Ailin Perez vs. Karol Rosa booked for UFC 311 in January

Ailin Perez’s first fight since joining the official UFC rankings has been booked for January.

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag] has her first fight booked since entering the official UFC rankings.

The rising women’s bantamweight contender has been booked to meet [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 from a location yet to be determined. The news was first reported by Gaston Reyno on Wednesday and later confirmed by MMA Junkie.

Perez (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) entered the UFC rankings following her first-round submission win over Darya Zheleznyakova back in September. This result put the Argentine on a four-fight winning streak, bouncing back from a loss in her UFC debut in a fight she took on short notice.

Rosa (18-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is coming off a decision win over Pannie Kianzad in August. The victory got her back in the win column as she had dropped a decision loss last December to Irene Aldana in a Fight of the Night.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

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UFC on ESPN 61 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Event yields second-lowest total of 2024

UFC on ESPN 61 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 61 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $128,000.

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 61 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 61 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chepe Mariscal[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Danny Barlow[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nikolay Veretennikov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Quang Le[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chelsea Chandler[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charalampos Grigoriou[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jhonata Diniz[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jarno Errens[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Stephanie Luciano[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Talita Alencar[/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 $4,610; 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 $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-61 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,914,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $27,651,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 61.

UFC on ESPN 61 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 61 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 61 took place Saturday with 10 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 61 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 61.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for December: A bloody women’s bantamweight war

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for December.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

UFC 296 post-event facts: Colby Covington joins rare company with 0-3 title fight record

The best facts to come out of UFC 296, which saw Colby Covington and Tony Ferguson join exclusive and unfortunate clubs in defeat.

The UFC’s final event of the 2023 started with a bang, but ended somewhat slow as UFC 296 unfolded at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The two championship fights to close out the calendar year saw both belts stay put. [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defeated [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend welterweight gold in the headliner, while [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) also got the nod on the scorecards over [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) to retain flyweight gold.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 296.

UFC 296 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2023 total closes at $8.1 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.

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 296 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC 296 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Martin Buday[/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 $4,500; 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: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,707,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.

Irene Aldana def. Karol Rosa at UFC 296: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Irene Aldana’s unanimous decision win over Karol Rosa at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA Today Sports)

UFC 296 pre-event facts: Inside the numbers of UFC’s stacked 2023 finale

The best facts and figures about UFC 296, which features a loaded card of title fights, contender matchups and notable names with records.

The UFC goes out with a bang for its final event of 2023 on Saturday as a loaded UFC 296 is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the main card set to air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.

The 43rd and final card of the year features two championship fights at the top of the bill. In the main event, [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) puts his welterweight title on the line against [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), while in the co-headliner, [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) looks to defend flyweight gold for the first time in a rematch with [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

The rest of the card features a mix of contenders, familiar names and more with history inside the octagon. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 296.

* * * *

Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 25-Oct. 1)

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 the promotions from Sept. 25-Oct. 1.

Karol Rosa glad to toggle back and forth between 135, 145 – if women’s featherweight stays around in the UFC

Karol Rosa got back in the win column against Yana Santos at UFC on ESPN 47 at featherweight and said she’d like to fight in two divisions.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] beat Yana Santos with a split decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Rosa, who got back in the win column after an April loss to Norma Dumont.