UFC parts ways with 7 more fighters in second recent wave of roster transactions

For the second time in the past two weeks, a batch of UFC fighters were removed from the roster list.

The number of UFC departures in recent weeks is now up to 15, as more fighters have officially separated from the promotion.

Days after eight fighters including seasoned veterans Ilir Latifi and Makwan Amirkhani were announced as no longer on the roster, MMA Junkie has confirmed seven more names that first surfaced on algorithm-based Twitter account UFC Roster Watch.

Check out the seven names below. Please note: It’s unclear whether the fighters were released mid-contract or departed the promotion following the conclusion of their promotional agreements, unless denoted otherwise.

UFC Fight Night 223 post-event facts: Song Yadong climbs KO list at 135 pounds

Check out the numbers to come out UFC Fight Night 223, where Song Yadong climbed the bantamweight knockout list with a main event finish.

The UFC closed its April schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 223 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The card, which was thin on paper, saw [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) shine in the main event when he outworked and eventually finished [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) with a fifth-round TKO in their bantamweight showdown.

For more on the numbers to come out of the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 223.

UFC Fight Night 223 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Marcos Rogerio de Lima tops card with $16k

UFC Fight Night 223 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 223 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $144,500.

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.

UFC Fight Night 223 took place at the UFC Apex. The main card streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.

The full UFC Fight Night 223 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Trey Waters[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Hailey Cowan[/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 2231 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: $2,556,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,145,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

UFC Fight Night 223 hit with four changes in days leading up to fight card

The UFC fight card for Saturday in Las Vegas was hit with four changes in recent days.

Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 223 looks a little different than it did one week ago.

Two bouts originally scheduled for the event have been postponed to later dates, while two others have been canceled with one fighter rebooked against a new opponent. One affected bout was scheduled for the main card, while the other three were prelims.

UFC Fight Night 223 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 30-Feb. 5)

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 Jan. 30-Feb. 5.

Sergey Morozov explains amplified happiness with UFC Fight Night 216 win, impressed by Journey Newson’s durability

UFC bantamweight Sergey Morozov was victorious Saturday in Las Vegas, which made him even happier because it was the first fight on his new contract.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Sergey Morozov[/autotag] beat Journey Newson by unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 216 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Morozov, who swept the scorecards in the first fight on his new contract.

UFC Fight Night 216 post-event facts: Drew Dober ties Dustin Poirier’s knockout record

Drew Dober tied Dustin Poirier for the most knockout wins in UFC lightweight history with his finish of Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 66.

The UFC closed out its 2022 schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 216, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main event of the 42nd and final fight card of the year saw [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) squeak out a split decision win over [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (25-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) in a matchup of middleweight contenders.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 216.

UFC Fight Night 216 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: How much was paid in 2022 total?

UFC Fight Night 216 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 216 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $204,500.

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.

UFC Fight Night 216 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 216 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Cheyanne Vlismas[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Saidyokub Kakhramonov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Hayisaer Maheshate[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]David Dvorak[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sergey Morozov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Journey Newson[/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 2167 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2161 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $8,351,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $14,529,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.

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UFC Fight Night 216 video: Hear from each winner backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 216 winners had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 216 takes place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 216 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

UFC books Sergey Morozov vs. Journey Newson for December

Bantamweights are booked for what probably will be the final UFC event of 2022.

[autotag]Sergey Morozov[/autotag] and [autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag] are set to square off.

At a UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 17 at a location and venue to be announced, the two bantamweight fighters will each attempt to extend a solo victory into a winning streak.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup Wednesday informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

In June, Morozov (18-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) rebounded from a barnburner loss to Douglas Silva de Andrade when he defeated Raulian Paiva via unanimous decision. The win brought him to 2-1 in his most recent three.

Newson (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) snapped a three-fight winless stretch in May when he defeated Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision. The performance marked Newson’s first UFC victory. Newson knocked out Domingo Pilarte in 2020 under the UFC banner, but the win was overturned to a no contest when he tested positive for marijuana.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Dec. 17 includes:

  • Julian Marquez vs. Deron Winn
  • Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamal Pogues
  • Sergey Morozov vs. Journey Newson

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