-time Big Ten conference champion for Penn State. He won a national championship and an under-23 world championship, both in 2019 in the 92kg (202.8-pound) weight class. He finished college with a 120-3 record, including a combined 61-0 record in his junior and senior years.

In 2019, Nickal earned the 2019 Dan Hodge Trophy, an accolade awarded to the nation’s best wrestler. He also twice won the Schalles Award, an honor given to the nation’s best pinner. In addition, in 2019 he was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year. Nickal is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and trains at American Top Team in South Florida.

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Denis Tiuliulin understands referee’s point deduction prior to TKO win at UFC 279

Denis Tiuliulin was perhaps harshly deducted a point prior to finishing Jamie Pickett at UFC 279, but it only fueled him.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag] was perhaps harshly deducted a point prior to finishing [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] at UFC 279, but it only fueled him.

Tiuliulin (11-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) scored a second-round TKO of Pickett (13-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. But prior to stopping Pickett, Tiuliulin was deducted a point for an inadvertent low blow, which could have cost him the fight had it gone the distance.

It was the second time referee Mike Beltran had warned Tiuliulin, which prompted him to take a point off the Russian fighter. The first warning was for a body kick which appeared to connect above the belt, but had an affect on Pickett regardless. The second blow was clearly to Pickett’s cup.

“No, I speak with referee and now I understand him,” Tiuliulin told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the post-fight news conference.

He continued, “When this situation (happened), I was motivated to finish because if this was a decision, this is a problem for me.”

The win over Pickett marked Tiuliulin’s first octagon victory. He lost his UFC debut on short notice to Aliaskhab Khizriev in March, where he was controlled and submitted on the ground.

“I’m happy because first fight I lost and this was a very fast fight, very wrestling opponent,” Tiuliulin said. “He has very good wrestling, Aliaskhab is a very good fighter, and I wasn’t prepared for that fight and he won. This fight I had time, not much time, but I had time, I had a plan, I had my coach and I won. No problem.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.

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UFC 279 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Khamzat Chimaev nets $6,000

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 279 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $202,000.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 279 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $202,000.

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 279 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 279 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Macy Chiasson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Danyelle Wolf[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Darian Weeks[/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.

Year-to-date total: $6,171,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,338,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.

UFC 279 video: Denis Tiuliulin breaks down Jamie Pickett for TKO after point deduction

Denis Tiuliulin’s striking game was far too much for Jamie Pickett to handle at UFC 279.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]’s striking game was far too much for [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] to handle at UFC 279.

After dealing with some grappling attempts from Pickett (13-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in the opening round of their middleweight bout at T-Mobile Arena, Tiuliulin (10-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) landed a kick to the groin of his opponent that led to a point deduction.

That only seemed to infuriate Tiuliulin, who poured on the strikes, rocked Pickett with an elbow, and swarmed his way to a TKO stoppage at the 4:52 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of his finish below (via Twitter):

It was an emotional win for the Russian Tiuliulin, who picked up his ninth career win by way of stoppage. Afterward, he said he hopes to make a quick turnaround and keep his momentum going.

“Jamie, you’re a fighter thank you brother,” Tiuliulin said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “This was a good battle. I love Vegas. Thank you. If UFC want, I will fight again this year. This is no problem. I’ll fight every day.”

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 279 include:

  • Denis Tiuliulin def. Jamie Pickett via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:52
  • Chris Barnett def. Jake Collier via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:24
  • Norma Dumont def. Danyelle Wolf via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
  • Heili Alateng def. Chad Anheliger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Elise Reed def. Melissa Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Yohan Lainesse def. Darian Weeks via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.

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