UFC 296 pre-event facts: Inside the numbers of UFC’s stacked 2023 finale

The best facts and figures about UFC 296, which features a loaded card of title fights, contender matchups and notable names with records.

The UFC goes out with a bang for its final event of 2023 on Saturday as a loaded UFC 296 is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the main card set to air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.

The 43rd and final card of the year features two championship fights at the top of the bill. In the main event, [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) puts his welterweight title on the line against [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), while in the co-headliner, [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) looks to defend flyweight gold for the first time in a rematch with [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

The rest of the card features a mix of contenders, familiar names and more with history inside the octagon. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 296.

* * * *

Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 16-22)

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. 16-22.

Martin Buday vs. Shamil Gaziev being finalized for UFC 296 in Las Vegas

The UFC 296 lineup is near completion with the addition of a heavyweight bout between Martin Buday and Shamil Gaziev.

Heavyweights are headed to UFC 296 in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag], who recently cracked the promotion’s rankings, will welcome newcomer [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] to the UFC on Dec. 16 at T-Mobile Arena.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Agreements are in place.

Buday (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has quietly risen through the UFC ranks with wins over Chris Barnett, Lukasz Brzeski, Jake Collier, and Josh Parisian thus far. He most recently competed in August when he picked up his first finish inside the UFC, a first-round Kimura of Parisian.

Gaziev (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was a standout on the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series. He submitted CFFC heavyweight champion Greg Velasco in Round 1 to earn his UFC deal. The finish was the 10th of his professional career. Prior to DWCS, Gaziev contended for Brave CF.

With the addition, the UFC 296 lineup includes:

  • Champion Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Champion Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval – for flyweight title
  • Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson
  • Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • Ian Machado Garry vs. Vicente Luque
  • Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa
  • Cody Gabrandt vs. Brian Kelleher
  • Ariane Lipski vs. Casey O’Neill
  • Cody Durden vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
  • Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Dustin Jacoby vs. Alonzo Menifield

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

Martin Buday wants more experience, even if it’s unranked opponents, after UFC on ESPN 51

Martin Buday won for the 12th straight time, but got his first stoppage win in the UFC when he tapped Josh Parisian at UFC on ESPN 51.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag] beat Josh Parisian with a first-round submission Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 51 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Buday, who won for the 12th straight time, but got his first stoppage win in the UFC.

UFC on ESPN 51 post-event facts: Event ties modern-era record for first-round finishes

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 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Two veterans earn max non-title sum of $21,000

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.

UFC on ESPN 51 video: Martin Buday extends streak with first-round kimura of Josh Parisian

Martin Buday made it 4-0 in the octagon with a dominant finish of Josh Parisian on the UFC on ESPN 51 prelims.

[autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag] kept on rolling in the heavyweight division when he delivered his most impressive octagon performance to date against [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 51.

Buday (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) needed just a matter of minutes to hurt Parisian (15-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC) on the feet and force his opponent into a takedown attempt at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He countered, took top control and locked in a tight kimura for the verbal submission at the 4:11 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay of the final sequence below (via Twitter):

With 12 consecutive victories overall, Buday’s assent continued. His four-fight UFC winning streak in the heavyweight division trailed only Sergei Pavlovich (six), and Buday said he’s pleased to get the job done quickly after fighting to a decision in his past two outings.

“It’s the best feeling,” Buday said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I wanted to deliver a finish, and now it happened. I’m very happy.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.

UFC on ESPN 51 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

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.

UFC on ESPN 51 pre-event facts: Cub Swanson hits landmark record in featherweight return

The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 51, where Cub Swanson makes history with his return to the featherweight division.

The octagon returns to the confines of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday for the first time in nearly one month with UFC on ESPN 51, which airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Brazilian welterweight veterans collide in a five-round main event. [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (21-9-1 MMA, 14-5 UFC) returns to action from a nearly yearlong layoff and the hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid when he meets former lightweight titleholder and MMA legend [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] (33-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC).

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s

* * * *

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 10-16)

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 10-16.