UFC books Kurt Holobaugh vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky for July 20 in Las Vegas

A pair of lightweights will look to get back on track in the desert this summer.

A pair of lightweights will look to get back on track in the desert this summer.

[autotag]Kurt Holobaugh[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 1-5 UFC) is set to take on [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the UFC’s July 20 Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie, but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Holobaugh found himself outside the UFC after three straight losses in his second stint in the promotion. But he worked his way back to Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and got true redemption when he beat Austin Hubbard to win the lightweight season. In his follow-up against Trey Ogden in March, though, he dropped a decision for his first loss since 2019.

Kruschewsky, a 33-year-old Brazilian, choked out Dylan Mantello this past September on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a shot in the UFC. But in his promotional debut less than two months later, he was knocked out in the first round by Elves Brener for his first setback in nearly five years.

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UFC Fight Night 231 post-event facts: Jailton Almeida sets ground control time record

Check out all the facts from UFC Sao, which saw Jailton Almeida log a record amount of ground control time over Derrick Lewis in the main event.

The UFC’s return to Sao Paulo after more than four years proved to be a forgettable one on Saturday, with UFC Fight Night 231 seeing six of 10 bouts go the distance with three canceled fights in the 48 hours leading up.

One of the fights go to the scorecards was the main event, [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) earned a lopsided but somewhat underwhelming unanimous decision over [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (27-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) to remain undefeated in heavyweight competition.

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 231.

UFC Fight Night 231 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2023 total passes $7 million

UFC Fight Night 231 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

SAO PAULO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 231 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $145,000.

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 Fight Night 231 took place at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Brazil. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 231 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Eudarda Moura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Montserrat Conejo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Kaue Fernandes[/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 2311 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: $7,033,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,552,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

Elves Brener def. Kaynan Kruschewsky at UFC Fight Night 231: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Elves Brener’s first-round knockout win over Kaynan Kruschewsky at UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]’s first-round knockout win over [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 231 at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. (Photos by Jason da Silva, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC Fight Night 231 video: Elves Brener faceplant KOs short-notice opponent, calls for top-15 fight

Elves Brener left octagon newcomer Kaynan Kruschewsky unconscious on the canvas after calling out top 15 names at UFC Fight Night 231.

[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag] continued the hot start to his octagon tenure on Saturday when he violently finished newcomer [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 231.

Brener (16-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) had some early struggles figuring out Kruschewsky (15-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the 165-pound catchweight bout at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, but he got the big highlight he was looking for when he landed a huge overhand that clipped his opponent and send him crashing face-first into the mat for the knockout at the 4:01 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay of Brener’s brutal finish below (via X):

After starting his UFC run with upsets of Tagir Ulanbekov and Guram Kutateladze, the Brazilian got a major highlight against Kruschewsky. Now, he wants a step up into the top 15 in the lightweight division.

“Props to Kaynan, he took this fight last minute – I’ve had a lot of opponents back out of fights, I don’t know what’s happening,” Brener told Michael Bisping through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “I’ll fight anyone. Dana (White), give me someone in the top 15.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 231 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

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Fresh Ink: Meet the 25 fighters the UFC signed in September 2023

Find out who joined the UFC in September and learn more about them here.

The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.

Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, “Dana White’s Contender Series” signees, or rare straight-up additions. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.

Check out the September 2023 list below.

DWCS 63 winner Kaynan Kruschewsky loves hearing Dana White’s praise: ‘I like to get in bangers’

Dana White isn’t usually keen on signing older fighters on DWCS, but he saw something in Kaynan Kruschewsky.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] isn’t usually keen on signing older contenders, but he saw something in [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag].

Kruschewsky (15-1) scored his fifth consecutive finish when he submitted Dylan Mantello (7-3) in the first round Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 63 to earn a UFC contract.

White raved about the Brazilian lightweight and showed no hesitancy in signing him despite his age.

“This kid came out and absolutely dominated,” White told Laura Sanko of the 32-year-old. “He’s 15-1. When I talk about guys that are too young or guys that are too old, what I like about this guy is I can throw this guy right in the mix today. He’s got a ton of experience.

“Here’s the other thing I love about him: He’s got 16 fights, he’s got 13 finishes. This guy doesn’t mess around. This guy comes in to finish you and what makes him even more interesting is he’s been in multiple five-round fights before. So, he’s a guy that can come right in and fight anybody at anytime.”

Kruschewsky was happy with the UFC CEO’s praise and is confident his experience will pull through. He pointed to his 2019 win over UFC veteran Adriano Martins, who handed current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev the lone loss of his career when he knocked him out in 2015.

“It’s sensational to hear that,” Kruschewsky said through an interpreter at the DWCS 63 post-fight press conference. “I’ve always been like this. I love to fight. If you think about it, in my experience, I fought Adriano Martins, somebody that came in and beat Islam Makhachev.

“He missed weight by more than 10 pounds and I still took him. I went at him and that’s what I like to do, I’m always ready. Clowns make people laugh at parties, dancers dance, I fight. That’s what I do. I like to get out there. I like to get in bangers. I like to get it on with people.”

Check out the full interview with Kruschewsky in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Dana White’s Contender Series 63.

DWCS 63 video: Kaynan Kruschewsky puts Dylan Mantello to sleep with rear-naked choke

Kaynan Kruschewsky flexed his submission skills by choking out Dylan Mantello in front of Dana White at the UFC Apex.

More than half of [autotag]Kaynan Kruschewsky[/autotag]’s wins have come by submission, and he added another to his record on the biggest stage of his career thus far.

Kruschewsky (15-1) only needed half a round to get the job done at Dana White’s Contender Series 63 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The Brazilian lightweight gave Dylan Mantello a nap from a rear-naked choke at 2:52 of the first round.

Once Kruschewsky found his way onto Mantello’s back, it was a wrap – literally and figuratively. Kruschewsky latched on to Mantello and sunk in a deep rear naked choke close to the fence. The referee closely monitored the situation, and discovered Mantello went out after shaking his arm for a response.

Check out video of the finish below (via X):

The win extended Kruschewsky’s current winning streak to six, which includes five stoppage victories. After exiting the cage, he made sure to stop for a selfie with UFC CEO Dana White who appeared very pleased with the performance.

Up-to-the-minute results of DWCS 63 include:

    • Kaynan Kruschewsky def. Dylan Mantello via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:52
    • Igor da Silva def. Jhonata Silva via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:37

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 63.