UFC 296 post-event facts: Colby Covington joins rare company with 0-3 title fight record

The best facts to come out of UFC 296, which saw Colby Covington and Tony Ferguson join exclusive and unfortunate clubs in defeat.

The UFC’s final event of the 2023 started with a bang, but ended somewhat slow as UFC 296 unfolded at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The two championship fights to close out the calendar year saw both belts stay put. [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defeated [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend welterweight gold in the headliner, while [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) also got the nod on the scorecards over [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) to retain flyweight gold.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 296.

UFC 296 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2023 total closes at $8.1 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.

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 296 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC 296 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Martin Buday[/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: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,707,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.

Andre Fili def. Lucas Almeida at UFC 296: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Andre Fili’s first-round TKO win over Lucas Almeida at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]’s first-round TKO win over [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag] at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, Getty Images)

UFC 296 video: Andre Fili finishes Lucas Almeida with mad flurry TKO

UFC 296 was quick for Andre Fili, who finished Lucas Almeida with a swarming flurry of punches in Round 1.

LAS VEGAS – He’s admittedly had ups and downs throughout his career, but [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag] left the cage on a high note at UFC 296.

In what was his first finish since July 2019, Fili (22-10 MMA, 10-9 UFC) finished [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a swarm Saturday at T-Mobile. The featherweight bout was the second fight on the prelims and ended at 3:32 of Round 1.

A beautiful and powerful right hand dropped Almeida and charged up Fili for an energetic flurry of punches until referee Jason Herzog dove in. While Almeida was still conscious, Almeida absorbed dozens of shots and struggled to get out from under Fili.

After the fight, Fili got emotional while talking to Joe Rogan during his in-cage interview. He talked about multiple personal losses, including having to recently put his dog down.

Fili has now won two of his most recent three fights. Conversely, Almeida falls into a two-fight skid.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 296 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 30-Nov. 5)

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 Oct. 30-Nov. 5.

Two UFC Fight Night 226 bouts fall through days out from Paris event

UFC Fight Night 226 fight week is upon, and the promotion is currently looking for fill-ins to save two fights.

It’s UFC Fight Night 226 fight week, and the promotion is seeking two last-minute replacements.

The event, which takes place Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris and streams on ESPN+, is down a featherweight and a bantamweight as [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag] and [autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag] are out of their respective bouts.

Almeida (14-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) announced Monday on Instagram his withdrawal from his bout vs. France’s William Gomis (12-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC), which was scheduled to be one of six main-card bouts. The announcement came one day after Gafurov (18-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) withdrew from his bout against France’s Taylor Lapilus (18-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) due to visa issues, according to multiple French news outlets, including La Sueur.

The promotion is currently seeking replacements to keep the two Frenchmen on the card, although it is unclear at this time what the options are just six days away.

With the changes, below is the UFC Fight Night 226 lineup:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 3 p.m. ET)

  • Ciryl Gane vs. Serghei Spivac
  • Manon Fiorot vs. Rose Namajunas
  • Thiago Moises vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
  • Bogdan Guskov vs. Volkan Oezdemir
  • William Gomis vs. TBA
  • Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Caolan Loughran

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, noon ET)

  • Morgan Charriere vs. Manolo Zecchini
  • Taylor Lapilus vs. TBA
  • Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Zarah Fairn
  • Nora Cornolle vs. Joselyne Edwards
  • Ange Loosa vs. Rhys McKee
  • Farid Basharat vs. Kleydson Rodrigues

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 226.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 3-9)

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 a promotion from July 3-9.

UFC on ESPN 46 post-event facts: Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori set striking records in main event

The UFC on ESPN 46 main event between Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori set a new bar for strikes landed in a middleweight bout.

UFC on ESPN 46 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas proved to be a historic night.

The main event saw [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) emerge from a key matchup of former middleweight title challengers with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) in which he set a new single-fight record for most significant strikes landed in a divisional contest.

The Fight of the Night delivered, but for more numbers on the entire card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 46.

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UFC on ESPN 46 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Marvin Vettori’s $16,000 tops card

UFC on ESPN 46 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 46 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $140,000.

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 46 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 46 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,000
def [autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tereza Bleda[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriella Fernandes[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Ronnie Lawrence[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag]: $4,000

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 $46,000 while title challengers get $46,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-46 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,790,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,379,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.

UFC on ESPN 46’s Lucas Almeida: ‘Fight of my life’ coming after 12-month layoff

Lucas Almeida predicts it’s “going to be a war” with Pat Sabatini on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 46.

[autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag] hasn’t seen action in more than a year, and he’s ready to return with force at UFC on ESPN 46.

The dangerous featherweight has endured three fight cancellations since his octagon debut win last summer, but now Almeida (14-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is just days away from getting back to work when he meets Pat Sabatini (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, which airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

With a 100 percent finish rate in all of his wins, Almeida is an action fighter to his core. He’s “hungry” to return to competition, and is ready for a tough battle with Sabatini, though he expects to emerge triumphant.

“It’s going to be a war,” Almeida told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 46 media day. “I’m ready. I trained a lot for this. Fight of my life. … I like to bang it out, I like to go for it, I like bangers, I like to hit people. That’s my speciality. But I don’t have a problem with going down there (to the ground).”

To hear more from Almeida, watch his complete UFC on ESPN 46 media day interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.