UFC strawweight contenders Angela Hill, Luana Pinheiro collide in May

UFC strawweight contenders Angela Hill and Luana Pinheiro will collide May 18, multiple sources say.

UFC strawweight contenders [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] and [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag] will face off May 18.

The card will be a UFC Fight Night event that does not currently have a known location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Hill (16-13 MMA, 11-13 UFC) has won three of her most recent four outings. After back-to-back wins over Loopy Godinez and Emily Ducote, Hill lost a unanimous decision to Mackenzie Dern in May. However, Hill came back strong with a victory over Denise Gomes in November.

Pinheiro (11-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) aims to bounce back from her first promotional defeat, which came against Amanda Ribas by TKO in November. Prior to that, Pinheiro won consecutive fights against Randa Markos, Sam Hughes, and Michelle Waterson-Gomez to kick off her UFC tenure.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 18 includes:

  • Angela Hill vs. Luana Pinheiro
  • Hailey Cowan vs. Tamires Vidal
  • Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Emily Ducote

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for November: UFC 295 slugfest ends in a draw

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

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

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

Nominees

UFC Fight Night 232 post-event facts: Brendan Allen on an all-time submission streak

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 232, which saw Brendan Allen put him name in the books with Royce Gracie and Demian Maia.

The UFC closed its November schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 232, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw 10 of 14 fights end in a stoppage.

One of those finishes belonged to main event winner [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who submitted [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their middleweight clash, extending his winning streak to six and putting him in the discussion among the more serious contenders in the weight class.

For more on the numbers behind Allen’s performance, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 232.

UFC Fight Night 232 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Top earners get $16,000

UFC Fight Night 232 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 232 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $158,500.

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 232 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 232 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nick Aguirre[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Myktybek Orolbai[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Uros Medic[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jose Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jeka Saragih[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucie Pudilova[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Rafael Estevam[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000

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 2321 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: $7,464,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,983,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

Luana Pinheiro never thought Amanda Ribas fight would happen due to history, but is excited about it

Luana Pinheiro would have rather crossed paths with fellow Brazilian Amanda Ribas at the top.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag] would have rather crossed paths with fellow Brazilian [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] at the top.

Pinheiro (11-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) meets former housemate Ribas (11-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 232 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Both coming from a judo background, Pinheiro and Ribas lived together in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. So, Pinheiro wasn’t expecting to ever have to fight Ribas – unless it was for the UFC strawweight title.

“I obviously would not ever choose this fight to happen except for a belt,” Pinheiro told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 232 media day. “I wish this fight was for a belt, but yeah, it is weird the fact that we lived together, we’re friends, and we hung out together. We never back in the day when we used to live in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, we never thought this could happen – especially now.”

Stylistically, Pinheiro thinks her fight with Ribas is bound to deliver. Pinheiro is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak and is unbeaten in the octagon.

“It’s going to be a good fight because she presses forward, she goes at it, she really looks for a fight and I think you’re really going to see an actual MMA fight,” Pinheiro said. “It’s also an opportunity for us as you said to showcase everything we trained for, everything that we are, and I think I’m very excited about the fight and people are going to see it.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

Video: UFC Fight Night 232 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 232 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 232, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before the fights arrive, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

UFC Fight Night 232 pre-event facts: Brendan Allen can climb all-time submission list

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 232, which features decorated submission artists Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig in the main event.

After celebrating its 30th anniversary this past week in New York, the octagon returns to its home base of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 232, which streams on ESPN+.

A matchup of middleweight grappling specialists is featured in the main event. [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will attempt to continue his surge up the division against [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC), who looks so stay unbeaten since dropping to 185 pounds.

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 about UFC Fight Night 232.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 21-27)

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 Aug. 21-27.

UFC adds Amanda Ribas vs. Luana Pinheiro to Nov. 18 lineup

Brazilian UFC strawweights Amanda Ribas and Luana Pinheiro will battle in November.

Brazilian strawweights will battle in November.

[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag](11-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night event on Nov. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Combate.

Ribas has split her past six octagon appearances. She will drop back down to 115 pounds after going 1-2 in her return to flyweight, where she was edged out in a Fight of the Night battle against Katlyn Chookagian, picked up a win over Virna Jandiroba, then was stopped by Maycee Barber in her most recent outing at UFC on ABC 5 in June.

Unbeaten in the UFC, Contender Series graduate Pinheiro (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is coming off a split decision win over Michelle Waterson-Gomez at UFC 287 in April. The 29-year-old extended her winning streak to nine.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Nov. 18 includes:

  • Chase Hooper vs. Jordan Leavitt
  • Ottman Azaitar vs. Darrius Flowers
  • John Castañeda vs. Kyung-ho Kang
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
  • Nikolas Motta vs. Trey Ogden
  • Nick Aguirre vs. Payton Talbott
  • Luana Pinheiro vs. Amanda Ribas

Luana Pinheiro had a feeling she’d have to sweat out the scorecards vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez at UFC 287

Luana Pinheiro had a feeling she’d probably have to sweat out the final scores against Michelle Waterson-Gomez at UFC 287 in Miami.

MIAMI – [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag] beat Michelle Waterson-Gomez with a split decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 287 at Kaseya Center in Miami.

Take a look inside the fight with Pinheiro, who won for the ninth straight time and handed Waterson-Gomez her third straight loss.