UFC Fight Night 225 pre-event facts: Inside Max Holloway’s record-filled resume

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 225, where Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung bring multiple records into their main event.

The UFC makes its fifth trip to Singapore on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 225, which takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium and streams on ESPN+.

Two of the most legendary featherweights in octagon history clash in a five-round main event. Former longtime champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in a potential retirement fight for “The Korean Zombie.”

For all the numbers behind both headliners, check out MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 225.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 19-25)

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 June 19-25.

UFC Fight Night 223 post-event facts: Song Yadong climbs KO list at 135 pounds

Check out the numbers to come out UFC Fight Night 223, where Song Yadong climbed the bantamweight knockout list with a main event finish.

The UFC closed its April schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 223 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The card, which was thin on paper, saw [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) shine in the main event when he outworked and eventually finished [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) with a fifth-round TKO in their bantamweight showdown.

For more on the numbers to come out of the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 223.

UFC Fight Night 223 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Marcos Rogerio de Lima tops card with $16k

UFC Fight Night 223 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 223 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 Fight Night 223 took place at the UFC Apex. The main card streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.

The full UFC Fight Night 223 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Trey Waters[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Hailey Cowan[/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 2231 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: $2,556,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,145,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

UFC Fight Night 223 video: Caio Borralho submits Michal Oleksiejczuk, calls out Derek Brunson

Caio Borralho was fired up when he got the first finish of his octagon tenure at UFC Fight Night 223.

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] was fired up after getting his first octagon finish on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 223, walking up to the camera and demanding the world put some “respect on my f*cking name.”

After three decision wins to open his promotional tenure, Borralho (14-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) got the stoppage he’s been looking for when he took the back of [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (18-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in the second round of their middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, then locked in a rear-naked choke to finish the job.

Check out the replay of Borralho’s win below (via Twitter):

With a four-fight UFC winning streak at 185 pounds, only Dricus Du Plessis (five) has a longer active streak in the division. Afterward, Borralho called out Derek Brunson.

“Did you like it this time?” Borralho asked Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview. “I started training more finishes with my team this camp. … I want a top-15 guy. I heard that Derek Brunson wants to fight.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 223 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

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UFC Fight Night 223 predictions: See our three unanimous picks in Vegas

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 223 main card, featuring Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon at bantamweight.

Yadong
vs.
Simon
Borralho
vs.
Oleksiejczuk
Brundage
vs.
Vieira
Erosa
vs.
Padilla
Cortes-Acosta
vs.
Rogerio
Quinlan
vs.
Waters
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
63-41
simon2023
Simon
(59%)
borralho2023
Borralho
(79%)
vieira2023
Vieira
(75%)
erosa2023
Erosa
(70%)
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
(60%)
quinlan2023
Quinlan
(86%)
Matt Erickson
@MattE
67-37
yadong2023
Yadong
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
padilla2023
Padilla
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
67-37
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
padilla2023
Padilla
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
66-38
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
erosa2023
Erosa
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Nolan King
@mma_kings
66-38
yadong2023
Yadong
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
padilla2023
Padilla
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
64-40
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
padilla2023
Padilla
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
63-41
trophy copy 2014 Champion
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
erosa2023
Erosa
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
60-44
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
padilla2023
Padilla
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
-60-44
trophy copy 2018, 2022 Champion
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
brundage2023
Brundage
padilla2023
Padilla
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
58-46
trophy copy 2017 Champion
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
erosa2023
Erosa
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
58-46
simon2023
Simon
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
padilla2023
Padilla
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
57-47
yadong2023
Yadong
borralho2023
Borralho
vieira2023
Vieira
erosa2023
Erosa
cortesacosta2023
Cortes-Acosta
quinlan2023
Quinlan

The UFC stays in Las Vegas this week with a key bantamweight matchup atop the card.

UFC Fight Night 223 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) in a 125-pound matchup originally set for a co-main event this past Saturday. Simon is a slight -120 favorite at the betting window. The comeback on Yadong is +100, making these some of the stickiest main event odds in the UFC this year. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Simon with a big eight ahead of Yadong, who has just three head nods.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is the biggest favorite on the card at nearly 4-1 in his middleweight bout against [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC). He’s also one of our three unanimous picks.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout. Vieira is about a -250 favorite and is a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] (28-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is a slight favorite with the oddsmakers in his featherweight bout against [autotag]Fernando Padilla[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC). But it’s Padilla who has a 7-4 picks lead.

Although unbeaten heavyweight [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is a slight underdog against [autotag]Marcos Rogerio[/autotag] (20-8-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC), he’s the second of our three unanimous picks.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is our third unanimous pick in his welterweight bout against short-notice opponent [autotag]Trey Waters[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC). Quinlan nearly is a 2-1 favorite in the fight.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Simon (59 percent), Borralho (79 percent), Vieira (75 percent), Erosa (70 percent), Cortes-Acosta (60 percent) and Quinlan (86 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

Michal Oleksiejczuk not scared of Caio Borralho ahead of UFC Fight Night 223 co-headliner

Michal Oleksiejczuk wants to make it 3-0 with three KOs since dropping to middleweight when he meets Caio Borralho at UFC Fight Night 223.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] thinks a win over Caio Borralho on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 223 will land him a matchup against the “top 15 of the UFC rankings.”

Oleksiejczuk (18-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will compete for the third time since dropping to middleweight when he meets Borralho (13-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the co-main event of Saturday’s card, which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.

Thus far, Oleksiejczuk is 2-0 with two knockout victories since dropping to his new weight class, and he said he feels sharp.

“This division is ideal for me,” Oleksiejczuk told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 223 media day. “I feel very good in this division and my last two fights was very good because I knocked out my opponent. I am very happy.”

After stopping Cody Brundage and veteran Sam Alvey in his first pair of bouts at 185 pounds, Oleksiejczuk thinks he’s facing a much stiffer task this time in Borralho, who has yet to be beaten in the UFC.

“Caio is very good grappler and he has a lot of wins,” Oleksiejczuk said. “He has a very good win streak, but I’m not scared of Caio. I must show the best fight and I am ready for fight.”

To hear more from Oleksiejczuk, check out his complete UFC Fight Night 223 media day interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.

UFC Fight Night 223 pre-event facts: Charles Johnson first to three fights in 2023

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where one fighter will be first to compete three times in the octagon this year.

The UFC closes its busy April schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 223, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a main card that streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.

A bantamweight main event will close the card. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) will try to make good on his second headlining opportunity when he takes on [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who is riding a four-fight winning streak into his first opportunity at top billing.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.

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Video: UFC Fight Night 223 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 223 on Saturday, main card fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for April closes out Saturday with UFC Fight Night 223, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a main card that streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.

A bantamweight main event serves as the final act on the card. Song Yadong (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) will take on Ricky Simon (20-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a matchup of fighters looking to take the next step forward in arguably the sport’s most stacked division.

Before fight night arrives, though, eight athletes from the main card are 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 session.

Michal Oleksiejczuk targets Chris Curtis after UFC Fight Night 216: ‘I want to go to the top’

Michal Oleksiejczuk sees Chris Curtis as the perfect fight to break into the UFC middleweight rankings.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] sees [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] as the perfect fight to break into the UFC middleweight rankings.

Oleksiejczuk (18-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) scored a first-round Performance of the Night knockout of Cody Brundage in this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 216 event at the UFC Apex.

In his post-fight interview, Oleksiejczuk called out [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] (30-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who’s coming off a big knockout win over Joaquin Buckley at UFC 282.

“Chris Curtis is a very good fighter, and Chris Curtis is in the top 15 rankings,” Oleksiejczuk told MMA Junkie and other reporters backstage at the UFC Apex. “I want to fight with him, because Chris is a very good fighter, very good striker, and good opponent for me. I want to go to the top. This is my dream.”

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Oleksiejczuk is 2-0 since moving back down to middleweight, where he scored back-to-back first-round knockouts of Sam Alvey and Brundage. It’s a move that has paid dividends for the 27-year-old Polish fighter.

“I think that this is the best fight in my career,” Oleksiejczuk said. “Because I show grappling, and I show very good grappling control, good position, and my punches were very strange.”

He continued, “I think the middleweight division is the ideal weight for me. The light heavyweight division is not good for me, but this division is good because my strength is up, my speed is up. I feel very good in this division.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.

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