UFC Fight Night 210 was emotional for Loma Lookboonmee, who reveals she struggled with depression and suicidal ideations in the past year.
LAS VEGAS – As she sat at the winner’s table to discuss her victory, [autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] recognized the stark difference in the post-fight feeling compared to her previous bout.
“I’m feeling really great,” Lookboonmee told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a UFC Fight Night 210 post-fight news conference. “It feels great to win, especially after such a long time off. I was out for about a year.”
Lookboonmee’s previous bout was 10 months ago in November 2021. Choked up, Lookboonmee revealed she battled mental illness obstacles in order to return to the cage.
“After that loss, I went home,” Lookboonmee said. “It was a very difficult period for me because I had been suffering from depression. After that loss, I had said to myself this was it. I was done. The reason I’m standing here today is because of my team and my family who believed in me and always believed in me and always believed that I would get better and get back in there today. That’s why I’m here right now.”
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Depression led to suicidal ideations and self-harm, Lookboonmee furthered. She thanked those around her for helping her get back on track once again and sent a message to others that might be struggling.
“I’d like to tell people who are suffering from depression and mental illness that I am one of you, too,” Lookboonmee said. “I know how it feels and I know how bad it is. I’ve had suicidal thoughts. I have hurt myself. I know how dark and deep it goes. I’m lucky to have such an amazing team behind me and a family love me and have always seen the value in me. I’m very grateful and blessed to have them. I want to tell people suffering from mental illness to see value in yourself because it’s there and to never give up and to understand things might not get better right away, but they will eventually.”
“… I think it’s great that I’m able to share this and to be standing here today. I just want to let everyone know that if I can get better, you can get better, too. It doesn’t matter if I’m a UFC fighter or not. We all can suffer from this.”
When it comes to mental health care access, the UFC offers athletes access to remote therapy appointments for mental performance through the UFC Performance Institute – however, the extent of the care is unclear.
Gillian Robertson’s name is all over the record books after another submission win at UFC Fight Night 210.
The UFC’s final event of September took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 210, which went down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and featured 13 fights on the docket.
The last of those fights was an important showdown in the bantamweight division. [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) delivered a fourth-round TKO of [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) after a bad cut forced a doctor’s stoppage, putting Sandhagen back on the winning track after consecutive losses.
For more ont he numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 210.
UFC Fight Night 210 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 Fight Night 210 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $155,500.
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 Fight Night 210 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 210 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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 2107 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2101 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
“UFC Fight Night 210: Sandhagen vs. Song” – $202,000
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 198, which saw a near-record 10 fights end in a decision.
UFC Fight Night 198 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and with 10 decision results, it turned out to be one of the more forgettable events of the year.
It won’t be remembered that way for [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), though, as she put a signature win on her resume when she outworked [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) to a unanimous decision in the women’s bantamweight headliner.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of UFC Fight Night 198.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 23, which saw Jiri Prochazka brutally knock out Dominick Reyes in Las Vegas.
The UFC’s busy May schedule kicked off on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.
The main event of the night featured a knockout for the ages. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) landed just the third spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history when he flattened [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the second round of their light heavyweight contender matchup, seemingly securing a title shot for himself.
For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 40 post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 23.
UFC on ESPN 23 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 23 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $146,500.
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 on ESPN 23 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 23 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
A strawweight matchup between Sam Hughes and Loma Lookboonmee is headed to UFC Fight Night event on May 1.
It didn’t take long for [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag] to find a new fight date and opponent.
Hughes (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has agreed to meet [autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] in a strawweight matchup for a UFC Fight Night event on May 1. The news was confirmed by MMA Junkie on Wednesday following a report from MMA Fighting.
Hughes was scheduled to fight later the month at UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 27 in Las Vegas. However, her opponent Emily Whitmire withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons, thus canceling the matchup.
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Hughes is coming off a loss in December against Tecia Torres at UFC 256, which marked her promotional debut. She’s looking to pick up her first win inside the octagon on May 1.
Meanwhile, Lookboonmee (5-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) last fought in October, defeating Jinh Yu Frey in a unanimous decision. The Thai fighter’s lone loss in the UFC came to strawweight contender Angela Hill.
With the addition to the card, the UFC Fight Night lineup on May 1 now includes:
A strawweight matchup between Loma Lookboonmee and Jinh Yu Frey is in the works for the UFC’s Oct. 3 event.
A strawweight matchup is in the works for the UFC’s Oct. 3 event.
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will take on [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on an unannounced fight card at an undetermined location.
MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with multiple people with knowledge of the situation. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Lookboonmee, the first Thai-born UFC fighter in history, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Angela Hill at UFC on ESPN+ 26 in February. Prior to that, she picked up a split decision win over Aleksandra Albu last October.
Former Invicta FC atomweight champion Frey moved up to strawweight for her UFC debut, but suffered a third-round submission loss to fellow newcomer Kay Hansen at UFC on ESPN 12 in June.
Lookboonmee vs. Frey is the first matchup to be reported for the UFC’s Oct. 3 event.
All the notable stats and figures to come out of UFC Auckland, which saw Dan Hooker beat Paul Felder in the main event.
The UFC made its third visit to New Zealand on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 26. The 12-fight card took place at Spark Arena in Auckland and streamed entirely on ESPN+.
In the main event, [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) elevated his status as a lightweight contender when he edged out a memorable “Fight of the Night” clash with [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) by split decision in front of his hometown fans.
The headliner wasn’t the only fight to produce notable results, though. For more, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 26.
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General
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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $137,000.
Debuting fighters went 0-1 at the event.
Hooker, Felder, [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] and [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN+ 26 fight-night bonuses.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 drew an announced attendance of 10,025 for a live gate of $1,239,625.
Betting favorites went 8-4 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 4-1 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 1:59:19.
Main card
Dan Hooker
Hooker improved to 7-1 since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in June 2017.
Felder has suffered four of his five career losses by decision.
Crute (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned eight of his 11 career victories by stoppage. That includes all three of his UFC wins.
Crute became the fifth fighter in UFC history to earn multiple submission victories by Kimura. Krzysztof Soszynski, Rani Yahya, Frank Mir and George Sotiropoulos also accomplished the feat.
[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Oleksiejczuk has suffered both of his UFC losses by submission.
Yan Xiaonan
[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) improved to 9-0 (with one no contest) since returning from a nearly five-year layoff in July 2015.
Xiaonan’s five-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is tied with Tatiana Suarez for the longest active streak in the division.
Xiaonan has earned all five of her UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]’s (12-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since April 2018.
[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past nine fights.
De Lima improved to 3-1 in the UFC at heavyweight.
De Lima has earned 15 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 14 of those wins in Round 1.
[autotag]Ben Sosoli[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Magomed Mustafaev[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Preliminary card
Zubaira Tukhugov def. Kevin Aguilar
[autotag]Kevin Aguilar[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Aguilar has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by knockout.
[autotag]Joshua Culibao[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his eight-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) improved to 5-1 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017.
Matthews has earned four of his five UFC welterweight victories by decision.
[autotag]Emil Meek[/autotag]’s (9-5-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2016.
Meek has been taken down 21 times in his four UFC appearances.
Meek has suffered all three of his UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Callan Potter[/autotag] (18-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered all nine of his career losses by stoppage.
Song Kenan has earned 13 of his 15 career victories by stoppage. That includes three of his four UFC wins.
[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has earned all four of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] (18-11-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered eight of his 11 career losses by decision. That includes both of his UFC defeats.
Angela Hill
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) became the first to earn two UFC victories in 2020.
Hill improved to 6-5 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s seven victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied with Jessica Andrade for second most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (nine).
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of her career.
[autotag]Cachoeira[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) snapped her three-fight losing skid for her first victory since September 2017.
Cachoeira’s 40-second knockout marked the fastest stoppage in UFC women’s flyweight history.
[autotag]Shana Dobson[/autotag]’s (3-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since December 2017.
Dobson suffered the first knockout loss of her career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 26 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $130,000.
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+ 26 took place Saturday at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The entire card streamed ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN+ 26 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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:
