Tag: Josh Fremd

Josh Fremd: Jamie Pickett ‘very explosive,’ but I think I can break him

Josh Fremd knows Jamie Pickett won’t be an easy outing, but will look to overwhelm him.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag] knows [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] won’t be an easy outing, but will look to overwhelm him.

Fremd (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) meets Pickett (13-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 51 main card opener at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

With Pickett having dropped three straight, Fremd is expecting a sense of urgency from him, but will look to put him away.

“I think that he’s a very explosive, athletic, tough fighter,” Fremd told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Thursday’s media day. “I think he’s very similar to the last guy I fought, (Sedrique Dumas) – just a better version of him, if you will. I think he’s going to be tougher a little bit, but I think I can break him. … I do see a finish.”

Fremd was just in a similar situation to Pickett in the lead-up to his past fight against Sedriques Dumas in March. But the LFA alum remained level headed, and not only was he able to snap a two-fight losing skid, but he also handed Dumas his first-career loss when he submitted in Round 2.

“Honestly, I know it’s hard to believe, but there was no pressure,” Fremd said. “I knew where I stood. I know where I stand. I just knew that I needed to go out there and fight. At the end of the day, it’s a fight. All this extra cameras and microphones and all that, it’s just extra to it. This is a fight, and I just needed to go out there and fight.

“That’s what I told my coach about this fight here. I’m in the same predicament. I just need to go out there and fight. There is no pressure because if I felt the pressure, that means I didn’t do the right things in camp, I didn’t do the right things to prepare myself. So I’m prepared. Even though it was short notice, I was prepared. It is what it is.”

[lawrence-related id=2668253,2667793,2667863,2667788]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.

Video: UFC on ESPN 51 media day interviews

Before UFC on ESPN 51 on Saturday, 12 athletes from the card spoke to reporters Thursday at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for August continues Saturday with UFC on ESPN 51, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

A welterweight bout serves as the main event, with [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (21-9-1 MMA, 14-5 UFC) set to take on former lightweight titleholder [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] (33-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC).

Before fight night arrives, though, 12 athletes from this weekend’s card spoke to reporters Thursday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream above, check below for the archived videos of each media day session.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 5-11)

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 a promotion from June 5-11.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 1-7)

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 1-7.

Josh Fremd reverted to violent version of himself for UFC Fight Night 221 win

Josh Fremd had this feeling he was brought in to lose to favored prospect Sedriques Dumas at UFC Fight Night 221. He wasn’t having it.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag] beat Sedriques Dumas with a second-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 221 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Fremd, who got his first UFC win in an upset and handed Dumas his first loss.

UFC Fight Night 221 post-event facts: Merab Dvalishvili sets takedown attempt record

Merab Dvalishvili attempted a historic number of takedowns in his dominant win over Petr Yan in the UFC Fight Night 221 headliner.

The UFC hosted yet another event on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 221, which took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) continued to emerge as a contender in the main event when he outworked former champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) to win a unanimous decision with a relentless pace of striking and takedown attempts.

For more on the numbers from the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 221.

UFC Fight Night 221 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $16 million

UFC Fight Night 221 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 Fight Night 221 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $194,000.

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 Fight Night 221 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 221 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tony Gravely[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]JJ Aldrich [/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Carlston Harris[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag]: $4,500

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 2217 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2211 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: $1,634,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $16,153,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC Fight Night 221 with Tupac, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Elvis

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 221 event.

While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.

See what the fighters from UFC Fight Night 221 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas.

Josh Fremd def. Sedriques Dumas at UFC Fight Night 221: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Josh Fremd’s submission win over Sedriques Dumas at UFC Fight Night 221.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]’s submission win over [autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 221 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ron Chenoy, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC Fight Night 221 video: Josh Fremd spoils Sedriques Dumas’ debut with guillotine choke

Josh Fremd was the underdog when he entered his UFC Fight Night 221 bout vs. Sedriques Dumas, but he exited the winner.

[autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag] entered the UFC with a head full of steam, but [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag] was more than ready for the task.

At UFC Fight Night 221, Fremd (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) submitted Dumas (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a guillotine choke at the 3:00 mark of Round 2. The event took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Fremd was largely dominant from bell to bell, as he outstruck and hip-tossed a lengthy newcomer in Dumas. As the fight progressed, Dumas waned in energy and output but ended up on the back of Fremd in Round 2. A little overzealous perhaps, Dumas fell off the top and Fremd took advantage.

Fremd positioned his hand under Dumas’ chin and squeezed as they were positioned on the ground against the cage. In a visual slightly reminiscent of Jon Jones’ recent submission of Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, Fremd tapped Dumas.

Fremd, 29, picks up his first UFC victory in his third try, after consecutive losses to Anthony Hernandez and Tresean Gore. Dumas, 27, suffers his career loss one fight after he wowed the UFC brass on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022.

The up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 221 results include:

  • Josh Fremd def. Sedriques Dumas via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:00
  • Victor Henry def. Tony Gravely via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Ariane Lipski def. JJ Aldrich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Bruno Silva def. Tyson Nam via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:23
  • Carlston Harris def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.