Tag: Muhammad Naimov

Muhammad Naimov ‘ready to f*ck up the top 15’ featherweights after UFC Saudi Arabia

Muhammad Naimov got back in the win column after the first loss of his UFC career this past summer.

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] beat Kaan Ofli with a unanimous decision Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 250 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Take a look inside the fight with Naimov, who got back in the win column after the first loss of his UFC career this past summer.

Muhammad Naimov def. Kaan Ofli

Result: Muhammad Naimov def. Kaan Ofli via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Updated records: Naimov (12-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), Ofli (11-4-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC)
Key stats: Naimov stuffed all six of Ofli’s takedown attempts and had more than 5 minutes control time.

Naimov on the fight’s key moment

“I broke my foot on a calf kick. Something happened to my toe – I’m barely walking. When I went to the corner, I told my coaches, ‘Please pull my toe (back in socket) because it’s so bad. It’s hurting me.’ But nothing can stop me. Today, I won with a broken toe and a dislocated finger.”

Naimov on his potential

“When I’m healthy, I’m ready to f*ck up the top 15. Believe me: I’m the greatest featherweight of all time.”

Naimov on what he wants next

“We’re going to work hard to get that belt. We’re going to work hard to get top 15, top 10. Whoever, whenever, top 15: I’m open for all of you – doesn’t matter. Top five, top 10, top 15, let’s go – outside, inside, whrever.”

https://x.com/UFCNews/status/1885750473308909717

To hear more from Naimov, check out his post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 250.

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UFC Fight Night 250 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Israel Adesanya leads card

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out $31.5 million to athletes since its deal began with Venum.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 250 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $137,500.

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 250 took place at ANB Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 250 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Vinicius Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kaan Ofli[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Thomas Petersen[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Damir Hadzovic[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Bogdan Grad[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Hamdy Abdelwahab[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag]: $4,500

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 2501 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 2025 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $617,000
2024 total: $8,280,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $31,634,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 250.

UFC on ABC 6 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Ikram Aliskerov gets $4,000 in main event save

UFC on ABC 6 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ABC 6 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,000.

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 ABC 6 took place Saturday at Kingdom Arena. The main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC on ABC 6 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Antonio Trocoli[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Felipe Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Magomed Gadzhiyasulov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]ChangHo Lee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Xiao Long[/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 $40,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-40 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,637,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,374,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.

UFC on ABC 6 video: Felipe Lima shocks Muhammad Naimov with late finish on short notice

Felipe Lima got a motivation speech from his corner going into the final round against Muhammad Naimov UFC on ABC 6, and it worked.

[autotag]Felipe Lima[/autotag] got a motivation speech from his corner going into the final round of his debut against [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] at UFC on ABC 6, then he went out and got a finish.

After stepping in as a late replacement for the featherweight fight with Naimov (11-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Lima (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was putting on a competitive fight over the course of three rounds, but had no assurances of where he stood on the scorecards.

His corner told him to push for the finish for his mother, who he hadn’t seen in nearly two years. He took advantage of an opportunity to take his opponent’s back and got the rear-naked choke at the 1:15 mark of Round 3.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):

Lima, 26, suffered a loss in his professional MMA debut in August 2015, but since has reeled off 13 consecutive victories. None of them were bigger than this, and Lima appears to be a compelling addition to an already deep 145-pound weight class.

“It’s short notice, but I’m professional,” Lima said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I’m always in amazing shape, every day in the gym and I was ready. In the second round, I was a little bit sleeping, but my coach woke me up, and I will get to see my mom.”

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Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 58 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.

UFC Fight Night 237 post-event facts: Yair Rodriguez hits unprecedented career slump

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 237, which saw Yair Rodriguez hit the first losing skid of his career.

The UFC’s final event of February took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 237 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico.

A flyweight contender re-emerged in the main event, when replacement headliner [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) exacted revenge on former UFC champ [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) with a split decision victory in their rematch from November 2020.

For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 237.

* * * *

UFC Fight Night 237 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Headliners get combined $17,000

UFC Fight Night 237 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

MEXICO CITY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $135,500.

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 237 took place at Mexico City Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 237 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Fransisco Prado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yazmin Jauregui[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jesus Aguilar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mateus Mendonca[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ronaldo Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Erik Silva[/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 2371 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: $1,228,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,935,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Opening UFC Fight Night 237 bout ends in seconds after Erik Silva injured

UFC Fight Night 237 got off to an anticlimactic start as Erik Silva suffered a freak injury against Muhammad Naimov.

[autotag]Erik Silva[/autotag]’s attempt to redeem himself after a failed promotional debut quickly turned into a nightmare during the UFC Fight Night 237 card opener Saturday in Mexico City.

The bout only lasted 44 seconds as Silva (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) suffered an apparent left leg injury as he stepped backward during his featherweight prelim against [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

A replay appeared to show an abnormal shift in the knee area. Silva clinched Naimov initially, but eventually fell to the canvas and covered up as Naimov threw a couple punches. Referee Fernando Salas recognized something was not right and waved off the fight.

Silva, 36, is still is search of his first UFC win. He lost his debut by third-round submission against TJ Brown in December 2022.

Naimov, 29, remains unbeaten in the UFC with wins over Silva, Nathaniel Wood and Jamie Mullarkey.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Jan. 8-14)

There were 35 UFC 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.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 8-14.

Muhammad Naimov wants Alex Caceres or Edson Barboza next – and has particularly bad intentions for one after UFC 294

Muhammad Naimov had a pretty trying day ahead of his UFC 294 win over Nathaniel Wood in Abu Dhabi. Now he has two big callouts.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] beat Nathaniel Wood with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 294 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Take a look inside the fight with Naimov, who now has two five-fight winning streaks sandwiched around the lone two losses of his career.

UFC 294 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Khamzat Chimaev gets $6,000 in return bout

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 294 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $237,000.

ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 294 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $237,000.

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 294 took place at Etihad Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+ and YouTube.

The full UFC 294 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $11,000
vs. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Warlley Alves[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Trevor Peek[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mohammad Yahya[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Abu Azaitar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mike Breeden[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Anshul Jubli[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Viktoriia Dudakova[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Silva[/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 $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: $6,888,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,407,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.