UFC 301 winner Mauricio Ruffy warns Islam Makhachev ‘a new king is coming’ after debut

First Mauricio Ruffy sent a stern message with his performance in his UFC debut, then with his words after an impressive win.

First [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] sent a stern message with his performance in his UFC debut, then with his words after the win.

Ruffy (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) brought the violence at UFC 301 as he defeated Jamie Mullarkey by first-round TKO on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Ruffy, making his promotional debut after earning a UFC contract last year on Dana White’s Contender Series, finished the fight with a flying knee and an arsenal of strikes at the 4:42 mark.

Even though it was just one fight in the UFC for the 30-year-old Brazilian, that didn’t stop Ruffy from putting lightweight champion Islam Makhachev on notice during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.

“I have a message for Islam Makhachev, a nice message: Hey, enjoy your days at the top,” Ruffy said. “I know you’re upset because I beat your friend, but enjoy your days because a new king is coming.”

Ruffy’s win on DWCS came against Makhachev training partner Raimond Magomedaliev by third-round TKO last October.

Including that fight and his UFC debut, Ruffy is on a five-fight winning streak. Ruffy no doubt is facing a long road before even being considered for a fight with Makhachev, but he’s at least on the right track.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC 301 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jose Aldo nets $21k for potential final UFC fight

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 301 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $280,000.

RIO DE JANEIRO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 301 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $280,000.

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 301 took place at Rio Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC 301 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Iasmin Lucindo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Myktybek Orolbai[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Dione Barbosa[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ernesta Kareckaite[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Vinc Pichel[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/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 $4,500; 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: $2,920,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $25,657,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC 301 bonuses: The Force is $50,000 strong with Mauricio Ruffy

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a debuting lightweight.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a debuting lightweight.

After UFC 301, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Rio de Janeiro. Check out the winners below.

UFC 301 video: Mauricio Ruffy explodes Jamie Mullarkey’s nose, beats him down for violent TKO

Mauricio Ruffy made quite the violent first impression at UFC 301 as he bloodied and battered Jamie Mullarkey before a mercy stoppage.

[autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] brought the violence to UFC 301 when he brutally beat down veteran lightweight [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag].

On Saturday’s prelims at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Ruffy (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) hit Mullarkey (17-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC) with an arsenal of strikes for a TKO stoppage at 4:42 of Round 1.

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A Ruffy right hand stumbled Mullarkey before a flying knee connected. A second right hand from Ruffy put Mullarkey down and follow-up punches rained down. Mullarkey rose to his feet, but Ruffy beat the brakes off him again. The second time Mullarkey toppled to the canvas was enough for referee Mike Beltran to wave off the fight.

Ruffy, 30, has won five fights in a row. All five of those victories were stoppages due to strikes. Saturday was his promotional debut after he earned his UFC deal with a Dana White’s Contender Series win by TKO against Raimond Magomedaliev.

Mullarkey, 29, has lost two fights in a row and three of his most recent four. All three of those defeats were knockout/TKOs.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 301 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Mauricio Ruffy def. Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 301: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Mauricio Ruffy’s first-round TKO win over Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 301.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag]’s first-round TKO win over [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag] at UFC 301 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. (Fight and venue photos by Jason Silva, USA Today Sports)

Fresh Ink: Meet the 14 fighters the UFC signed in October 2023

Find out who joined the UFC in October and learn more about them here.

The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.

Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, “Dana White’s Contender Series” signees, or rare straight-up additions. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.

Check out the October 2023 list below.

Mauricio Ruffy wants it known after DWCS 65 contract win: ‘I’m going to be a champion of the UFC’

Mauricio Ruffy vows to become a UFC champion after earning a contract at Dana White’s Contender Series 65.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] vows to become a UFC champion after earning a promotional contract at Dana White’s Contender Series 65.

Ruffy (9-1) stopped Raimond Magomedaliev (10-2) by third-round TKO on Tuesday at the UFC Apex, keeping his 100 percent career finish rate intact.

Having competed at lightweight and welterweight throughout his career, Ruffy is open to both divisions in his pursuit of gold.

“I think any of the divisions, I can see myself in any of them,” Ruffy told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at the DWCS 65 post-fight press conference. “I’m going to sit down, talk to my coaches, talk to my managers and see what’s going on. But I see myself in both of them.

“I just want to work, I came here to work. It’s such a long time to be able to be here, and that makes me want to work so much. File this to the UFC drawers and files, this guy said, ‘I want to be a champion of the UFC.’ I’m going to be a champion of the UFC. One day you’re going to look back, and I’ll say, ‘I told you so.'”

Despite the lackluster start to his fight with Magomedaliev, Ruffy was confident that his finish was contract-worthy, as he thinks the action picked up towards the end.

“I was very confident when the fight ended because it was an exciting fight,” Ruffy said. “I understand it was kind of lukewarm first round, then the second round things kind of got exciting, but I think people liked it. We were actually able to put on a show towards the end and I felt confident after it happened.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 65.

Dana White’s Contender Series 65 results: Four UFC contracts handed out – and impromptu fifth one

Check out the results from Dana White’s Contender Series 65 in Las Vegas, where eight fighters will compete for a UFC contract.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie reported from Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 65 event at the UFC Apex.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC CEO Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

The ninth episode of Season 7 saw eight fighters compete for their shot at a UFC contract. A light heavyweight bout between Rodolfo Bellato (11-2) and Murtaza Talha (6-1) served as the featured matchup of the four-bout lineup.

Bellato defeated Talha by second-round TKO stoppage in a near-10-minute brawl of a fight. In doing so, he earned a UFC contract from White.

Along with the light heavyweight Bellato, bantamweight Victor Hugo, light heavyweight Magomed Gadzhiyasulov, and welteweight Mauricio Ruffy receives UFC offers form White.

Additionally, Jose Medina, who lost to Gadzhiyasulov, received a contract for his effort and competitiveness.

Full results of Dana White’s Contender Series 64 include:

  • Rodolfo Bellato def. Murtaza Talha via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:46
  • Victor Hugo def. Eduardo Torres Caut via submission (kneebar) – Round 2, 2:16
  • Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def. Jose Medina via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Mauricio Ruffy def. Raimond Magomedaliev via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 3, 4:45

Continue reading below for more details about each fight.