Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC on ESPN 19, which took place Saturday in Las Vegas.
What mattered most at UFC on ESPN 19 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Jordan Leavitt picked up the second-fastest slam knockout in the promotion’s history when he drove Matt Wiman into the mat.
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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag] finished [autotag]Matt Wiman[/autotag] in speedy, emphatic fashion in the UFC on ESPN 19 main card opener Saturday at the UFC Apex.
Take a look inside the fight with Leavitt as he expresses his excitement in picking up his first knockout win, opens up about fighting a role model, and reflects on a crazy 2020.
UFC on ESPN 19 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 19 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $120,000.
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 19 took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 19 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag]: $20,000
[autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Justin Jaynes[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]John Allan[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Jose Quinonez[/autotag]: $5,000
[autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Matt Wiman[/autotag]: $15,000
[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: $20,000
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: $6,153,000
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: $37,207,500
A grueling battle deservedly was named “Fight of the Night” at UFC on ESPN 19.
Another Saturday night of UFC action is in the books, and with it, four fighters will pocket an extra $50,000.
As is customary, the promotion handed out postfight bonus to the evening’s best performers.
In the case of UFC on ESPN 19 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the company rewarded an outstanding scrap for “Fight of the Night,” after [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] and [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] slugged it out for 25 minutes, and a pair of “Performance of the Night” awards, which went to [autotag]Gabriel Benitez [/autotag]and [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag].
Here’s more on each of the evening’s winners:
Jordan Leavitt delivered a highlight-reel knockout in his UFC debut.
[autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag] sure made a statement in his UFC debut.
“The Monkey King” picked up a 22-second slam knockout of veteran Matt Wiman at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 19 event in Las Vegas. The fight served as the opening bout for the main card of the event.
It was a short and sweet night for Leavitt (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) who was coming off an impressive submission win over Luke Flores at Dana White’s Contender Series back in August. Wiman had standing guard on Leavitt, was carried across the octagon and slammed.
It turned into a scary scene as Wiman, whose head bounced off the mat when he was slammed, was out for several minutes before finally sitting up. He left the octagon under his own power.
Win the win, the 25-year-old Syndicate MMA product remains undefeated. Leavitt hopes to return to the cage after the birth of his daughter, which is expected in February.
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Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Wiman is now on a three-fight losing streak and 1-4 in his last five UFC bouts.
You can watch Leavitt’s highlight-reel knockouts below:
OH MY GOODNESS!
👑 @JoJo_MonkeyKing gets the SLAM KO, seconds into the bout!
[ Main card continues on #ESPNPlus & ESPN2 ] pic.twitter.com/yP5oF907LE
— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020
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Check out the latest on what’s happening in LFA.
“Inside LFA with Ron Kruck” is LFA’s weekly look at prior and upcoming fights, as well as the latest news and notes within the promotion, and you can watch Episode 8 in the video above.
WHAT’S COVERED:
Jordan Leavitt has a message for any potential opponent who is thinking about testing his ground skills.
LAS VEGAS – One of the newest members of the UFC roster, [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag] has a message for any potential opponent who is thinking about testing his ground skills.
Shortly after earning a UFC contract as a result of his first-round submission of Luke Flores at DWCS 27 on Tuesday, Leavitt (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) voiced a mix of emotions in the post-fight news conference.
“It’s a lot of emotions,” Leavitt told MMA Junkie. “It’s very hard to put into words. I guess ‘happy’ is the first one. ‘Nervous’ is the second one. ‘Excited’ is the third one. I’m excited to have made it, I guess.
Leavitt’s ground game is his forte. In six pro victories, Leavitt has finished four of his wins by submission. Leavitt said it doesn’t matter who he’s fighting; he’ll like his odds on the ground regardless of opponent.
“I’m not afraid of anyone on the ground,” Leavitt said. “I train with great black belts. I’ve been training with great black belts since I was 15 years old. I’m not afraid of anybody, especially when it comes to on the ground. There’s no chance of you knocking me out there. There’s no chance of you getting lucky. You have to be really good to tap me. That was the gameplan, 100 percent.”
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Leavitt, 25, said he doesn’t have an opponent or date in mind for his UFC debut. He did say, however, that he’d like longer than three weeks in between fights. Leavitt won two bouts in 18 days en route to his UFC deal.
“A little bit longer than three weeks, but soon,” Leavitt said.
When asked what he hopes to accomplish in his UFC tenure, Leavitt didn’t mention a UFC title – although that could very well be a byproduct of his ultimate goal: making money.
“My future (in the UFC) I’m going to make a bunch of money and get out of here,” Leavitt said. “That’s the plan. I’m going to pay these bills.”
DWCS 27 took place Tuesday at the UFC Apex. The four-fight card streamed live on ESPN+.
To hear more from Leavitt, check out the video above.
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A one-man dance party broke out at Dana White’s Contender Series.
[autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag] picked up a major victory at the Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 4 premiere Tuesday – and danced up a storm afterward.
A short-notice replacement, Leavitt (7-0) took on Luke Flores in the card’s opening bout. After dragging his opponent to the mat in the opening minute, Leavitt fended off submission attempts to lock in one of his own, submitting Flores (9-2) in Round 1 via arm triangle.
Immediately after the tap, Leavitt sprung to his feet. That’s when an all-out dance party broke out.
Leavitt first dove into an impressive split, displaying tremendous flexibility. After rising back up, Leavitt wasn’t done. The worm was next – and somewhere Johnny Walker was shuddering.
Leavitt’s rhythm continued to the post-fight announcement, where he wiggled until his arm was raised. After the fight, Leavitt explained the celebration in an interview with Laura Sanko on the broadcast.
“Oh, (it’s) nothing,” Leavitt said. “I just do the splits. My first amateur fight, I just happened to do it as a joke and it became my thing. And it’s become my thing. I guess I’ll be doing the splits until I’m 40 and done with this.”
Check out Leavitt’s submission and subsequent dance moves in the video below:
THAT'S HOW YOU START A SEASON! 🤩
Jordan Leavitt gives us everything on #DWCS!
📺 Tune in now on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/oLgz2AZQ6A
— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2020
The submission might earn Jordan Leavitt a UFC contract, but hitting the splits and doing the worm earned him legend status 🤣 #DWCS pic.twitter.com/Gv7ivBpd7U
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 5, 2020
DWCS 27 took place Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The four-fight card simulcasted on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.
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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Jordan Leavitt is unusual – but he knows it and he doesn’t care.
[autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag] is unusual – but he knows it and he doesn’t care.
A competitor on the Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 4 premiere, Leavitt (6-0) will fight for a UFC contract Tuesday. Beyond what viewers will see him do inside the cage, Leavitt’s intrigue extends beyond his competitive skills.
Leavitt, 25, is a ground specialist and an undefeated MMA fighter – but he’s also an avid barefoot runner, political campaign worker, 100-books-a-year-reader, and a student. Leavitt has always liked sticking out.
“I’ve always been against the grain,” Leavitt recently told MMA Junkie. “I’ve never really cared about fitting in with people. It’s always been about what I want to do – things that push me and challenge me. But I’ve always been a person who’s been focused on one thing at a time. I’ve always had an obsessive nature. I was either obsessed with politics or obsessed with wrestling – so I just kind of traded it for fighting. I’m interested in all different things. I read 100 books a year – at least. I do yoga and I do love running. But fighting is definitely my obsession. It’s definitely a grounding influence in my life. It kind of puts everything else in order for me.”
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The soft-spoken, self-proclaimed “nerdy kid” doesn’t fit the mold of a stereotypical MMA fighter. Oftentimes, people don’t think he’s a professional mixed martial artist. But Leavitt understands why and has accepted it.
“I definitely don’t think I fit the mold,” Leavitt said. “I don’t think I’m dripping of machismo. I’m not the most manly alpha-male type of person. I’m very smiley and very relaxed. … I’ve never cared about what people think. It definitely has helped me to stick out in this kind of environment. A lot of people are trying to be something they’re not. They have this idea that a fighter is supposed to be fit and supposed to be tough – or supposed to be macho. I’m just like, ‘I’m going to be myself.’ Real recognizes real, as they say.”
Being open and true to himself has bolstered Leavitt’s career. He doesn’t feel the need to promote himself by acting outlandish. He does admit, though, it was initially difficult for him to come to grips with how violent his career-choice is.
“I used to be a little insecure about it – especially when I was younger when I was a few fights in,” Leavitt said. “I hate hurting people. I’ve never been aggressive or a mean person. I’m probably overly polite. I’m probably too nice a lot of the time. It definitely took me a while to separate the violence from the sport for me. It’s not about hurting people. It’s not about me competing with my opponent. It’s about me competing with myself. I’ve figured out a way to frame it where it’s me becoming a better version of myself when I’m out there.”
A win would not only vindicate Leavitt’s pursuit of MMA as a career, but it would also provide him relief knowing he can support himself – and let the world know that.
“I wouldn’t have to be embarrassed when people ask me what I do and I say, ‘A professional fighter.’ They’ll respond, ‘So you make a lot of money doing this?’ I’ll respond, ‘No, I’m kind of broke.’ Fighting doesn’t pay the bills,” Leavitt said. “It’ll mean everything to say, ‘I fight. That’s what I do to pay the bills. That’s what I do to take care of everything.’ It’ll definitely make it feel like all the work I put in actually means something.”
DWCS 27 takes place Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The four-fight card will simulcast on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.
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