Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for December.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
A dozen UFC Austin competitors including Arman Tsarukyan, Beneil Dariush, and Bobby Green have been given lengthy suspensions by Texas.
UFC on ESPN 52 took place Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas and featured a dozen fights.
Of the 24 competitors on the card, 12 fighters were suspended 180 days due to injuries sustained in their bouts, according to documentation from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the commissioning body that oversaw the event.
Among those who received the lengthiest suspensions are both sides of the main event, Arman Tsarukyan and Beneil Dariush, as well as co-main eventer Bobby Green.
The TDLR does not reveal injury specifics, just the duration of the suspensions. Fighters are permitted to return to competition prior to the conclusion of their suspension durations should they be cleared by a doctor beforehand.
Check out the 24 medical suspension durations below:
Check out all the facts from UFC on ESPN 52, which saw a record two slam KOs and Clay Guida tying the UFC record for most losses.
The UFC’s third-to-last event of 2023 went down as one of the best of the year. UFC on ESPN 52 delivered with nine stoppages in 12 fights.
[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) capped off the night with the quickest finish of the bunch. He dropped and stopped [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6-1 UFC) just 64 seconds into their high-stakes lightweight headliner, solidifying himself as a top contender.
For more on the numbers behind the card, which featured a number of historic feats, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 52.
UFC on ESPN 52 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
AUSTIN, Texas – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 52 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $225,000.
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 on ESPN 52 took place at Moody Center. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 52 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Punahele Soriano[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Julia Avila[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joe Solecki[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Rodolfo Bellato[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Wellington Turman[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/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 $4,520; 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 $52,000 while title challengers get $52,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-52 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $7,689,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,208,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
Rodolfo Bellato delivered a Comeback of the Year contender when he rallied to finish off Ihor Potieria by TKO at UFC on ESPN 52.
AUSTIN, Texas – [autotag]Rodolfo Bellato[/autotag] delivered a Comeback of the Year contender on Saturday when he rallied to finish off [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 52.
After a high-paced first round in the light heavyweight division at Moody Center, Potieria (19-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) landed major damage in the early stages of the second round, dropping Bellato (12-2 MAM, 1-0 UFC) and hitting him with huge shots to put the fight on the cusp of being stopped.
Bellato refused to quit, however, and managed to survive enough to get back to his feet. Potieria was nothing short of exhausted, and Bellato started to pour on the strikes. He then landed a takedown, moved to mount and unloaded until referee Jacob Montalvo stopped it at the 4:17 mark of Round 2.
Check out the replay of the wild finishing sequence below (via X):
HOW DID HE SURVIVE THIS? 😲 #UFCAUSTIN pic.twitter.com/ENCugUnXYa
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 2, 2023
BELLATO WAS THROWING HANDS TILL THE FINISH 👊 #UFCAUSTIN pic.twitter.com/KRTOa0fJqx
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 2, 2023
After going through two seasons of Dana White’s Contender Series to secure his UFC contract, Bellato, 27, delivered in his debut. He said his comeback was based purely off instinct, which made the result all the more impressive.
“I don’t remember nothing, you know?” Bellato said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I was knocked out over here. But I trained a lot and in my mind I never stopped. I’m so happy for my debut. I believe so much in my jiu-jitsu. When I went to the ground I feel so good. I don’t remember, but that was so good.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 52 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
Check out the best photos from Rodolfo Bellato’s second-round TKO win over Ihor Potieria at UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Rodolfo Bellato[/autotag]’s second-round TKO win over [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 52 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photos by Dustin Safranek, USA TODAY Sports)
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 the promotions from Oct. 30-Nov. 5.
Find out who joined the UFC in October and learn more about them here.
The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.
Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, “Dana White’s Contender Series” signees, or rare straight-up additions. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.
“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.
Check out the October 2023 list below.
Rodolfo Bellato wants another shot at Vitor Petrino – the man that initially stopped his UFC dream.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Rodolfo Bellato[/autotag] wants another shot at [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag] – the man that initially stopped his UFC dream.
In his second stint at Dana White’s Contender Series, Bellato (11-2) earned a UFC contract when he finished Murtaza Talha (6-1) by second-round TKO on Tuesday at DWCS 65.
Bellato fell short in his opportunity at a UFC contract last year, when Petrino knocked him out at DWCS 53. Now that he’s also a UFC fighter, Bellato hopes to run things back with Petrino (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the future.
“For sure,” Bellato told MMA Junkie and other reporters during the DWCS 65 post-fight press conference. “I told him (Petrino), ‘One day I will win you.’ So, yes, I want this fight. First, I need to stay in the UFC, I recover my face, and if Dana wants, I’m ready for the fight with Vitor Petrino.”
Since losing to Petrino, Bellato scored two wins in 2023 before getting a second shot at DWCS. Meanwhile, Petrino remained unbeaten after finishing Bellato, scoring two octagon wins over Anton Turkalj and Marcin Prachnio. He is currently booked against Modestas Bukauskas at UFC Fight Night 231 on Nov. 4.
According to Bellato, Petrino is up for a future rematch.
“He told me, ‘I want to fight with you in a big event of the UFC, and let’s do a show for everyone,'” Bellato said.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 65.
Check out the results from Dana White’s Contender Series 65 in Las Vegas, where eight fighters will compete for a UFC contract.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie reported from Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 65 event at the UFC Apex.
Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC CEO Dana White on hand to make the decisions.
The ninth episode of Season 7 saw eight fighters compete for their shot at a UFC contract. A light heavyweight bout between Rodolfo Bellato (11-2) and Murtaza Talha (6-1) served as the featured matchup of the four-bout lineup.
Bellato defeated Talha by second-round TKO stoppage in a near-10-minute brawl of a fight. In doing so, he earned a UFC contract from White.
Along with the light heavyweight Bellato, bantamweight Victor Hugo, light heavyweight Magomed Gadzhiyasulov, and welteweight Mauricio Ruffy receives UFC offers form White.
Additionally, Jose Medina, who lost to Gadzhiyasulov, received a contract for his effort and competitiveness.
Full results of Dana White’s Contender Series 64 include:
Continue reading below for more details about each fight.
