Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out a full recap of 2023’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2023’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
The UFC matchmakers need a lightweight replacement.
[autotag]Nurullo Aliev[/autotag] won’t fight at UFC 295 as was previously expected.
Eight days out from the Nov. 11 pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden, lightweight Nurullo Aliev announced Friday on social media his withdrawal from his preliminary card matchup vs. [autotag]Mateusz Rebecki[/autotag] due to a leg injury.
Tajikistan’s Aliev (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) only has one fight in the UFC in addition to a Dana White’s Contender Series appearance, but has already garnered a large fanbase and strong social media presence rooted in his home country. He debuted in February and defeated Rafael Alves by majority decision.
“Over the last few months due to some life circumstances, I have taken a break in my career,” Aliev wrote on Instagram in Russian. “I haven’t stopped training hard though. I never looked for a comfortable opponent. When UFC offered me a worthy opponent, I gladly agreed. … I prepared particularly hard for this battle. Everything went according to plan, the best gyms, coaches and nutritionists. … Unfortunately, a couple of days ago, I injured my leg. After the examination, the doctor from UFC was banned and did not consent for the fight.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzMc44iOpTC/?img_index=1
It’s unclear if Rebecki (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will remain on the card at this time. Also a DWCS standout, Rebecki has promotional victories over Nick Fiore and Loik Radzhabov in his UFC tenure to date.
With the change, the UFC 295 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
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.
Nurullo Aliev won his UFC debut despite a first-round point deduction for biting against Rafael Alves. He says that deduction was in error.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Nurullo Aliev[/autotag] beat Rafael Alves with a majority decision Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 220 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Aliev, who won his UFC debut despite a first-round point deduction for biting.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 220, which saw Nurullo Aliev put Tajikistan on the map of the UFC win column.
UFC Fight Night 220, which took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, is likely an event the promotion will want to put in the rear-view mirror as quickly as possible.
Three fights, including the original headliner, were called off within 48 hours of the card beginning, resulting in a 10-bout lineup that saw [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 9-2 UFC) finish [autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) by third-round submission in the makeshift middleweight main event.
For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 220.
UFC Fight Night 220 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 220 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $104,000.
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 220 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 220 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Augusto Sakai[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Trevor Peek[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Erick Gonzalez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriella Fernandes[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Victor Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Joe Solecki[/autotag]: $6,000
def.[autotag]Carl Deaton[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag][Nurullo Aliev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Rafael Alves[/autotag]: $4,500
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 2207 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2201 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: $1,157,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $15,676,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 220.
Check out what the UFC Fight Night 220 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 220 took place Saturday with 10 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex.
You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 220 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 220.
Nurullo Aliev got an ultra-rare point deduction for biting his opponent at UFC Fight Night 220, but it didn’t stop him from the win.
Lightweight prospect [autotag]Nurullo Aliev[/autotag] remained undefeated in his octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 220, but it didn’t come without an odd bit of controversy.
Aliev (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was deducted a point by referee Mark Smith for biting [autotag]Rafael Alves[/autotag] (20-12 MMA, 1-3 UFC) in the opening round at the UFC Apex, but it didn’t stop him from getting his hand raised by majority decision with scores of 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28.
During an exchange on the mat where Alves was in bottom position, he attempted to push away the head of Aliev. His fingers went in the direction of the mouth, though, then moments later Alves winced and complained to the referee that he’d been bitten.
After a halt in the action, Smith consulted the Nevada State Athletic Commission to look at the replay. There was no conclusive evidence of the bite on the footage because of the angle, but Smith said he inspected visible bite marks of Alves’ finger. He opted to take a point, which changed the complexion of the fight.
Aliev, who is the fifth-youngest active fighter on the UFC roster at 22, would go on to dominate the second round with his wrestling. Alves came out desperate in the third and landed a big shot on the feet before a guillotine choke attempt, but he was eventually reversed and Aliev rode out the fight to the final bell to take the fight on the scorecards.
Michael Bisping did not ask Aliev about the biting incident in the post-fight interview, but rather celebrated his position as the first fighter in UFC history from Tajikistan to get a win in the octagon.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 220.
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 from Jan. 2-8.
At UFC Fight Night 220, Tajikistani sensation Nurullo Aliev will make his promotional debut against Rafael Alves.
Rising Tajikistani fighter [autotag]Nurullo Aliev[/autotag] has his first UFC assignment.
One of the most highly touted fighters from the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series, Aliev (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will take on former Titan FC champion [autotag]Rafael Alves[/autotag] (1-2 UFC) in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 220. The event takes place Feb. 25 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Aliev, 23, entered the national spotlight on DWCS in September when he dominated short-notice replacement Josh Wick by first-round TKO. After the fight, Aliev was offered a UFC contract. Since the fight, his Instagram following has grown to a massive 355,000 followers.
Alves, 32, is coming off a thrilling battle against Drew Dober. Though he lost that fight, it was preceded by a slick submission win over Marc Diakiese.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 220 lineup includes:
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