Natalia Silva – Page 4 – Syndication Server

Irene Aldana vs. Raquel Pennington main event among additions to UFC card May 20

The UFC Fight Night card for May 20 is announced with a handful of new additions including a Irene Aldana vs. Raquel Pennington main event.

The UFC Fight Night lineup for May 20 continues to fill as a main event is among new official additions.

Women’s bantamweight contenders [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] and [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] will headline the event in a five-round bout, the promotion announced Tuesday. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Aldana (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Pennington (15-8 MMA, 12-7 UFC) were initially linked to a March 25 main event matchup in San Antonio. However, the bout never materialized.

The bout will be rematch of a UFC on ESPN 4 matchup, which took place in July 2019 and saw Pennington defeat Aldana by split decision.

Some fans and pundits speculated Aldana would be next for bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. However, the promotion ultimately booked Nunes in a trilogy bout vs. Julianna Peña instead.

Aldana, 35, has won two straight fights and four of her most recent five. Her two most recent victories were TKOs against Yana Kunitskaya and Macy Chiasson.

Pennington, 34, rides a five-fight winning streak into the bout, which includes victories over Marion Reneau, Pannie Kianzad, Macy Chiasson, Aspen Ladd, and Ketlen Vieira.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrMkOHIt_bM/

Other new additions to the card announced Tuesday include [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) vs. [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC), [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. [autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), and [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag] (14-5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

With the additions, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 20 includes:

Irene Aldana vs. Raquel Pennington
Anthony Hernandez vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
Joaquin Buckley vs. Andre Fialho
Orion Cosce vs. Gilbert Urbina
Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson
Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Brunno Ferreira
Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Hayisaer Maheshate
Nick Fiore vs. Chase Hooper
Victoria Leonardo vs. Natalia Silva

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event May 20.

UFC Fight Night 215 winner Natalia Silva: My ‘will to win was stronger’ than Tereza Bleda’s

After a back-and-forth battle, Natalia Silva was able to stop Tereza Bleda with a spinning back kick at UFC Fight Night 215.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag] spoke to the media after her UFC Fight Night 215 win.

Silva (14-5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) talked MMA Junkie and other media members through her spinning back kick TKO of Tereza Bleda (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), how the fight played out, and much more.

“It’s what my master Carlos Borracha always says: ‘Your will to win has to be way more than hers, and it has to be higher and stronger than your opponent,'” Silva told reporters, including MMA Junkie, through an interpreter. “Whenever you fight, you have to understand that you’re not going to be on top all the time. The fight game is sometimes about you being down. You have to understand how to deal with adversity and actually being behind in the game. Your will to win always has to be stronger than your opponent and my will to win was stronger.”

UFC Fight Night 215 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Watch the video of Silva’s complete post-fight media availability above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Lowest payout in program history

UFC Fight Night 215 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 215 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $80,000.

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 Fight Night 215 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 215 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chase Sherman[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Natividad[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tereza Bleda[/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 and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts. 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

UFC Fight Night 215 – $80,000
“UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira” – $332,500
“UFC Fight Night 214: Rodriguez vs. Lemos” – $126,500
“UFC Fight Night 213: Kattar vs. Allen” – $166,500
“UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev” – $306,500
“UFC Fight Night 212: Grasso vs. Araujo” – $151,500
“UFC Fight Night 211: Dern vs. Yan” – $164,500
“UFC Fight Night 210: Sandhagen vs. Song” – $202,000
“UFC 279: Chimaev vs. Diaz” – $202,000
“UFC Fight Night 209: Gane vs. Tuivasa” – $155,000
“UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2” – $226,000
“UFC on ESPN 41: Vera vs. Cruz” – $195,000
“UFC on ESPN 40: Santos vs. Hill” – $140,000
“UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2” – $313,500
“UFC Fight Night 208: Blaydes vs. Aspinall” – $179,000
“UFC on ABC 3: Ortega vs. Rodriguez” – $179,000
“UFC on ESPN 39: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev” – $157,500
“UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier” – $362,500
“UFC on ESPN 38: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot” – $140,500
“UFC on ESPN 37: Kattar vs. Emmett” – $189,000
“UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka” – $258,000
“UFC Fight Night 207: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik” – $149,000
“UFC Fight Night 206: Holm vs. Vieira” – $127,000
“UFC on ESPN 36: Blachowicz vs. Rakic” – $173,000
“UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje” – $320,000
“UFC on ESPN 35: Font vs. Vera” – $197,500
“UFC Fight Night 205: Lemos vs. Andrade” – $149,500
“UFC on ESPN 34: Luque vs. Muhammad 2” – $159,000
“UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie” – $293,500
“UFC on ESPN 33: Blaydes vs. Daukaus” – $186,500
“UFC Fight Night 204: Volkov vs. Aspinall” – $154,500
“UFC Fight Night 203: Santos vs. Ankalaev” – $198,000
“UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal” – $236,000
“UFC Fight Night 202: Makhachev vs. Green” – $138,000
“UFC Fight Night 201: Walker vs. Hill” – $140,000
“UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2” – $282,500
“UFC Fight Night 200: Hermansson vs. Strickland” – $160,500
“UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane” – $241,000
“UFC on ESPN 32: Kattar vs. Chikadze” – $132,000

Year-to-date total: $7,634,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,812,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 post-event facts: Jack Della Maddalena makes waves with third-straight KO

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 215, which featured a number of notable feats.

The UFC closed its November schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 215, a decision-heavy event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

One fighter who didn’t need the judges, however, was [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who made the most of his makeshift main event opportunity with a second-round TKO of [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight clash.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 215.

UFC Fight Night 215 bonuses: Jack Della Maddalena’s first-round blitz among four POTN winners

Check out who took home an extra $50,000 at UFC Fight Night 215.

The UFC handed out Performance of the Night bonuses after Saturday’s card, including the winners of the first and final bouts of the event.

After UFC Fight Night 215, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

UFC Fight Night 215 video: Natalia Silva rocks Tereza Bleda with spinning back kick finish

Natalia Silva opened UFC Fight Night 215 with just the fifth knockout in UFC history by spinning back kick up top.

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag] started off UFC Fight Night 215 with a bang thanks to a highlight-reel TKO of [autotag]Tereza Bleda[/autotag].

Silva (14-5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) continued the strong start to her octagon tenure when she put Bleda (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) away in the third round of their women’s flyweight bout with a perfectly placed spinning back kick to the throat area, which marked just the fifth finish of its kind in UFC history.

It was a somewhat competitive fight up to that point. The 20-year-old newcomer Bleda was aggressive and relentless with her takedown attempts, but she couldn’t get to the ground with any consistency. That’s when Silva found the moment to uncork the kick, which produced spectacular results at the UFC Apex.

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

Getting #UFCVegas65 kicked off with a bang 💥 pic.twitter.com/b0lBlxXKe8

— UFC (@ufc) November 19, 2022

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC on ESPN 37 medical suspensions: Josh Emmett among 6 fighters suspended indefinitely by Texas commission

Six fighters were handed indefinite medical suspensions after what many fans are calling the most violent UFC card of the year.

UFC on ESPN 37 took place Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas where the promotion put on what many fans are calling one of the most violent cards of 2022.

With violence, however, comes injuries. Tuesday, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the commissioning body that regulated the event, released a list of medical suspensions for UFC on ESPN 37 fighters. The TDLR does not give injury specifics, but reveals the duration of suspensions.

Among those handed indefinite suspensions were main event winner Josh Emmett, co-main event loser Tim Means, Albert Duraev, Julian Marquez, Deron Winn, and Kyle Daukaus. Note: fighters can return sooner than the date listed if they receive medical clearance from a physician prior to completion of their suspension.

Check out the full list of medical suspensions below.

Photos: UFC on ESPN 37 ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs

Check out these photos from the UFC on ESPN 37 ceremonial weigh-ins in Austin, Texas.

Check out these photos from the UFC on ESPN 37 weigh-ins and faceoffs from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photos by Matthew Wells, MMA Junkie)

Speaking of SEC blockers who have tons of experience against top competition, Williams has played both guard and center at a high level in college football’s toughest conference. At best, Williams will eventually grow into an effective starter at any interior spot. At worst, he’ll be a valuable depth piece who can fill in at center or either guard spot. Runner-Up: John Molchon | Boise State (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

The top three linebackers are in a tier of their own this year and all hail from powerhouse programs. But the next-best prospect at that position isn’t from an FBS blue-blood. Davis-Gaither is a three-down playmaker with the perfect skill set for today’s NFL. If anyone questions the level of competition he faced in college, Davis-Gaither put those concerns to rest with a strong week of practice at the Senior Bowl. Runner-Up: Mykal Walker | Fresno State (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Andrew Thomas is the best tackle in this year’s loaded class, but his running mate is deserving of first-round consideration in his own right. Wilson is a massive mauler with a nasty, physical playing style, and his experience against SEC competition will have him ready to start from Day 1. Runner-Up: Robert Hunt | Louisiana (Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports)

In today’s NFL, the slot/nickel corner position has become a starting job, even more so than a third off-ball linebacker. That puts a premium on finding prospects with the versatile skill set to play the position effectively, and that should lead teams to Robertson in this year’s draft. Runner-Up: Reggie Robinson II | Tulsa (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Linebacker-safety hybrids seem to be all the rage in this year’s draft, from elite talents like Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons to small-school stars like Lenoir-Rhyne’s Kyle Dugger and Southern Illinois’s Jeremy Chinn. But there’s a big-school prospect that fits, and he’s flying under the radar. While some may look at Hudson and see a ‘tweener with no position at the next level, I see a versatile defender who can make plays all over the field, no matter where he lines up at the snap. Runner-Up: J.R. Reed | Georgia (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)

Let’s get that image of Wilcox getting drilled with a pass at the NFL Scouting Combine out of our minds, okay? Sure, it was awful, but it wasn’t as frustrating as watching him get misused by the Bulls’ sputtering offense over the past two seasons. Wilcox won’t set the world on fire with his speed or athleticism, but he’s a reliable pass-catcher who can be open even when covered, and his willingness as a blocker is also a plus. Runner-Up: Devin Asiasi | UCLA (Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

We’re two weeks away from the 2020 NFL Draft, and while there are plenty of top prospects getting their well-earned attention in the first-round conversation, others are flying under the radar. Here are my picks for the most underrated prospects at every position in this year’s draft: (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Photos: UFC on ESPN 37 official weigh-ins

Check out these photos from the official weigh-ins in Austin, Texas.

Check out these photos from the official weigh-ins for UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas. (Photos by Matthew Wells, MMA Junkie)

Apr 5, 2018; Augusta, GA, USA; Rory McIlroy hits out of a bunker on the 13th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

AUGUSTA, GA – APRIL 03: Mark O’Meara of the United States plays a shot from a bunker on the 12th hole during a practice round prior to the start of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 3, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Chicago Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman breaks through the Carolina Panthers offensive line during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky)

10 female fighters you can expect to see on Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 4

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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Erin Blanchfield

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.

Lupita Godinez

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.

More fighters on the next page:

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