Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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 from March 13-19.
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 from Jan. 16-22.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 279 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $202,000.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 279 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $202,000.
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 279 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 279 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Macy Chiasson[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Danyelle Wolf[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Darian Weeks[/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.
Year-to-date total: $6,171,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,338,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.
Check out these photos from the UFC 279 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday in Las Vegas.
Check out these photos from the UFC 279 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas (Photos courtesy of Ken Hathaway – MMA Junkie)
Check out the photos from the UFC 279 official weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check out the photos from the UFC 278 official weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (Images by Ken Hathaway–MMA Junkie)
The UFC 279 women’s flyweight bout between Hannah Cifers and “Super Melly” Melissa Martinez is canceled.
[autotag]Hannah Cifers[/autotag] won’t be the one welcoming [autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag] to the UFC this September.
Originally scheduled to fight Sept. 10 at UFC 279, Cifers (10-7 MMA, 2-5 UFC) has withdrawn from her matchup vs. Martinez (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) due to undisclosed reasons.
A person with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of her withdrawal, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Cifers, 29, is currently on a four-fight skid and has been finished in each of the defeats. All four of those losses came in an eight-month stretch from January-August 2020. She was scheduled to fight Emily Whitmire in February, but also withdrew from that contest.
Martinez, 24, is a former Combate Global standout who signed with the UFC earlier this year. She hasn’t competed since a December 2019 split decision win over now-Bellator fighter Desiree Yanez.
With the change, the UFC 279 lineup now includes:
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Top Mexican prospect Melissa Martinez is now in the UFC.
[autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag] is headed to the UFC.
An undefeated prospect and Combate Global strawweight champion, Martinez has signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion. She is set to take on [autotag]Hannah Cifers[/autotag] (10-7 MMA, 2-5 UFC) at a UFC event Sept. 10. at a location and venue yet-to-be-announced.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The news was first reported by Lichald Scott.
Martinez last defended her belt in December 2019 when she defeated Desiree Yanez in the co-main event of Combate Global 51. She has been fighting professionally in MMA since 2016.
Martinez is also a decorated kickboxer who won a gold medal at the 2016 Panamerican Kickboxing Championship and a silver medal at the World Games 2017 representing the Mexican national kickboxing team.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s opponent, Cifers, is a seasoned veteran in the UFC. She’s currently on a four-fight losing streak and hasn’t fought since August of 2020.
With the addition, the UFC lineup for Sept. 10 includes:
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The return of Dana White’s Contender Series isn’t far off, and here are 10 female fighters who are candidates to appear on the show.
Dana White’s Contender Series has become a focal point for fighters on the regional scene. Since its inception in 2017, the UFC Fight Pass-turned-ESPN+ summer original removed some of the guesswork for up-and-comers trying to make it big.
With UFC president Dana White and matchmakers Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby cageside, the stakes are high. Have an impressive, exciting win on the show, and you’re in.
Rumored for a late-June start date, DWCS Season 4 is almost here. The lineups haven’t been announced quite yet, but advanced planning is underway. While there are hundreds of fighters qualified to compete on the show, we’ll be narrowing each divisional pool to 10 fighters you should expect to see on the show this summer.
In the final installment, we feature 10 deserving female fighters …
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Record: 5-1
Age: 20
Height: 5’4″
Birthplace: New York
Weight Class: Flyweight
Six fights into her professional career, [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] has only lost once – a close split decision to current UFC fighter Tracy Cortez in February 2019. She’s competed four times under the Invicta FC banner and won three of them. She holds wins over notables Victoria Leonardo and Kay Hansen. She’s finished back-to-back fights by head kick and Americana, which shows her versatility. At 20, there’s no rush. However, Blanchfield is ready to take the next step on DWCS.
Record: 4-0
Age: 26
Height: 5’2″
Birthplace: Aguascalientes, Mexico
Weight Class: Strawweight
Born in Mexico, [autotag]Lupita Godinez[/autotag] has taken her talents north, across two borders, into Canada. After wins in the United States and Mexico, Godinez added “The Great White North” to her resume this past November. At BTC 8, Godinez won the promotion’s vacant bantamweight title, going all five rounds against home-country fighter Lindsay Garbatt. Although it’s fairly early on in Godinez’s career, DWCS would be a great gauge to see where she is at. If worse comes to worst, she’ll need to go back to the regional scene for more sharpening. Regardless, the learning experience of DWCS will help her as she progresses.
