Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Julian Erosa took advantage of a takedown attempt for a bonus-winning submission against Ricardo Ramos at UFC on ESPN 53.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] beat Ricardo Ramos with a first-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 53 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Erosa, who took advantage of a takedown attempt for a bonus-winning submission.
UFC on ESPN 53 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 53 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $148,000.
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 53 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 53 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Luis Pajuelo[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kurt Holobaugh[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Gibson[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jarno Errens[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Steven Nguyen[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Dariya Zheleznyakova[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Montserrat Rendon[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Andre Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Igor Severino[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mohammed Usman[/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 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 $4,530; 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 $53,000 while title challengers get $53,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-53 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $1,669,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,406,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.
Check out what the UFC on ESPN 53 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 53 took place Saturday with 13 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 53 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
Ricardo Ramos started strong against Julian Erosa at UFC on ESPN 53, but his aggression ultimately led to his demise.
[autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag] started strong against [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 53, but his aggression ultimately led to his demise.
Erosa (28-11 MMA, 7-7 UFC) latched ahold of Ramos’ (16-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) neck off a sloppy early takedown attempt and secured a guillotine choke at the 2:15 mark of Round 1 in the featherweight bout at the UFC Apex.
“Juicy J” is now 6-3 since he returned to the octagon for a second stint with the promotion, and the choke of Ramos marked his 23rd career finish. Check out the replay below (via X):
WHAT A COMEBACK FOR JULIAN EROSA 😤 #UFCVegas89 pic.twitter.com/6OFpFzIdXm
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 24, 2024
The win was a significant moment for Erosa, who had lost back-to-back fights. His wife welcomed their newest child just eight days before he stepped in the cage, and he said that motivation carried him to the finish of Ramos.
I knew that if (Charles) Jourdain could choke him out with a guillotine – I have one of the best guillotines as well,” Erosa said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder.
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Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 53 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.
All the UFC 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.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 1-7.
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 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.
Fernando Padilla vs. Julian Erosa ended quickly, violently, and controversially. Do you agree with referee Chris Tognoni?
It took [autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag] nearly two years from the time of his UFC signing to make his debut. Saturday, he finally made his first walk – and added a highlight to his reel.
Padilla (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] (28-11 MMA, 6-7 UFC) via TKO due to punches at 1:41 of Round 1. The featherweight bout took place as part of the UFC Fight Night 223 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The stoppage was controversial in the eyes of some, including Erosa who contested referee Chris Tognoni’s decision to step in. Erosa was dropped twice during a flurry of Padilla punches, nearly all of which landed. The final blow was a right hand, which put Erosa on the seat of his pants. Erosa popped up, but as he rose, Tognoni waved off the fight.
NOTHING BUT HEADSHOTS FROM PADILLA 👊💥 #UFCVegas72 pic.twitter.com/bpF4cP13xi
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 30, 2023
Padilla, 26, was signed during the filming of an episode of “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight” in May 2021. Due to visa issues, it took him 23 months to make his promotional debut. With the victory, Padilla extends his winning streak to three.
Erosa, 33, is in his third stint with the UFC. Since his most recent return to the promotion, Erosa has gone 5-3 with three finishes.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 223 results include:
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 223 main card, featuring Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon at bantamweight.
| Yadong vs. Simon |
Borralho vs. Oleksiejczuk |
Brundage vs. Vieira |
Erosa vs. Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta vs. Rogerio |
Quinlan vs. Waters |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 63-41 |
 Simon (59%) |
 Borralho (79%) |
 Vieira (75%) |
 Erosa (70%) |
 Cortes-Acosta (60%) |
 Quinlan (86%) |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 67-37 |
 Yadong |
Borralho |
Vieira |
 Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 67-37 |
Simon |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 66-38 |
Simon |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Erosa |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 66-38 |
Yadong |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 64-40 |
Simon |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 63-41  2014 Champion |
Simon |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Erosa |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 60-44 |
Simon |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -60-44 2018, 2022 Champion |
Simon |
Borralho |
 Brundage |
Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 58-46 2017 Champion |
Simon |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Erosa |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 58-46 |
Simon |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Padilla |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 57-47 |
Yadong |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Erosa |
Cortes-Acosta |
Quinlan |
The UFC stays in Las Vegas this week with a key bantamweight matchup atop the card.
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+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) in a 125-pound matchup originally set for a co-main event this past Saturday. Simon is a slight -120 favorite at the betting window. The comeback on Yadong is +100, making these some of the stickiest main event odds in the UFC this year. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Simon with a big eight ahead of Yadong, who has just three head nods.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is the biggest favorite on the card at nearly 4-1 in his middleweight bout against [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC). He’s also one of our three unanimous picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout. Vieira is about a -250 favorite and is a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.
[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] (28-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is a slight favorite with the oddsmakers in his featherweight bout against [autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC). But it’s Padilla who has a 7-4 picks lead.
Although unbeaten heavyweight [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is a slight underdog against [autotag]Marcos Rogerio[/autotag] (20-8-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC), he’s the second of our three unanimous picks.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is our third unanimous pick in his welterweight bout against short-notice opponent [autotag]Trey Waters[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC). Quinlan nearly is a 2-1 favorite in the fight.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Simon (59 percent), Borralho (79 percent), Vieira (75 percent), Erosa (70 percent), Cortes-Acosta (60 percent) and Quinlan (86 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.
Julian Erosa thinks his experience will play a major part in his bout with the debuting Fernando Padilla at uFC Fight Night 223.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] plans to give Fernando Padilla a rough welcome to the octagon at UFC Fight Night 223.
Erosa (27-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC), who has competed a dozen times under the UFC banner, will take on debuting featherweight Padilla (14-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex, which streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.
There’s a big discrepancy in experience between the two, and Erosa said he intends to use it to his advantage.
“Not only is it his debut, but he hasn’t fought for a couple years,” Erosa told MMA Junkie and other reporters during Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 223 media day. “To fight a guy like me is not a fun out for anyone’s debut. I’m 6-6 in the UFC, so I’m a 50/50 record, but it’s the experience that comes behind it.”
To hear more from Erosa, watch the video above for his complete UFC Fight Night 223 media day interview.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.
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