Tag: Jonathan Martinez

Jonathan Martinez discouraged by controversial UFC 247 decision: ‘I’ve got kids to feed’

Two days after his controversial UFC 247 loss, Jonathan Martinez still is scratching his head.

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] still is scratching his head.

At UFC 247 on Saturday, Martinez (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) battled Andre Ewell on the preliminary card. After the final bell rang, all signs pointed toward a fairly clear win in Martinez’s favor – at least in the eyes of the majority of viewers.

According to MMAdecisions.com, more than 80 percent of fans thought Martinez was the winner – including UFC commentator Joe Rogan. However, two of the three judges didn’t see it that way.

Martinez lost a split decision, which left many, including UFC commentator Joe Rogan, astounded. One judge, Joe Soliz, even scored it 30-27 in favor of Ewell (16-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

Less than 48 hours later, Martinez spoke to MMA Junkie about the surprising decision. The bantamweight fighter still doesn’t understand how his hand wasn’t raised after the fight.

“I thought I won,” Martinez said. “I was excited. Even Joe went up to me before the decision like, ‘You’re a badass fighter. This was pretty good, and I can’t wait to (interview you).’ That’s what he told me. After that, when I heard it, I was like, ‘Damn.’

“… It still kind of hurts. I thought I had the fight. I don’t understand how I can go in there confident knowing if I win a decision, I still have to wait for the judges to (confirm).”

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Since the fight, Martinez has watched the replay a handful of times. With each watch, Martinez said he’s gotten more and more confident the judges screwed up.

The loss hurts his record. But a defeat means more than just a higher number in the loss column.

“I leave home for eight or nine weeks,” Martinez said. “I live in Texas and I go train in Colorado. For that to happen to me, I’ve got kids to feed. You know what I mean? I work hard for this. My training partners and my coaches work so hard. For (the judges) to do that, that really sucked.”

Martinez will be appealing his loss to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, his manager Jason House confirmed to MMA Junkie (first reported by TheScore). The team hopes to see more accountability from the state’s governing body by awarding Martinez a victory or making the bout a no contest.

“We plan on filing an appeal this week on behalf of Jonathan Martinez,” House told MMA Junkie. “A large part of this appeal will focus on the judging done by Joe Soliz, who scored the bout 30-27 for Ewell. Mr. Soliz consistently demonstrated his incompetence and inability to score a mixed martial arts bout properly throughout the night. It is our goal to get the decision overturned and ensure that Mr. Soliz never judges one of our client’s fights again.”

Martinez said at worst, he can hope for a no contest.

“If they can’t give me the win, at least call it a no contest,” Martinez said. “I don’t really talk a lot, even though I’m mad, but if I were to have lost, I would gone back to the drawing board. I didn’t feel like I lost, though. I did everything.

“My debut fight (in the UFC), I can admit I lost. I was nervous. This fight, I felt really comfortable. There was nothing wrong with me. For them to do that – how can I go in there thinking I’m going to win a decision?”

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UFC 247 marked the final fight on Martinez’s contract. Moments after walking into the locker room however, Martinez said he was informed the promotion will be offering him a new deal in the coming days.

So what’s next? Martinez is healthy, but said he has no interest in fighting Ewell again.

“A rematch is for when someone beats me,” Martinez said. “The guy didn’t beat me. I won that fight and just want to make it right. Make it a no contest, give me a win, or whatever. Let’s move forward from here.”

UFC 247 took place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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UFC 247 post-event facts: Jon Jones sets new mark for most title-fight wins

The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 247, which saw Jon Jones defeat Dominick Reyes in the main event.

The UFC returned to Texas on Saturday with UFC 247, which took place at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card that aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Two championship fights topped the card. In the main event, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) defended the UFC light heavyweight title by the skin of his teeth with a ultra-competitive unanimous decision win over [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), while [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) utterly dominated [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) en route to a third-round TKO in the co-main event.

Both fights for the gold provided some historic footnotes, but that’s not all the card had to offer. For more on the numbers, check below for 50 post-event facts to come out of UFC 247.

* * * *

General

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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $243,000.

[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag], [autotag]James Krause[/autotag], [autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC 247 fight-night bonuses.

Debuting fighters went 2-1 on the card.

UFC 247 drew an announced attendance of 17,401 for a live gate of $3,549,418.

Betting favorites went 6-5 on the card. One fight had even odds.

Betting favorites improved to 3-0 in UFC headliners this year.

Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 2:10:48.

Main card

Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes

Jones’ 14 victories in UFC championship fights are most in company history.

Jones’ 20 victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Jones’ 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest among active UFC fighters.

Jones 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest in company history.

Jones’ 18-fight UFC unbeaten streak in light-heavyweight competition is the longest active streak in the weight class and longest in divisional history.

Jones’ four-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied with Corey Anderson for the longest active streak in the division.

Jones’ 1,835 total strikes landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Jones’ 1,473 significant strikes landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Jones’ 42 takedowns landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are fourth-most in divisional history behind Anderson (53), Rashad Evans (50) and Ryan Bader (46).

Jones’ total fight time of 5:40:15 in UFC light heavyweight competition is most in divisional history.

Reyes had his 12-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

Valentina Shevchenko

Shevchenko’s two consecutive UFC women’s flyweight title defenses are most in divisional history.

Shevchenko improved to 5-0 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in February 2018.

Shevchenko’s five-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Shevchenko’s five victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Shevchenko’s three stoppage victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (four).

Shevchenko’s two knockout victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Maycee Barber for most in divisional history.

Shevchenko earned the eighth knockout in UFC history to stem from the crucifix position. Gary Goodridge, Matt Hughes, Dong Hyun Kim, Paul Kelly, Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier and Tyson Pedro also accomplished the feat.

Shevchenko has completed at least one takedown against nine of her 10 UFC opponents.

Chookagian fell to 4-2 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in January 2018.

Chookagian suffered the first knockout loss of her career.

Justin Tafa

[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all four of his career victories by knockout.

[autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has suffered three consecutive losses after starting his career on a five-fight winning streak.

Adams has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.

[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]’s (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is the fourth longest active streak behind Arnold Allen (seven), Zabit Magomedsharipov (six) and Alexander Volkanovski (six).

[autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.

Bektic suffered the first decision loss of his career.

Derrick Lewis

[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) 14 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are fourth-most in divisional history behind Andrei Arlovski (17), Frank Mir (16) and Junior Dos Santos (15).

[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]’s (14-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.

Latifi was unsuccessful in his UFC heavyweight debut.

Preliminary card

Trevin Giles

Giles (12-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) improved to 2-2 since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in December 2017.

Krause (27-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has suffered three of his four UFC losses by decision.

[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) improved to 3-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in December 2017.

[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in her career.

Lee has suffered both of her UFC losses by split decision.

[autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by knockout.

[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his 10-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

[autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

[autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC losses by decision.

[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.

[autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

UFC 247 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jones, Shevchenko take home biggest checks

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 247 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.

HOUSTON – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 247 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.

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 247 took place at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

The full UFC 247 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]: $40,000
def. [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]: $30,000

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]: $40,000
def. [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag]: $30,000

[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: $15,000
def. [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]James Krause[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag]: $3,500

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’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 $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.

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 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $577,000
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $31,581,500

Joe Rogan rips ‘criminal’ UFC 247 judging after Jonathan Martinez was robbed of victory

Fans who watched Jonathan Martinez vs. Andre Ewell tuned in to see a fight which would determine who’s better. Instead, they watched a robbery.

Fans who watched the UFC 247 fight between [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] and [autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag] tuned in to see who was better. Instead, they watched a robbery.

Just ask UFC color commentator Joe Rogan.

A fun fight was soured by its outcome. After Martinez (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) clearly edged two – if not all three – rounds, the post-fight scoring tally was delayed. Why? A cageside computer involved in the scoring process crashed. Maybe that was technology’s way of trying to warn us what was to come.

Following a moderate delay, the computer rebooted, and Bruce Buffer entered the octagon with the scorecards. The judges awarded the fight 28-29, 29-28, 30-27 in Ewell’s favor.

The decision left the UFC commentary team flabbergasted. How was it possible that Ewell (16-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) won all three rounds in the eyes of one judge?

“That’s ridiculous,” Rogan said on the broadcast. “Anybody saying that that is three rounds to Ewell, that is criminal. That’s criminal. That three rounds to nothing is criminal. Martinez put in an excellent performance. He had Ewell hurt on several occasions in two rounds, kicked him to the body, took his legs out, had Ewell fighting his game, showed excellent defense. I’m stunned.”

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UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik added, “I’m just not sure how, sober, you score that third round for Andre Ewell.”

Former UFC champ Dominick Cruz echoed the sentiment and called some specific attention to the makeup for the scoring table: “The way I see it, we have boxing judges, and Ewell boxed. And Martinez kickboxed.”

The disbelief extended beyond the trio of commentators. The MMA community (including yours truly) expressed disagreement with the decision on social media.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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UFC 247 lineup finalized: Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes leads championship doubleheader

Check out the official lineup and broadcast plans for UFC 247, which takes place Feb. 8 in Houston.

UFC 247 will feature a championship double-header as two of the promotion’s most dominant champions get top billing.

UFC 247 takes place Feb. 8 at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The main event features UFC light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) putting his title on the line against yet another young and hungry contender in undefeated [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

In the co-main event, UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will attempt to make her third title defense, when she faces [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).

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The card also will feature [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]’s heavyweight debut vs. the “Black Beast” [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag], a matchup between featherweight prospects in [autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag], and bantamweights [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] and [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag], who look to break into 135-pound title contention.

The full UFC 247 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes – for light heavyweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
  • [autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
  • Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
  • Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Jimmie Rivera vs. Marlon Vera
  • [autotag]Antonio Arroyo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]

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