Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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.
A dozen UFC Austin competitors including Arman Tsarukyan, Beneil Dariush, and Bobby Green have been given lengthy suspensions by Texas.
UFC on ESPN 52 took place Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas and featured a dozen fights.
Of the 24 competitors on the card, 12 fighters were suspended 180 days due to injuries sustained in their bouts, according to documentation from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the commissioning body that oversaw the event.
Among those who received the lengthiest suspensions are both sides of the main event, Arman Tsarukyan and Beneil Dariush, as well as co-main eventer Bobby Green.
The TDLR does not reveal injury specifics, just the duration of the suspensions. Fighters are permitted to return to competition prior to the conclusion of their suspension durations should they be cleared by a doctor beforehand.
Check out the 24 medical suspension durations below:
After a hard-fought win against a gritty Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 52, Joaquim Silva was happy with what he proved to himself.
AUSTIN, Texas – [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag] defeated Clay Guida by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Take a look inside the fight with Silva, who got back in the win column after an entertaining scrap with the veteran.
Check out all the facts from UFC on ESPN 52, which saw a record two slam KOs and Clay Guida tying the UFC record for most losses.
The UFC’s third-to-last event of 2023 went down as one of the best of the year. UFC on ESPN 52 delivered with nine stoppages in 12 fights.
[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) capped off the night with the quickest finish of the bunch. He dropped and stopped [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6-1 UFC) just 64 seconds into their high-stakes lightweight headliner, solidifying himself as a top contender.
For more on the numbers behind the card, which featured a number of historic feats, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 52.
UFC on ESPN 52 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
AUSTIN, Texas – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 52 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $225,000.
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 on ESPN 52 took place at Moody Center. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 52 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Punahele Soriano[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Julia Avila[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joe Solecki[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Rodolfo Bellato[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Wellington Turman[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/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 $4,520; 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 $52,000 while title challengers get $52,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-52 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $7,689,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,208,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
Clay Guida showed he’s still formidable at 41 years old at UFC on ESPN 52, but it wasn’t enough to outwork Joaquim Silva.
AUSTIN, Texas – [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] showed he’s still formidable at 41 at UFC on ESPN 52, but it wasn’t enough to outwork [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag].
Guida (38-24 MMA, 18-18 UFC) added another entertaining fight to his octagon catalogue against Silva (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in their lightweight bout, which took place at Moody Center and aired on ESPN, but came in a losing manner as he dropped a unanimous decision with a trio of 29-28 scores.
This one went to the judges 👀 @NettoBJJ is back in the win column after he takes the unanimous decision over Clay Guida at #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/CkKqJCUECP
— UFC (@ufc) December 3, 2023
Guida came out of the gate looking to pressure forward and string together heavy combinations. He tagged Silva hard midway through the round, but it led to overconfidence and the Brazilian hit him back with a stiff uppercut that led to a near-finishing sequence as Guida tried to scramble from damage. He ultimately survived, and managed to make it out of the round.
The second round was classic Guida. He came forward and Silva and clinched him up against the fence, repeatedly connecting the hands and landing high-impact takedowns. To Silva’s credit, he never accepted bottom position and stood up over and over again, though he couldn’t get Guida off him well enough to mount his own offense.
With both men losing some steam going into the final frame, Guida tried to show he has more in the tank by moving forward with clinch and takedown attempts. Silva landed some timely counter shots and stuffed the advances of Guida. Silva attempted a pair of guillotine choke attempts late in the round, but Guida escaped them to close out a highly competitive contest.
With the defeat, Guida joins a dubious category for the most losses by a single fighter in UFC history, tying Jeremy Stephens with 18. He’s now 1-3 in his past four fights dating back to April 2022, and at 41, is the oldest active lightweight on the roster.
Silva turned around a tough stretch. He’d lost three of four – all by knockout – coming into the matchup with Guida, but got back on track with the triumphant performance.
“I respect Clay Guida a lot. This guy is a big legend in the UFC,” Silva said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I was so happy when he accepted the fight. This guy is amazing. It’s very exciting to fight him. It was a great fight.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 52 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
Check out the best photos from Joaquim Silva’s unanimous decision win over Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photos by Dustin Safranek, USA TODAY Sports)
Joaquim Silva predicts a late finish of Clay Guida.
AUSTIN, Texas – [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag] predicts a late finish of [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag].
Silva (12-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) meets Guida (38-20 MMA, 18-17 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 52 main card at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.
“Netto BJJ” acknowledges Guida’s strength of cardio, and is honored to share the cage with the longtime UFC veteran.
“Clay Guida is a very tough guy,” Silva told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “It’s very difficult to fight him because he moves a lot and uses a lot of energy to fight.
“He’s 41, he has good conditioning and it’s hard to fight him. But I’m prepared for this fight. I love this guy. I’ve watched this guy my whole life, and I’m very excited for Saturday night.”
Silva, who’s finished three of his past four octagon wins, plans on outlasting Guida and scoring the eventual finish.
“I prepared for three rounds,” Silva said. “But I think second round, I hit him and I use my condition for this fight. I think the second or the last round, I finish the fight. This is my plan.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
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. 18-24.
The UFC on ESPN 46 main event between Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori set a new bar for strikes landed in a middleweight bout.
UFC on ESPN 46 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas proved to be a historic night.
The main event saw [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) emerge from a key matchup of former middleweight title challengers with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) in which he set a new single-fight record for most significant strikes landed in a divisional contest.
The Fight of the Night delivered, but for more numbers on the entire card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 46.
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