Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Marcus McGhee got his third post-fight bonus in three UFC fights when he took out Gaston Bolanos at UFC Fight Night 234.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag] beat Gaston Bolanos with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 234 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with McGhee, who won for the fifth straight time and got his third post-fight bonus in three UFC fights.
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.
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:
* * * *
[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.
Marcus McGhee beat Gaston Bolanos at his own game at UFC Fight Night 234, lighting up the striker on the feet for a TKO.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag] continued the hot start to his octagon tenure on Saturday when he overwhelmed [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag] en route to a stoppage win at UFC Fight Night 234.
McGhee (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) put the pressure on Bolanos (7-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) early and was utterly relentless throughout the featherweight bout at the UFC Apex, landing punches and kicks until he rocked his opponent and forced referee Mark Smith to stop it at the 3:29 mark of Round 2.
Check out the replay of McGhee’s handiwork below (via X):
Marcus McGhee with some style points on the finish ✨ #UFCVegas84 pic.twitter.com/iHJARFNOcz
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 13, 2024
Flawless performance from Marcus McGhee tonight 🙌 #UFCVegas84 pic.twitter.com/c8ZbKgcu2t
— UFC (@ufc) January 13, 2024
McGhee was humble in the aftermath of his win, crediting his opponent and saying he’s determined to reach the top of the 135-pound division, but won’t make any callouts.
“I was blessed to get this fight with Gaston, he has a great striking pedigree,” McGhee said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I’m a great striker too and I’m blessed to get in here and have that striking battle with him and win that game. … Whoever they send me next, that’ll be the task.”
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.
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. 2-8.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 51, which saw a record-tying number of first-round stoppage results.
The UFC returns to its home base of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday following three weeks on the road with UFC on ESPN 51, which saw nine of 13 fights end inside the distance.
The main event was one of few that needed the judges. [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) managed to outwork former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] (33-15 MMA, 21-13 UFC) to a unanimous decision in the welterweight bout and used a lot of grappling to get it done.
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 on ESPN 51.
UFC on ESPN 51 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 51 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $173,000.
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 51 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 51 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Iasmin Lucindo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tafon Nchukwi[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]JP Buys[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Mike Breeden[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Francis Marshall[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Isaac Dulgarian[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jaqueline Amorim[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Montserrat Conejo[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jose Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Juliana Miller[/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 $4,510; 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 $51,000 while title challengers get $51,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-51 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $5,395,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $19,984,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.
Marcus McGhee knew he didn’t need to land another shot after dropping JP Buys in the first round at UFC on ESPN 51.
[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag] knew the fight was over before the referee, and mercifully decided against landing more punches.
In the final preliminary bout of UFC on ESPN 51 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, McGhee (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) stopped JP Buys (9-6 MMA, 0-4 UFC) with a vicious right hand. It was a walkoff finish for McGhee, but one that was somewhat awkward due to a slight hesitance from the referee. Ultimately, the fight was declared over at 2:19 of Round 1.
It was a clean striking performance from McGhee, who is known for finishing fights early.
After being on the receiving end of sharp combinations, Buys folded over after a big right hand from McGhee landed. Buys dropped down to one knee on the canvas. McGhee knew he had his opponent out of the fight, and began to walk away with both hands in the air. There was a brief moment of hesitation from referee Jason Herzog, but he waved off the fight as Buys rose to his feet and stumbled into the fence.
MARCUS MCGHEE DID THAT 💥 #UFCVEGAS78 pic.twitter.com/d3S78uzMP4
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 12, 2023
McGhee extends his winning streak to four, and has yet to compete in a professional bout that has gone the distance. In his UFC debut in April, McGhee submitted Journey Newson in the second round.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:
[lawrence-related id=2669083,2669497,2669385]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.
Check out what the UFC on ESPN 51 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 51 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
You can hear from all the UFC on ESPN 51 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.
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 June 26-July 2.
