Josefine Knutsson sends message to women’s strawweights after UFC on ESPN 58 win over Julia Polastri

Josefine Knutsson stayed unbeaten with her sixth straight decision win and said 115-pounders are on notice.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Josefine Knutsson[/autotag] beat Julia Polastri with a unanimous decision Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 58 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Knutsson, who stayed unbeaten with her sixth straight decision win.

Result: Josefine Knutsson def. Julia Polastri via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Knutsson (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), Polastri (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stats: Knutsson outstruck Polastri 145-86.

Knutsson on the fight’s key moment

“My corner is always very honest with me, and that’s what I love with my corner – I want to know exactly how it is. They told me, first round is yours, but your opponent is desperate and she’s going to try to do some stuff to you. So that’s what I needed to hear and to be ready for the next round.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 15: (R-L) Josefine Knutsson of Sweden punches Julia Polastri of Brazil in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on June 15, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Knutsson on fighting in Las Vegas

“I’m pretty new. This is my second fight in UFC, and now I’m 8-0. But still, I want everybody to know that I’m here and I’m here to fight and I’m here to give a war. I just want everybody to watch out for me. It’s always amazing, and especially being here in Vegas, it’s just a different feeling. I can’t explain it exactly in words, but I really feel the energy from the from the city.”

Knutsson on what she wants next

“I want to fight more, but I want to get a date as soon as possible so I can prepare myself smarter. I know it might sound hard, but I would love to have three more fights (this year). I’d be very active.”

To hear more from Knutsson, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.

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UFC on ESPN 58 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Lowest total payout of 2024

UFC on ESPN 58 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 58 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $116,000.

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 58 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 58 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Douglas Silva de Andrade[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Timmy Cuamba[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Asu Almabayev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jose Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Adam Fugitt[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Carli Judice[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gabriella Fernandes[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jeka Saragih[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Shayilan Nuerdanbieke[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Josefine Knutsson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Julia Polastri[/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 $4,580; 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 $58,000 while title challengers get $58,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-58 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,451,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,188,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.

UFC on ESPN 58 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 58 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 58 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC on ESPN 58 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 58.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 12-18)

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 Feb. 12-18.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

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. 15-21.

Josefine Knutsson lauds teammate Khamzat Chimaev for inspiration ahead of Noche UFC debut

Josefine Knutsson was dominant in her UFC debut against short-notice fellow debutante Marnic Mann at Noche in Las Vegas.

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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Josefine Knutsson[/autotag] beat Marnic Mann with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Knutsson, who was dominant in her UFC debut against a short-notice fellow debutante.

Noche UFC post-event facts: Alexa Grasso, Valentina Shevchenko fight to rare title draw

Check out all the facts from Noche UFC, which saw Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko join the shortlist of title bouts to end in a draw.

The inaugural Noche UFC event proved to be a massive success for the company, with the Mexican Independence Day celebration going down Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Although she didn’t get the victory, Mexico’s [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) still left as women’s flyweight champion after she battled [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) to a split draw in their main event rematch.

It was a rare result for a title bout, and for more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Noche UFC.

Noche UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2023 total passes $6 million

Noche UFC fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s Noche UFC event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $185,500.

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.

Noche UFC took place at T-Mobile Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full Noche UFC UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $42,000
vs. [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Terrence Mitchell[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Christos Giagos[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Kyle Nelson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Charlie Campbell[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alex Reyes[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Josefine Knutsson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Marnic Mann[/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 2261 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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,130,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,719,000

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

Noche UFC play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from Noche UFC in Las Vegas, featuring Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2.

LAS VEGAS – Noche UFC took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) took on former champ Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC), whom she submitted earlier this year to win the title, in the main event rematch. In the co-feature, Jack Della Maddalena (16-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) put his unbeaten UFC record on the line against Kevin Holland (25-10 MMA, 12-7 UFC) at welterweight.

Check out full results and play-by-play below.

Noche UFC video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the Noche UFC winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – Noche UFC took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the Noche UFC winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

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