Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2022.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from December 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for December.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 282, including a rare title-fight draw, an 18-year-old winner and a historically quick knockout.
The UFC’s final pay-per-view of the year went down Saturday with UFC 282 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After an incredible run of 10 consecutive finishes to start the card, the night ended in bizarre fashion with [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (29-9-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) and [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (18-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) failing to determine a new UFC light heavyweight champion. The pair fought to a split draw in the vacant title headliner, which is a rarity in UFC history.
For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 282.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 282 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $215,500.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 282 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 282 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
The full UFC 282 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jay Perrin[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]T.J. Brown[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Erik Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Steven Koslow[/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 $4,500; 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $8,147,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $14,324,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 282.
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 from Nov. 28-Dec. 4.
The UFC added four fighters to its roster last month. Find out who joined 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 the increasingly 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.
Bruce Buffer has his work cut out for him as the UFC roster has a new unique and lengthy nickname.
Undefeated prospect [autotag]Steven Koslow[/autotag] is in the big leagues.
With [autotag]Ronnie Lawrence[/autotag] out of UFC 282, Koslow (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will step in to fight Cameron Saaiman (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at the Dec. 10 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Koslow, 25, is a submission specialist with an aggressive style. All six of his pro fights to date were for Florida-based promotion Combat Night. Koslow has a 100 percent finish rate with only first-round victories.
A beholder of one of the most unique nicknames in MMA, Koslow goes by “Obi Won Shinobi The Pillow.” Koslow explained its origin in an interview with The MMA Report in July.
“Obi Won Shinobi” was Koslow’s nickname of choice to start. “The Pillow” was then given to him for his ability to put people to sleep with submissions, which he’s done approximately 20 times. When a ring announcer used both during an introduction, Koslow decided to use the combination going forward.
“Every time I look at Tapology, I’m pretty proud of it,” Koslow said.
Saaiman, 21, is one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster. He earned a UFC contract after an impressive knockout of Josh Wang-Kim on Dana White’s Contender Series in August. All but one of Saaiman’s pro victories are finishes.
With the change, the UFC 282 lineup includes:
[vertical-gallery id=2600406]
