Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out what the UFC Fight Night 228 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 228 took place Saturday with 11 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 228 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 228.
Ricardo Ramos is expecting a war with Charles Jourdain.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag] is expecting a war with [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag].
Ramos (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) meets Jourdain (14-6-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 228 main card opener at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Like Ramos, Jourdain has been a part of numerous entertaining scraps. So, Ramos is excited to do battle with the fellow rising featherweight contender.
“(It’s a) hard fight, really good opponent,” Ramos told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 228 media day. “He’s going to bring the war, and I’m a warrior, so here we go.”
When Ramos has gotten his hand raised, he’s delivered spectacular finishes such as spinning back elbow knockouts of Danny Chavez and Aiemann Zahabi. But the 28-year-old Brazilian has had some inconsistencies throughout his career which he plans on changing.
“Every time they send me a fight, I say, Yes, let’s go,’ and that’s it,” Ramos said. “One day, soon probably, we’re going to be getting all the stuff we invested in this career. I know my time will come.”
Check out the full interview with Ramos in the video above.
[lawrence-related id=2555299,2680794,2680517,2680653]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.
Before UFC Fight Night 228 on Saturday, watch the main card athletes speak to reporters at media day.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 228, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.
Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie was on-site.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions, check below for the archived videos of each media day.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.
The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 228, which features multiple fighters on three-fight losing skids.
The UFC closes its September schedule ahead of a rare off week on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 228, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a lineup that streams entirely on ESPN+.
Lightweight contenders clash in the main event. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will meet in a high-stakes lightweight bout scheduled for five rounds.
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 for UFC Fight Night 228.
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 a promotion from July 10-16.
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.
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.
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 221 main card, which features Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili at bantamweight.
| Yan vs. Dvalishvili |
Romanov vs. Volkov |
Krylov vs. Spann |
Lingo vs. Ramos |
Martinez vs. Nurmagomedov |
Petrino vs. Turkalj |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 23-14 |
 Yan (56%) |
 Romanov (53%) |
 Spann (59%) |
 Ramos (75%) |
 Nurmagomedov (84%) |
 Petrino (71%) |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 27-13 |
Yan |
Romanov |
 Krylov |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 26-14/em> |
Yan |
 Volkov |
Spann |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 26-14 |
 Dvalishvili |
Romanov |
Spann |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 26-14 |
Dvalishvili |
Romanov |
Spann |
 Lingo |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 25-15  2018, 2022 Champion |
Yan |
Romanov |
Spann |
Lingo |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 24-16 |
Yan |
Romanov |
Spann |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 24-16 |
Yan |
Volkov |
Krylov |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 24-16 |
Dvalishvili |
Volkov |
Krylov |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 23-17 2014 Champion |
Dvalishvili |
Romanov |
Spann |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 22-18 2017 Champion |
Yan |
Romanov |
Krylov |
Ramos |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 22-18 |
Dvalishvili |
Romanov |
Spann |
Lingo |
Nurmagomedov |
Petrino |
The UFC stays in Las Vegas this week with a heated bantamweight rivalry atop the card.
UFC Fight Night 221 takes place Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former bantamweight champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC). Yan is a -260 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Dvalishvili is +210. But it’s not a blowout. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Yan ahead by the smallest possible margin at 6-5.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] (35-10 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at heavyweight. Romanov is a slight favorite at -150, but he has a big 8-3 lead in the picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag] (29-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in a fight rescheduled from two weeks ago when Krylov fell ill on fight day at UFC Fight Night 220. Krylov and Spann were set to headline that card. Krylov is a -170 favorite in the light heavyweight rebooted bout, but it’s Spann with a 7-4 picks lead.
[autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) are set to tangle at featherweight. Ramos is the biggest favorite on the main card at -370 and he has a big 8-3 lead from our staff members.
[autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is a -270 favorite against [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at bantamweight and is one of our two 11-0 unanimous picks on the main card.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) have pick’em odds in their light heavyweight matchup. Despite that, Petrino is our second unanimous pick.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Yan (56 percent), Romanov (53 percent), Spann (59 percent), Ramos (75 percent), Nurmagomedov (84 percent) and Petrino 71 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788 tag=420038874]
After almost two years away from the octagon, Austin Lingo is hoping for a quick night at UFC Fight Night 221.
LAS VEGAS – After almost two years away from the octagon, [autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag] is hoping for a quick night at UFC Fight Night 221.
Lingo (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) returns against [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) on Saturday’s main card at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
Lingo was forced to withdraw from two fights due to injury but doesn’t expect ring rust to play a factor against Ramos.
“He’s a really good fighter,” Lingo told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 221 media day. “He’s well rounded. He’s got a lot of good knockouts that I’ve seen. He’s dangerous, so I’m ready.”
[lawrence-related id=2622816,2622833,2622617]
With Ramos’ ability to finish fights both on the feet and the ground, Lingo can see the fight finishing before the final bell sounds.
“We’re both heavy hitters,” Lingo said. “So we’ll see how it goes.”
He continued, “In and out, that’s the best way.”
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Ramos said he sees his path to victory on the ground. Although he owns two of only five spinning back elbow knockouts, the jiu-jitsu blackbelt likes his chances on the ground against “Lights Out” Lingo.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.
Before UFC Fight Night 221 on Saturday, the main card fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.
LAS VEGAS – The UFC’s busy schedule continues Saturday with UFC Fight Night 221, which takes place at the The Theater at Virgin Hotels and streams on ESPN+.
A critical bantamweight main event serves as the final act on the card, with former champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) slated to clash with streaking contender Merab Dvalishvili (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a contest scheduled for five rounds.
Before fight night arrives, though, the 12 athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie will have a live stream beginning at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.
