Tag: Su Mudaerji

UFC Fight Night 245 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Darren Elkins’ $21,000 leads card

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out more than $29 million to athletes since its deal began with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 245 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $155,500.

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 245 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 245 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Kyler Phillips[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cameron Smotherman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Asu Almabayev[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matheus Nicolau[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jean Matsumoto[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joselyne Edwards[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melissa Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alice Ardelean[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Austen Lane[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/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 2451 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: $6,644,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,381,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 245

Momentum is a big factor in Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Night 245. Which trend will break?

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 245 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-3
UFC main cards, 2024: 87-77-3

Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji UFC Fight Night 245 preview

Johnson (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has seemed to figure things out since a three-fight skid nearly ended his UFC tenure. He enters as a winner of his last three fights, all of which have come in a very busy 2024 campaign. Johnson’s decision win over Azat Maksum in February was a Fight of the Night affair, and his third round finish of Joshua Van in July earned a Performance of the Night bonus. … Mudaerji (16-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will look to stay above .500, and return to the win column after being finished in back-to-back outings. Mudaerji’s last victory was a unanimous decision nod over Zarrukh Adashev in January 2021.

Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji UFC Fight Night 245 expert pick, prediction

Filling out the main card is a flyweight attraction between Johnson and Mudaerji.

Considering that these two fighters were strangely booked with opposite momentum as far as their winning and losing streaks are concerned, I can see why the betting public is getting behind Johnson.

Many, including myself, have seen solid glimpses of Johnson’s skills and potential and have wanted to see him do well since stepping onto the UFC stage. And though the wins and losses have come down to the wire, Johnson appears to be hitting his stride as a fighter.

Mudaerji, on the other hand, has dealt with everything from injuries and inactivity to continual tough matchmaking.

Mudaerji appears to have been spending the last two fight camps at Team Alpha Male alongside Song Yadong, so I’m curious if we finally start to see the 28-year-old Tibetan turn a corner in his career as well.

Although this should be an easy pick to make for Johnson, I find myself semi-reluctantly wanting to take a flier on the other side.

Aside from the fact that it would be hilarious to see an Asian fighter ice “Inner G” after the borderline racist tweet he sent out this week (which, according to Johnson’s logic, is okay since “he likes anime”), Johnson has traditionally struggled with southpaws, officially standing at a shaky 1-2 opposite UFC-level lefties.

Even though my personal bias is admittedly at play, considering how fed up I am over repeated incidents like this involving Asian athletes in this sport/sports culture, in general, I’ll stand by my pick here.

All personal gripes aside, Johnson is one of the least trustworthy fighters from a gambling perspective, so I stay away from his fights – particularly when he’s the one who is favored.

The official pick is for Mudaerji to serve Johnson some much-needed humble pie with a surprising first-round knockout.

Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji UFC Fight Night 245 odds

The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the American fighter, listing Johnson -225 and Su +180 via FanDuel.

Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji UFC Fight Night 245 start time, how to watch

Johnson and Mudaerji are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:05 p.m. ET (5:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Su Mudaerji: Charles Johnson doesn’t really want to stand and trade at UFC Fight Night 245

Su Mudaerji has been down this one particular road in MMA, and he isn’t sure he wants to trust taking it again.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] has been down this one particular road in MMA, and he isn’t sure he wants to trust taking it again.

On it, against Tim Elliott this past December, he maybe kinda sorta thought he had a gentleman’s agreement in place to stand and trade in their flyweight fight. Instead, he soon found himself on the canvas and was submitted in the first round. Credit to Elliott, certainly, but Mudaerji knows now, he says, that hoping to stand and bang and actually standing and banging are two different things.

“Those promises often are broken, even like my last fight – Tim was telling me the same thing: Let’s bang. Let’s (go for a) knockout.’ And within a minute and a half, he start taking me down relentlessly. So I don’t believe in that anymore,” Mudaerji said Wednesday at a media day at the UFC Apex.

The next flyweight who might try to have Mudaerji (16-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) think he wants to stand and trade is Charles Johnson (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC). The two meet on the UFC Fight Night 245 (ESPN+) main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“I was very excited when I found out the opponent was him because he’s also a striker – a standup fighter like me, so I think we’re going to put on a show for the fans,” Mudaerji said. “But I do think my opponent will fear striking with me because he’s seen my videos. Most likely, he’ll try to take me down. He wouldn’t want to stand with me, striking with me.”

Hear Mudaerji discuss that, his recent layoff, marriage and family life and more in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Tatsuro Taira fills UFC 302 opening, fights Joshua Van

Two of the UFC’s most promising flyweights, Tatsuro Taira and Joshua Van will collide in Newark.

Two of the UFC flyweight division’s most promising rising fighters will collide this June.

With [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] out of UFC 302, [autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag] has signed on to fight [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] at the June 1 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The matchup was announced Thursday by Iridium Sports Agency, which manages both fighters.

Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has passed each test he’s had in the promotion with flying colors. With three finishes in five promotional appearances, Japan’s Taira rides high off a TKO victory over Carlos Hernandez in December.

Van (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) went 3-0 in his first seven months with the UFC as he accumulated wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Kevin Borjas, and Felipe Bunes. He was scheduled to fight Lucas Rocha in April, but was removed from the card when his opponent withdrew.

With the addition, the UFC 302 lineup includes:

  • Champion Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
  • Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa – five-round co-main event
  • Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
  • Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
  • Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
  • Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
  • Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
  • Niko Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov

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 video: Tim Elliott chokes out Su Mudaerji on five days’ notice

Tim Elliott admitted his “title run is kind of over” despite choking out Su Mudaerji in dominant fashion at UFC Fight Night 233.

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] earned one of the more impressive wins of his career Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] on just five days’ notice at UFC Fight Night 233.

According to Laura Sanko on commentary, Elliott (20-14-1 MMA, 9-11 UFC) had just two training sessions to prepare for the bantamweight bout at the UFC Apex. It didn’t look like it in the octagon as Elliott landed some good strikes on the feet, got Mudaerji (16-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) to the mat then locked in an arm-triangle choke that led to the technical submission at the 4:02 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):

After losing a key fight to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294 in October, Elliott jumped on the opportunity to fight Mudaerji as a replacement.

Elliott, 36, admitted his time at the highest level of competition might be dwindling, but his fighting spirit remains strong, and he’s ready to step in the cage as often as possible.

“I’m never really satisfied in here,” Elliot said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “There’s things I want to do that I’ve never got to do in my career, and I’m running out of time, and I want to show that now. The goal right now is to get back in here. I’m ready next weekend if they need me. …

“I feel like my title run is kind of over now, and all I really have is excitement. But the UFC knows they can call me anytime, and I’ll show up, make weight and fight hard. And if I continue to do that, I’ll be here forever.”

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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.

Su Mudaerji thought he was being pranked about last-minute UFC Fight Night 233 opponent change

Su Mudaerji couldn’t believe it when he was told he needed a new opponent less than a week out from UFC Fight Night 233.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] couldn’t believe it when he was told he needed a new opponent less than a week out from UFC Fight Night 233.

Mudaerji (16-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was scheduled to face Allan Nascimento on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex but got the news that Nascimento withdrew just days away from his fight.

Mudaerji was informed during practice.

“I was training with Song Yadong and in the middle of the training, my agent called me and told me my opponent is pulling out, can’t fight with me in this fight,” Mudaerji told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “In the beginning, I thought they were joking with me. I didn’t believe them until I saw the paper. It’s a weird feeling.”

Stepping in on short notice will be former title challenger Tim Elliott (19-13-1 MMA, 8-11 UFC) making his 20th octagon appearance.

“My first thought after I got the name was this guy got a lot of experience in the UFC because he’s been around for quite a long time,” Mudaerji said. “I know this guy.”

Mudaerji will return for the first time since falling short in his barnburner against Matt Schnell in July 2022. Their back-and-forth battle earned Fight of the Night.

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

Video: UFC Fight Night 233 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 233 on Saturday, watch as the main-card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main 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 media day.

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

With Allan Nascimento out, Tim Elliott steps in to face Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Night 233

Tim Elliott continues to prove he’s willing to fight anyone.

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] continues to prove he’s willing to fight anyone.

[autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag] has been forced out of UFC Fight Night 233, and Elliott (19-13-1 MMA, 8-11 UFC) will step in on less than a week’s notice to face [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag](16-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a bantamweight bout on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

MMA Junkie verified the matchup with a person close to the situation after an initial report from Patrick McCorry. Nascimento’s withdrawal was first reported by Ag Fight.

Elliott will look to rebound from his submission loss to undefeated Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294 in October. Prior to that, the 36-year-old former title challenger scored back-to-back wins over Tagir Ulanbekov and Victor Altamirano.

Mudaerji hasn’t competed since his Fight of the Year contender against Matt Schnell in July 2022. The loss snapped his three-fight winning streak, which included a 44-second knockout of Malcolm Gordon.

With the change, the current UFC Fight Night 233 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez
  • Anthony Smith vs. Khalil Rountree
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
  • Andre Muniz vs. Junyong Park

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Kevin Jousset vs. Song Kenan
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • HyunSung Park vs. Shannon Ross
  • Stephanie Egger vs. Luana Santos
  • Talita Alencar vs. Rayanne Amanda
  • Daniel Marcos vs. Carlos Vera
  • Melquizael Costa vs. Steve Garcia

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