UFC on ESPN 43 play-by-play and live results

Get live play-by-play and official results from Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – UFC on ESPN 43 took place Saturday at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

In the main event, Marlon Vera (20-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) takes on Cory Sandhagen (16-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in a fight between bantamweight contenders. In the co-feature, former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) met Yana Santos (14-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC on ESPN 43 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv ) on Twitter.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.

Lucas Alexander def. Steven Peterson at UFC on ESPN 43: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Lucas Alexander’s unanimous decision win over Steven Peterson at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Steven Peterson[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 43 at AT&T Center in San Antonio. (Photos by Aaron Meullion, USA TODAY Sports)

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 9-15)

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 Jan. 9-15.

Fresh Ink: Meet the 5 fighters the UFC signed in October 2022

The UFC added five fighters to its roster last month. Find out who joined 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 the increasingly 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.

UFC Fight Night 212 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Main event nets $12k total

UFC Fight Night 212 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 212 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $151,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 212 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Misha Cirkunov[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mana Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Davis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Nick Maximov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Piera Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Pete Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mike Jackson[/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 2127 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2121 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:

Year-to-date total: $6,642,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,810,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.

Joanderson Brito vs. newcomer Lucas Alexander targeted for UFC Fight Night 212

This week’s UFC return has a late change to the lineup in Las Vegas.

This week’s UFC return has a late change to the lineup in “Sin City.”

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag] (13-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was set to fight [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) until he suffered a broken hand. Now Brito will fight promotional newcomer [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 212.

MMA Junkie confirmed the targeted new matchup with a person with knowledge of the booking, who asked to remain anonymous since it hasn’t been formally announced by the UFC. UFC Fight Night 212 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Alexander, from Brazil, got some eyeballs on him in February with a TKO win on UFC Fight Pass at the debut fight card of Anthony Pettis’ new MMA promotion. The win was the 27-year-old’s fifth straight.

Brito made his way to the UFC starting on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2021. In January, he dropped a decision to Bill Algeo in his promotional debut, which snapped a 12-fight unbeaten streak. But in April, he bounced back in a big way with a 41-second knockout of longtime UFC fighter Andre Fili and picked up a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

Baghdasaryan has been out of action for 11 months. After a DWCS win in 2020, he picked up 2021 UFC wins over Collin Anglin, which won a $50,000 bonus, and Bruno Souza. He was set to return against T.J. Laramie in April, but pulled out. And for the Brito fight, he’s out again.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 212 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo
  • Jonathan Martinez vs. Cub Swanson
  • Askar Askarov vs. Brandon Royval
  • Dusko Todorovic vs. Jordan Wright
  • Misha Cirkunov vs. Alonzo Menifield
  • Brandon Davis vs. Mana Martinez

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Lucas Alexander vs. Joanderson Brito
  • Jacob Malkoun vs. Nick Maximov
  • Raphael Assuncao vs. Victor Henry
  • Sam Hughes vs. Piera Rodriguez
  • Tatsuro Taira vs. CJ Vergara
  • Mike Jackson vs. Pete Rodriguez

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.