Tag: Michael Morales

UFC Fight Night 232 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Top earners get $16,000

UFC Fight Night 232 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 232 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $158,500.

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 232 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 232 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nick Aguirre[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Myktybek Orolbai[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Uros Medic[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jose Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jeka Saragih[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucie Pudilova[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Rafael Estevam[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000

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 2321 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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,464,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,983,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

UFC Fight Night 232 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 232 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 232 took place Saturday with 14 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 Fight Night 232 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

Ecuador’s Michael Morales confident ‘Chito’ Vera beats Sean O’Malley at UFC 299, wants spot on the card

Ecuador’s Michael Morales hopes to fight alongside ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 299.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag] has a big test this Saturday, yet he already has plans for the future.

The UFC welterweight prospect takes on veteran Jake Matthews in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 232. Although this is arguably Morales’ (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) the biggest fight and spotlight of his young career, the Ecuadorian fighter is keeping an eye on the UFC 299 pay-per-view in March, which features his countryman [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] against UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley.

“I’m 100 percent sure that ‘Chito’ is going to come out with the win and be as high as possible,” Morales told reporters in Portuguese at Wednesday’s media day. “We’ve shown it before, but for me, Ecuador is the most badass country. I think that this an opportunity he’s built for himself and he’s already beat O’Malley. He’s sure of his work and I give him all my confidence that he’s going to come out the winner. This is a great opportunity for him and other Ecuadorians because he can open so many doors for Latin America.

“If God permits, I would love to share that event with him. That’s possible. That would be huge for all the people who are supporting us and I wish him the best in the future and I hope he stays champion.”

Morales may be looking ahead, but he knows what he has in front of him this Saturday. He believes Matthews (19-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) is a very similar fighter to him and thinks this is a great opportunity to further his career.

“I think this is a great opportunity,” Morales said. “I’ve always respected my rivals due to their trajectory, I never discredit their work inside this great league of UFC. I just prepare myself and stay ready for whenever they call me. I’m always training after every fight. I’m very happy that I’m getting a more experienced rival. This also helps me see where I’m going. I think training and being ready always is something that I love doing. I’m just doing the work I always do.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

Video: UFC Fight Night 232 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 232 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 232, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before the fights arrive, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 18-24)

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 Sept. 18-24.

Michael Morales didn’t take bait for pre-fight trash talk vs. Max Griffin: ‘I train to fight, not to talk’

Michael Morales is not in the business of trash talking.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag] is not in the business of trash talking.

The Ecuadorian prospect made it clear he’s only interested in what’s done in the cage, not outside of it, in his fight against Max Griffin at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47.

Morales (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) defeated Griffin (19-10 MMA, 7-8 UFC) with a unanimous decision and after speaking to the media, he explained why he didn’t engage his opponent in trash talk despite getting thrown some shots his way at Wednesday’s media day.

“I train to fight, not to talk,” Morales said in Spanish to reporters at the post-fight press conference. “I always do my job, and I’m always proud of my team. I give everything I have in training, and I feel like my work spoke for itself. I didn’t need to do more talking than necessary. I don’t know why he said those things or what was going through his mind, but I’m very happy with what I said, felt and showed in the cage.”

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As far as the performance itself, Morales kept his unbeaten record and move to 3-0 in the UFC. He also took home a few bumps and bruises given the tough nature of the fight.

Morales is not completely satisfied with his performance, but happy he got his hand raised in the end. He thinks he has more to give than what he showed on Saturday night.

“I think it was just the discipline,” Morales said when asked about the adversity of the fight. “I stayed attentive to his strikes and focused on all the work that I was doing. I was countering. I know that my shots hurt him a lot because his face is busted up. He said that he was going to try to dominate me and fight forward. He did that, and I also did the same. I did my work. I said I was going to give it my all, and the fight went down how it went down. I feel like I could’ve done better. I feel like I could’ve given more, but everything still worked out, thank God.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.

UFC on ESPN 47 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean Strickland, Kevin Lee get most money

UFC on ESPN 47 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 47 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $144,500.

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 on ESPN 47 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 47 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Melissa Gatto[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000
def.[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ivana Petrovic[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Blagoy Ivanov[/autotag]: $6,000

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 $47,000 while title challengers get $47,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-47 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,109,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,698,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.

UFC on ESPN 48: Max Griffin vs. Michael Morales odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 48 odds and lines between Max Griffin vs. Michael Morales with MMA picks, tips and predictions.

In a welterweight bout on the main card, Max Griffin and Michael Morales meet Saturday at UFC on ESPN 48 — also known as UFC Vegas 76 — at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC on ESPN 48: Griffin vs. Morales odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The prelims are on ESPN/ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET, with the main card on ESPN/ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.

Records: Griffin (19-9-0) | Morales (14-0-0)

Griffin has been involved in a pair of split-decision results in his past 2 fights, winning against Tim Means last time out in late October and losing to Neil Magny in late March 2022. He has won 4 of the past 5 fights overall, with his past 3 outings going the distance.

Morales is 2-for-2 since making his debut at UFC 270 in January 2022, and each of the victories has been via KO/TKO. He dropped Trevin Giles at UFC 270 in the 1st round and took care of business against Adam Fugitt at UFC 277 in the 3rd round.

Morales has a 1-inch height advantage and a 3-inch reach advantage. He is also 13 years younger than his counterpart.

Morales also holds a 5.36-to-4.23 significant strikes landed advantage and lands them at a 56.64% clip. He also has a slight takedown average advantage at 1.98-to-1.60, although Griffin is more accurate at 50.0% on takedowns.

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UFC on ESPN 48: Griffin vs. Morales odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7 a.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Griffin +215 (bet $100 to win $215) | Morales -260 (bet $260 to win $100)
  • Over/Under: 2.5 rounds (Over -134 | Under +104)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes -110 | No -116)

UFC on ESPN 48: Griffin vs. Morales picks and predictions

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

Morales (-260) will cost you more than 2 1/2 times your potential return, and that’s just too much risk for not enough reward. There is no value in playing such heavy favorites for a singular wager, and including Morales in a multi-fighter parlay also sucks the value out of a parlay ticket.

Let’s look to the method of victory instead. He has managed 11 KO/TKO victories in 14 career professional bouts — all wins — and has 1 victory via submission. Just 2 of his fights have involved the judges for a decision, and that has happened just once since Dec. 2018.

I like MORALES BY KO/TKO (+195) for a chance to nearly double up. In addition, you can play a Method & Round combo. Roll with MORALES BY KO/TKO & ROUND 1 (+500) and MORALES BY KO/TKO & ROUND 2 (+750) in that category. If he wins in Rounds 1 or 2 via knockout, you will obviously lose one of the ends, but you’ll still be well ahead, too.

There is a risk here, as Griffin hasn’t been knocked out since his debut at UFC 202 against Colby Covington in Aug. 2016. But Morales has a 3-inch reach advantage and will be able to use that to his advantage, picking and choosing spots to move in and out, while keeping Griffin at a distance when needed.

Over/Under (O/U)

WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? NO (-116) is the way to go. Morales doesn’t like to leave it up to the judges to decide a winner. While Griffin has ended up going the distance in 3 straight outings, that will not be the case here.

For a better value, I like UNDER 2.5 ROUNDS (+104) at plus money.

Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and us on Facebook.

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Michael Morales acknowledges Max Griffin’s experience edge but ‘won’t back down’ at UFC on ESPN 47

UFC welterweight Michael Morales won’t let Max Griffin’s experience edge affect how things unfold in Las Vegas at UFC on ESPN 47.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag] has time on his side, and plans to take full advantage of his position in the UFC as a young, rising welterweight.

On the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47, Morales (14-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) steps into the cage to face veteran Max Griffin. The event takes place at the UFC Apex and airs live on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

There’s an experience edge in this one for Griffin (19-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC), who will be entering his 15th bout under the UFC banner. On the other hand, the 24-year-old Morales will step into the UFC’s octagon for just the third time.

“I think his experience is his biggest advantage, someone that has seen a lot in the UFC,” Morales said through an interpreter at Wednesday’s media day. “He comes in wanting to win and so am I. I’m not going back down. It’s a great opportunity to have such an experienced fighter for me to continue to improve in the UFC.”

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Despite signing with the UFC at a young age after his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Morales doesn’t feel pressured to shoot up the rankings quickly, even if successful against Griffin. Instead, his focus is on a steady improvement so he may have a long, successful career.

“I know I have a long way to go, and I never thought that I would be in the UFC at 21 years old,” Morales said. “So I do feel I can improve all the time, and I want to continue to improve. I feel like I can keep doing this for a long time in my career, going into 50 years old.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.

Max Griffin offended by booking against Michael Morales: ‘They’re sending a guy that they think can beat me’

Max Griffin is determined to derail the hype from unbeaten prospect Michael Morales.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag] is not exactly happy with his matchup against [autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag].

The 37-year-old welterweight veteran is set to take on Michael Morales on the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex. This booking made Griffin (19-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) feel like he’s been set up to be a stepping stone for Morales (14-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who’s unbeaten and just 24 years old – and that has Griffin fuming.

“I have a thing for these new guys: I get offended,” Griffin told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 47 media day. “So it’s another guy, 14-0, fought Trevin Giles. That was a terrible fight from Trevin Giles. He beat him in the beginning but burned his arms out, getting sloppy, and got knocked out. … He (Morales) ain’t fought nobody. It’s not even about who y’all fought, but I am me. I am him. I’m not the guy you want to fight when you’re that raw, that new.”

Although there’s something to be said about Morales’s promise and rise, Griffin is not getting caught in a bad career moment. “Pain” is 4-1 in his past five bouts, with the lone defeat coming to Neil Magny in a close, split decision.

Griffin is puzzled to see his opponent favored on the betting odds and is motivated to prove them wrong.

“I think for me, it’s more that they’re sending a guy that they think can beat me, and he’s the favorite,” Griffin said. “I don’t like that. I don’t even know how he is the favorite. Because he’s younger? I don’t know, but my homies are cashing in, I can tell you that. Cash that, baby.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.