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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from January 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from January 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Jamahal Hill shut down Magomed Ankalaev’s claim that he should leapfrog him for a title shot.
[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] shut down [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]’s claim that he should leapfrog him for a title shot.
After knocking out Johnny Walker in the main event of UFC Fight Night 234, Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) argued that he’s done more than former champion Hill to earn a title shot against light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who vacated his 205-pound title after rupturing his Achilles tendon, is expected to be next in line against Pereira. He mocked Ankalaev for suggesting that he’s a more deserving title challenger.
“That’s some weird math to try to math,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “First, Magomed, just – I get it, you trying to … you want your dream to come true and things like that. You want to get back to a shot and you’re hungry.
“Bro is not very bright. He doesn’t do bright things. Nothing about his movement or motion or anything he does seems bright at all, so I’m not really surprised that he has a not-so-bright take on this whole thing.”
Not only does Hill think Ankalaev isn’t worthy of a title shot, he doesn’t think fans are clamoring to watch him fight.
“We’re in the entertainment business, and you’re not entertaining,” Hill said. “Nobody wants to watch you fight. Nobody’s rushing to pay for your pay-per-view. So whenever it comes down to exciting and people want to see fight, I guarantee you more people want to see me fight than they want to see you fight. That alone, that math, is already killing you.
“My last four fights have been domination, finish, finish, finish. I’m the former champion. You were given the same chance to become champion and you sh*t the bed. You couldn’t finish the job. You couldn’t do it. It wasn’t meant to be for you. Whenever I stepped up, I showed my true colors and I showed that I was worthy to step in and actually be a champion.”
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Magomed Ankalaev certainly made his case to challenge Alex Pereira first after knocking out Johnny Walker this past weekend.
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] made his case to be the next light heavyweight title challenger after he floored Johnny Walker to win by second-round knockout in the UFC Fight Night 234 main event this past weekend.
Should it be Ankalaev who challenges champion Alex Pereira first at 205 pounds? Our “Spinning Back Clique” of Nolan King, Dan Tom and Brian “Goze” Garcia answer that question with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
You can watch their discussion in the video above, or check out this week’s episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.
Johnny Walker won’t give up on his title hopes after UFC Fight Night 234.
[autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag] won’t give up on his title hopes after UFC Fight Night 234.
Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) was knocked out by [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) in Round 2 of their main event Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Ankalaev settled the score with Walker after their first fight at UFC 294 was ruled a no contest due to an an illegal knee which rendered Walker unable to continue. Walker took to Instagram to open up on the loss.
“I’m good, just a little scratch on my nose,” Walker said. “I’m going to watch my fight and see what mistakes I did later on. … It is what it is. We fight the best in the world. I’m one of the best in the world and I’m going to face the best in the world. It could be me, could be him. So he had a better night than me, and congratulations to him, Magomed Ankalaev. Hope he gets the belt now and I’m going to keep grinding, keep going forward, and keep going upwards.”
“Win or learn right @coach , fighting the best in the world, one little mistake cost the win 🥇, you don’t make make so you can’t brake me, you didn’t build me so you can’t kill me! Let’s keep climbing.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2GaXGyvqHb/
Prior to back-to-back fights with Ankalaev, Walker picked up three straight wins over Ion Cuțelaba, Paul Craig, and former title challenger Anthony Smith.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 234, including a potential Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev title fight.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 234 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 234, which saw Jim Miller grow his all-time wins record and add more history to his resume.
The UFC returned from its holiday hiatus on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and although it wasn’t the most stacked lineup, UFC Fight Night 234 delivered seven stoppage results out of 11 bouts.
In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) produced definitive closure on his rivalry with Johnny Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC), scoring a second-round knockout in their light heavyweight rematch to potentially set himself up for a championship opportunity.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 234.
Magomed Ankalaev makes his case to be the next title challenger for Alex Pereira – and he’s ready for it at UFC 300.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] believes he should be up next for a title shot.
The UFC light heavyweight contender is confident he’s done more than Jamahal Hill, who’s considered the No. 1 contender by many, in the race to get a title shot against champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].
“The math works out,” Ankalaev said at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 234 post-fight press conference. “I’m more deserving of the belt because I have 10 victories, and six of them knockouts. Jamahal Hill has eight fights total in the UFC, so it’s just clear I’m a more deserving contender than Jamahal Hill.”
Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) is unbeaten in his past 12 fights, but Hill is a former champion in the division, who never lost his belt, as he had to vacate it last July after suffering an injury. Hill’s manager recently told MMA Junkie that he’s been promised a title shot. There’s still no official say from the UFC regarding Pereira’s first title defense.
Ankalaev returned to the octagon when he knocked out Johnny Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 234.
Ankalaev didn’t use one of his strongest weapons in the fight – wrestling. He wanted to send a message to the division and especially the champion, and said he would be ready to make a quick turnaround for UFC 300 on April 13.
“I could’ve come out today and wrestled Johnny Walker,” Ankalaev said. “I could’ve taken him down right away and won with my ground-and-pound on the ground. Instead, I wanted to send a message. I wanted to stand up and knock him out, and that’s what I did.
“Now, for Glover Teixeira, I have a message: Don’t waste your time and try to teach your student how to wrestle. ‘He’s not going to need it. I’m going to come out there, stand across him and I know that he’s been knocked out before as a middleweight, so imagine what’s going to happen at light heavyweight. Trust me, he’s not going to feel comfortable there.'”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
UFC Fight Night 234 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 234 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $159,500.
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 234 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 234 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Felipe Bunes[/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 2341 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 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $159,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,866,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
After their first meeting resulted in a no contest, Magomed Ankalaev made a statement by knocking out Johnny Walker in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] made the light heavyweight title picture much more interesting after his performance at UFC Fight Night 234.
Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) had frustrating results in his last two walks to the cage, but found relief in his second meeting against Johnny Walker. The Russian made a statement by scoring a vicious knockout of Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at 2:42 of Round 2 in the main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Walker wasted little time unleashing flashy, unorthodox techniques; a spinning back kick, soon followed by a question mark kick, and then a hook kick was offered. As usual, Ankalaev remained calm within his space and waited for opportunities to work his offense.
A hard warning was issued to Ankalaev after a kick went south, causing the fight to pause, and resurfacing memories of the no contest from UFC 294. The fight continued, with Walker showing off some capoeira skills before the horn.
Heavy leg kicks were traded early in Round 2. Ankalaev stalked forward, putting the pressure on Walker, making him uncomfortable. Walker stepped in looking for a kick, but a counter right sent him crashing to the canvas against the cage. Ankalaev followed up with one more right hand that appeared to severely damage Walker’s nose. The fight was immediately stopped as Walker covered his face.
The score has been settled 😤
Magomed Ankalaev puts an end to this one with a second round KO! #UFCVegas84 pic.twitter.com/Z2fnsp3N4i
— UFC (@ufc) January 14, 2024
Ankalaev scored another victory, having not experienced defeat since 2018. Although his last two walks to the cage resulted in a split draw and a no contest, Ankalaev has firmly placed himself in consideration for a shot at the light heavyweight crown, currently held by Alex Pereira.
“The most important thing is that I’m ready to fight for the title,” Ankalaev said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview. “I have 10 victories in a row. It’s been a long time, I’m worth it, give me that fight for the title now.”
The light heavyweight title picture is becoming crowded. Former champ Jamahal Hill was in attendance to watch Ankalaev’s victory. Hill vacated the title after an injury and believes when healthy, his return fight will be for the title.
Walker takes his first defeat since February 2022, which came by knockout against the aforementioned Hill. He rebounded nicely with a trio of wins, but will need to regroup after Ankalaev halted his momentum.
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Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 234 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
The MMA community reacted to Magomed Ankalaev’s vicious knockout of Johnny Walker in their UFC Fight Night 234 main event rematch.
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] left no doubt in his rematch with [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag] in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 234 main event.
After an illegal knee from Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) cause his initial meeting with Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at UFC 294 in October to end in a no contest, the rematch at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas had no controversy.
Ankalaev defeated Walker by second-round knockout, extending his unbeaten streak in the light heavyweight division to 12 fights, and putting the Russian within striking distance of another title shot.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Ankalaev’s victory over Walker at UFC Fight Night 234.
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