Tag: Roman Kopylov

UFC 298 medical suspensions: Henry Cejudo among 9 fighters suspended 180 days

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”).

UFC 298 post-event facts: Ilia Topuria makes history with title coronation

The best facts to come out of UFC 298, which saw a number of historic feats, including Ilia Topuria’s title KO of Alexander Volkanovski.

The UFC’s second pay-per-view of 2024 was a memorable one, with UFC 298 on Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., seeing a changing of the guard in the featherweight division.

In the main event, [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) became the new featherweight champion when he delivered on his promise to knock out longtime titleholder [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC), which he did in the second round of their fight to claim gold.

For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 298.

UFC 298 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Alexander Volkanovski’s $42,000 tops card

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.

UFC 298 results: Anthony Hernandez snatches Roman Kopylov’s neck for deep submission

The California faithful exploded at UFC 298 when Anthony Hernandez locked in a slick rear-naked choke against Roman Kopylov.

The California faithful didn’t have many home state representatives Saturday at UFC 298, but [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] was one – and he sent them into a frenzy.

Hernandez (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) by rear-naked choke submission at 3:23 of Round 2 in a middleweight bout that opened up the main card at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The fight was competitive throughout, as Kopylov displayed solid takedown defense early. After body kicks and head kicks by Kopylov, Hernandez took the fight to the canvas. He worked to the back and patiently maneuvered for a rear-naked choke.

After one final adjustment, Hernandez nodded. He knew. Kopylov grimaced and the tap came. The Dunnigan, Calif. received a large ovation from the crowd as he celebrated quite possibly the biggest win of his career.

With the victory, Hernandez extends his winning streak to five. Saturday’s victory succeeds consecutive wins over Rodolfo Vieira, Josh Fremd, Marc-Andre Barriault, and Edmen Shahbazyan.

Kopylov has a four-fight winning streak snapped. His previous loss was a unanimous decision dropped against Albert Duraev in October 2021.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 298 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Kopylov at UFC 298: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Anthony Hernandez’s second-round submmission win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 298.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]’s second-round submission win over [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. (Fight and venue photos by Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today Sports)

Video: Former UFC champ Sean Strickland keeps making headlines

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses the latest reasons Sean Strickland has been making headlines.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] continues to make headlines in and out of the octagon, for better or worse.

Before losing the middleweight title to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, Strickland made headlines that reached far beyond the MMA bubble because of his homophobic tirade during media day. It didn’t take long after the event for Strickland to keep his name in the news cycle.

Strickland recently sparred the popular streamer Sneako, leaving him bloodied after going way too hard on someone who is not a professional fighter, and does not remotely possess the fighting skills of a former UFC champion.

Then, at a recent Power Slap event, Strickland made headlines again for actions outside of the octagon as he got into a verbal altercation with musical artist Machine Gun Kelly.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura discuss the latest with Strickland with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia, and whether or not the UFC should intervene in some capacity.

Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode on YouTube or in podcast form below.

https://www.youtube.com/live/DpQXebnLHXU?si=PEqd-7rByiGTULnV

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Video: Which fight is the hidden gem of UFC 298?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel takes their pick of which UFC 298 fight is flying under the radar.

UFC 298 is topped by a fantastic title fight in the featherweight division.

Aside from [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s return to the 145-pound division to defend his title against an undefeated [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag], there are plenty of solid matchups throughout the card that could potentially steal the show.

But which of the bunch is the true hidden gem? Is it the main card opener [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]? How about former two-division champ [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] taking on [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]? What about another former titleholder [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] taking on [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura take their picks with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode on YouTube or in podcast form below.

https://www.youtube.com/live/DpQXebnLHXU?si=PEqd-7rByiGTULnV

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Video: UFC 298 press conference faceoffs with Whittaker-Costa, Neal-Garry, Dvalishvili-Cejudo

The stacked UFC 298 main card engaged in faceoffs following Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The UFC 298 pre-fight press conference went down Thursday and it was the initial opportunity to get a look at fighter staredowns for the second numbered event of 2024.

The card, which is headlined by a featherweight title bout between [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) and [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), goes down Saturday at Honda Center with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

In addition to the main event, a stacked slate of matchups round out the undercard. That includes [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) vs. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC).

All five pairings were in attendance at the pre-fight press conference, where they answered questions and engaged in faceoffs.

Check out the video above to see all the staredowns.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Anthony Hernandez’s game plan for Roman Kopylov at UFC 298: ‘Gas a motherf*cker out and drown him’

Anthony Hernandez won’t change his approach for Roman Kopylov at UFC 298.

IRVINE, Calif. – [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] won’t change his approach for [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag].

Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) went from being scheduled against Combat Sambo champion Ikram Aliskerov to now facing knockout artist Kopylov (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card opener at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Hernandez thinks Aliskerov is the more well rounded fighter, but the submission specialist’s game plan remains the same.

“Obviously this guy is a striker, not a wrestler,” Hernandez said of Kopylov at Wednesday’s UFC 298 media day. “The other guy had way more weapons. This guy is a really good kicker, a good striker. So it does change a little bit, but it’s the same game plan no matter what: Gas a motherf*cker out and drown him.”

Hernandez, 30, is on a four-fight winning streak – most recently stopping Edmen Shahbazyan by third-round TKO last May. Inactivity has slightly halted his momentum, but “Fluffy” hopes to change that with a more active 2024.

“Main goal is to win,” Hernandez said. “Second goal would be to stay healthy and definitely want to bang out some fights. I’m not getting any younger, so I need to go f*cking get this sh*t. I need to make my run at the title, and that’s all I want.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Roman Kopylov predicts a short reign for Dricus du Plessis, calls out Sean Strickland before UFC 298

Roman Kopylov is one of the biggest betting underdogs Saturday, but that’s not stopping him from being ambitious.

IRVINE, Calif. – [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] is one of the biggest betting underdogs Saturday, but that’s not stopping him from being ambitious.

Kopylov (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is set to open the UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card in a middleweight bout against Anthony Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Hernandez is around a -250 favorite, which says plenty about his reputation given Kopylov has four straight wins, all by knockout.

But Kopylov appears to be brimming with confidence, which jibes with the mindset of a fighter who took the bout with Hernandez as a short-notice fill-in on about a month’s notice.

The 32-year-old Russian said he plans to take out Hernandez, then former champion Sean Strickland. If that leads to title consideration, he’s not too sure current champ Dricus du Plessis will be there, though.

“Middleweight is one of the toughest divisions. This is a great division. Everybody is pretty tough in here,” Kopylov told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s media day for UFC 298. “When it comes to the champion, anybody in the top five could become a champ soon. I’m not sure what to say about the champion – for some reason I have a feeling he’s not going to stay a champ for a very long time.”

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A Strickland matchup, though, is one he thinks could come to fruition with a win simply because the former champ would be forced to see Kopylov as a new title contender and in a new light he hadn’t viewed him in before.

“If the win does happen on Saturday, I think Sean himself would be interested in fighting against somebody like myself, who’s a striker, and I think it would be a really great fight for the fans. I think Sean will look at it more seriously that way,” Kopylov said.

Check out Kopylov’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.