Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from January 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from January 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
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Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 297 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $285,500.
TORONTO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 297 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $285,500.
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 297 took place at Scotiabank Arena in Canada. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 297 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Sean Woodson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Sam Patterson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Malcolm Gordon[/autotag]: $6,000
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: $445,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,152,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
Check out the best photos from Ramon Taveras’ split decision win over Serhiy Sidey at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag]’ split decision win over [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag] at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. (Photos by Dan Hamilton, USA Today Sports)
Serhiy Sidey is no stranger to rematches, and another is coming at UFC 297.
TORONTO – [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag] is no stranger to rematches.
Sidey (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) runs things back with [autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in Saturday’s event at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Sidey earned a UFC contract when he knocked out Taveras at Dana White’s Contender Series 61 in September – a stoppage that UFC CEO Dana White called “one of the worst ref stoppages” he’s ever seen. Taveras made good in his second opportunity at a contract when he scored a 29-second finish at DWCS 63.
UFC 297 will mark Sidey’s third rematch.
“Honestly, it’s not that weird,” Sidey told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 296 media day. “In my professional career I’ve had two rematches and I did it twice, and I finished those guys the second time around quicker than the first time. So honestly, it’s nothing new for me. I made the adjustments, I’m just going to do this in a cleaner fashion this time.”
Sidey relishes the opportunity to top his first-round finish of Taveras at home.
“Some people might say it’s pressure, but I live for this pressure,” Sidey said. “I live for the fact that I get to perform in front of people, in front of my loved ones. I fought so many fights where I was in enemy territory, fighting with the hometown disadvantage but this time, I’m going to use that energy of the crowd and I’m going to fuel it for this fight.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
Before UFC 297 on Saturday, the main card and prelim fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.
TORONTO – UFC 297 takes place Saturday at Scotiabank Arena with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each fighter’s session.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
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. 9-15.
Ramon Taveras will get to run things back with Serhiy Sidey after earning a contract at Dana White’s Contender Series 66.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag] will get to run things back with [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag] after earning a contract at Dana White’s Contender Series 66.
In his second DWCS stint this season, Taveras (9-2) needed just 29 seconds to knock out Cortavious Romious (7-2) Tuesday to earn a UFC contract.
In his first opportunity, Taveras was knocked out by Sidey at DWCS 61 – in a stoppage UFC CEO Dana White called “one of the worst ref stoppages” he’s ever seen. Now, Taveras will get a chance to right that wrong when he rematches Sidey (10-1) at UFC 297 on Jan. 20.
“The redemption is going to be great,” Taveras told MMA Junkie and other reporters during the DWCS 66 post-fight press conference. “I get to finish this guy in his own town of Canada, and I get to travel out of the country for free.
“What is it, a pay-per-view? Oh yeah, I’m definitely excited now. I didn’t know that, but yeah, I’m excited to go out there to Canada, I’m excited to put on a show for everybody. Just like the first fight, it was going my way until it wasn’t. I know I’ll finish this guy.”
Taveras has knocked out his past three opponents. He issued a warning to Sidey and the rest of the UFC’s bantamweight division that they should think twice before standing with him.
“The statement I wanted to make and I did make today was to put people on notice,” Taveras said. “And don’t be trying to stand with me, don’t be trying to bang with me, Serhiy better put on his wrestling shoes come Jan. 20.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 66.
Season 7, Week 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series goes down Tuesday, and MMA Junkie will have live results from on-site at the UFC Apex.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie reported from Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 66 event.
Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with promotion CEO Dana White on hand to make the decisions at the UFC Apex. Tuesday’s episode was the 10th and final of the show’s seventh season.
White was once again in a generous mood as he eclipsed the previous record of 43 as he offered contract Nos. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 on the season. Five of the six winners received UFC deals: bantamweight Lucas Rocha, lightweight [autotag]Marquel Mederos[/autotag], featherweight [autotag]Connor Matthews[/autotag], flyweight [autotag]Andre Lima[/autotag], and bantamweight [autotag]Ramon Taveras[/autotag] this week.
The lone fighter who did not receive a contract was middleweight [autotag]Torrez Finney[/autotag], a physical specimen who finished [autotag]Yuri Panferov[/autotag] by second-round rear-naked choke.
White said Finney needed more time to develop and that he’d be doing the fighter a disservice by bringing him into the UFC now.
Additionally, White announced Taveras’ UFC debut – a rare move due to rare circumstances. Taveras will rematch [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag], a fighter he lost to in controversial fashion due to a premature stoppage earlier in the season.
Full results of Dana White’s Contender Series 66 include:
Continue reading below for more details about each fight.
Find out who joined the UFC in September 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 September 2023 list below.
Regardless of the controversy, Serhiy Sidey had no doubt he was going to finish Ramon Taveras at Dana White’s Contender Series 61.
LAS VEGAS – Regardless of the controversial stoppage, [autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag] had no doubt he was going to finish Ramon Taveras.
Sidey (10-1) stopped Taveras (8-2) by TKO in the first round Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 61 – a stoppage that was immediately disputed by Taveras. Sidey dropped Taveras and followed with ground-and-pound, but referee Kevin MacDonald quickly waived the fight off at the 2:26 mark before Taveras got a chance to defend himself.
UFC president Dana White called it “one of the worst ref stoppages” he’s ever seen and announced that Taveras will get another shot on DWCS in Week 10. A proven finisher, Sidey says a stoppage is all he envisioned.
“Honestly, I visualized this. I visualized the finished,” Sidey told reporters during the DWCS 61 post-fight news conference. “I had a lot of different ways this was going to happen. It was a step back two, so that was a cool finish. But yeah, I visualized this. I knew it was going to happen. This feels like my destiny.”
Despite the controversy, Sidey earned a UFC contract for his quick finish. He admits the referee’s error took some shine away but vowed it would have only gotten worse for Taveras if he let him continue.
“One hundred percent, but I did my job,” Sidey said. “I did my job. I did exactly what I was supposed to do. If the ref didn’t stop that fight, that guy would have taken more damage. I guarantee you he would have taken more damage.
“Even if he got up, he wouldn’t be as confident anymore on the feet because he just got dropped hard. So, it could have gone further, but I knew I was going to get that finish regardless. So, it is what it is.”
With the rise of Mike Malott and Jasmine Jasudavicius, Sidey is another new Canadian face on the UFC roster. He hopes to make his promotional debut on the next card in Canada.
“My dream ever since I started this journey was to fight in front of the Canadian crowd,” Sidey said. “So, if the UFC wants to come to Toronto, they want to come to Canada, come on put me in there. I will have so many fans and so many supporters there and, yeah, that would be a dream come true.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Dana White’s Contender Series 61.
