Ramazan Temirov sets UFC flyweight title goal after quick finish of CJ Vergara

Ramazan Temirov put the flyweight division on notice that he’s coming for a title shot after a quick finish of CJ Vergara.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag] beat CJ Vergara with a first-round TKO Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 244 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Temirov, who was dominant in his UFC debut – and put the flyweight division on notice that he’s coming for a title shot.

Ramazan Temirov def. CJ Vergara

Ramazan Temirov

Result: Ramazan Temirov def. CJ Vergara via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:50
Updated records: Temirov (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Vergara (12-6-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC)
Key stats: Temirov has 10 straight wins and five straight first-round finishes.

Temirov on the fight’s key moment

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: (R-L) Ramazan Temirov of Uzbekistan punches CJ Vergara in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“If it’s five rounds, I prepare for the five rounds. If it’s three rounds, I always prepare for the three rounds. We never know when the fight is going to be done, when we might finish the fight. But today, it happened. I finished him in the first round, and we’re happy.”

Temirov on title aspirations

“The UFC was my childhood dream, which just came true today. I’m so happy. After this, I will be only going forward and my goal is to be a champion of the flyweight division. I never thought I would be in the UFC, to be honest, but I was always dreaming to be in here and to be a champion. Today we’re here, and we’re chasing the dream.”

Temirov on what he wants next

Ramazonbek Temirov def. CJ Vergara, UFC Fight Night 244

“The next goal is, and the dream is definitely to become a flyweight champion. We will see how long it will take – maybe a year, maybe two years. Only God knows.”

To hear more from Temirov, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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

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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 bonuses: Grant Dawson makes wife’s badunkadunk co-star, but won’t go home with extra $50K

The UFC handed out four bonuses, but a lightweight who promised a title run and had a memorable mic moment was left out.

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card, but a lightweight who promised a title run, [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag], was left out of the mix.

Despite a brutal TKO finish on the main card and a bootylicious moment when he thanked his wife for her support – and “a dump truck you could bounce a quarter off of” – Dawson got no extra check for the mic-drop moment with his wife covering her face cageside.

After UFC Fight Night 244, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

Performance of the Night: Clayton Carpenter

Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha, UFC Fight Night 244

Clayton Carpenter def. Lucas Rocha via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:12

[autotag]Clayton Carpenter[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was fighting about 20 months after his UFC debut win, but it was evident his game plan was to take the fight to the canvas to outwork Lucas Rocha (17-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the canvas. After he cut him open in the first round and controlled him on the mat, he took him down again in the second and deftly locked in a rear-naked choke that put the Brazilian to sleep without a tap.

Performance of the Night: Ramazan Temirov

Ramazonbek Temirov def. CJ Vergara, UFC Fight Night 244

Ramazonbek Temirov def. CJ Vergara via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:50

The UFC’s flyweights might have a new problem on their hands in Uzbekistan’s [autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC). He stormed out in a hurry against CJ Vergara (12-6-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) and stayed on him for as long as the fight lasted, which was just past the halfway mark when he put him away, mercifully.

Fight of the Night: Brandon Royval def. Tatsuro Taira

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: (L-R) Brandon Royval punches Tatsuro Taira of Japan in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Brandon Royval def. Tatsuro Taira via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

In a flyweight instant classic, [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) truly went back and forth for 25 minutes with regular momentum shifts. But a late takedown for Royval in the fifth and several close submission attempts down the stretch may have sealed the deal for the recent title challenger to hand Taira the first loss of his career. Royval said afterward Taira is a future flyweight champion and he wants to help him get there. He wants another title shot next.

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UFC Fight Night 244 video: Ramazan Temirov throttles CJ Vergara for first-round debut TKO

Ramazan Temirov didn’t need much time to pick up his first UFC victory, and did so with style at UFC Fight Night 244 in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag] has arrived.

At UFC Fight Night 244, Uzbekistan’s Temirov (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his UFC debut in a flyweight bout against CJ Vergara. It was an introduction to remember, as Temirov left Vergara (12-6-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) folded over on the canvas just 2:50 into the fight.

It didn’t take long for Temirov to get going.

He opened the action with a spinning back kick to the body, and kept Vergara on his toes defensively from that point on. Out of nowhere, Temirov charged forward with big looping punches. The first missed, but the second caught Vergara clean, sending him stumbling to the canvas.

From there, the swarm was on. Vergara did his best to cover up, but Temirov ripped a hard left to the body, and that was it.

Check out video of the finish below (via X):

Temirov, 27, extends his winning streak to double digits, a run that now includes five consecutive first-round finishes.

“The new superstar of the division, and the new showman, and the new champion has arrived to the flyweight division,” Temirov said during his post-fight interview through an interpreter.

On the other side, Vergara walks away as a loser of two straight fights for the first time in his pro career.

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.

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 244

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara was a last-minute main card shift at UFC Fight Night 244, but how long will it last?

[autotag]Ramazan Temirov[/autotag] and [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card opener 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

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 preview

Temirov (17-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut in a main card opening slot, putting his nine-fight winning streak on the line. On his current run, the 27-year-old Uzbekistan native has racked up six first-round finishes, four of which have come consecutively in recent outings. … Vergara (12-5-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will look to pour cold water on Temirov’s streak, while remaining about .500 in the UFC. Vergara will need to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to Asu Almabayev in March.

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 expert pick, prediction

Despite the impromptu promotion to this spot, Temirov vs. Vergara is an arguable improvement to the endless middleweight slog that the UFC usually force-feeds you in these spots. It’s also great to see more men’s flyweight fights in more prominent positions.

Although the betting line for this fight is a bit wide for my liking, I can understand why Temirov is favored.

Despite Temirov’s lack of UFC sample size, the Master of Sports in hand-to-hand combat looks to be an aggressive athlete with all the instincts for fighting. Temirov is not beyond getting clipped for his aggression early, but the 27-year-old appears capable of powering through both on the feet and the floor.

Vergara strikes should be extra live off clinch breaks, but I’m not sure that Temirov gives the American his preferred space.

For that reason, I’ll semi-reluctantly pick Temirov to force a stoppage by strikes in Round 1.

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 odds

The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the Uzbek fighter, listing Temirov -325 and Vergara +250 via FanDuel.

Ramazan Temirov vs. CJ Vergara UFC Fight Night 244 start time, how to watch

Vergara and Temirov are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 7:05 p.m. ET (4:05 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.