Tag: Tom Nolan

UFC Fight Night 234 post-event facts: Jim Miller adds more records to epic resume

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 234, which saw Jim Miller grow his all-time wins record and add more history to his resume.

The UFC returned from its holiday hiatus on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and although it wasn’t the most stacked lineup, UFC Fight Night 234 delivered seven stoppage results out of 11 bouts.

In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) produced definitive closure on his rivalry with Johnny Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC), scoring a second-round knockout in their light heavyweight rematch to potentially set himself up for a championship opportunity.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 234.

UFC Fight Night 234 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jim Miller, Andrei Arlovski get max non-title payouts

UFC Fight Night 234 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 234 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 234 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 234 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Felipe Bunes[/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 2341 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:

  • “UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” – $159,500

Year-to-date total: $159,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,866,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

UFC Fight Night 234 video: Nikolas Motta upsets Tom Nolan with 63-second TKO

Nikolas Motta said he’d make Tom Nolan pay for talking a big game prior to UFC Fight Night 234, and he did just that with a 63-second upset.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag] said he would make [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag] pay for talking a big game prior to UFC Fight Night 234, and he did just that.

Motta (14-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) dished a slice of humility to the 23-year-old prospect Nolan (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) when he stood toe-to-toe and exchanged strikes in a furious start to the lightweight bout at the UFC Apex.

Both men landed well, but it was a stinging left hand followed by a right that floored Nolan early on. Motta, 30, swarmed him on the mat and forced the stoppage just 63 seconds after the bout began.

Check out the replay of the final sequence below (via X):

After a controversial no contest vs. Trey Ogden in his previous fight, Motta needed a strong performance on the final fight of his current UFC contract. He did just that with a definitive win over a previously undefeated opponent.

“Tom Nolan is a killer – he has a finish rate so high and he’s a killer,” Motta said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I know I have a lot of power and I work with some of the best. … Finally I show more of who I am.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 234 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

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.

Fresh Ink: Meet the 30 fighters the UFC signed in August 2023

Find out who joined the UFC in August 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 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.

Check out the August 2023 list below.

Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 7 roster filling up for summer 2023 launch

Dana White’s Contender Series will return this summer. Check out the fighters and fights that have been booked thus far.

Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 7 is in the works.

DWCS debuted in 2017 with an eight-episode inaugural season. Season 2 was held in 2018 with eight episodes, followed by a three-episode DWCS: Brasil. In 2019, DWCS was extended to 10 episodes for its third season. The length was repeated in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Each season, the number of fighters signed has increased. Thus far, the show has produced UFC notables including Sean O’Malley, Maycee Barber, Geoff Neal, Ryan Spann, Sodiq Yusuff, Jamahal Hill, Taila Santos, Johnny Walker, Alex Perez, Bo Nickal, Jailton Almeida, Jack Della Maddalena, and Marina Rodriguez among others.

In recent weeks, the UFC matchmakers have been gearing up for a summer DWCS return, expected to launch Aug. 8. Athletes and matchups have slowly but surely been booked. The number of episodes for Season 7 is not yet known.

Scroll below to see the latest athletes and fights booked, which have been confirmed by MMA Junkie or posted about by the fighters involved. This list will be updated as more fighters and matchups come to light.

DWCS 57 winner Tom Nolan says follow-up punch after knockout was payback for disrespect

Tom Nolan’s extra blow after knocking out Bogdan Grad was absolutely intentional.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag]’s extra blow after knocking out [autotag]Bogdan Grad[/autotag] was absolutely intentional.

Nolan (6-0) secured the only finish of the night when he needed less than 90 seconds to stop Grad (11-2) on Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 57.

Nolan knocked Grad down with a left hook which appeared enough to finish the fight, but proceeded to land a vicious follow-up shot. An animated Nolan mouthed off at Grad, but he said there was a reason for his actions.

“This guy’s been trash talking me the whole time,” Nolan told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “When I was younger, I didn’t quite stand up for myself the way I should have, and I’ve learned from that.

“Now I won’t take disrespect, and he disrespected me and that was me saying, ‘Hey, this is the game you want to play? You want to talk like that?’ Don’t let skinny guys knock you out. That’s my message to him. He’s making fun of me saying I’m a tall, lanky, skinny guy. Well, you better not let me touch your chin because you’re going to sleep. And that’s what happened.”

Nolan, 23, still is young in his MMA career. While he’s confident he can hang with top UFC lightweights, the unbeaten Aussie is looking to take his time.

“I’ve only had six pro fights, but I feel like I’m super experienced,” Nolan said. “I think I can hang with the top 15 right now quite easily. But in saying that, I want to get experience, as well, and I want to get paid. So I would like to build my way up, knock a few people out and do it properly.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 57.

Dana White’s Contender Series 57: Grading the winners

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the performances of the five winners from Dana White’s Contender Series 57.

Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series (2023) took place Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the five fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.

With a simple but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders the UFC matchmakers can use for future events. With that trend in mind, I once again will be taking a look at the winning fighters, regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, and grading their performances in regard to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.

Dana White’s Contender Series 57 results: All winners get contracts, including 35-year-old kickboxing standout

Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series debuts Tuesday, and MMA Junkie will have live results from on-site at the UFC Apex.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reported from Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 57 event.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

The debut episode of Season 7 saw 10 fighters compete for their shot at a contract at the UFC Apex. The series continues every Tuesday through Oct. 10, with 90 of the 100 athletes revealed.

Although there were four decisions across the five fights, White elected to sign all the winners, including former Glory Kickboxing standout [autotag]Cesar Almeida[/autotag]. Also signed was Australia’s [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag], who secured a nasty first-round knockout.

Heavyweight [autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag], bantamweight [autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag], and flyweight [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag] also received UFC deals for their unanimous decision wins.

The full DWCS 57 results include:

  • Cesar Almeida def. Lucas Fernando via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27)
  • Tom Nolan def. Bogdan Grad via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:23
  • Caio Machado def. Kevin Szaflarski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Payton Talbott def. Reyes Cortez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Kevin Borjas def. Victor Dias via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Dana White’s Contender Series 57 video: Tom Nolan lands brutal left hook to knock out opponent

Tom Nolan scored the first knockout of Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, and it was vicious.

One minute and 23 seconds is all [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag] needed to make a statement.

Nolan (6-0) scored the first knockout of the new season at Dana White’s Contender Series 57 to remain undefeated, and it was a finish that definitely caught the attention of the promotion’s boss cageside at the UFC Apex.

A sharp left hook from Nolan caught Bogdan Grad flush, sending him to the mat. Nolan’s follow-up punches were equally vicious, the final of which knocked out his opponent’s mouthpiece as Grad was out cold on the canvas.

Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):

“It felt awesome, and to do it against an opponent that was trash-talking me for weeks, it couldn’t have been better,” Nolan told Laura Sanko during his post-fight interview.

Nolan said it was his first true clean knockout, and it couldn’t have come on a bigger stage, with a shot at a UFC contract on the line. With a performance like that, he’s likely a lock to earn a contract by the end of the evening.

Up-to-the-minute DWCS 57 results include:

  • Tom Nolan def. Bogdan Grad via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:23
  • Caio Machado def. Kevin Szaflarski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Payton Talbott def. Reyes Cortez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Kevin Borjas def. Victor Dias via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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