Matthew Semelsberger vs. Khaos Williams in the works for UFC Fight Night on June 19

Welterweights will throw down on June 19, pending bout finalization.

A welterweight fight is in the works for June 19.

Promotion officials are currently finalizing a 170-pound bout between [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag] and [autotag]Khaos Williams[/autotag] for the UFC Fight Night event. The card doesn’t currently have a publicly known location or venue.

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

Semelsberger (8-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has won both of his UFC appearances to date in very different fashions. After a unanimous decision win over Carlton Minus in his promotional debut, Semelsberger knocked out Jason Witt in 16 seconds on March 13.

Williams (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) looks to rebound from his first promotional loss, which came via unanimous decision to Michel Pereira on Dec. 19. The loss followed Williams’ back-to-back first-round knockout victories over Abdul Razak Alhassan and Alex Morono.

With the addition, the updated June 19 card includes:

  • Chan Sung Jung vs. Dan Ige
  • Matt Brown vs. Dhiego Lima
  • Rick Glenn vs. Joaquim Silva
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. Kanako Murata
  • Roque Martinez vs. Josh Parisian
  • Bruno Silva vs. Wellington Turman
  • Julian Erosa vs. Seungwoo Choi
  • Casey O’Neill vs. Lara Procopio
  • Tyson Nam vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
  • Aleksa Camur vs. Nick Negumereanu
  • Davey Grant vs. Marlon Vera
  • Matthew Semelsberger vs. Khaos Williams

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=none image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

UFC Fight Night 187 medical suspensions: Belal Muhammad faces 30 days after eye poke

Belal Muhammad isn’t facing a long time off after suffering a nasty eye poke against Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 187.

[mm-video type=video id=01f0rk9xdw5jzbn5hn playlist_id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f0rk9xdw5jzbn5hn/01f0rk9xdw5jzbn5hn-0004b90e420f9325ab0f18363a480e2c.jpg]

Thankfully, [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] isn’t facing a potentially long medical suspension coming out of UFC Fight Night 187.

Muhammad’s first headliner vs. Leon Edwards was ruled a no contest after Edwards accidentally poked him in the eye 18 seconds into the second round of their welterweight fight. Visibly in pain, Muhammad was unable to continue and, as a result, the fight was stopped without a winner.

Muhammad (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) was able to provide a positive update shortly after, stating that he suffered no permanent damage to his eye and was slowly starting to get his vision back. The medical report supports his claim as Muhammad will be prohibited from any contact for 21 days with no contest for 30 days, until he receives doctor clearance for his right eye.

MMA Junkie on Tuesday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.

The full list of UFC Fight Night 187 medical suspensions includes:

  • [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • Belal Muhammad: Must have right eye cleared by an ophthalmologist, otherwise suspended 30 days; minimum suspension is 21 days.
  • [autotag]Misha Cirkunov[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with 45 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Gavin Tucker[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]: Suspended 21 days with 14 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Darren Stewart[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
  • [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: Must have left eye cleared by an ophthalmologist, otherwise suspended 30 days.
  • [autotag]Ashley Yoder[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until right ear is cleared by ENT.
  • [autotag]Marcelo Rojo[/autotag]: Must have maxillofacial bones fractures cleared by maxillofacial surgeon and left lamina papyracea cleared by an ophthalmologist, otherwise suspended 180 days.
  • [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to left scalp laceration.
  • [autotag]Rani Yahya[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Ray Rodriguez[/autotag]: Suspended 21 days with no contact for 14 days.
  • [autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until left fibula X-ray is cleared by orthopedic doctor; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until right elbow X-ray is cleared by orthopedic doctor; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Cortney Casey[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until right foot and right hand X-rays are cleared by orthopedic doctor; also suspended 21 days with no contact for 14 days.
  • [autotag]J.J. Aldrich[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Gloria de Paula[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: Suspended 21 days with no contact for 14 days.
  • [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: No suspension.
  • [autotag]Jason Witt[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.

[vertical-gallery id=595074]

UFC Fight Night 187: Make your predictions for Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 187 event in Las Vegas.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 187 event in Las Vegas.

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 Fight Night 187 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 187 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Matthew Semelsberger vs. Jason Witt added to UFC Fight Night on March 13

The UFC’s March 13 lineup has its third scheduled fight.

A welterweight fight has been added to the UFC’s March schedule.

[autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag] and [autotag]Jason Witt[/autotag], two fighters who made their promotional debuts in 2020, will square off at UFC Fight Night on March 13, according to recent social media posts made by both fighters. The event does not currently have a publicly-announced location or venue.

Semelsberger (7-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his only UFC appearance to date in August when he defeated fellow UFC newcomer Carlton Minus by unanimous decision.

Witt (18-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) debuted under the UFC banner in June when he took a fight against Takashi Sato on less than one week’s notice. Witt was knocked out in 48 seconds. Five months later, Witt returned and dominated Cole Williams en route to a second-round submission victory.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOpxM7pveu/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJRi9fcMANT/

With the addition, the March 13 lineup includes:

  • Irwin Rivera vs. Ray Rodriguez
  • Davey Grant vs. Jonathan Martinez
  • Matthew Semelsberger vs. Jason Witt

[listicle id=576863]

UFC on ESPN 15 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $35 million

UFC on ESPN 15 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 15 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $88,000.

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

The full UFC on ESPN 15 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Shana Dobson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Mizuki Inoue[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Austin Hubbard[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Joseph Solecki[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Carlton Minus[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Timur Valiev[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Trevin Jones[/autotag]: $3,500

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 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,052,000
2019 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: $35,056,500

UFC on ESPN 15: Matthew Semelsberger post-fight interview

Matthew Semelsberger talks to media after his UFC on ESPN 15 victory over Carlton Minus.

Matthew Semelsberger talks to media after his UFC on ESPN 15 victory over Carlton Minus.

Alonzo Menifield steps in to fight Ovince Saint Preux in new UFC on ESPN 15 co-main

Alonzo Menifield is replacing Shamil Gamzatov on short notice, looking to rebound from his first career loss.

With Yoel Romero’s withdrawal from UFC on ESPN 15, his fight with Uriah Hall will be rescheduled, resulting in a change of plans for next week’s event in Las Vegas.

The promotion announced Thursday that [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] will fight in the co-main event against [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag], who is stepping in on short notice for undefeated Shamil Gamzatov. A reason for Gamzatov’s withdrawal was not disclosed.

Menifield (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will look to rebound from his first career loss, a unanimous decision against Devin Clark in June at UFC 250. Prior to that, Menifield, 32, had won nine consecutive fights, all finishes.

[lawrence-related id=543758,543764]

Saint Preux, 37, will return to light heavyweight after a failed attempt at heavyweight in May, when he lost to Ben Rothwell by split decision. Saint Preux (24-14 MMA, 12-9 UFC) has lost three of his last four fights dating back to October 2018.

Also added to UFC on ESPN 15 is a fight between promotional newcomers. [autotag]Carlton Minus[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) steps in for Phil Rowe to take on [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

With the changes, the current UFC on ESPN 15 lineup includes:

  • Pedro Munhoz vs. Frankie Edgar
  • Alonzo Menifield vs. Ovince Saint Preux
  • Angela Hill vs. Michelle Waterson
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Shana Dobson
  • Mizuki Inoue vs. Amanda Lemos
  • Daniel Rodriguez vs. Takashi Sato
  • Marcin Prachnio vs. Mike Rodriguez
  • Austin Hubbard vs. Joe Solecki
  • Mark Striegl vs. Timur Valiev
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Maki Pitolo
  • Carlton Minus vs. Matthew Semelsberger