Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Karl Williams won for the seventh straight time and sixth by decision when he outworked Justin Tafa in the UFC on ESPN 53 co-main event.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag] beat Justin Tafa with a unanimous decision Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 53 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Williams, who won for the seventh straight time, six of which have been by decision.
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.
Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 240 odds between Karl Williams vs. Justin Tafa, with MMA picks and predictions.
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In a 3-round heavyweight bout on the main card, Karl Williams and Justin Tafa meet Saturday at UFC Fight Night 240 — also known as UFC on ESPN+ 98 and UFC Vegas 89 — at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC Fight Night 240: Williams vs. Tafa odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.
The prelims begin at 7 p.m. ET, and can be viewed on ESPN+, while the main card starts at 10 p.m. ET, also on ESPN/ESPN+.
Records: Williams (9-1-0) | Tafa (7-3-0)
Williams heads into this bout with 3 unanimous-decision wins in 3 fights since joining the UFC. He has 6 consecutive pro victories dating back to B2 Fighting Series 142: Kentucky in a championship bout against Jason Butcher Dec. 4, 2021. He lost via triangle choke/submission in that lone setback in 10 career bouts. He posted a UD win over veteran Chase Sherman last time out in mid-May.
Tafa is coming off a KO/TKO win in 82 seconds against Austen Lane at UFC 293, and he had 3 straight wins via KO/TKO, all in Round 1. He has picked up 4 wins in 7 bouts at the UFC level with one no contest.
Williams holds a 5-inch reach advantage against Tafa, so he’ll be able to pull the fighter in and out at his discretion. The southpaw Tafa has a 5.13-to-2.93 significant strikes landed per minute advantage, so it would behoove Williams to keep Tafa at a distance. Each fighter is nearly identical in accuracy, with Williams at 59.67% significant strike accuracy percentage, and Tafa at 59.09%.
Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:20 p.m. ET.
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Williams (-185) is just a little too pricey straight up on the 2-way line, although it wouldn’t be unacceptable to toss him into a multi-fighter, or multi-leg, parlay of some sort.
You just can’t risk nearly 2 times your potential return on a single bet, especially against a veteran like Tafa (+150).
Get a little more specific instead. WILLIAMS BY DECISION/TECHNICAL DECISION (+150) is a much better play. He’ll be able to push and pull Tafa out due to his immense reach advantage, and Williams has won all 3 of his fights via decision at the UFC level. He has been in no hurry to get finishes.
OVER 1.5 ROUNDS (-175) is a little on the pricey side, but it isn’t bad if you like to play it safe.
YES (+130): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is a decent bet if you don’t want to necessarily declare a winner, but want a little action on this fight. Williams is methodical, and he hasn’t secured an early finish in 3 fights at the UFC level.
Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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Karl Williams would’ve been back to work sooner than Saturday, if not for taking home improvements into his own hands.
LAS VEGAS – It sounds as if [autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag] would’ve been back to work sooner than Saturday, if not for taking home improvements into his own hands.
Williams (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets Justin Tafa (7-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 53 heavyweight co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Tafa stepped in for his brother, Junior, who had to pull out of the original booking against Williams with an injury.
Williams himself had to stay on the shelf after a recent surgery setback brought about by his desire for do-it-yourself supremacy.
“I had surgery and then recovery, and I was trying to fight in December,” Williams said at Wednesday’s media day. “… I did a lot of stuff I wasn’t supposed to do after the surgery. I went and built a fence, re-did my bathroom, re-did my closet – which ended up making me have to take longer time off because I ended up re-messing up my surgery because of that.”
Williams said the time on the sidelines started to make him appreciate what he does for a living, almost in classic “don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” mode.
“I don’t hate my job, but you want a vacation and you get on the vacation, it lasts too long and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m ready to go back home,'” he said.
Now that he’s back to the cage for the first time since May 2023, it might be best to not count on Williams to get back into home improvement mode after Saturday.
But then again, he has that fence thing down.
“I did a very good fence. If anybody needs a fence built, I’ve got you,” Williams said.
Check out Williams’ full media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.
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. 26-March 3.
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. 29-Feb. 4.
Three new UFC fights have been booked for March 23 – but a fan-favorite is lost in the shuffle.
Three fights have been added to the UFC Fight Night event March 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The card is currently headlined by former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) as she battles perennial contender Amanda Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a flyweight bout.
In the current co-main event, “TUF 31” lightweight winner Kurt Holobaugh (20-7 MMA, 1-4 UFC) takes on gritty veteran Trey Ogden (16-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC).
Check out the three newest additions that the promotion announced Tuesday, as well as the entire UFC Vegas 89 fight card below.
Thirteen of the 22 competitors at UFC on ABC 4 were suspended due to injuries sustained in their bouts Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.
Four fighters are out indefinitely due to injuries sustained at UFC on ABC 4, which took place Saturday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
A document MMA Junkie obtained Tuesday from North Carolina Boxing and Combat Sports interim executive director Alvin Coley showed medical suspensions were handed out to 13 of the 22 competitors on the card.
[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag], [autotag]Mandy Bohm[/autotag], [autotag]Ji Yeon Kim[/autotag], and [autotag]Gabe Green[/autotag] are out indefinitely until their injuries are cleared by a physician.
The list of fighters who exited UFC on ABC 4 without a medical suspension include both headliners, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] and [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag].
Scroll below to see the full list of UFC on ABC 4 medical suspensions. All suspended fighters are eligible to return prior to the conclusion of the durations handed out should they get cleared beforehand.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ABC 4, including some notable feats from Matt Brown and Jailton Almeida.
The UFC retuned to North Carolina on Saturday with UFC on ABC 4 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
In the main event, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) continued his emergence as a heavyweight contender when he flawlessly ran through [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) en route to a first-round submission and staying unbeaten inside the octagon.
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 on ABC 4.
