Tag: Kron Gracie

Kron Gracie blames poor UFC 288 showing on bad advice, says he’s going back to ‘old ways’ next fight

Kron Gracie didn’t put forth his best effort in his UFC return, and he apparently knows it.

[autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] didn’t put forth his best effort in his UFC return, and he apparently knows it.

Competing for the first time in three-and-a-half years at UFC 288, Gracie was outworked and dominated by Charles Jourdain earlier this month as he dropped a lopsided unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 30-27 against him.

While the fight was billed as a classic striker vs. grappler matchup between the Canadian puncher and Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, many observers were taken aback by just how little striking Gracie used, instead opting to repeatedly pull guard on Jourdain. Gracie’s performance even had UFC president Dana White saying he had a “rough game plan.”

“He came in very limited tonight,” White said afterward. “It was like coming out of a time capsule in 1995, you know what I mean? Tough way to try to win a fight these days.”

With more than week gone by since the fight, Gracie (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) finally shed some light on his performance in a post on his Instagram stories, blaming it, at least in part, on a last-minute change to his plan.

“In a lifetime of fighting it’s always been a fight to the death,” Gracie wrote. “Understand the (situation) and willing to limit myself. Even that being said, I threw no punches because of bad (advice) and (tried) to please the jiu-jitsu (community) two days before my fight. First fight in my life I didn’t throw a punch. Going back to my old ways.”

The fight with Jourdain was in stark contrast to his previous UFC appearance in October 2019, when he lost a unanimous decision to Cub Swanson in the Fight of the Night at UFC Fight Night 161.

A member of the famed Gracie family, Kron is the son of Rickson Gracie and grandson of Helio Gracie. He’s friends with Nick and Nate Diaz and has taken part in training with both men before.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

UFC 288 post-event facts: Aljamain Sterling takes sole possession of 135-pound wins record

Check out the statistics coming out of UFC 288, where Aljamain Sterling added to a resume that points to him being the bantamweight GOAT.

The UFC made its return to New Jersey after nearly four years Saturday with UFC 288, which took place at Prudential Center in Newark and featured a 12-fight lineup with six stoppage results.

One of the fights that went the distance happened in the main event when [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) retained the bantamweight title with a split decision win over former two-division champ [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), who was returning from a three-year retirement.

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 288.

UFC 288 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Aljamain Sterling nets biggest bag

Aljamain Sterling received the highest Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for entering UFC 288 as champion.

NEWARK, N.J. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 288 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $267,500.

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 288 took place at Prudential Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 288 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Matt Frevola[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rolando Bedoya[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Braxton Smith[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Claudio Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Joseph Holmes[/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: $2,823,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,412,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

Charles Jourdain def. Kron Gracie at UFC 288: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Charles Jourdain’s unanimous decision win over Kron Gracie at UFC 288 in Newark, N.J.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] at UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photos by Ed Mulholland, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC 288 predictions: Who’s picking Henry Cejudo to recapture title from Aljamain Sterling?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC 288 main card in Newark, including bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo.

Sterling
vs.
Cejudo		 Burns
vs.
Muhammad		 Andrade
vs.
Xiaonan		 Evloev
vs.
Lopes		 Gracie
vs.
Jourdain
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
65-45		 cejudo2023
Cejudo
(61%)		 burns2023
Burns
(66%)		 andrade2023
Andrade
(70%)		 evloev2023
Evloev
(91%)		 gracie2023
Gracie
(54%)
Matt Erickson
@MattE
71-39		 sterling2023
Sterling		 muhammad2023
Muhammad		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 jourdain2023
Jourdain
Nolan King
@mma_kings
70-40		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 burns2023
Burns		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 gracie2023
Gracie
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
70-40		 sterling2023
Sterling		 muhammad2023
Muhammad		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 gracie2023
Gracie
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
68-42		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 burns2023
Burns		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 jourdain2023
Jourdain
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
67-43		 sterling2023
Sterling		 muhammad2023
Muhammad		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 gracie2023
Gracie
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
65-45
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 muhammad2023
Muhammad		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 jourdain2023
Jourdain
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
63-47		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 burns2023
Burns		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 jourdain2023
Jourdain
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
-62-48
trophy copy 2018, 2022 Champion		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 burns2023
Burns		 xiaonan2023
Xiaonan		 evloev2023
Evloev		 jourdain2023
Jourdain
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
61-49		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 burns2023
Burns		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 jourdain2023
Jourdain
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
60-50		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 muhammad2023
Muhammad		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 gracie2023
Gracie
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
60-50
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 cejudo2023
Cejudo		 burns2023
Burns		 andrade2023
Andrade		 evloev2023
Evloev		 jourdain2023
Jourdain

The UFC is back on the East Coast this week with the bantamweight title up for grabs for an ex-champ coming out of retirement.

UFC 288 takes place Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) puts his title on the line against former two-division champ and Olympic gold medalist [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who is ending his retirement of nearly three years.

The fight essentially is a pick’em at the betting window. If books don’t have the fight even, there are about as many who have Sterling a slight favorite as there are those that have Cejudo a slight favorite. But our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have it as a blowout for the former champ, Cejudo, at 8-3.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) meets [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in a bout that Dana White has said will determine the next welterweight title challenger – after Colby Covington. Burns, who retired Jorge Masvidal just a month ago, returns for a fight that was booked on a little more than two weeks’ notice. Burns is a slight betting favorite and he has the smallest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.

Also on the main card, former women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) is a 2-1 favorite in her fight against [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC), but she’s not a unanimous pick. One of our staff members has Xiaonan in an upset.

[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is as much as a 10-1 favorite from the oddsmakers in his featherweight fight against [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who took the bout on just a few days’ notice when Bryce Mitchell pulled out. Not surprisingly, Evloev is our only unanimous pick.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) at featherweight. Jourdain is around a -175 favorite, and he’s got a 7-4 lead from our pickers.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Cejudo (61 percent), Burns (66 percent), Andrade (70 percent), Evloev (91 percent) and Gracie (54 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

Charles Jourdain feels back against wall entering UFC 288: ‘If I want to stay in the UFC, I need to level up’

Charles Jourdain says “this is pressure I brought onto myself” entering UFC 288 on back-to-back losses.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] knows his back is against the wall heading into UFC 288.

Jourdain (13-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in Saturday’s main card opener at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

Jourdain is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his career. He knows a third straight loss could be detrimental to his UFC career, but he thinks the time off will help him bounce back.

“This is pressure I brought onto myself by performing not to the best of my ability,” Jourdain said Wednesday during UFC 288 media day. “Especially in my fight in Paris, I just wanted to fight in Paris more than I wanted to win. I did some stupid stuff, but the eight-month layoff made me realize I got the potential. With proper strategy, I could have beaten most of the guys that ‘beat’ me, and I need to level up. If I want to stay in the UFC, I need to level up. If not, the door will be shown to me. So, I need to prove I’m a better fighter.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=420030788]

Jourdain will look to snap his losing skid against the returning Gracie – a jiu-jitsu specialist who has scored submissions in all of his wins. But Gracie hasn’t competed since suffering his first-career loss to Cub Swanson in 2019, and Jourdain is looking to mimic his blueprint.

“He takes too many shots I think in his fight let’s say with Cub,” Jourdain said. “Maybe he’s going to try and go for a takedown right away because you saw his gas tank go down very fast against Cub, and Cub had a phenomenal game plan. So, I’m gonna have a very similar strategy in terms of more strikes with the hands, and let him eat as many shots as he wants to eat.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

[pickup_prop id=”33109″]

Kron Gracie explains UFC 288 return after almost 4-year hiatus: ‘I came back to get this fight sh*t poppin’ again’

One of the most unique figures in MMA, Kron Gracie returned to the public eye at UFC 288 media day.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – After nearly four years away from the public eye, [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] needed approximately two minutes to answer 10 questions Wednesday at UFC 288 media day.

Soft-spoken and somewhat introverted, Gracie (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was polite despite his brevity. Perhaps he’s just waiting for Saturday at Prudential Center to do the talking.

“I came back to get this fight sh*t poppin’ again,” Gracie told MMA Junkie. “… I feel like they stopped the world, and I had certain moves in my life and now I’m here.”

Gracie, 34, moved to Montana during the COVID-19 pandemic and opened a gym. When he steps into the cage Saturday against Charles Jourdain (13-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC), it’ll be his first MMA competition since a unanimous decision loss to Cub Swanson in October 2019 that earned Fight of the Night honors.

“I couldn’t really fight in that situation (during COVID),” Gracie said. “I had to move and then move my gym and get everything kind of organized and ready to fight. It’s already hard enough to fight when I had everything the way I wanted it. I wasn’t going to start training for a fight if I didn’t have the right things in the right places.”

It’s unclear how his in-cage skills have changed over the past three-plus years. Regardless, Gracie wasn’t wasting his time away.

“Now I know how to chop wood and shovel snow a lot better,” Gracie said.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.

UFC 288 pre-event facts: Henry Cejudo returns in pursuit of more history

Check out the numbers behind UFC 288, where Henry Cejudo will attempt to add to his legacy in his bantamweight title headliner.

The UFC returns to New Jersey for the first time in nearly four years Saturday with UFC 288, which takes place at Prudential Center in Newark with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The bantamweight championship will be on the line in the main event. Reigning titleholder [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will attempt to record his third consecutive defense when he welcomes former two-division champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) back after a three-year retirement.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC 288.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 6-12)

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 from March 6-12.