Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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.
Nikolas Motta picked up the event’s fastest finish, but was left without a post-fight performance bonus at UFC Fight Night 234.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag] beat Tom Nolan with a first-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 234 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Motta, who picked up the event’s fastest finish, but was left without a post-fight performance bonus.
Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 234, which saw Jim Miller grow his all-time wins record and add more history to his resume.
The UFC returned from its holiday hiatus on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and although it wasn’t the most stacked lineup, UFC Fight Night 234 delivered seven stoppage results out of 11 bouts.
In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) produced definitive closure on his rivalry with Johnny Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC), scoring a second-round knockout in their light heavyweight rematch to potentially set himself up for a championship opportunity.
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 234.
UFC Fight Night 234 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 234 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $159,500.
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 234 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 234 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Felipe Bunes[/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 2341 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: $159,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,866,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
Nikolas Motta said he’d make Tom Nolan pay for talking a big game prior to UFC Fight Night 234, and he did just that with a 63-second upset.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag] said he would make [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag] pay for talking a big game prior to UFC Fight Night 234, and he did just that.
Motta (14-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) dished a slice of humility to the 23-year-old prospect Nolan (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) when he stood toe-to-toe and exchanged strikes in a furious start to the lightweight bout at the UFC Apex.
Both men landed well, but it was a stinging left hand followed by a right that floored Nolan early on. Motta, 30, swarmed him on the mat and forced the stoppage just 63 seconds after the bout began.
Check out the replay of the final sequence below (via X):
HEAVY shots from Nikolas Motta 💥 #UFCVegas84 pic.twitter.com/57jxTdx797
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 13, 2024
Nothing but smiles from @NikolasMotta after that performance 😁 #UFCVegas84 pic.twitter.com/Wr1tgOQpnh
— UFC (@ufc) January 13, 2024
After a controversial no contest vs. Trey Ogden in his previous fight, Motta needed a strong performance on the final fight of his current UFC contract. He did just that with a definitive win over a previously undefeated opponent.
“Tom Nolan is a killer – he has a finish rate so high and he’s a killer,” Motta said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I know I have a lot of power and I work with some of the best. … Finally I show more of who I am.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 234 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
Check out what the UFC Fight Night 234 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 234 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 234 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.
All the 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 Nov. 27-Dec. 3.
UFC Fight Night 232 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 232 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $158,500.
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 232 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 232 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nick Aguirre[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Myktybek Orolbai[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Uros Medic[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jose Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jeka Saragih[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucie Pudilova[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Rafael Estevam[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charles Johnson[/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 2321 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: $7,464,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,983,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
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 Aug. 21-27.
The UFC on ESPN 46 main event between Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori set a new bar for strikes landed in a middleweight bout.
UFC on ESPN 46 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas proved to be a historic night.
The main event saw [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) emerge from a key matchup of former middleweight title challengers with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) in which he set a new single-fight record for most significant strikes landed in a divisional contest.
The Fight of the Night delivered, but for more numbers on the entire card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 46.
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