Tag: Nathaniel Wood

UFC 294 post-event facts: Kamaru Usman hits uncharted territory with three-fight skid

Check out the post-event stats from UFC 294, including Kamaru Usman’s shift to a near-record winning streak to three straight losses.

UFC 294 on Saturday marked the promotion’s annual trip to Abu Dhabi, and although the card at Etihad Arena on Yas Island started slow, it ended with a bang.

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) put a bow on the evening when he emerged from his rematch with fellow champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) as the lightweight titleholder courtesy of a first-round head kick knockout.

For more on the numbers coming from the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 294.

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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:

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[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.

Muhammad Naimov def. Nathaniel Wood at UFC 294: Best photos from Abu Dhabi

Check out the best photos from Muhammad Naimov’s unanimous decision win over Nathaniel Wood at UFC 294 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] at UFC 294 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. (Photos by Craig Kidwell, USA TODAY Sports; MMA Junkie; and UFC)

UFC 294 pre-event facts: Will Kamaru Usman’s historic takedown defense hold up at middleweight?

The best facts about UFC 294, including the compelling statistical contract in Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev.

The UFC’s annual trip to Abu Dhabi goes down Saturday with UFC 294, which takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island with a main card that airs on pay-per-view at a special time of 2 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+.

A highly anticipated lightweight championship rematch headlines the event. [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) will attempt to log his second consecutive title defense when he runs it back with featherweight kingpin [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC), who steps in for Charles Oliveira in 11 days’ notice to run back his narrow decision defeat to Makhachev at UFC 284 in February.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 294.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 11-17)

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. 11-17.

Nathaniel Wood to fight Muhammad Naimov at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi

Nathaniel Wood will look to make it four wins in a row at UFC 294.

[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] has his next UFC assignment.

Wood (19-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will look to push his winning streak to four when he meets [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a featherweight bout Oct. 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Saturday but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC hasn’t made an announcement.

Wood, 30, a former Cage Warriors champion, is coming off a unanimous decision win against Andre Fili in a brawl this past July. Prior to that, Wood also won decisions against Charles Jourdain and Charles Rosa.

Naimov, 29, is on a four-fight winning streak, which includes most recently a second-round submission of Jamie Mullarkey in his UFC debut this past June.

With the addition, the UFC 294 lineup includes:

  • Champ Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira – for lightweight title
  • Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa
  • Ikram Aliskerov vs. Nassourdine Imavov
  • Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker
  • Tim Elliott vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas
  • Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Bruno Silva
  • Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Jinh Yu Frey
  • Trevor Peek vs. Mohammad Yahya
  • Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry
  • Muhammad Naimov vs. Nathaniel Wood

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

Ex-UFC champ Aljamain Sterling books Polaris 25 grappling match with Nathaniel Wood

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling isn’t going to let the dust settle before he lights the competitive fires again.

Former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] isn’t going to let the dust settle before he lights the competitive fires again.

Sterling is set to take on fellow UFC fighter [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] – but in a grappling match later this month at Polaris 25. The promotion announced the booking Friday. Polaris 25 takes place Sept. 30 in Wales.

Sterling currently fights at 135 pounds. Wood has a longtime bantamweight who moved to featherweight a little more than a year ago.

Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) won the bantamweight title in March 2021 by disqualification against Petr Yan. After an injury layoff, he beat Yan again 13 months later. After title defenses against ex-champs T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo, Sterling ran into a problem.

At UFC 292 in mid-August, he was knocked out by Sean O’Malley in the second round. He lost the belt and had his nine-fight winning streak snapped. He has not yet announced if he’ll move up to featherweight or try to get a bantamweight title rematch.

Wood (20-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) lost to Casey Kenney in 2020. Then he moved from bantamweight to featherweight and it appears to have made a big difference, particularly when looking at his three straight wins against Charles Rosa, Charles Jourdain and Andre Fili.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for July: New champion crowned in five-round thriller

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for July.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

Video: UFC London performances worthy of some shine

UFC Fight Night 224 didn’t smash the way events in London usually do, but it still had some buzz at The O2 thanks to these fighters.

UFC Fight Night 224 didn’t smash the way events in London usually do, but it still had some buzz at The O2, with most of it attributed to Tom Aspinall’s successful return after a year off.

Still, we’re giving some shine to fighters who might’ve flown under the radar, including [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag], [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag] and [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]. Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Danny Segura, Farah Hannoun and Brian “Goze” Garcia make their picks with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

You can watch the segment in the video above, as well as this week’s full episode below.

Nathaniel Wood wants Edson Barboza or ‘Korean Zombie’ for another fanboy experience after UFC London win

Nathaniel Wood wants to fight Edson Barboza or Chan Sung Jung next following his win over Andre Fili at UFC Fight Night 224 in London.

LONDON – [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] thinks it’s time for a step up in his rise at 145 pounds.

Now 3-0 since moving up to the featherweight division, Wood (20-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) wants to get one of the more seasoned and respected names of his weight class. For him, that means fighting one of two people.

“I would like to fight a legend of the sport, and that would be Edson Barboza in Brazil,” Wood told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 224 post-fight press conference. “It would be an absolute honor again, like I just said with Andre Fili. I’ve been a fan of his for years, and I know he’s coming toward the end of his career.

“For me, someone like (Chan Sung Jung), ‘The Korean Zombie,’ that would be something special. I would like to get one of the legends before they kind of retire from the sport or go on decline. Edson Barboza is coming off a win. He’s still a dangerous opponent. For me, that’s a fight I would like. But whatever the UFC wants. I will fight anyone they give me and start making my way up the rankings.”

This request to fight one of the more known names at 145 pounds comes after Wood’s latest triumph – defeating Andre Fili (22-10 MMA, 10-9 UFC) in a split decision on the main card of UFC Fight Night 224.

Although Fili might not carry the same prestige as Barboza or “Korean Zombie,” he’s still someone with a lot of history in the division and a name Wood respects.

“It was amazing to share the octagon with Andre Fili,” Wood said. “I sounded like a fanboy, but I was watching him way before I was in the UFC. It must’ve been when I was semi-pro, amateur. I was following him, Urijah Faber and all his boys.

“Facing him in the octagon was an honor, and to come out with the win – he obviously made me work for it, but I’d like to think I won two rounds to one, and we came out victorious.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.