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Check out the best photos from Karol Rosa’s majority decision win over Lina Lansberg at UFC 280.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]’s majority decision win over [autotag]Lina Lansberg[/autotag] at UFC 280 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. (Photos by Craig Kidwell, USA TODAY Sports)
The numbers show that Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev is unlike any fight in UFC history.
The UFC makes its annual visit to Abu Dhabi on Saturday with UFC 280, which goes down at Etihad Arena on Yas Island with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNNews and ESPN+.
A championship doubleheader tops arguably the deepest fight card of the year. [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC) and [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) will meet for the vacant lightweight title in the main event, which marks the first time in history fighters on UFC winning streaks of 10 or more fights meet inside the octagon.
In the co-headliner, meanwhile, [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) puts his bantamweight belt on the line against [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the co-headliner.
For more on the numbers behind the title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC 280.
Denise Gomes is now a UFC fighter alongside girlfriend Karol Rosa after her win at Dana White’s Contender Series 51.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag] is now a UFC fighter alongside girlfriend [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag].
Gomes (6-1) defeated Rayanne Amanda by unanimous decision on Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 51 to earn a contract and joined her partner, UFC bantamweight Rosa, on the roster.
“I’m so happy that I’m with her,” Gomes told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “Being together with someone that you love, doing something that you love just makes everything easier, makes the fight easier.”
Gomes kicked off the night and was the only victorious fighter to not score a finish. When asked if she was worried that going the distance would affect her chances of getting signed, the Brazilian said not at all.
“Honestly I was very proud of the work that we did in there,” Gomes said. “And I truly believe what we put out there showed that what we did was more than enough to get a contract.”
She continued, “I’m a risk taker, and I know if I trade enough out there, eventually I’m gonna get the timing, I’m gonna get it right, and I’m gonna hit it. And when I do, I’m gonna learn, and I’m gonna get better.”
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Sijara Eubanks has a new date and opponent for her next UFC bout.
[autotag]Sijara Eubanks[/autotag] has a new date and opponent for her next UFC bout.
“SarJ” takes on [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 192 on July 24. Eubanks (6-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC) was originally scheduled to take on [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] on June 12 at UFC 263, but Rosa had to pull out due to an eye injury.
MMA Junkie confirmed the change Friday after an initial report from Combate.
The 36-year-old Eubanks enters UFC Fight Night 192 on a two-fight losing skid of decision defeats to Ketlen Vieira and Pannie Kianzad. Prior to the skid, Eubanks had back-to-back wins.
Cachoeira (10-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) is riding a two-fight wining streak since her 0-3 start in the UFC. The Brazilian stopped Shana Dobson and Gina Mazany in her most recent two outings. Her UFC debut came in 2018 against current women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 192 lineup now includes:
Alistair Overeem is among seven fighters who could be facing lengthy time off after UFC Fight Night 184.
[autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] is among seven fighters who could be facing a lengthy time off after UFC Fight Night 184.
Overeem, who suffered a fractured nose in his second-round TKO loss to Alexander Volkov in the main event, will need doctor clearance or he could be facing up to six months on the sidelines.
Joining Overeem with potential 180-day terms is [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag], who defeated newcomer [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] via unanimous decision. Pantoja must have X-rays on both hands cleared. Kape is also dealing with a hand injury of his own, and requires his right thumb to be cleared by a doctor.
MMA Junkie on Monday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.
The full list of UFC Fight Night 184 medical suspensions includes:
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Joselyne Edwards will look for two wins in quick succession to start her UFC career, as she replaces Nicco Montano on short notice.
[autotag]Nicco Montano[/autotag] won’t compete in the cage on the next UFC event.
Montano, a former UFC women’s flyweight champion, has withdrawn from her Feb. 6 bout against [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 184. Montano, who pulled out for undisclosed undisclosed reasons, has been replaced by [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag].
MMA Junkie confirmed the news Tuesday following an initial report by Milenio.
Edwards (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made her debut 11 days ago on Jan. 16, stepping up on short notice to take on Wu Yanan in a bantamweight contest. Edwards won the fight via unanimous decision, making her the first fighter from Panama to earn a victory in the UFC.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Rosa (13-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) last fought in August 2020, outpointing Vanessa Melo at UFC 251. The 26-year-old is on a four-fight winning streak.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 184 lineup includes:
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Kamaru Usman won at UFC 251, but he didn’t walk away unscathed.
[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] won at UFC 251, but he didn’t walk away unscathed.
Retaining his title against challenger [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] in the pay-per-view headliner, Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) received a longer medical suspension than his opponent.
On Friday, MMA Junkie obtained the full list from MixedMartialArts.com, the ABC’s official recordkeeper. Fighters can return sooner than the duration of their suspension if cleared by a doctor.
According to the list, Usman suffered a potentially broken nose during the 25-minute duration of his unanimous decision victory. The injury could mean he’ll need to take 180 days off in between fights.
As for Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC), “Gamebred” received a much shorter suspension: 30 days off due to a facial laceration.
UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag], former UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag], and UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] all received 30-day suspensions, while former UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] received a mandatory TKO-loss suspension of 45 days.
UFC 251 took place Saturday at the Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card streamed on pay-per-view after prelims simulcasted on ESPN and ESPN+.
The complete list of UFC 250 medical suspensions:
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The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 251, which saw Kamaru Usman defend his title against Jorge Masvidal in the main event.
The UFC’s biggest event of 2020 so far went own on Saturday with UFC 251, which took place at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN.
Three championship fights were featured on the card, but the main event occupied most of the attention with Kamaru Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) successfully defending his welterweight title for the second time in a unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC).
Usman put himself further in the record books with the win, but he wasn’t the only one to make history on the night. For more on the numbers, check below for 50 post-event facts to come out of UFC 251.
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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $305,500.
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag], [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag], [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] and [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC 251 fight-night bonuses.
Debuting fighters went 1-3 on the card.
UFC 251 drew an announced attendance of zero for a live gate of $0.
Betting favorites went 11-1 on the card. One fight had even odds.
Betting favorites improved to 11-6 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 3:07:27, a new single-event record in UFC history.
Usman extended his winning streak to 16 fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since May 2013.
Usman became the third fighter in UFC history to start 12-0 with the promotion. Anderson Silva and Khabib Nurmagomedov also accomplished the feat.
Usman’s 12-fight UFC winning streak is tied with Nurmagomedov for the longest active streak in the company.
Usman is the only welterweight in history to start his UFC career with 12 consecutive victories.
Usman’s 12-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Usman’s 12-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied with Georges St-Pierre for longest in divisional history.
Usman has earned nine of his 12 UFC victories by decision.
Masvidal fell to 7-5 since he returned to the welterweight division in July 2015.
Masvidal has suffered 11 of his 14 career losses by decision. That includes all six of his UFC defeats.
[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to 19 consecutive fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since May 2013.
Volkanovski’s seven-fight UFC winning streak at featherweight is tied with Arnold Allen for the longest active streak in the division.
Volkanovski has earned six of his nine UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-6 MMA, 17-6 UFC) has suffered five of his six career losses by decision.
Holloway has landed 100 or more significant strikes in 11 separate UFC fights, the most in company history. No other fighter has more than seven such performances.
Holloway’s 2,182 total strikes landed in UFC competition are most in company history.
Holloway became the second fighter in UFC history to complete 23 octagon appearances without suffering a knockdown. B.J. Penn also accomplished the feat.
[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]’s (15-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) became the third Russian-born champion in UFC history. Nurmagomedov and Andrei Arlovski also accomplished the feat.
Yan’s seven-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is the longest active streak in the division.
[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]’s (28-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2019.
Aldo fell to 0-2 since he dropped to the bantamweight division in December.
Aldo fell to 3-6 in his past nine fights after going undefeated for more than a decade.
Aldo has suffered five of his seven career losses by stoppage.
Aldo has suffered all four of his UFC stoppage losses by knockout.
Namajunas’ (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) seven victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10).
Namajunas’ five fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are second most in divisional history behind Andrade (seven).
Andrade (20-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) fell to 7-3 since she dropped to the UFC strawweight division in June.
Andrade’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are most in divisional history.
[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has earned seven of her 10 career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) fell to 1-2 since she moved up to the UFC women’s flyweight division in January 2018.
VanZant has suffered all three of her career stoppage losses by submission.
Prochazka (27-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) improved to 20-1-1 in his past 22 fights dating back to June 2013.
Prochazka has earned 26 of his 27 career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) fell to 2-4 in his past six fights dating back to January 2018.
Oezdemir has suffered four of his five career losses by stoppage.
[autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) became the third fighter in UFC history to earn multiple submission victories by anaconda choke. Phil Davis and Charles Oliveira also accomplished the feat.
[autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) fell to 1-2 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in March 2018.
Henry has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by submission.
[autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag] (18-3-1 MMA, 7-0-1 UFC) extended his unbeaten streak to 13 fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since May 2009.
Santos’ eight-fight unbeaten streak in UFC lightweight competition is the second longest active streak in the division behind Nurmagomedov (11).
[autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his 10-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
[autotag]Maxim Grishin[/autotag] (30-8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered his first decision loss since Dec. 11, 2009 – a span of 3,865 days (nearly 11 years) and 32 fights.
[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of her UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag]’s (10-8 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since January 2019.
Melo has suffered seven of her eight career losses by decision. That includes all three of her UFC defeats.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 251 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $305,500.
ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 251 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $305,500.
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 251 took place at Flash Forum in Yas Island. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
The full UFC 251 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $40,000
def. [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]: $30,000
[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $40,000
def. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]: $30,000
[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $30,000
def. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]: $30,000
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $15,000
[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]: $5,000
[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: $5,000
[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Maxim Grishin[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhamagulov[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Martin Day[/autotag]: $3,500
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’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 $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
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 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $3,026,000
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $34,030,500
Check out the complete list of fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 251 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.
Inside, see what the fighters from UFC 251 went with as their backing tracks in Abu Dhabi.
