Tag: Steve Garcia

Steve Garcia crosses fingers for Nate Landwehr as next UFC challenge: ‘The kid is a stud’

It wasn’t really a callout, rather more of respectful suggestion – but Steve Garcia knows who he wants to fight next.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag]’s win Saturday was a gory comeback that ended violently with opponent Melquizael Costa attempting a takedown on referee Chris Tognoni.

With a highlight comes attention. Garcia (15-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) thinks his victory at UFC Fight Night 233 showed the masses who he truly is. He hopes his name will be circled on their mental bout sheets from here on out, if it wasn’t already.

“I want to be the guy they tune into when I’m on that stage,” Garcia told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “Like, ‘It’s going to be a banger when Steve is on that card. Let’s tune in.’ I hope you guys enjoyed it.”

“… That’s just the style that I bring every time I come in here. Every time I’m in here, you might just see a dog. I tell people all the time. I don’t have the biggest bark or the loudest bark, but I have bite. I bite pretty damn hard. I’m just not going to quit. I’m going to keep coming for you. I’ll just keep gnawing at that fight however I can. I just need to figure out a way to win. I think I’ve had a couple fights to show that. We’re just going to keep doing it.”

After the fight, Garcia didn’t grab the microphone and cut a WWE-esque promo. Instead, he respectfully suggested a name he’d like to fight next when asked by interviewer Paul Felder.

“Out there, I kind of just threw out a name – a name I think people would like and I think he’s really good. his name is Nate Landwehr,” Garcia said. “The kid is a stud. I think the fans would love to see something like that. We’ll see if (my manager) Jason House and Sean Shelby and all those guys will want to put that together. If not, they got my phone number. We can figure it out. … March-April sounds good to me.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 post-event facts: Khalil Rountree inches closer to Chuck Liddell’s KO record

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 233, which saw Khalil Rountree move closer to Chuck Liddell’s longstanding knockout record.

There’s just one event left on the UFC’s 2023 schedule after UFC Fight Night 233 came to a conclusion on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

An underwhelming lineup fell in the shadow of UFC 296 this weekend, and the main event wasn’t particularly memorable as [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) proved to be too much for [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in their bantamweight matchup en route to a unanimous decision win.

For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 233.

* * * *

UFC Fight Night 233 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $22 million

UFC Fight Night 233 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $159,500

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 Fight Night 233 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 233 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]HyunSung Park[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shannon Ross[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Talita Alencar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Rayanne Amanda[/autotag]: $4,000

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 2331 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: $7,848,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,367,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 233 in Las Vegas with Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streamed on ESPN+.

In the main event, Song Yadong (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) took on Chris Gutierrez (20-5-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in a bantamweight clash. In the light heavyweight co-feature, former title challenger Anthony Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) met Khalil Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC).

You also can get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@1khathaway) on X.

Check out the full event play-by-play, results, and more below.

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 233 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 233 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Referee fends off discombobulated Melquizael Costa after Steve Garcia’s bloody TKO

Protect yourself at all times – even if you’re the referee, as Chris Tognoni was forced to do at UFC Fight Night 233.

Protect yourself at all times – even if you’re the referee.

Such was the situation Saturday at UFC Fight Night 233 after [autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag] brutally finished [autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag] with a bombardment of strikes in their featherweight bout at the UFC Apex.

In the opening moments of the second round, Garcia (21-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Costa (14-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) engaged in a scramble, at which point Garcia dropped Costa with a knee and right hand. From there, Garcia moved all in for the finish with an array of punches, hammerfists and elbows, which bloodied up Costa.

When Costa could no longer defend himself, referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight. And that’s when we saw just how discombobulated Costa was from the fight-ending sequence as he tried to take down the ref with a single-leg. To Tognoni’s credit, he hit the switch on Costa to fend him off until the Brazilian fighter came to.

You can watch the finish and immediate aftermath in the video below (via X):

With the finish, Garcia, a Jackson-Wink MMA product, now has won three fights in a row, including two this year. Costa has alternated one win and two losses in his three UFC appearances.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Nov. 27-Dec 3.)

All the UFC 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.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Nov. 27-Dec. 3.

UFC on ESPN 52 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Four fighters get max non-title money

UFC on ESPN 52 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

AUSTIN, Texas – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 52 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $225,000.

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 on ESPN 52 took place at Moody Center. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 52 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Punahele Soriano[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Julia Avila[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joe Solecki[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Rodolfo Bellato[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Wellington Turman[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/autotag]: $4,000

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 $4,520; 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 $52,000 while title challengers get $52,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-52 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,689,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,208,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.

Steve Garcia illness before weigh-ins scraps fight vs. Melquizael Costa at UFC on ESPN 52

UFC on ESPN 52 has lost a featherweight fight the day before the event in Austin, Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas – It’s become a reasonably common occurrence this time of week in MMA: UFC on ESPN 52 has lost a fight the day before the event.

The featherweight bout on the preliminary card between [autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag] (20-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and [autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was scrapped Friday due to a Garcia illness. UFC play-by-play voice Brendan Fitzgerald announced the news ahead of the official weigh-ins, which he emceed at the host hotel in Austin, Texas.

No further details were provided, and it is not yet known if Garcia’s illness is weight cut-related. UFC on ESPN 52 takes place Saturday at Moody Center in Austin. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

The withdrawal gives Garcia back-to-back pullouts. He dropped out of an August fight with Sean Woodson on less than three weeks’ notice. Garcia was trying to build on consecutive upset stoppages of Chase Hooper and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. The Hooper TKO in 92 seconds earned him a $50,000 performance bonus.

Costa was looking to put together a new winning streak after a win over Austin Lingo in July got him back on track. In January, he tapped to a Thiago Moises rear-naked choke in the second round in his UFC debut.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 52 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan
  • Bobby Green vs. Jalin Turner
  • Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Rob Font
  • Sean Brady vs. Kelvin Gastelum
  • Clay Guida vs. Joaquim Silva
  • Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Julia Avila vs. Miesha Tate
  • Cody Brundage vs. Zach Reese
  • Drakkar Klose vs. Joe Solecki
  • Rodolfo Bellato vs. Ihor Potieria
  • Jared Gooden vs. Wellington Turman
  • Veronica Hardy vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 9-15)

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.