Tag: Raphael Assuncao

2023 MMA retirement tracker: A list of former UFC champions, legends and more who hung up the gloves

The MMA world already has said goodbye to many retiring fighters in 2023, from former UFC champions to icons of the sport.

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.

2023 has seen an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).

5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 221: Is Dana White right about Merab Dvalishvili?

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 221, including Dana White’s firm warning to Merab Dvalishvili.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 221 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings…

UFC Fight Night 221 post-event facts: Merab Dvalishvili sets takedown attempt record

Merab Dvalishvili attempted a historic number of takedowns in his dominant win over Petr Yan in the UFC Fight Night 221 headliner.

The UFC hosted yet another event on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 221, which took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) continued to emerge as a contender in the main event when he outworked former champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) to win a unanimous decision with a relentless pace of striking and takedown attempts.

For more on the numbers from the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 221.

UFC Fight Night 221 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $16 million

UFC Fight Night 221 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 221 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $194,000.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 221 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tony Gravely[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]JJ Aldrich [/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Carlston Harris[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jared Gooden[/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 2217 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2211 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: $1,634,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $16,153,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC Fight Night 221 with Tupac, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Elvis

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 221 event.

While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.

See what the fighters from UFC Fight Night 221 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas.

Davey Grant def. Raphael Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 221: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Davey Grant’s technical submission win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 221.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]’s technical submission win over [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 221 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ron Chenoy, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC Fight Night 221 video: Davey Grant sleeps Raphael Assuncao with rare reverse triangle

A technical submission by reverse triangle is not something you see every day – but that’s what Davey Grant did at UFC Fight Night 221.

[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] locked in a rare and spectacular submission to put [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] unconscious and pick up victory Saturday in Las Vegas.

At UFC Fight Night 221, Grant (13-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) earned a technical submission of Assuncao (27-10 MMA, 12-7 UFC) via reverse triangle at 4:43 of Round 3 in the bantamweight bout. The event took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels.

After more than two-and-a-half rounds of fighting, Grant was deducted a point midway through Round 3 for a cage grab. Since Assuncao hadn’t established control position when the cage-grab occurred, the fighters were separated. Grant landed a huge spinning backfist that stunned Assuncao, who shot for a takedown.

Rather than stuff the takedown, Grant went up and over Assuncao, as he wrapped his legs around the head. Grant squeezed and squeezed. It appeared Assuncao was not moving for several seconds before referee Keith Peterson pulled Grant off his unconscious opponent.

Up to his feet, conscious, for the decision, Assuncao took off his gloves and announced his retirement from professional MMA in the cage.

Grant, 37, has won back-to-back fights and five of his most recent seven bouts.

The up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 221 results include:

  • Davey Grant def. Raphael Assuncao via technical submission (reverse triangle) – Round 3, 4:47
  • Josh Fremd def. Sedriques Dumas via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:00
  • Victor Henry def. Tony Gravely via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Ariane Lipski def. JJ Aldrich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Bruno Silva def. Tyson Nam via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:23
  • Carlston Harris def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.

 

 

UFC Fight Night 221 pre-event facts: Merab Dvalishvili best takedown artist in bantamweight history

Go behind the numbers of UFC Fight Night 221, where Merab Dvalishvili enters his main event vs. Petr Yan with takedown records.

The UFC’s busy March schedule rolls on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 221, which takes place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas with a lineup that streams entirely on ESPN+.

In the main event, bantamweight contenders collide. Former UFC champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will attempt to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on the streaking [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who has won his past eight consecutive bouts inside the octagon.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 221.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 6-12)

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 Feb. 6-12.

Kyler Phillips vs. Raphael Assuncao headed to UFC Fight Night 221 in March

The lineup for the UFC’s return to a venue it hasn’t played in more than a decade continues to grow with a new bantamweight bout.

The lineup for the UFC’s return to a venue it hasn’t played in more than a decade continues to grow with the addition of a new bantamweight bout.

[autotag]Kyler Phillips[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is set to take on [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] (27-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 221, which takes place March 11 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The UFC officially announced the bout in a press release Thursday.

The Virgin Hotels property, about a mile off the Strip, used to be Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and The Joint venue there hosted many UFC shows, as well as nearly a dozen WEC events. The most recent UFC show at the location came in December 2012 for the TUF 16 Finale. Before that, it was about six years between events.

The 27-year-old Phillips will return for the first time in more than a year. After a 3-0 start to his UFC tenure, including a pair of post-fight bonuses, Phillips dropped a majority decision to Raulian Paiva in a July 2021 Fight of the Night winner.

After seven months on the sidelines, he returned in February 2022 and submitted Marcelo Rojo in the third round to get back in the win column. He was scheduled fight Jack Shore in November, but Shore pulled out with a knee injury and Phillips was left without an opponent.

Assuncao, who turned 40 this past July, picked up a crucial win in October when he outpointed Victor Henry for a unanimous decision. It was his first victory in more than four years, when a UFC 226 decision over Rob Font gave him four straight wins, as well as 11 in 12 fights, and had him back on the cusp of title contention.

But a submission loss to Marlon Moraes in February 2019 started a four-fight skid that included a decision loss to Cory Sandhagen and knockout losses to former champion Cody Garbrandt and Ricky Simon. His victory over Henry put that rough stretch in the rearview mirror.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 221 lineup now includes:

  • Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Alexander Volkov vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Austin Lingo vs. Ricardo Ramos
  • Raphael Assuncao vs. Kyler Phillips
  • Vitor Petrino vs. Anton Turkalj
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs. Karl Williams
  • Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti
  • Tony Gravely vs. Victor Henry
  • Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas
  • JJ Aldrich vs. Ariane Lipski
  • Tyson Nam vs. Bruno Silva

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.

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