Tag: Ryan Spann

Ryan Spann vs. Johnny Walker joins UFC 253 lineup

A battle between light heavyweight prospects Johnny Walker and Ryan Spann is the latest addition to UFC 253.

A battle between light heavyweight prospects is the latest addition to UFC 253.

[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will face [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) on the Sept. 19 card, which is likely to take place on “Fight Island” at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by ESPN. The person asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an announcement.

Fortis MMA’s Spann has won his first four UFC fights and his past eight in a row overall. He is coming off a split decision win over Sam Alvey at UFC 249 in May.

After bursting into the UFC scene in 2018 with three straight “Performance of the Night” bonuses, Walker finds himself in unfamiliar territory. He is coming off back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and most recently Nikita Krylov in March. He will look to avoid a three-fight losing skid, when he faces a stern test in Spann.

The latest UFC 253 card now includes:

  • Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Randa Markos
  • Heili Alateng vs. Casey Kenney
  • Mara Romero Borella vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
  • Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
  • Ryan Spann vs. Johnny Walker

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UFC 249 medical suspensions: Tony Ferguson suspended; Justin Gaethje has clean bill of health

After UFC 249, Tony Ferguson has been medically suspended by the Florida Boxing Commission – which could be extended, pending test results.

It will probably take significantly longer, but [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] won’t fight again for at least another 60 days.

One half of the UFC 249 headliner, Ferguson (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) battled [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] for 23:39 before suffering a TKO loss. For the majority of the fight, Ferguson absorbed shot after shot from Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

Bloodied and swollen, Ferguson broke an orbital bone in the fight. Monday, Ferguson posted a video of himself dancing in the hospital, seemingly in good spirits.

The Florida State Boxing Commission, which oversaw the event, has suspended Ferguson a minimum of 60 days. MMA Junkie obtained a list of the UFC 249 athletes’ medical suspensions from the Florida Boxing Commission on Monday.

More time could be tacked on to the suspension, pending further health testing on Ferguson. Conversely, Gaethje has been cleared and will face no medical suspension.

Eight fighters are looking at potential 180-day suspensions, including main card winner [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]. Despite beating [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] in the featured ESPN prelim, [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] could also be on the shelf for 180 days.

UFC 249 took place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

(Note: No specific injury details were given.)

Check out a full list of the UFC 249 medical suspensions below.

  • [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
  • [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
  • [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
  • [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: No suspension
  • [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 60 days mandatory
  • [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
  • [autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag]: No suspension
  • [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician
  • [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician
  • Donald Cerrone: Suspended 30 days
  • Anthony Pettis: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
  • [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
  • [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]: No suspension
  • [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days
  • [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 60 days mandatory
  • [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days
  • [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]: No suspension
  • [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days
  • [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days
  • Tony Ferguson: Total suspension pending results; 60 days mandatory
  • Justin Gaethje: No suspension

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UFC 249 salaries: Tony Ferguson leads all paydays, among 13 fighters pocketing six figures

A total of 13 fighters made north of six figures Saturday at UFC 249, not including several who earned post-fight bonuses.

Main event participants [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] walked home with a solid chunk of change following their “Fight of the Night” earning bout at UFC 249.

Monday, MMA Junkie obtained a list of disclosed UFC 249 salaries from the Florida State Boxing Commission, who oversaw Saturday night’s event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.

With the interim UFC lightweight title on the line, Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) finished Ferguson (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) with punches in Round 5. With the win, Gaethje earned a disclosed pay of $350,000, while Ferguson made $500,000.

In the co-main event, the UFC bantamweight championship was on the line. Titleholder [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] defeated former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag] with strikes in Round 2. Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) earned $350,000, while Cruz (22-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) walked away with $300,000.

Check out a full list of the UFC 249 medical suspensions below.

  • [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag]: $65,000
  • [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $50,000
  • [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]: $24,000
  • [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $54,000
  • [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $57,000
  • [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $180,000
  • [autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag]: $60,000
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag]: $102,000
  • [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]: $100,000
  • [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]: $160,000
  • [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag]: $200,000
  • [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag]: $310,000
  • [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag]: $12,000
  • [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]: $180,000
  • Jeremy Stephens: $46,900*
  • Calvin Kattar: $116,100**
  • [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]: $80,000
  • [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]: $260,000
  • Dominick Cruz: $300,000
  • Henry Cejudo: $350,000
  • Tony Ferguson: $500,000
  • Justin Gaethje: $350,000

*Stephens was fined 30 percent of his purse for missing weight, which went to Kattar.

**Kattar took 30 percent of Stephens’ fight purse.

The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, including the official UFC 249 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC sometimes pays. They also do not include pay-per-view cuts that some top-level fighters receive.

For example, UFC officials handed out additional $50,000 UFC 249 fight-night bonuses to Gaethje and Ngannou for “Performance of the Night,” and Gaethje and Ferguson for “Fight of the Night.”

In other words, the above figures are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

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Ryan Spann wants to grow streak to promotion’s longest after UFC 249

Take a look inside Ryan Spann’s win over Sam Alvey at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Fla.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] beat Sam Alvey with a split decision Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Take a look inside the fight with Spann, who won for the eighth straight time and stayed perfect in the UFC at 4-0.

Result: Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Updated records: Spann (18-5 MMA, 4-0 UFC), Alvey (33-14 MMA, 10-9 UFC)
Key stat: Alvey outstruck Spann 103-52, but Spann landed a pair of key takedowns.

Spann on the fight’s key moment

“It feels good to come in and win. That’s the goal in the first place – get the win. I wanted to look more imposing, but overall I’m happy to get the win – just disappointed in the way we got it. But we’re back.”

Spann on a potentially bright future at light heavyweight

“It’s cool to be honored and be mentioned with the champion of the division. We didn’t get the win we wanted to, but we are working with the best. COVID slowed us down a little, but it can’t stop us. There’s a few things we could have done better, but overall I’m happy with it.”

Spann on what he wants next

“I want to dominate everyone in this division. I want to have the most dominant streak – not just in my division, but in the whole UFC. I just need to come in and be me, have fun and take over like we can.”

To hear more from Spann, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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UFC 249 post-event facts: Justin Gaethje adds to historic bonus run

The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 249, which saw Justin Gaethje beat Tony Ferguson to win interim gold in the main event.

The UFC made its return on Saturday with UFC 249, which took place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena | Jacksonville, Fla., with a main card that aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Two thrilling championship bouts capped the event. [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) claimed interim lightweight gold with a fifth-round TKO of [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) in the main event, while [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) finished [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) to defend his bantamweight belt then retired in the co-headliner.

There was much more of note on the card, too. For more on the numbers, check below for 50 post-event facts to come out of UFC 249.

* * * *

General

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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $305,500.

Ferguson and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC 249 fight-night bonuses. Gaethje received two bonuses for $100,000.

UFC 249 drew an announced attendance of zero for a live gate of $0.

Betting favorites went 9-2 on the card.

Betting favorites fell to 5-4 in UFC headliners this year.

Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 2:25:23.

Main card

Justin Gaethje

Gaethje became the first in MMA history to win titles in UFC and WSOF.

Gaethje has earned 20 of his 22 career victories by stoppage. That includes all five of his UFC wins.

Gaethje is the only fighter in UFC history to win at least one fight-night bonus in each of his first seven octagon appearances.

Gaethje has been awarded nine fight-night bonuses in seven UFC appearances.

Gaethje’s nine UFC fight-night bonuses since 2017 are most of any fighter in the company.

Ferguson had his 12-fight winning streak snapped for his first defeat since May 2012.

Ferguson suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

Ferguson has been awarded a fight-night bonus in eight of his past nine UFC appearances.

Cejudo became the second fighter in UFC history to record successful title defenses in two weight classes. Daniel Cormier also accomplished the feat.

Henry Cejudo

Cejudo improved to 7-0 in bantamweight competition during his career.

Cejudo has landed at least one takedown in all but one of his UFC fights where he’s attempted a takedown.

Cruz suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2016.

Cruz suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

Francis Ngannou

Ngannou’s (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Ngannou has earned all 15 of his career victories by stoppage. That includes all 10 of his UFC wins.

Ngannou has earned his past four victories by knockout in a combined 2:42 of cage time.

Ngannou’s 10 stoppage victories since 2015 in UFC competition are tied with Thiago Santos and Charles Oliveira for most in the company.

Ngannou’s 10 stoppage victories since 2015 in UFC heavyweight competition are most in the division

[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) had his 10-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of her career.

[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has earned all four of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.

[autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag] (28-18 MMA, 15-17 UFC) fell to 8-9 (with one no contest) since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in May 2013.

Stephens’ 17 losses in UFC competition are the most in company history.

[autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.

[autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his six-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

Preliminary card

Anthony Pettis

[autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 10-9 UFC) improved to 2-1 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in March 2019.

Pettis improved to 5-8 in his past 13 UFC appearances dating back to when he lost the UFC lightweight title in March 2015.

[autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag]’s (36-15 MMA, 23-12 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since May 2019.

[autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] (59-13-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC) earned his first decision victory since Aug. 26, 2010 – a span of 3,544 days (nearly 10 years) and 25 fights.

[autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] (23-9-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC) fell to 9-4 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2012.

Werdum has suffered six of his nine career losses by decision.

[autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) improved to 6-3 since losing the UFC strawweight title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2015.

Esparza’s seven victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Jedrzejczyk (10).

Esparza has earned six of her seven UFC victories by decision.

Esparza has completed at least one takedown against 10 of her 11 UFC opponents.

Esparza’s 34 takedowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are most in divisional history.

[autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has suffered three of her four UFC losses by decision.

Vicente Luque

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (18-7-1 MMA, 11-3 UFC) has earned 16 of his 18 career victories by stoppage. That includes 10 of his 11 UFC wins.

Luque’s 10 stoppage victories since 2015 in UFC welterweight competition are most in the division during that span.

Luque’s 10 stoppage victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Matt Brown (13) and Matt Hughes (12).

[autotag]Niko Price[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past six fights.

Price has suffered all four of his career losses by stoppage.

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has earned three of his four UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past eight fights.

Rosa has suffered three of his four career losses by decision.

[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]’s (18-5 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied with Jon Jones and Magomed Ankalaev for the longest active streak in the division.

[autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag]’s (33-14 MMA, 10-9 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2018.

Alvey fell to 2-4 since he moved up to the UFC light-heavyweight division in February 2018.

Alvey has suffered 10 of his 14 career losses by decision.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

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UFC 249 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Third highest event payout in program history

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 249 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $330,500.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 249 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $305,500.

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 249 took place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

The full UFC 249 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $30,000
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $30,000

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: $40,000
def. [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag]: $30,000

[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag]: $20,000
def. [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]: $15,000

[autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]: $5,000

[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag]: $15,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’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 $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.

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 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,598,500
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $32,603,000

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC 249 with vintage Tom Petty, Cypress Hill in an empty arena

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 249 event in Jacksonville, Fla.

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.

Inside, see what the fighters from UFC 249 went with as their backing tracks in Jacksonville, Fla.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12

UFC 249 results: Ryan Spann survives late scare, edges Sam Alvey

Ryan Spann beat Sam Alvey at UFC 249, but it wasn’t without a late scare.

[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] continued the unbeaten start to his octagon career Saturday when he beat [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag], but it wasn’t without a late scare.

For Alvey (33-14 MMA, 10-9 UFC), having more than double the fights compared to Spann (17-5 MMA, 3-0 UFC) did not prove to be a winning asset. The explosive offensive moments of “Superman” were too much, an it led to a split decision win by scores 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.

The light heavyweight bout opened up the UFC 249 preliminary card at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+ ahead of additional prelims on ESPN and a main card on pay-per-view.

Spann wasted no time trying to implement his grappling to start the fight. He shot on Alvey less than 30 seconds in, but was met with resistance against the fence. Spann burned some time working for a standing arm triangle choke, but couldn’t finish it. That brought upon striking exchanges for the rest of the round, and Alvey scored with some good shot. Spann answered with a few of his own, though, and spent the final seconds of the round working on Alvey against the fence.

The aggression from Spann turned up a notch to start the second. He grazed Alvey with a right high kick and some subsequent punches. The Fortis MMA product pushed the action on Alvey, who found infrequent moments to slip in his strikes, though Spann took them well. It was a much closer round than the first, though, and in the end it was clear both men were fatigued after 10 minutes.

Spann came out looking to put an exclamation mark on the fight. He threw a lot of high-energy techniques, blasting Alvey with high kicks and stepping inside the pocket to throw a lot of heavy strikes. Spann’s confidence got the best of him late, though, because he took a massive counter punch from Alvey that dropped him and forced a desperate takedown. Alvey tried to pull off a miracle submission finish, but Spann kept his composure and make it to the final bell.

In his post-fight interview, Spann indicated he wasn’t too happy with his performance. “I started a little slow, a little lackadaisical, a little slow. I’m not happy. I give it a C+.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC 249 results include:

  • Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)