UFC president Dana White has announced the full June 13 lineup for the promotion’s event, which is expected to take place in Las Vegas.
Nine days prior to its June 13 event, the UFC has announced its full lineup of fights.
UFC president Dana White revealed the 10-fight card in an interview with ESPN on Thursday. Eight of the fights had already been revealed, but two new matchups were confirmed: [autotag]Kevin Aguilar[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) and [autotag]Jordan Griffin[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) vs. [autotag]Darrick Minner[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Both fights will be contested at featherweight.
Headlined by a women’s flyweight fight between [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] and [autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag], the main card lineup also features [autotag]Karl Roberson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag], [autotag]Ray Borg[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag], [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag], and [autotag]Mark De La Rosa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jordan Espinosa[/autotag].
The event will take place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, pending Nevada Athletic Commission approval at a meeting scheduled for this Monday. Broadcast plans have yet to be announced.
With entire lineup for the June 13 UFC event is as follows:
MAIN CARD (9 p.m. E.T.)
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Jessica Eye
Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori
Andre Fili vs. Charles Jourdain
Ray Borg vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Mark De La Rosa vs. Jordan Espinosa
PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. E.T.)
[autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Melissa Gatto[/autotag]
Kevin Aguilar vs. Charles Rosa
[autotag]Julia Avila[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gina Mazany[/autotag]
[autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag]
The UFC has added a flyweight fight between Ryan Benoit and Tyson Nam to its growing June 13 lineup.
A flyweight fight is set for June 13.
The UFC has booked a 125-pound bout, with flyweight duo [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] against [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] inked for the promotion’s event on June 13. The event does not currently have an official location, though the UFC Apex in Las Vegas is the frontrunner, with events at the UFC’s purpose-built facility pending Nevada State Athletic Commission approval.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking. The people asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
The two fighters had been previously booked to fight on May 16, but the fight was canceled in April when the UFC suspended its forthcoming schedule due to restrictions introduced to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Benoit (10-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) will look to rebound from a split-decision bantamweight loss to Heili Alateng at UFC on ESPN+ 23 in December 2019. That fight was Benoit’s first since November 2017. The 30-year-old, who has alternated wins and losses for the entire span of his promotional career, will now move back down to flyweight for his upcoming assignment.
Meanwhile, Hawaii’s Nam (18-11-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) is still in search of his first UFC victory. The 36-year-old was signed to the UFC in mid-2019 after 13 years fighting across the world for various promotions. Both his freshman UFC appearance against Sergio Pettis and his sophomore outing against Kai Kara-France were lost by unanimous decision.
With the addition, the UFC’s June 13 lineup includes:
In 2018, Ryan Benoit suffered a potentially career-ending injury when his broken rib displaced next to his liver.
When the coronavirus pandemic rocked the promotion’s upcoming schedule, [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] answered the UFC’s call.
A UFC flyweight, Benoit (10-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) accepted the promotion’s offer – a May 2 fight against [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] on Indian reservation land in California. The event never happened, with Disney and ESPN asking the UFC to postpone the card until a later date.
Benoit liked the May 2 booking. While the event was postponed, the matchup may not go by the wayside. Benoit expects the pairing to be preserved, with the fight taking place at a later date.
“I definitely like that booking,” Benoit recently. told MMA Junkie. “I figure any fights they booked for this upcoming island fights or the Indian reservation land, that those will probably be the first fights they fill up the first few fight cards with. I don’t know how true that is. I know there were other guys before the pandemic hit that signed for upcoming events two months from now.
“I don’t really know how it’s going to work out from here on out, but I’m hoping we can keep the opponent and keep getting prepared for this guy. We won’t have to change game plans or anything. We can keep this plan going forward.”
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Training in the midst of a national emergency isn’t easy, Benoit admitted. With a family at home, Benoit is nervous he’s going to accidentally bring back a virus from the gym. However, he’s doing everything he can to prevent that from happening.
“Before I got the fight, I was just trying to stay busy and train as often as I can,” Benoit said. “It’s pretty hard right now. Nobody is going to the gym. Even going to the gym, I have kids at home, so it’s kind of difficult to (control) who you come in contact with and how many people you want to be around. If you get it from them, you’re going to take it home. It’s been incredibly difficult.
Since November 2017, Benoit has only stepped foot in the UFC cage once. Plagued with injuries, including a gruesome rib fracture, Benoit competed most recently at UFC on ESPN+ 23 in December.
“Mostly just injuries,” Benoit said, of the cause of reasoning for the layoff. “Right after my last fight at flyweight, I had broken my hand and broken my foot in the fight. I had to take some time off and let injuries heal. Then we were trying to come back in the summer time. They told us there was going to be a fight card in September in Dallas. We were trying to hold off and hold off and hold off for that fight card. We got on the fight card in Dallas.
“A couple of days before the fight in Dallas, I broke a rib. My rib was displaced and sitting in front of my liver. I had a lot of doctors tell me, ‘Be careful just bending over and standing up because it (is) sitting about a half an inch in front of your liver. If that punctures your liver, that could be the end of your career.'”
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Benoit’s back-and-forth return fight against Heili Alateng in December was close. Ultimately, a split decision was scored for his opponent. The fight was contested at bantamweight, which seemed like a good move at the time. However, partway through the camp, Benoit realized flyweight should’ve remained his home.
“I had to take a good amount of time off to let this injury heal,” Benoit said. “We came back a little bit heavy and that’s why we decided to go to bantamweight. Halfway through the bantamweight fight camp we’re like, ‘You know what? We’re better at flyweight.'”
Check out MMA Junkie’s full interview with Benoit in the video below.
All the notable stats and figures to come out of UFC Auckland, which saw Dan Hooker beat Paul Felder in the main event.
The UFC made its third visit to New Zealand on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 26. The 12-fight card took place at Spark Arena in Auckland and streamed entirely on ESPN+.
In the main event, [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 10-4 UFC) elevated his status as a lightweight contender when he edged out a memorable “Fight of the Night” clash with [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) by split decision in front of his hometown fans.
The headliner wasn’t the only fight to produce notable results, though. For more, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 26.
* * * *
General
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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $137,000.
Debuting fighters went 0-1 at the event.
Hooker, Felder, [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] and [autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN+ 26 fight-night bonuses.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 drew an announced attendance of 10,025 for a live gate of $1,239,625.
Betting favorites went 8-4 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 4-1 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 1:59:19.
Main card
Dan Hooker
Hooker improved to 7-1 since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in June 2017.
Felder has suffered four of his five career losses by decision.
Crute (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned eight of his 11 career victories by stoppage. That includes all three of his UFC wins.
Crute became the fifth fighter in UFC history to earn multiple submission victories by Kimura. Krzysztof Soszynski, Rani Yahya, Frank Mir and George Sotiropoulos also accomplished the feat.
[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Oleksiejczuk has suffered both of his UFC losses by submission.
Yan Xiaonan
[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) improved to 9-0 (with one no contest) since returning from a nearly five-year layoff in July 2015.
Xiaonan’s five-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is tied with Tatiana Suarez for the longest active streak in the division.
Xiaonan has earned all five of her UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]’s (12-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since April 2018.
[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past nine fights.
De Lima improved to 3-1 in the UFC at heavyweight.
De Lima has earned 15 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 14 of those wins in Round 1.
[autotag]Ben Sosoli[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Magomed Mustafaev[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Preliminary card
Zubaira Tukhugov def. Kevin Aguilar
[autotag]Kevin Aguilar[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Aguilar has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
[autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by knockout.
[autotag]Joshua Culibao[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his eight-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) improved to 5-1 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017.
Matthews has earned four of his five UFC welterweight victories by decision.
[autotag]Emil Meek[/autotag]’s (9-5-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2016.
Meek has been taken down 21 times in his four UFC appearances.
Meek has suffered all three of his UFC losses by decision.
[autotag]Callan Potter[/autotag] (18-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered all nine of his career losses by stoppage.
Song Kenan has earned 13 of his 15 career victories by stoppage. That includes three of his four UFC wins.
[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has earned all four of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] (18-11-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered eight of his 11 career losses by decision. That includes both of his UFC defeats.
Angela Hill
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) became the first to earn two UFC victories in 2020.
Hill improved to 6-5 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s seven victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied with Jessica Andrade for second most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (nine).
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of her career.
[autotag]Cachoeira[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) snapped her three-fight losing skid for her first victory since September 2017.
Cachoeira’s 40-second knockout marked the fastest stoppage in UFC women’s flyweight history.
[autotag]Shana Dobson[/autotag]’s (3-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since December 2017.
Dobson suffered the first knockout loss of her career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 26 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $130,000.
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+ 26 took place Saturday at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The entire card streamed ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN+ 26 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’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 $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
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 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 26 event in Auckland, New Zealand.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
Inside, see what the fighters from UFC on ESPN+ 26 went with as their backing tracks in Auckland, New Zealand.
See the best stats and figures about UFC Auckland, which features a Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker lightweight main event.
The UFC hosts an event in New Zealand for just the third time in company history on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 26, which takes place at Spark Arena in Auckland and features a 13-fight lineup that streams entirely on ESPN+.
A key lightweight matchup with some bad blood is featured in the main event. [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) get an opportunity to headline a card for the first time when they jockey for position in the title picture of arguably the sport’s deepest weight class.
There’s a lot on the line atop the card, but there’s more to it, too. Check below for 40 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN+ 26.
* * * *
Main event
Paul Felder
Felder competes in his first UFC main event.
Felder is 7-2 in his past nine UFC appearances dating back to January 2016.
Felder’s three UFC knockouts stemming from elbow strikes are tied with Curtis Blaydes for most in company history.
Felder is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout victory stemming from a spinning backfist. He accomplished the feat at UFC 182.
Dan Hooker
Hooker is 6-1 since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in June 2017.
Hooker has earned 17 of his 19 career victories by stoppage. That includes eight of his nine UFC wins.
Hooker has earned UFC knockouts stemming from a punch, kick, knee and elbows.
Hooker lands 6.16 significant strikes per minute in UFC lightweight competition, the fourth best rate in divisional history behind Justin Gaethje (8.57), TJ Grant (6.83) and Dustin Poirier (6.51).
Co-main event
Jim Crute
[autotag]Jim Crute[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), 23, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Crute’s victory at the 4:51 mark of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 142 is the second latest finish in a three-round UFC light heavyweight fight behind Paul Craig over Magomed Ankalaev at 4:59 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 127.
[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]’s (14-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) three knockdowns landed at UFC on ESPN+ 7 are tied for second most in a UFC light heavyweight bout behind Rountree’s four knockdowns landed at UFC 236.
Oleksiejczuk’s three knockdowns landed in 44 seconds are the most in the least amount of octagon time in a single UFC fight.
Remaining main card
Karolina Kowalkiewicz
[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]’s (12-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since April 2018.
Kowalkiewicz is 2-5 in her past seven fights dating back to when she challenged for the UFC strawweight title in November 2016.
Kowalkiewicz has earned all five of her UFC victories by decision. She hasn’t earned a stoppage since May 2014.
Kowalkiewicz defends 83.7 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC strawweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is 8-0 (with one no contest) since returning from a nearly five-year layoff in July 2015.
Xiaonan’s four-fight UFC winning streak in strawweight competition is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Tatiana Suarez (five).
Xiaonan landed 150 significant strikes against Syuri Kondo at UFC Fight Night 141, the single-fight record for a three-round UFC strawweight fight.
Xiaonan has earned all four of her UFC victories by decision.
Ben Sosoli
[autotag]Ben Sosoli[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has had his past two fights result in a no contest.
[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag] (16-6-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past eight fights. He was defeated in his most recent bout at UFC on ESPN+ 3 in February 2019.
De Lima is 2-1 when competing in UFC heavyweight bouts.
De Lima has earned 14 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 13 of those wins in Round 1.
[autotag]Magomed Mustafaev[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned all 14 of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all three of his UFC wins by knockout.
Mustafaev is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back kick to the head. Renan Barao and Uriah Hall also accomplished the feat.
[autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) completes 56.5 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the second best rate in divisional history behind Diego Brandao (68 percent).
Preliminary card
Jake Matthews
[autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) is 4-1 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017.
Matthews defends 71.6 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the third best rate in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (73 percent) and Luigi Fioravanti (71.9 percent)
[autotag]Emil Meek[/autotag] (9-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since July 22, 2018. The 580-day layoff is the longest of his nearly nine-year career.
Meek enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2016.
Meek has been taken down 17 times in his three UFC appearances.
[autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] (18-10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), 36, is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is the only Thai-born fighter in history to earn a UFC victory.
Angela Hill
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (11-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC) competes in her 14th UFC strawweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Hill makes her sixth UFC appearance in a 10-month stretch, the most in modern company history within that timeframe.
Hill is 5-5 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s six victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (nine) and Jessica Andrade (seven).
Hill’s two knockout victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied with Jedrzejczyk for second most in divisional history behind Rose Namajunas (three).
[autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has suffered three consecutive losses after starting her career 8-0. She hasn’t earned a victory since September 2017.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
UFC Auckland is just about filled after this latest batch of three fights announced.
Three more bouts have been made official for UFC on ESPN+ 26
[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will make a quick turnaround when he takes on [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag] (18-10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a flyweight bout. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup after an initial report from Stuff New Zealand.
City Kickboxing’s Kara-France was defeated by Brandon Moreno at UFC 245 earlier this month, snapping his eight-fight winning streak. Eager to compete at home, Kara-France will get his wish when he takes on Hawaii’s Nam.
Nam stepped in on short notice in his UFC debut in September to replace an injured Alex Perez and take on top contender Sergio Pettis. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
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Two more Australian fighters will compete at UFC Auckland, as [autotag]Callan Potter[/autotag] (18-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC), and [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) faces [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC). These bouts were reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
UFC on ESPN+ 26 takes place Feb. 22 (Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is set to be streamed live on ESPN+.
With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN+ 26 card includes:
