Tag: Rafa Garcia

UFC Fight Night 244 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Brad Tavares gets $21,000 in record bout

UFC Fight Night 244 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 244 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,000.

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 244 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 244 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]JunYong Park[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sean Sharaf[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Julia Polastri[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Haddon[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Rocha[/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 $4,630; 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 $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-63 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,488,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,225,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

UFC Fight Night 244 video: Grant Dawson bloodies Rafa Garcia for TKO, promises to be champ

Grant Dawson thrashed Rafa Garcia at UFC Fight Night 244 then made promises of future championship greatness.

No one can accuse [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] of being cautious with his grappling approach after a brutal beatdown of Rafa Garcia at UFC Fight Night 244.

Dawson (22-2-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) added another win to this stellar octagon record when he used his wrestling to put Garcia (16-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) on the mat. A big elbow from top position opened up a nasty cut, and the American Top Team product poured on strikes until the referee stepped in for the TKO stoppage at the 1:42 mark of Round 2.

Check out the replay of Dawson’s handiwork in the video below (via X):

Dawson has now won back-to-back fights after suffering his sole UFC defeat in a 33-second knockout to King Green in October 2023. The 30-year-old said this is just the start after the triumphant performance.

“It’s a testament I’ve been doing to all the great work I’ve been doing in the best gym in the world at American Top Team,” Dawson said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I am better than everybody in this division gives me credit for, and I will be a world champion one day.”

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Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 244 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 244

Will Grant Dawson continue his climb up the lightweight ladder by getting past Rafa Garcia at UFC Fight Night 244?

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] and [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 244 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 84-74-3

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia UFC Fight Night 244 preview

Dawson (12-2-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) aims to regain the momentum lost two fights ago when he suffered his first UFC defeat at the hands of Bobby Green. Before that, Dawson went 12 fights without a loss in an impressive stretch. In his first fight of the year, Dawson returned to the win column with a decision win over Joe Solecki in June. … Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) enters his first fight of 2024 and will look to make it three wins in a row. He enters on the heels of a pair of unanimous decision wins against Maheshate and Clay Guida.

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia UFC Fight Night 244 expert pick, prediction

Filling out the main card is a lightweight attraction between Dawson and Garcia.

Although I feel like this fight will play out closer than the odds indicate, I agree with Dawson being favored to win.

Aside from possessing the statistical advantages that MMA bettors base their mortgage-breaking decisions on, Dawson is the more effective wrestler with a more focused process.

For that reason, I give him the edge against a fighter like Garcia, who is basically your standard wrestler-boxer who lacks strong finishing potency.

I can see Garcia having a solid start or finish to this fight, but I’ll ultimately be siding with Dawson to get it done on the scorecards by decision.

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia UFC Fight Night 244 odds

The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the American fighter, listing Dawson -420 and Garcia +310 via FanDuel. 

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia UFC Fight Night 244 start time, how to watch

Dawson and Garcia are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:05 p.m. ET (5:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Rafa Garcia ‘not taking a step back’ vs. Grant Dawson in UFC Fight Night 244 return from knee surgery

Rafa Garcia has no intention of folding to the relentless grappling pressure of Grant Dawson at UFC Fight Night 244.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag] has no intention of folding to the relentless grappling pressure of Grant Dawson at UFC Fight Night 244 – even if he is coming off a significant knee surgery.

Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will return to the octagon for the first time since April 2023 on Saturday when he meets Dawson (21-2-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+). “Gifted” underwent surgery in July 2023 for a torn ACL and PCL, and has been working hard toward his comeback ever since.

“For me, (the recovery) was a little bit difficult,” Garcia told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “Putting the brakes on me was a little bit hard. Being in bed until 12 every day, that’s not something I do. I usually wake up in the morning at 5 a.m., go walk around, feed the animals and do something. When I was in bed, I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t do nothing.'”

Garcia was eventually able to return to his feet in a full-functioning manner and get back into training. The next step was accepting a fight, and he did that against Dawson, who has lost just once in 11 octagon appearances.

Dawson is a tenacious wrestler who has landed at least one takedown in all but one of his UFC fights, so Garcia knows what he’s getting this weekend. He is ready to thwart takedowns with the help of his surgically repaired knee, and then he’ll be looking to get the stoppage win.

“I feel like it’s a great opponent for me,” Garcia said. “Grant Dawson is knocking at the top 15. I think he’s going to try to take me down and walk back. But I’m not taking a step back. I’m getting in his face, making him back up, and I’m getting that finish.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

UFC on ESPN 44 medical suspensions: Three fighters get 60 days after KO losses

The Missouri commission issued medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN 44, the longest of which went to fighters who were knocked out.

Three fighters face 60-day medical suspensions as a result of stoppage losses by strikes at UFC on ESPN 44.

The event took place this past Saturday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The event was overseen by the Missouri Division of Professional Regulation, which suspended 13 of 28 fighters from the card for medical reasons after their bouts, according to a list published Wednesday by the commission.

It’s important to note fighters can return sooner than the expiration date of their medical suspension should they receive proper medical clearance from a doctor. In addition, the commission does not list reasons for medical suspensions – just durations.

Scroll below to see the full list of UFC on ESPN 44 medical suspensions.

Rafa Garcia explains why UFC on ESPN 44 win over Clay Guida ‘a little bittersweet’

Rafa Garcia says of Clay Guida that “he was one of my heroes growing up,” which made it difficult to fight him at UFC on ESPN 44.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag] admits it was hard to fight [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 44.

Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) swept the judges’ scorecards in a unanimous decision win over Guida (38-23 MMA, 18-17 UFC) this past Saturday at T-Mobile Center.

While it was special to fight a veteran such as Guida, Garcia has a lot of admiration for him.

“A little bittersweet,” Garcia told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage. “It wasn’t like my decision where I was really excited to fight someone like Clay because it’s someone I admire. I had to prepare myself mentally for three months and be like, he’s somebody you look up to – he was one of my heroes growing up.

“When I met him for the first time, I went to a grappler’s quest and a few fighters denied me and my brother a picture. I went up to Clay before he was competing and he gave us a hug, was super nice to us too. We took a picture. It was me, Cub (Swanson) and my brother, and Clay. So, just to have that mentality, going in there and having to be like, ‘I’m going to have to go in there and try to hurt this guy’ was kind of hard.”

After their fight, Guida took off his gloves and faked a retirement announcement, which had Garcia worried for a second.

“Please don’t do this to me, Clay, I told him,” Garcia said. “I was super happy and super emotional that I won, but I also was just kind of like sad because that’s someone I look up to.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

UFC on ESPN 44 post-event facts: Max Holloway joins 20-win club, sets other records

Check out the numbers from UFC on ESPN 44, where Max Holloway hit more milestones – including being the first to land 3,000 octagon strikes.

The UFC returned to Missouri after six years Saturday at UFC on ESPN 44, and the card delivered with half the fights ending by stoppage.

One of the bouts to go the distance was the main event, where former champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) once again displayed his greatness in ending the winning streak of [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) with a unanimous decision. In the process, “Blessed” made more history to add to his one-of-a-kind octagon resume.

For more on the numbers to come out of the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 44.

UFC on ESPN 44 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Four fighters get max non-title payout

UFC on ESPN 44 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 44 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $254,500.

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 on ESPN 44 took place at T-Mobile Center. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 44 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Azamat Murzakanov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]T.J. Brown[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Zak Cummings[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ed Herman[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Piera Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lando Vannata[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruna Brasil[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Aaron Phillips[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lucie Pudilova[/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 $44,000 while title challengers get $44,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-44 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $2,230,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $16,819,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

UFC on ESPN 44 predictions: Who’s taking Arnold Allen over ex-champ Max Holloway in mighty K.C.?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 44 main card in Kansas City, Mo., featuring Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen.

Holloway
vs.
Allen		 Barboza
vs.
Quarantillo		 Jacoby
vs.
Murzakanov		 Boser
vs.
Cutelaba		 Gutierrez
vs.
Munhoz		 Garcia
vs.
Guida
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
45-33		 holloway2023
Holloway
(62%)		 quarantillo2023
Quarantillo
(54%)		 jacoby2023
Jacoby
(53%)		 boser2023
Boser
(63%)		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez
(71%)		 garcia2023
Garcia
(53%)
Nolan King
@mma_kings
48-30		 holloway2023
Holloway		 quarantillo2023
Quarantillo		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 guida2023
Guida
Matt Erickson
@MattE
48-30		 allen2023
Allen		 barboza2023
Barboza		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 garcia2023
Garcia
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
48-30		 holloway2023
Holloway		 barboza2023
Barboza		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 guida2023
Guida
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
47-31		 holloway2023
Holloway		 barboza2023
Barboza		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 garcia2023
Garcia
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
45-33		 holloway2023
Holloway		 quarantillo2023
Quarantillo		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 garcia2023
Garcia
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
44-34		 holloway2023
Holloway		 quarantillo2023
Quarantillo		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 guida2023
Guida
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
44-34
trophy copy 2018, 2022 Champion		 allen2023
Allen		 quarantillo2023
Quarantillo		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 cutelaba2023
Cutelaba		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 guida2023
Guida
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
44-34		 holloway2023
Holloway		 barboza2023
Barboza		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 cutelaba2023
Cutelaba		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 guida2023
Guida
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
43-35
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 holloway2023
Holloway		 barboza2023
Barboza		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 guida2023
Guida
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
43-35
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 holloway2023
Holloway		 quarantillo2023
Quarantillo		 jacoby2023
Jacoby		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 guida2023
Guida
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
41-37		 holloway2023
Holloway		 barboza2023
Barboza		 murzakanov2023
Murzakanov		 boser2023
Boser		 gutierrez2023
Gutierrez		 garcia2023
Garcia

Five years after its first visit, the UFCc is back in an historic Midwest city this week with a former featherweight champion on the top of the card.

UFC on ESPN 44 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

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

In the main event, former featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) takes on England’s [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who is unbeaten in the UFC. Holloway is nearly a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, and our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have him in a rout at 9-2.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] (22-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC) meets [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in another potential featherweight banger. Quarantillo is a -175 favorite, but it’s elite striker Barboza who has the slimmest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] (18-6-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) fights [autotag]Azamat Murzakanov[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at light heavyweight, and even though he’s a -165 favorite, it’s Murzakanov who has a near-shutout in the picks as an underdog at 10-1.

Another fight at 205 pounds sees [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] (20-9-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) take on [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC). Cutelaba is a slight favorite at -135, but Boser has a big 9-2 picks lead.

[autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (19-3-2 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC) is more than a 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) in their bantamweight bout, and he’s our lone unanimous pick from our staff members at 11-0.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) takes on longtime lightweight and UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] (38-22 MMA, 18-16 UFC). Garcia is the biggest favorite on the entire card at -275, but the picks didn’t play out that way. Underdog Guida has a 7-4 lead from our pickers.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Holloway (62 percent), Quarantillo (54 percent), Jacoby (53 percent), Boser (63 percent), Gutierrez (71 percent), and Garcia (54 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

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UFC on ESPN 44’s Rafa Garcia details what it was like losing ’20 percent’ of his blood in last fight

Rafa Garcia was a bloody mess after he won last time out, and he could be in for a similar war with Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 44.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag] was a bloody mess, but all he could think about was the win.

That was Garcia’s mindset the last time he fought in December against Maheshate as the two engaged in a hard-fought battle. Toward the end of the second round, Maheshate hit Garcia with an elbow across the side of his head, which opened up a nasty gash that couldn’t be stopped. So in the third round, Garcia, unsure where he stood on the scorecards, fought hard as blood continuously leaked everywhere. Garcia emerged victorious with a unanimous decision.

On Wednesday, ahead of his UFC on ESPN 44 fight with Clay Guida, Garcia recalled what it was like to fight while losing “20 percent” of his blood.

“At that moment, to be honest, I just wanted to get that finish,” Garcia said. “I was going so hard because you know how the judges are. They base (their scores) a lot on damage, you know? I wanted to go out there and leave it clear that I won. It was a hard fight, you know? …

“I mean, at the moment, you don’t realize what’s going on. You’re just like, ‘Man, I just want to finish this guy before it gets worse.’ I didn’t know how bad the cut was until they told me. It took two hours to stitch me up and stop the blood. That was pretty hard.”

Despite losing a lot of blood, Garcia ran on adrenaline in the third round and said he was never concerned about the fight being stopped because of the cut.

“I was pretty sure they weren’t gonna stop it because the cut was on top of the head. I knew that,” Garcia said. “Maybe if it was on the face they would’ve stopped it. But it was the top of the head, and I was like, ‘I’m good.’ I felt like my cardio kept going up, up and up instead of going down.”

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Garcia (15-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), 28, could be in for another firefight with Guida (38-22 MMA, 18-16 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 44 main card opener Saturday at T-Mobile Center. You can be sure Garcia is looking forward to facing the gritty 41-year-old veteran, who’s in the UFC Hall of Fame fight wing for his 2009 war with Diego Sanchez, given his reputation for being as tough as they come.

“It would mean a lot,” Garcia said of a win over Guida. “He’s a Hall of Famer. I have a lot of respect for Clay Guida, but I feel like the biggest respect I could show Clay Guida is going out there and giving him the best version of myself.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.