Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from January 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from January 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from January 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from January 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 297, including whether Sean Strickland being dethroned is a relief to the UFC brass.
What mattered most at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Neil Magny reacts to his incredible comeback TKO win at Saturday’s UFC 297.
TORONTO – [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]’s return to the octagon, this past Saturday, seemed to many like the inevitable course most veterans go through in MMA.
The 36-year-old veteran was matchup against a younger [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]. Their fight took place on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 297, and it was in Malott’s home country of Canada. It seemed like a set-up opportunity for Malott (10-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to shine and take his career to the next level.
And that’s what it looked like for the first 12 minutes of the 15-minute. Malott dominated Magny (28-11 MMA, 21-10 UFC) and was en route to a clear win. However, in the final minutes, Magny stepped on the gas and overwhelmed Malott to get an incredible comeback TKO win.
“Tonight was a great win, a great victory,” Magny told the media backstage at UFC 297. “I’m not completely satisfied with what I accomplished just yet. I still have more hunger in me, I still have more in the tank to accomplish more. I’m definitely content with tonight’s victory, but I have a lot more that I’m capable of and that I’m able to show. On Monday, I’m right back to the drawing board and continue to move forward.”
Magny was coming off a dominant loss to highly touted undefeated contender Ian Garry in August. Although that wasn’t his night, Magny thinks the win over Malott proved he’s game to compete with anyone in the UFC’s welterweight division.
“At the end of the day, I’ve beat the who’s-who in MMA, but the sport of MMA is very unforgiving,” Magny said. “It’s more so ‘what have you done for me lately?’ Sure, I beat the Carlos Condits, the Johny Hendricks, the Robbie Lawlers of the sport – but the sport of MMA has a very short memory.
“So to go out there and get a finish on a young up-and-coming guy who was undefeated in the UFC prior to tonight, I feel like it was a great statement. I feel like I’m still able to hang with the best of them – young guys, old guys, whoever. I feel like I went out there and did what I was supposed to do.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
The best facts to come out of UFC 297, which saw two new champions crowned with historic achievements attached to both new reigns.
The UFC’s first pay-per-view of the year is likely to prove to be far from the most memorable, but UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto did prove significant with two new champions crowned.
In the main event, [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) edged [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) by split decision in the Fight of the Night to claim the middleweight championship. In the co-headliner, [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) outlasted [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (10-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) for a unanimous decision for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.
For more on the numbers behind the title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts for UFC 297.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 297 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $285,500.
TORONTO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 297 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $285,500.
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 297 took place at Scotiabank Arena in Canada. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 297 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Sean Woodson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Sam Patterson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Malcolm Gordon[/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 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $445,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,152,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
After 10-plus minutes of utter domination at UFC 297, Neil Magny pulled off an insane comeback to TKO red-hot prospect Mike Malott.
All was going well for [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] at UFC 297 – until it wasn’t.
After a dominant opening two rounds, Malott (10-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was finished with ground-and-pound strikes by opponent [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] 28-11 MMA, 21-10 UFC) in what will likely be a Comeback of the Year candidate at the end of 2024. The stoppage came at 4:45 of Round 3.
The welterweight bout took place on the UFC 297 main card Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Out to “Fat Lip” by Sum 41 came Malott, viewed by many as the next major torch-bearing fighter for Canada. His entrance was met by a loud ovation, much the opposite of his opponent Magny, who was met with “F*ck Neil Magny” chants early in Round 1.
Malott continued the success of Magny’s previous opponent Ian Garry with effective kicks that chewed up the lead leg of Magny. After one kick in particular, Magny did a little pogo hop, which was audibly picked up on by the crowd.
Magny came out more aggressive in Round 2 and pressed Malott with a combination. The move backfired as the two fighters bumped into the fence. The recoil gave Malott the momentum he needed to seamlessly transition into a takedown. Magny rose to his feet after a short period on the ground.
Malott dragged him back down again shortly thereafter and hopped into mound. Just before the horn, Malott rained down big ground-and-pound.
In the final round, Malott went back to the well of success: the grappling department – but there was a plot twist.
Magny swept Malott and ended up on top. Big punches landed on Malott, who tried to grab hold of a leg for a submission. Magny defended and went back on the offensive. Big punch after big punch landed. Eventually, Malott turned to his side.
Referee Kevin MacDonald gave Malott plenty of opportunity to show him something, but the something never came. The fight was waived off.
Neil Magny gets the finish with SECONDS to go 😱#UFC297 | @NeilMagny pic.twitter.com/ILsi0wwff6
— UFC (@ufc) January 21, 2024
Magny moves to 2-1 in his most recent three and bounces back from a loss to Ian Garry in August. A member of the UFC roster since 2013, Magny has alternated wins and losses over the span of his most recent seven outings.
The loss was Malott’s first in the UFC, but second as a professional. Malott didn’t lose in his previous seven outings, dating back to a 2014 unanimous decision defeat to Hakeem Dawodu under the WSOF banner.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 297 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
Check out the best photos from Neil Magny’s third-round TKO win over Mike Malott at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]’s third-round TKO win over Mike Malott at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. (Photos by Dan Hamilton, USA Today Sports)
Check out what the UFC 297 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Toronto.
TORONTO – UFC 297 took place Saturday with 12 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
You can hear from all the UFC 297 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
Neil Magny says he’s used to fighting the young prospects at this point in his UFC career.
TORONTO – It feels like out of all veteran fighters, [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] gets matched up with more young, up-and-coming prospects than anyone.
The 36-year-old welterweight returns to the octagon this Saturday to take on undefeated prospect [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 297. Magny (28-11 MMA, 21-10 UFC) is aware of this recurring position, but he has no issue fighting Malott (10-1-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC). He sees it as routine and part of the fight game.
“It’s definitely not the plan to find myself in this position over and over again,” Magny said at Wednesday’s UFC 297 media day. “The goal is definitely to move forward that I keep advancing and keep doing my thing, but that stuff happens. It’s the way this port plays out. If you lose a ranked fight, you fall back in the rankings and you kind of have to win yourself back into position to call someone above and keep climbing and moving forward.
“But yeah, here we are again fighting an undefeated up-and-comer in the UFC. It’s something I’m used to at this point. I don’t think I enjoy that pressure, but I think I thrive in that kind of pressure, especially on this fight. I feel like there’s a lot on the line. It’s a main card fight in Canada fighting a Canadian guy in his home turf. The bar is definitely set up pretty high for me to go out there and get it done.”
Although expectations are high for Malott on home soil, Magny argues that he has the same level of pressure, if not more, given his age and that he’s coming off a loss to Ian Garry in August.
“If you’re the older guy fighting the up-and-coming guy, it’s like kind of someone kind of replacing your throne, so to speak,” Magny explained. “In any other ecosystem you look at, when there’s a young challenger coming in to challenge the vet’s position, the vet’s position is in question at that point. I have to go out there and make a statement like, ‘Nope, I’m not going away anytime soon.'”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
