Former champ Carla Esparza fights Tecia Pennington at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City

Carla Esparza and Tecia Pennington meet again over a decade after their “TUF 20” clash.

[autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] and [autotag]Tecia Pennington[/autotag] squared off in an exhibition bout during “The Ultimate Fighter 20” nearly a decade ago.

Ten years later, the two will fight again, this time in a three-round pro strawweight contest Oct. 5 at UFC 307 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Two people with knowledge of the targeted matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Verbal agreements are in place with bout agreements expected to be signed in the coming days.

Esparza (19-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) has not competed since a title challenge loss to Zhang Weili by TKO in November 2022 snapped a six-fight winning streak. She gave birth to a baby boy in September and resumed sparring in July.

Pennington (13-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) aims to snap a two-fight skid. Prior to back-to-back defeats against Mackenzie Dern and Tabatha Ricci, Pennington compiled three-straight wins over Brianna Foutinho, Sam Hughes, and Angela Hill.

The two fighters were “TUF 20” cast members in 2010. The season was coached by Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez. Esparza defeated Pennington (nee Torres) by two-round unanimous decision. Esparza went on to win the season and become the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion.

With the addition, the UFC 307 lineup includes:

  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista
  • Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Chris Curtis vs. Kevin Holland
  • Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington
  • Iasmin Lucindo vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

UFC on ESPN 56 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $3 million

UFC on ESPN 56 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

ST. LOUIS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 56 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,000.

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 56 took place at Enterprise Arena. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 56 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mateusz Rebecki[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sean Woodson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tecia Pennington[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Trey Waters[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Billy Ray Goff[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]JJ Aldrich[/autotag]: $6,000

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 $4,560; 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 $56,000 while title challengers get $56,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-56 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,106,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $25,843,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.

Tabatha Ricci def. Tecia Pennington at UFC on ESPN 56: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Tabatha Ricci’s split decision win over Tecia Pennington at UFC on ESPN 56.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]’s split decision win over [autotag]Tecia Pennington[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 56 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. (Fight and venue photos by Jeff Le, USA Today Sports)