Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
At around 14-1, Rinya Nakamura was by far the biggest betting favorite on the card for his fight with Carlos Vera at UFC 298.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – [autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag] beat Carlos Vera with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Take a look inside the fight with Nakamura, who at around 14-1 was by far the biggest betting favorite on the card.
Nine UFC 298 competitors are out a potential 180 days due to injuries sustained in their fights Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.
Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event in Anaheim, Calif. was not a good night to be a limb.
UFC 298 took place at Anaheim, Calif. and featured 12 bouts and 24 fighters. Nine of those fighters were handed six-month suspensions as a result of injuries sustained in their bouts. Eight of those potential injuries were deemed possible fractures.
Monday, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster, who oversaw the event, provided MMA Junkie with a full list of medical suspensions.
Scroll below to see how much time UFC 298 competitors will have to take off as a result of their bouts Saturday. It’s important to note fighters may return before the conclusion of their suspensions if they are cleared by a physician (unless denoted “no exception” or “mandatory”).
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 298 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $252,000.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 298 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.
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 298 took place at Honda Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
The full UFC 298 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Danny Barlow[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Oban Elliott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Val Woodburn[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: $11,000
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 $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 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $1,093,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,800,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
Check out the best photos from Rinya Nakamura’s unanimous decision win over Carlos Vera at UFC 298.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag] at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. (Fight and venue photos by Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today Sports)
Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 15-21.
Carlos Vera, a member of Conor McGregor’s team on “TUF 31”, will face Rinya Nakamura at UFC 298.
[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag] has a new opponent for UFC 298.
With Brady Hiestand out due to injury, Nakamura (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)) now faces “The Ultimate Fighter 31” cast member and UFC newcomer [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at the Feb. 17 event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Nakamura, 28, is the son of early combat sports orchestrator Kozo Nakamura. The COVID-19 pandemic limited his wrestling opportunities, so Nakamura turned to mixed martial arts and debuted in 2021. He won the Road to UFC tournament in 2022 with three knockouts in as many tournament outings. In August, he defeated Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision.
Vera, 36, was briefly rostered by the UFC in late 2022 when he raised his hand for a short notice opportunity Dec. 9 vs. Daniel Marcos. When Marcos was forced off the card due to travel issues, Vera was removed as well.
Prior to his UFC signing, Vera competed on “TUF 31” as part of Team McGregor. Vera was eliminated in the opening round when he lost a unanimous decision to eventual bantamweight season winner Brad Katona. The loss was an exhibition bout. Vera enters his UFC debut on a four-fight winning streak in professional competition.
With the addition, the UFC 298 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
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.
All the UFC 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.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Dec. 18-24.
Rinya Nakamura returns at UFC 298 against ‘TUF 29’ runner-up Brady Hiestand.
[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag] has his third UFC assignment.
A former Japanese wrestling standout and undefeated MMA fighter, Nakamura (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) returns vs. [autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC 298, which takes place Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Both fighters recently confirmed the booking on social media after Hiestand’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, first posted the news.
🚨 #TeamIridium News 🚨
Our man @bradyHiestand1 is ready to bring home his 3rd straight @ufc victory vs. Rinya Nakamura at #UFC298 ✍🏼 #TheDarkside pic.twitter.com/Tss5sybICS
— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) December 18, 2023
Nakamura, 28, is the son of early combat sports orchestrator Kozo Nakamura. The COVID-19 pandemic limited his wrestling opportunities, so Nakamura turned to mixed martial arts and debuted in 2021. He won the Road to UFC tournament in 2022 with three knockouts in as many tournament outings. In August, he defeated Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision.
Hiestand, 24, has won back-to-back fights after an unsuccessful UFC debut vs. Ricky Turcios in the “TUF 29” bantamweight final in 2021. Hiestand lost to Turcios by split decision, then defeated Fernie Garcia and Danaa Batgerel in consecutive outings.
With the addition, the current UFC 298 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
UFC Fight Night 225 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 225 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $196,000.
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 225 took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 225 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rolando Bedoya[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Billy Goff[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yusaku Kinoshita[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]JJ Aldrich[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Na Liang[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jarno Errens[/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 2251 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: $5,735,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,324,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 225.
