Photos: UFC 277 ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs

Check out these photos from the UFC 277 ceremonial weigh-ins in Dallas.

Check out these photos from the UFC 277 ceremonial weigh-ins which took place at American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Photos by Matthew Wells, MMA Junkie)

UFC Fight Night 196 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Paulo Costa gets $6,000

UFC Fight Night 196 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 196 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $157,500.

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 196 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 196 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gregor Rodrigues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]David Onama[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Laureano Staropoli[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Khama Worthy[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jeff Molina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel da Silva[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Livinha Souza[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zviad Lazishvili[/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 $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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,489,000
Program-to-date total: $4,489,000

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UFC Fight Night 196: Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ike Villanueva odds, picks and prediction

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 196 odds and lines between Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ike Villanueva, with MMA picks, tips and predictions.

In a light heavyweight bout on the main card, Nicolae Negumereanu meets Ike Villanueva Saturday at UFC Fight Night 196 – also known as UFC Vegas 41 and UFC on ESPN+ 54 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. Below, we analyze the UFC Fight Night 196 Negumereanu vs. Villanueva odds and lines, with picks and predictions.

The card can be viewed on ESPN+ with the prelims at 1 p.m. ET and the main card at 4 p.m. ET.

Negumereanu takes the walk to the octagon with a five-inch reach advantage over his counterpart, and he has six knockout wins in 11 career professional fights. His two UFC fights have ended up as decisions, including a split-decision win over Aleksa Camur last time out on the The Korean Zombie-Ige card June 19.

Villanueva enters this fight with four UFC results under his belt. He has posted a 1-3 record, with a KO/TKO loss in Round 2 against Marcin Prachnio last time out on the Gane-Volkov card June 26.

UFC Fight Night 196 Negumereanu vs. Villanueva: Odds and lines

Odds via Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:15 a.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Negumereanu -250 (bet $250 to win $100) | Villanueva +190 (bet $100 to win $190)
  • Over/Under: 1.5 rounds (Over -125 | Under -110)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +160 | No -230)

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UFC Fight Night 196 Negumereanu vs. Villanueva: Odds, lines, predictions and picks

Records: Negumereanu (10-1-0) | Villanueva (18-12-0)

Fight result (2-way line or money line)

I really like Negumereanu (-250) to win this fight, but putting up two-and-a-half times your potential return is risky business. Perhaps if you time him into a parlay with several other fighters and/or round totals, the risk is mitigated somewhat, but you can’t play it straight up.

Instead of playing the 2-way result, look to the Method of Victory section, and play NEGUMEREANU BY KO/TKO (+170) as he looks to use that reach advantage for the quick finish. Villanueva has been knocked out of three of his past four.

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 1.5 ROUNDS (-125) is the play, even though I don’t feel this one goes the distance. Negumereanu has been taken the distance in each of his two fights at the UFC level, so he needs to record some finishes before we can trust him for the quick stoppage.

Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.

Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.

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UFC Fight Night 196 predictions: Marvin Vettori or Paulo Costa in 205-pound main event?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 196 main event with Marvin Vettori vs. Paulo Costa at light heavyweight.

Costa
vs.
Vettori
Dawson
vs.
Glenn
Clark
vs.
Edwards
Caceres
vs.
Choi
Grant
vs.
Trinaldo
Negumereanu
vs.
Villanueva
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2021: 167-97
costa2021
Costa
(57%)
dawson2021
Dawson
(87%)
clark2021
Clark
(75%)
choi2021
Choi
(50.1%)
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
(63%)
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
(77%)
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2021: 172-92
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2021: 166-98
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
edwards2021
Edwards
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2021: 164-100
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
edwards2021
Edwards
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2021: 161-103
trophy copy 2020 Champion
vettori2021
Vettori
glenn2021
Glenn
clark2021
Clark
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
villanueva2021
Villanueva
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2021: 160-104
trophy copy 2018 Champion
costa2021
Costa
dawson2021
Dawson
edwards2021
Edwards
choi2021
Choi
grant2021
Grant
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2021: 160-104
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2021: 159-105
trophy copy 2014 Champion
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
caceres2021
Caceres
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2021: 155-109
trophy copy 2017 Champion
costa2021
Costa
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2021: 154-110
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
edwards2021
Edwards
caceres2021
Caceres
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2021: 153-111
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
caceres2021
Caceres
grant2021
Grant
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2021: 151-113
costa2021
Costa
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2021: 150-115
costa2021
Costa
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
choi2021
Choi
trinaldo2021
Trinaldo
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
2021: 90-58
vettori2021
Vettori
dawson2021
Dawson
clark2021
Clark
caceres2021
Caceres
grant2021
Grant
negumereanu2021
Negumereanu

The UFC stays home in Las Vegas this week with a key middleweight matchup atop the card – thought it won’t be at that weight class.

UFC Fight Night 196 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

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

In the main event, [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (17-4-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) in a fight between the most recent two middleweight title challengers. They both lost to champion Israel Adesanya. But this fight won’t be at middleweight thanks to Costa’s failure to make weight. They’ll fight at 205 pounds after Costa came into fight week heavy and intially asked for a catchweight. Vettori is a -185 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Costa is +140. Our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Vettori with a 9-4 picks lead.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is the biggest favorite on the card at -420 in his lightweight fight against [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC). He’s a near-unanimous pick from our staff members at 12-1.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Jessica-Rose Clark[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight bout. Clark is a -160 favorite, and she’s got a sizable 9-4 picks lead.

[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (18-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC) meets [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Choi nearly is a 3-1 favorite, and he’s up big in the picks at 9-4.

It’s a close fight at the betting window between welterweights [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and [autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC). Trinaldo is just a -135 favorite, but he’s got a big 10-3 edge in the picks.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is a -230 favorite at light heavyweight against [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag] (18-12 MMA, 1-3 UFC). He’s a near-unanimous pick at 12-1 from our staff members.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Costa (57 percent), Dawson (87 percent), Clark (75 percent), Choic (50.1 percent), Trinaldo (63 percent) and Negumereanu (77 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

Aleksa Camur to appeal UFC on ESPN 25 loss after plethora of Nicolae Negumereanu fence grabs

Aleksa Camur and his team counted a total of 11 warnings from referee Mike Beltran, but none resulted in a point deduction.

[autotag]Aleksa Camur[/autotag] doesn’t think referee Mike Beltran handled things correctly in his loss to [autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 25 – and in his eyes, it cost him the fight.

During this past Saturday’s prelims, Camur (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) lost a split decision in a fight plagued with fence-grabbing fouls by Negumereanu, but no point deductions occured.

The light heavyweight fighter and his team will appeal his split decision defeat with the Nevada Athletic Commission in the near future, a representative for Iridium Sports Agency, which represents Camur, told MMA Junkie on Wednesday.

When they re-watched the fight, Negumereanu’s team counted a total of 11 warnings (seven verbal, three physical, and one timeout) from Beltran. If Negumereanu was not given so many warnings and a point was deducted instead, the fight may have ended in a draw. The judges’ scorecards were 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28 in favor of Negumereanu.

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Video: What’s the point of rules if they’re not enforced?

Warnings are fine, but rules aren’t supposed to be just suggestions.

This past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 25, [autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag] was warned multiple times by referee Mike Beltran – quite sternly, we might add – about grabbing the cage in his light heavyweight bout with Aleksa Camur, but ultimately no points were deducted.

The result? Negumereanu salvaged a split decision victory thanks to the multiple no-calls. Had a point been taken, the final result would have been a draw – and Negumereanu wouldn’t have earned the second half of his paycheck for winning.

Now, nobody likes draws, and nobody wants to have money taken from fighters, but rules are rules. But should referees be quicker to issue deductions when rules are repeatedly broken? Otherwise, what is the point?  Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Danny Segura and Matthew Wells weighed in with host John Morgan in this week’s episode.

You can watch the discussion in the video above or check out the full episode below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_55BAGMDmg

Nicolae Negumereanu returns from 27-month layoff, fights Aleksa Camur at UFC event on June 19

Nicolae Negumereanu’s most recent fight came in March 2019.

Twenty-seven months removed from his UFC debut, [autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag] is set to make his second walk to the promotion’s cage.

On June 19, Negumereanu (9-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will square off with [autotag]Aleksa Camur[/autotag] in a light heavyweight bout on a UFC “Fight Night” card. The event does not yet have an announced location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Friday, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Romania’s Negumereanu, 26, made his promotional debut on short notice in March 2019. He lost a unanimous decision to Saparbeg Safarov. The fight marked the first time Negumereanu lost as a professional and the first time he went three full rounds.

Ohio’s Camur (6-1 MMA, 1-1) looks to reenter the win column after a unanimous decision loss to William Knight at UFC 253 this past September. The win came eight months after a successful UFC debut in which Camur beat Justin Ledet by unanimous decision at UFC 246.

With the addition, the June 19 UFC lineup now includes:

  • Matt Brown vs. Dhiego Lima
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. Kanako Murata
  • Roque Martinez vs. Josh Parisian
  • Bruno Silva vs. Wellington Turman
  • Julian Erosa vs. Seung Woo Choi
  • Casey O’Neill vs. Lara Procopio
  • Tyson Nam vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
  • Aleksa Camur vs. Nicolae Negumereanu

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