Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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 from May 8-15.
Five fighters, including both co-main event participants, were suspended six months for injuries sustained Down Under at UFC 284.
Five fighters face 180-day medical suspensions as a result of injuries sustained at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.
On Monday, the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia publicly published a full list of medical suspensions. While the commission discloses the duration of the suspensions, it does not reveal specifics of fighters’ injuries.
Co-main event participants [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] were among the five fighters who received six-months suspensions, the longest term given to any fighters on the card.
UFC 284 took place Feb. 11 at RAC Arena and was headlined by a lightweight title fight between Islam [autotag]Makhachev[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag].
See below to check out the medical suspensions given to each fighter. It’s important to note fighters can return sooner than the conclusion of the suspension listed if they are cleared by a doctor beforehand.
Josh Culibao had to rally in the second after taking a hard kick to the groin from Melsik Baghdasaryan in the first. He still thanked him.
PERTH, Australia – [autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag] beat Melsik Baghdasaryan with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 284 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Take a look inside the fight with Culibao, who had to rally back in the second after taking a hard kick to the groin in the first.
Check out the numbers to come out of UFC 284, where Islam Makhachev’s title defense gave him the UFC’s longest active winning streak.
The UFC made its return to Australia after more than four years Saturday with UFC 284, which took place at RAC Arena in Perth and marked an historic event.
In the headlining act, [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) successfully defended his lightweight title for the first time when he earned a unanimous decision win over featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) to extend his winning ways inside the octagon.
Additionally, [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) claimed interim featherweight gold in the co-main event when he scored a slick second-round submission over [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) to set up a future showdown with Volkanovski.
For more on the numbers to come out of the title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 287.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 284 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $263,000.
PERTH, Australia – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 284 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $263,000.
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 284 took place at RAC Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
The full UFC 284 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Kleydson Rodrigues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shannon Ross[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fransisco Prado[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jack Jenkins[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Don Shainis[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Blake Bilder[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shane Young[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Elves Brenner[/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 $4,500; 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: $895,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $15,414,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.
In a heated UFC 284 prelim bout, Josh Culibao defeated rival Melsik Baghdasaryan after a punishing groin shot.
[autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag] overcame adversity en route to victory Saturday at UFC 284.
In a featherweight bout on the preliminary card at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, Culibao (11-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) defeated rival [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) by rear-naked choke submission at 2:02 of Round 2.
Before the fight even started, the bad blood flowed. At Friday’s ceremonial faceoffs, Baghdasaryan shoved Culibao in the neck area before the two fighters were separated.
In the opening round of their fight Saturday, further transgressions deepened hard feelings. Baghdasaryan drilled Culibao in the groin with a nasty spinning back kick. Culibao was visibly injured, as he stood up and sat down over and over again, as he tried to get himself right. The doctor came in for a conversation and concluded with Culibao the action could continue.
In Round 2, Culibao grabbed the left foot of Baghdasaryan during a kick and dumped his opponent to the canvas. All in one fluid motion, Culibao pounced, moved to the back, and snatched the neck. Moments later, Baghdasaryan tapped.
Listen to the crowd after Culibao's submission win at #UFC284 🔊 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qypdkzPH82
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 12, 2023
Culibao is unbeaten in his most recent four fights, since a submission loss to Jalin Turner in his promotional debut in 2020. The loss for Baghdasaryan was his first since his professional MMA debut in 2014.
The up-to-the-minute UFC 284 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.
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Check out the best photos from Josh Culibao’s second-round submission win over Melsik Baghdasaryan at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag]’s second-round submission win over [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag] at UFC 284 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. (Photos by Jasmin Frank, USA TODAY Sports)
Check out what the UFC 284 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Perth, Australia.
PERTH, Australia – UFC 284 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner and guest fighter interviews from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
You can hear from all the UFC 284 winners and more by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
Check out the photos from the UFC 284 official weigh-ins at the UFC host hotel in Perth, Australia.
Check out the photos from the UFC 284 official weigh-ins at the UFC host hotel in Perth, Australia. (Images by Jasmin Frank, USA TODAY Sports)
Josh Culibao still is early in his fight career, but he might have a future in the analyst game.
PERTH, Australia – [autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag] still is early in his fight career, but he might have a future in the analyst game.
Culibao (10-1-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC), from Australia, gets a home fight when he takes on Melsik Baghdasaryan (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at UFC 284 on Saturday. Culibao has a tough task on his hands if he wants a third straight featherweight win.
But that doesn’t mean he isn’t paying attention to the big title fights at the top of the card – particularly since they impact his division profoundly. Culibao broke down the lightweight title fight between champion Islam Makhachev and featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, who is going after a second belt. And he also analyzed the interim featherweight title fight between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett in the co-main event.
Check out Culibao’s full media day interview and analysis of the two title fights in the video above.
UFC 284 takes place Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.
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