Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Shamil Gaziev was a slight underdog, but won his UFC debut in dominant fashion against Martin Buday at UFC 296 in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] beat Martin Buday with a second-round TKO Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Gaziev, who was a slight underdog, but won his UFC debut in dominant fashion.
The best facts to come out of UFC 296, which saw Colby Covington and Tony Ferguson join exclusive and unfortunate clubs in defeat.
The UFC’s final event of the 2023 started with a bang, but ended somewhat slow as UFC 296 unfolded at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The two championship fights to close out the calendar year saw both belts stay put. [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defeated [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend welterweight gold in the headliner, while [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) also got the nod on the scorecards over [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) to retain flyweight gold.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 296.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 296 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $339,500.
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 296 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
The full UFC 296 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag]: $4,500
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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,707,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
Check out what the UFC 296 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – UFC 296 took place Saturday with 12 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
You can hear from all the UFC 296 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
Could a new UFC heavyweight contender be on the rise? Shamil Gaziev looked like one vs. Martin Buday.
LAS VEGAS – A new heavyweight contender could be in the making.
In the UFC 296 preliminary card opener, promotional debutant [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] walked through [autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag] for a standing TKO stoppage at 0:56 of Round 2. The event took place at T-Mobile Arena.
From the opening bell, Gaziev (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) damaged Buday (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) with punches of all variations. Even his jabs seemed to get a big reaction out of Buday, who was quickly sliced up and bleeding.
Midway through Round 1, referee Mark Smith had the doctor examine Buday’s lacerations. Again, at the start of Round 2, the doctor came in. Both times, the doctor gave the thumbs up and the fight was allowed to continue.
It didn’t take long for the fight to be called off after the doctor left in Round 2, however, as Buday absorbed blow after blow from an aggressive Gaziev. Although he never went down, Buday didn’t intelligently defend himself. He just covered up along the fence.
Shamil Gaziev moves to 12-0 with a win in his UFC debut 💪 #UFC296
Stream #UFC296 on ESPN2 and ESPN+ 🍿 https://t.co/R7p1InbYK6 pic.twitter.com/9mhPhkgpMP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 16, 2023
Gaziev’s debut was a successful one. It came after a contract-earning finish of Greg Velasco on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in September.
On the flip side, Buday loses for the first time under the promotion’s banner. He was briefly ranked in the promotion’s official rankings but had recently fallen out. Buday signed a new multi-fight deal with the promotion before the bout.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
Check out the best photos from Shamil Gaziev’s second-round TKO win over Martin Buday at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag]’s second-round TKO win over [autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag] at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, 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. 16-22.
The UFC 296 lineup is near completion with the addition of a heavyweight bout between Martin Buday and Shamil Gaziev.
Heavyweights are headed to UFC 296 in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag], who recently cracked the promotion’s rankings, will welcome newcomer [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] to the UFC on Dec. 16 at T-Mobile Arena.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Agreements are in place.
Buday (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has quietly risen through the UFC ranks with wins over Chris Barnett, Lukasz Brzeski, Jake Collier, and Josh Parisian thus far. He most recently competed in August when he picked up his first finish inside the UFC, a first-round Kimura of Parisian.
Gaziev (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was a standout on the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series. He submitted CFFC heavyweight champion Greg Velasco in Round 1 to earn his UFC deal. The finish was the 10th of his professional career. Prior to DWCS, Gaziev contended for Brave CF.
With the addition, the UFC 296 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
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.
Shamil Gaziev hopes to make his UFC debut on the same card as Jon Jones.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Shamil Gaziev[/autotag] hopes to make his UFC debut on the same card as [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].
Gaziev (11-0) remained unbeaten when he submitted Greg Velasco (6-1) in the first round to earn a UFC contract Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 63.
Heavyweight champion Jones headlines UFC 295 on Nov. 11 when he defends his title against Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in New York, and Gaziev wants the opportunity to introduce himself on the same card.
“I would like to ask the UFC if it’s possible to give me a fight where Jon Jones will fight,” Gaziev said through an interpreter at the DWCS 63 post-fight press conference. “To open the card and to announce that today I’m opening the card, but my goal is to fight the guy that will win in the main event. If the UFC gives me the chance, I will be happy to open this historical fight card.”
With an extensive amateur background, Gaziev thinks he has enough experience to take on top-level competition right off the bat but is willing to fight whoever the UFC gives him.
“Since I started my career in amateur in IMMAF, I was fighting high-level guys, world championship in Asia, European championships,” Gaziev said. “I won a gold medal, and best fighters from each country coming from amateur national teams so, in UFC as well, I’m ready to fight top guys. But, if UFC will not give me top guys, I will not be upset. I will fight anyone as soon as possible.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Dana White’s Contender Series 63.
