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Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 190, which took place Saturday in Las Vegas.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 190 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Shavkat Rakhmonov remained perfect in MMA competition with all finishes when he put away Michel Prazeres at UFC Fight Night 190.
[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] remained perfect with nothing but finishes when he put away [autotag]Michel Prazeres[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 190 on Saturday.
Rakhmonov (14-0 MMa, 2-0 UFC), a 26-year-old from Kazakhstan, is one of the top prospects in the welterweight division. He showed why with a showcase effort against the historically durable Prazeres (26-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) to score a second-round submission at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After it looked like Prazeres might be able to test Rakhmonov in the first round, Rakhmonov made adjustments going into the second and found the striking range to inflict damage. The fight spilled to the ground, and eventually Rakhmonov took the back and secured the rear-naked choke.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1408869436686225413
Rakhmonov has now finished all of his opponents inside the distance through 14 career fights. He was the first to stop Prazeres, and said he hopes that leads him to a big fight at 170 pounds.
“I know I deserve to be in the top 15,” Shavkat Rakhmonov said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “Hopefully I will get to fight someone there.”
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Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 254 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $215,000.
ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 254 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $215,000.
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 254 took place at Flash Forum at Yas Island. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
The full UFC 254 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $40,000
def. [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $40,000
[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $15,000
def. [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag]: $10,000
[autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Liliya Shakirova[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $5,000
[autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Stefan Struve[/autotag]: $20,000
[autotag]Casey Kenney[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: $5,000
[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag]: $15,000
[autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag]: $3,500
vs. [autotag]Sam Alvey[/autotag]: $15,000
[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]: $3,500
[autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Yakovlev[/autotag]: $5,000
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: $5,405,500
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: $36,410,000
Shavkat Rakhmonov spoke with the media following UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Shavkat Rakhmonov spoke with the media following UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Alex Oliveira will step in on short notice to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 254.
[autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] continues to live up to his “Cowboy” moniker.
[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] has been forced out of UFC 254 and Oliveira (21-8-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC) will step in on short notice to face [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. MMA Junkie confirmed the replacement with multiple people with knowledge of the booking following an initial report from Ag Fight.
After dropping three straight for the first time in his career, Oliveira rebounded with back-to-back wins over Max Griffin at UFC 248 and most recently Peter Sobotta at UFC on ESPN 14 in July.
Rakhmonov will finally get to make his octagon debut after his first three UFC fights were canceled. The undefeated Kazakhstani fighter last competed in June 2019, when he defended his M-1 Challenge welterweight title by stopping Tiago Varejao in the first round. All 12 of his pro wins have come via finish.
With the change, the UFC 254 lineup includes:
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The UFC’s July 25 card has taken multiple hits.
The UFC’s July 25 event has taken multiple hits.
Both [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag] and [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] are out of their respective bouts, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, who asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Reasons for both Roberts and Rakhmonov withdrawing were not disclosed. No replacement has been found for either of their opponents, Nicolas Dalby and Ramazan Emeev.
Roberts (17-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who snapped a two-fight losing streak with a knockout over Zelim Imadaev last November, originally was slated to face Dalby on March 21 in London, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fight was rebooked for the July 25 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, but Roberts has been forced to withdraw.
Rakhmonov (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will have to wait once again to make his UFC debut. He was initially scheduled to face Bartosz Fabinski on March 21 in London before the event was canceled. The undefeated Kazakhstani fighter was then matched up with Emeev on July 25 but has been forced out.
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With the changes, the current July 25 lineup includes:
“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.
“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.
UFC president Dana White today announced the complete lineup for the four cards that will take place next month in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The unique setup has been necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to get international fighters into the U.S. to compete.
“I think this is going to be a really unique experience, not just for the fighters, but for us,” UFC president Dana White said during the announcement. “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be something different. It’s never been done before, and however long this thing goes on, and however long it’s hard to get people in from other countries, we will have these fights at ‘Fight Island’ – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.”
First up, it’s UFC 251 on July 11, which features a trio of title fights.
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)
The promotion then returns on July 15 with an event headlined by featherweight contenders [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC).
The complete lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)
Three days later, on July 18, the promotion hosts its third card in eight days, when top flyweight contenders [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) meet for a second time with the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line.
The full card includes:
MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)
Finally, the UFC’s run in Abu Dhabi ends on July 25 with a much-anticipated middleweight contest between former champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).
That night’s full lineup includes:
MAIN CARD
PRELIMINARY CARD
The UFC has plans to add a talent-rich Central Asian nation to its list of countries visited in 2020.
The UFC has expanded to nearly every corner of the globe during its aggressive growth spurt over the past decade-plus.
And now the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion appears poised to add a significant Central Asian republic to their list of countries visited.
The company is targeting Kazakhstan, which borders both Russia and China, for a June 13 event, likely to be a UFC on ESPN+ level card. MMA Junkie confirmed an initial report by MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
While the event does not have an official location, the 30,000-seat Astana Arena in the capital city of Nur-Sultan is a logical candidate.
The first Kazak fighter in UFC history, [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag], makes his UFC debut in London on March 21. The undefeated Rakhamonov will face Bartosz Fabinski in a welterweight matchup.
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