Tag: Toshiomi Kazama

Toshiomi Kazama was ‘walking a dark cave’ prior to career-saving UFC on ESPN 61 comeback win

Toshiomi Kazama’s mental struggles prior to UFC on ESPN 61 only makes his thrilling comeback finish even more impressive.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag] knew he needed to win at UFC on ESPN 61 to save his future with the promotion, and he did just that with a Performance of the Night comeback win.

Just when it looked like Kazama (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was on the cusp of a third consecutive defeat to begin his octagon tenure against Charalampos Grigoriou (8-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, he staged a thrilling comeback to finish the fight by triangle choke in the second round of the bantamweight bout.

For Kazama, the joy of victory is overshadowed by the evaporation of stress, knowing that if he had lost, this could’ve been his final UFC fight.

“I feel relieved,” Kazama told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter post-fight at UFC on ESPN 61. “Of course, I’m happy, but I’m relieved. That’s a much more bigger feeling than being happy. … With all these losing fights, I felt like I was walking a dark cave for a while. In this fight, of course, the situation wasn’t that good. But still, I was able to win.”

After getting dropped and nearly finished by Grigoriou’s strikes, Kazama said he knew he had to keep his composure. He did just that, holding on and avoiding damage as best he could while his opponent tired himself out throwing strikes.

That’s when Kazama repositioned his legs and slapped on a triangle choke which forced Grigoriou to tap out. As a result, Kazama got his first UFC win in dramatic fashion, and the extra $50,000 bonus that came along with it.

“I heard all the voices from the cornerman, so I knew my opportunity would come,” Kazama said about the comeback. “Once that came, I wanted to finish him with my BJJ skills, and I was able to do that. So this was a very good win.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 61.

UFC on ESPN 61 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Event yields second-lowest total of 2024

UFC on ESPN 61 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 on ESPN 61 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $128,000.

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 61 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 61 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chepe Mariscal[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Danny Barlow[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nikolay Veretennikov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Quang Le[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chelsea Chandler[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charalampos Grigoriou[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jhonata Diniz[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Karl Williams[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jarno Errens[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Stephanie Luciano[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Talita Alencar[/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 $4,610; 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 $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-61 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,914,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $27,651,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 61.

UFC on ESPN 61 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 61 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 61 took place Saturday with 10 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 on ESPN 61 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 61.

UFC on ESPN 61 video: Toshiomi Kazama stages wild comeback for triangle choke finish

Just when Toshiomi Kazama appeared to be in the most danger of a loss at UFC on ESPN 61, he turned things around in stunning fashion.

Just when [autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag] appeared to be in the most danger of a loss against [autotag]Charalampos Grigoriou[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 61, he turned things around in stunning fashion to put himself in the winner’s circle.

After Grigoriou scored a big knockdown in the second round of the bantamweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, he pounced on a downed Kazama (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and flurried with punches and elbow for the finish.

Referee Jason Herzog was taking a close look, but then Kazama controlled the posture of his opponent, slid his legs over the shoulders and locked in a triangle choke that forced Grigoriou (8-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) to tap out without much struggle at the 1:55 mark of Round 2.

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

After the stoppage, and elevated but beaten up Kazama admitted that although things looked bad for him, he felt Grigoriou would slip up and give him the chance to secure his first UFC win.

“When I was on the bottom, I knew an opportunity would come by,” Kazama said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I waited for that chance and used my BJJ skills to finish the fight.”

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Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 61 results

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 61.

Six new fights added to UFC Vegas 88

Six fights including multiple double-digit UFC veterans have been added to the March 16 event in Las Vegas.

Six more fights have been added to the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for March 16 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Five of the six bouts were officially announced Tuesday by the promotion, while the six was revealed on social media by the fighters involved.

The event is currently headlined by a heavyweight bout between Tai Tuivasa (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Marcin Tybura (24-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC). Light heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Ovince Saint Preux (26-17 MMA, 14-12 UFC) will also fight each other on the card.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 15-21.

UFC Fight Night 225 post-event facts: Max Holloway sets record with KO of ‘The Korean Zombie’

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 225, which saw Max Holloway add to his legendary resume with a highlight knockout win.

UFC Fight Night 225 took place Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and saw seven of 13 fights end in a stoppage.

None of those finishes were more memorable than the main event, where former champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) lived up to expectations when he scored a brutal third-round knockout of [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) to send “The Korean Zombie” into retirement in the featherweight bout.

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 225.

* * * *

UFC Fight Night 225 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Max Holloway among three with top non-title money

UFC Fight Night 225 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 225 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $196,000.

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 Fight Night 225 took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 225 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rolando Bedoya[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Billy Goff[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yusaku Kinoshita[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]JJ Aldrich[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Na Liang[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jarno Errens[/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 2251 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: $5,735,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,324,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 225.

UFC Fight Night 225 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 225 in Singapore.

UFC Fight Night 225 took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

In the main event, former featherweight champion Max Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) takes on “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung (17-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC). In the co-feature, former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) meets Ryan Spann (21-9 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in a rematch.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.

UFC Fight Night 225 video: Garrett Armfield tees off on Toshiomi Kazama for first-round TKO

It was one-way traffic for Garrett Armfield in a complete blowout of Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Fight Night 225.

It was one-way traffic for [autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 225.

Armfield (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was all over [autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in their bantamweight bout from the start, unleashing pinpoint combinations. Kazama absorbed a lot of punishment, but it was a right hand from Armfield which sat him down and prompted the referee to swoop in for the stoppage at the 4:16 mark of Round 1 on Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

Check out the replay of Armfield’s finish below (via Twitter):

After a debut loss to David Onama at featherweight, Armfield dropped down to his original weight class to notch his first octagon win.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 225 results include:

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 225.