2024 MMA retirement tracker: A list of those who hung up the gloves

The MMA world already has said goodbye to a number of retiring fighters in 2024, with more surely to come for the rest of the year.

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

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.

2024 has already seen a number of notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).

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:

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[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.

Joanne Wood hangs up her gloves at UFC 299 after rallying to defeat Maryna Moroz

Joanne Wood capped off her 25-fight career with a gritty win at UFC 299 over Maryna Moroz in Miami.

[autotag]Joanne Wood[/autotag] capped off her career with a bang.

Wood (17-8 MMA, 9-8 UFC) avenged her first-career loss to [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) by split decision in their flyweight bout Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami. She proceeded to retire after the fight, just like she said she would in the lead-up.

After losing Round 1, Wood rallied to outstrike Moroz. A spinning back fist knockdown which had Moroz badly hurt late in Round 3 is what sealed the fight for her.

The Season 20 “Ultimate Fighter” alum hangs up her gloves with nine octagon wins to her name. Wood scored notable wins over Ariane Lipski, Andrea Lee, and former title challenger Jessica Eye.

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

Joanne Wood def. Maryna Moroz at UFC 299: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Joanne Wood’s split decision win over Maryna Moroz in her retirement fight at UFC 299.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Joanne Wood[/autotag]’s split decision win over [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag] in her retirement fight 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.

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Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 22-28)

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 Jan. 22-28.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 10-16)

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 a promotion from July 10-16.

With Joanne Wood out, Miranda Maverick steps in at UFC 291 vs. Priscila Cachoeira

The UFC 291 lineup has been slightly tweaked.

A little over two weeks out from UFC 291, [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] is on tap, with [autotag]Joanne Wood[/autotag] out.

Cachoeira (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) vs. Maverick (11-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will square off in a flyweight bout July 29 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City after Wood recently withdrew for undisclosed reasons. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting first reported the news.

Wood (16-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) posted an announcement Thursday on Instagram in which she expressed disappointment at the cancellation. Wood did not say why she is out of the bout, but revealed she planned for it to be the final of her career prior to its cancellation.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CupjOtWPSU3/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=9a643a2c-d61e-46a6-b616-bd778fc1b4bd

After a 3-0 start to her UFC tenure, Cachoeira, 34, has gone 4-1 since. She enters UFC 291 on a two-fight winning streak that includes victories over Ji Yeon Kim and Ariane Lipski.

Maverick, 26, most recently competed at UFC 289 in June when she lost a unanimous decision against Jasmine Jasudavicius. The defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak that included victories over Sabina Mazo and Shanna Young.

With the change, the UFC 291 lineup includes:

  • Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier – for BMF title
  • Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira
  • Paulo Costa vs. Ikram Aliskerov
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Holland
  • Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green
  • Derrick Lewis vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
  • Michel Pereira vs. Stephen Thompson
  • Vinicius Salvador vs. CJ Vergara
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Trevin Giles
  • Roman Kopylov vs. Claudio Ribeiro
  • Miguel Baeza vs. Jack Matthews
  • Matthew Semelsberger vs. Uros Medic
  • Priscila Cachoeira vs. Miranda Maverick

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 29-June 4)

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 a promotion from May 29-June 4.

UFC 291 adds Joanne Wood vs. Priscila Cachoeira

Another fight has been added to UFC 291 in Salt Lake City as Joanne Wood and Priscila Cachoeira look to continue their momentums.

The UFC’s return to Salt Lake City continues to fill up with fights.

The most recent addition to UFC 291 is a flyweight bout between [autotag]Joanne Wood[/autotag] and [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag]. The event takes place July 29 at Delta Center with the main card on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

Two people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie on Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The Mirror was first to report the news.

Wood (16-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) looks to build off a split decision win over Luana Carolina in March. The victory snapped a three-fight losing skid. During the stretch, Wood lost to top contenders Taila Santos and Lauren Murphy, as well as future champion Alexa Grasso.

It’ll be almost a year in between fights for Cachoeira (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC), who is coming off back-to-back cancellations. After Sijara Eubanks’ weight issues canceled a January bout on weigh-in day, Cachoeira had weight management problems of her own when she missed weight by four pounds in April. Her bout vs. Karine Silva was subsequently nixed.

Weight problems aside, Cachoeira is on the best stretch of her UFC tenure. She’s won two in a row and four of her past five.

With the addition, the UFC 291 lineup includes:

  • Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier – for BMF title
  • Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira
  • Paulo Costa vs. Ikram Aliskerov
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Holland
  • Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green
  • Derrick Lewis vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
  • Michel Pereira vs. Stephen Thompson
  • Vinicius Salvador vs. CJ Vergara
  • Priscila Cachoeira vs. Joanne Wood

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.