Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos, Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Oskar Piechota join UFC Saskatoon lineup

Two undercard matchups are the first additions to UFC Saskatoon.

Two undercard matchups are the first additions to UFC Saskatoon.

[autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag] in a flyweight bout, and [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag] will fight [autotag]Oskar Piechota[/autotag] at middleweight in the UFC’s first trip to Saskatoon since 2015.

MMA Junkie confirmed the matchups Wednesday after an initial report from Saskatoon StarPhoenix. The event will take place June 20 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is expected to be either an ESPN or ESPN+ event.

Robertson (7-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) saw her two-fight winning streak snapped in a first-round TKO loss to Maycee Barber in October. The 24-year-old Niagra Falls native has finished all four of her UFC wins.

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Santos (15-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) earned a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in 2018, but fell short to Mara Romero Borella in her promotional debut last February for her first loss.

Quebec City’s Barriault (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has dropped his first three appearances with the UFC, losing to Andrew Sanchez, Krzysztof Jotko and Jun Yong Park all by decision.

Piechota (11-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) also will be looking to rebound, having been stopped in three straight bouts. His most recent loss came at the hands of Punahele Soriano at UFC 245.

The current UFC Saskatoon lineup includes:

  • Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos
  • Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Oskar Piechota

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UFC on ESPN+ 23 medical suspensions: Frankie Edgar could face six-month term after TKO

Six fighters are looking at potential six-month medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 23, including former champion Frankie Edgar.

Six fighters are looking at potential six-month medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN+ 23, including former champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag], who lost in the main event.

Edgar’s (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) first-round TKO defeat to [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in this past weekend’s featherweight headliner led to an orbital injury that resulted in a 180-day suspension for “The Answer,” unless he receives clearance from a specialist beforehand.

MMA Junkie today obtained the full medical suspension report from UFC on ESPN+ 23, which went down at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea.

Check it out below.

* * * *

  • Chan Sung Jung: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. Frankie Edgar: Suspended 180 days for right orbital injury (requires clearance from oral and maxillofacial doctor); 60 days mandatory rest and 45 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for left shin hematoma (requires clearance from primary care physician); 30 days mandatory rest
  • [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days no contact
    def. [autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for TKO loss and left wrist injury (requires clearance from orthopedic doctor); 45 days mandatory rest and 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days (requires clearance form dentist); 45 days mandatory rest and 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Jun Yong Park[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for nasal laceration; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for left brow laceration; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Liu Pingyuan[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for left eyelid laceration; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days for right eyelid laceration and hard bout;; 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $3,500
    def. [autotag]Suman Mokhtarian[/autotag]: $3,500
  • [autotag]Omar Morales[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Dong Hyun Ma[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right shoulder pain; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days for knockout loss; 30 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: 30 days mandatory rest for hard bout; 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right knee pain; 21 days of no contact
  • [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
    def. [autotag]Miranda Granger[/autotag]: 7-day mandatory rest
  • [autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for right foot injury (requires X-ray clearance); 30 days mandatory rest and 21 days of no contact
    def. [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days for right foot injury (requires X-ray clearance); 30 days mandatory rest and 21 days of no contact

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UFC on ESPN+ 23 post-event facts: ‘Korean Zombie’ the featherweight bonus king

All the notable stats and figures to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 23, which saw Chan Sung Jung beat Frankie Edgar.

The UFC’s final event of the year – and the decade – took place Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 23, which went down at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea, with a main card that streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN.

In the main event, [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) proved himself one of the top contenders in the featherweight division when he  took out former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) with a methodical first-round TKO.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 23.

* * * *

General

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $121,000.

Debuting fighters went 1-0 at the event.

Jung, [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag], [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] and [autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN+ 23 fight-night bonuses.

UFC on ESPN+ 23 drew an announced attendance of 10,651. A live gate was not revealed.

Betting favorites went 7-6 on the card.

Betting favorites fell to 22-18 (one fight had even odds, one ended in a no contest) in UFC headliners this year.

Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:21:54.

Main card

Chan Sung Jung

Jung improved to 3-1 since he returned from a more than three-year layoff from competition in February 2017.

Jung has earned 15 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. That includes all six of his UFC wins.

Jung’s six stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (10) and Ricardo Lamas (eight).

Jung’s eight fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are the most in divisional history.

Jung is the only fighter in UFC history to earn eight total bonuses in his first eight octagon appearances.

Edgar fell to 8-5 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in February 2013.

Edgar has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.

Volkan Oezdemir

[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has earned two of his five UFC victories by split decision.

[autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) had his 12-fight winning streak snapped for his first defeat since his MMA debut in October 2011.

Rakic suffered the first decision loss of his career.

Jourdain (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all 10 of his career victories by stoppage.

Choi’s (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2016.

Choi has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.

[autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to 12 fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since October 2015.

Jung has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage.

[autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2018.

Rodriguez suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

Kyung Ho Kang

[autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) improved to 4-1 since he returned to competition from a nearly 3.5-year layoff in January 2018.

[autotag]Marc Andre Barriault[/autotag]’s (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since September 2018.

Barriault has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.

Preliminary card

Ciryl Gane

[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]’s (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind behind Jairzinho Rozenstruik (four).

Gane earned the first decision victory of his career.

[autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered five of his six career losses by decision.

[autotag]Suman Mokhtarian[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 8-0.

Mokhtarian suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Dong Hyun Ma[/autotag]’s (16-11-3 MMA, 3-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.

Ma fell to 3-4 since he dropped to the UFC lightweight division in June 2016.

Ma suffered his first decision loss since Aug. 27, 2010 – a span of 3,403 days (more than nine years) and 16 fights.

[autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has suffered four of his five career losses by stoppage.

Schnell has suffered all three of his UFC losses by knockout.

Raoni Barcelos

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]’ (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak in bantamweight competition is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Petr Yan (six) and Marlon Vera (five).

[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped for his first defeat since June 2014.

Nurmagomedov has suffered both of his career losses by decision.

[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (7-1-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all seven of her career victories by stoppage.

[autotag]Miranda Granger[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had her seven-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of her career.

[autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag] (14-7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past 10 fights.

Benoit was unsuccessful in his UFC bantamweight debut.

Benoit has suffered four of his six career losses by decision.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

UFC on ESPN+ 23 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2019 total tops $7.3 million

UFC on ESPN+ 23 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.

BUSAN – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 23 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $121,000.

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+ 23 took place Saturday at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. The entire card streamed ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN+ 23 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jun Yong Park[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Liu Pingyuan[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Suman Mokhtarian[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Omar Morales[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Dong Hyun Ma[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Miranda Granger[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag]: $5,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’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 $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.

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 2019 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $31,004,500

UFC on ESPN+ 23 predictions: Is it ‘Korean Zombie’ or Frankie Edgar in South Korea?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN+ 23 main card in Busan, South Korea.

Edgar
vs.
C. Jung
Oezdemir
vs.
Rakic
Choi
vs.
Jourdain
D. Jung
vs.
Rodriguez
Barriault
vs.
Park
Kang
vs.
Pingyuan
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2019: 210-125 (63%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
(64%)
rakic2019
Rakic
(61%)
choi2019
Choi
(89%)
jung2019
D. Jung
(65%)
barriault2019
Barriault
(57%)
kang2019
Kang
(76%)
Simon Head
@simonhead
2019: 127-66 (66%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2019: 121-67 (64%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2019: 215-120 (64%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2019: 214-121 (64%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2019: 214-121 (64%)
trophy copy 2017 Champion
edgar2019
Edgar
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2019: 212-123 (63%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2019: 210-125 (63%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2019: 207-128 (62%)
trophy copy 2014 Champion
zombie2019
C. Jung
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2019: 206-129 (61%)
edgar2019
Edgar
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2019: 110-72 (60%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2019: 201-134 (60%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Dave Doyle
@davedoylemma
2019: 137-106 (56%)
zombie2019
C. Jung
rakic2019
Rakic
choi2019
Choi
jung2019
D. Jung
barriault2019
Barriault
kang2019
Kang
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2019: 175-160 (52%)
edgar2019
Edgar
oezdemir2019
Oezdemir
jourdain2019
Jourdain
rodriguez2019
Rodriguez
barriault2019
Barriault
pingyuan2019
Pingyuan

The UFC touches down in South Korea this week, and a home-country hero headlines the show.

UFC on ESPN+ 23 takes place Saturday at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

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In the main event, former lightweight champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) is putting off his planned move to bantamweight to stay at featherweight to take on [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on short notice. “The Korean Zombie” is nearly a 2-1 favorite in front of his home fans against Edgar. Our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Jung at a sizable 10-3 clip.

In the co-main event, former light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) meets [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who is about a -150 favorite. He’s also the favorite of the majority of our staff pickers at 9-4.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who is from Busan, gets a home fight at featherweight against [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). He’s more than a 3-1 favorite, and only one of our pickers is going against him.

[autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is a slight underdog in front of his home fans against [autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout. It’s our most contentious fight on the card – Jung has a 7-6 edge in the picks.

The only unanimous pick in Busan goes to [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC). Despite not having a UFC win yet, all 13 of our pickers are taking him to beat South Korea’s own [autotag]Jun Yong Park[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Barriault is a slight betting favorite.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has a 12-1 blowout lead in the picks in his bantamweight fight against [autotag]Liu Pingyuan[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, C. Jung (64%), Rakic (91 percent), Choi (89 percent), D. Jung (65 percent), Barriault (57 percent) and Kang (76 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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UFC on ESPN+ 23: Make your predictions for Frankie Edgar vs. Chan Sung Jung

We want your predictions for UFC on ESPN+ 23 in Busan, South Korea.

We want your predictions for this week’s UFC on ESPN+ 23 event in South Korea.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN+ 23 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN+ 23 takes place Saturday at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea. The card streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks for all six main card fights inside.