Tag: Luana Pinheiro

Michelle Waterson-Gomez to return at UFC 287 against Luana Pinheiro

The lineup is in its infancy, but UFC 287 gained Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Luana Pinheiro to its slowly-growing fight card.

With the UFC’s 2023 calendar underway, the promotion continues to chip away at its April schedule.

The most recent addition is a strawweight tilt between veteran [autotag]Michelle Waterson-Gomez[/autotag] and rising Brazilian [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag] for UFC 287, an event scheduled for April 8 at a yet-to-be-announced location and venue.

Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported the booking Monday.

Waterson-Gomez (18-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) looks to bounce back from a quick July submission loss against Amanda Lemos. The defeat was the fourth in five outings for Waterson-Gomez, with the solo victory a split decision over Angela Hill.

Pinheiro (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was signed to the UFC in 2020 after a contract-earning performance on Dana White’s Contender Series. After a debut win by disqualification against Randa Markos, Pinheiro defeated Sam Hughes by unanimous decision in November 2021. Pinheiro was then booked to fight Jessica Penne in April. However, the bout was canceled.

The latest UFC 287 lineup now includes:

  • Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
  • Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez
  • Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 7-13)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 Feb. 7-13.

UFC rebooks Jessica Penne vs. Luana Pinheiro for April 30 event

Luana Pinheiro will get her wish: Her fight with Jessica Penne has been rebooked for April.

[autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag] will get her wish.

Pinheiro’s previously scrapped booking with [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag] has been rebooked for UFC Fight Night on April 30, which will take place at a location and venue still to be announced.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA reporter Mario Filho. The people requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

Pinheiro (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was scheduled to meet Penne at UFC Fight Night 198 this past November, but ended up facing Sam Hughes instead when Penne withdrew due to injury. Pinheiro beat Hughes by unanimous decision and the streaking Brazilian prospect called for her matchup with Penne to get rebooked, which the UFC obliged.

Since returning from her more than four-year layoff, former UFC title challenger Penne (14-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has picked up two wins. Most recently, she submitted Karolina Kowalkiewicz in the first round to earn a Performance of the Night bonus at UFC 265 in August.

With the addition, the April 30 lineup includes:

  • Cortney Casey vs. Antonina Shevchenko
  • Gina Mazany vs. Shanna Young
  • Francisco Figueiredo vs. Daniel da Silva
  • Mike Breeden vs. Natan Levy
  • Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
  • Gabe Green vs. Yohan Lainesse
  • Jessica Penne vs. Luana Pinheiro

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With Jessica Penne out, Sam Hughes steps in against Luana Pinheiro at UFC Fight Night 198

Sam Hughes has once against stepped up to the plate.

Once again, [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag] has stepped up to the plate.

With [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag] out, Hughes has been inserted into the UFC Fight Night 198 lineup opposite [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]. The reason for Penne’s withdrawal is unknown at this time.

Two people with knowledge of the change informed MMA Junkie on Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has to make an official announcement.

Hughes (5-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has taken all three of her UFC bouts to date on short-notice. After she lost her promotional debut via TKO due to an eye injury, Hughes was defeated by Loma Lookboonmee via unanimous decision in May.

Pinheiro (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) signed with the UFC in November 2020 when she defeated Stephanie Frausto by first-round knockout. She made her UFC debut in May and won the fight when opponent Randa Markos was disqualified due to an illegal upkick.

UFC Fight Night 198 takes place Saturday, Nov. 20 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 198 lineup includes:

  • Miesha Tate vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Sean Brady vs. Michael Chiesa
  • Davey Grant vs. Adrian Yanez
  • Joanne Calderwood vs. Taila Santos
  • Qileng Aori vs. Cody Durden
  • Cheyanne Buys vs. Loma Lookboonme
  • Terrance McKinney vs. Fares Ziam
  • Rafa Garcia vs. Natan Levy
  • Denys Bondar vs. TBA
  • Sam Hughes vs. Luana Pinheiro
  • Shaylin Nuerdanbieke vs. Sean Soriano
  • Tucker Lutz vs. Pat Sabatini

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UFC on ESPN 23 medical suspensions: Dominick Reyes among four facing six months

See the full medical suspensions for the fighters who competed at UFC on ESPN 23.

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[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] suffered quite a bit of damage in his knockout loss to [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag].

Reyes, who was on the receiving end of a spinning back elbow knockout by Prochazka in the second round of the UFC on ESPN 23 main event, will need his bilateral nasal bone fractures, right displaced orbital medial wall fracture, and left displaced orbital zygomatic arch fracture cleared by a doctor or he could be out for six months.

On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of the UFC on ESPN 23 medical suspensions handed out by the Nevada Athletic Commission from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commission’s official recordkeeper.

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag], who battled Dustin Jacoby to a split draw, needs a nasal X-ray and doctor clearance, or he, too, could be out for six months. [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag], who defeated Randa Markos via disqualification when she was struck with an upkick, is also looking at six months but not for the illegal blow. Pinheiro must have her left fourth finger avulsion of middle phalanx cleared by a doctor before she can resume to action. The fourth fighter facing potential a 180-day term is [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag], who must have an X-ray on his left hand.

The full list of UFC on ESPN 23 medical suspensions includes:

UFC on ESPN 23 post-event facts: Jiri Prochazka’s KO of Dominick Reyes was historic

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 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Cub Swanson nets highest total

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:

* * * *

[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili [/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Poliana Botelho[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]TJ Brown[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]KB Bhullar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Felipe Colares[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Luke Sanders[/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 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:

Year-to-date total: $833,500
Program-to-date total: $833,500

UFC on ESPN 23 results: Randa Markos disqualified for illegal upkick on Luana Pinheiro

Randa Markos made history in a dubious way Saturday at UFC on ESPN 23.

[autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag] made history in a dubious way Saturday at UFC on ESPN 23.

Markos (10-11-1 MMA, 6-10-1 UFC) became the first female in UFC history to hit 10 octagon losses when she was disqualified for an illegal upkick in her strawweight bout with [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag].

After a firefight to start the contest, Markos found herself on her back. In the midst of a scramble, she blasted Pinheiro (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) with a kick to the jaw that sent her flying backward.

It was immediately clear the Brazilian was hurt as the impact of the blow settled in. Just moments later, referee Mark Smith waved it off for the disqualification at the 4:16 mark of Round 1.

Neither fighter spoke in the immediate aftermath of the bout, but Pinheiro was carried out of the octagon by one of her coaches.

Markos saw her career-high losing skid hit four fights. She’d never lost back-to-back fights before the current slump.

UFC on ESPN 23 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card aired on ESPN2.

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