Tag: UFC Fight Night 211

Sodiq Yusuff calls for fight vs. ‘Korean Zombie’: ‘You know you want to see that’

Sodiq Yusuff wants the ‘Korean Zombie’ next.

[autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] wants a step up in competition.

The featherweight is angling a fight against veteran and former title challenger Chan Sung Jung following a successful return to the octagon. Yusuff (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) dispatched newcomer Don Shainis in 30 seconds by submitting him with a guillotine choke on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 in Las Vegas.

Now, with two wins under his belt following his most recent defeat, Yusuff is looking to test himself with the “Korean Zombie.”

“(I mentioned January for Jung) just so he can have enough time,” Yusuff said at the ESPN+ post-fight show. “If he wants to do it in December, that’s fine. But me and ‘Zombie,’ I think we’re two very entertaining guys. Be honest: You know you want to see that fight. It’s a good fight. The way I fight and the way he fights, I feel like we’re going to put on a great show.

“It could be a great opportunity for me to finally get a main event spot. I’ll be happy to take that fight.”

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Yusuff was scheduled to face Giga Chikadze two weeks ago at UFC Fight Night 210 in Las Vegas. However, a week before the event, Chikadze withdrew from the bout.

It’s been a hectic last few weeks for Yusuff. He wasn’t sure when or whom he’d fight in his return. Yusuff admitted the chaos got to him.

“It’s been a heck of a camp,” Yusuff said. There’s been a lot of ups and downs. I’m expecting a fight, I’m expecting not to fight, I’m expecting to fight 150 (pounds), then up to ’55, then back to ’45. It’s been all over the place. People lie all the time and say how they want to come in here and have a war. If I could walk in that ring for two seconds, I’d be happy.

“I’m not going to pretend like (all the changes) didn’t get to me. I am human. When they initially kicked me off the card last week, I was like, ‘It’s the UFC. I know they’re going to find someone for me. We’re going to Vegas anyway.’ I got here and was very, very excited, and when they finally told me I was done, I almost shed a tear – I’m not going to lie – because I put in a lot of work for this, and I refuse to be set in the corner again, especially now that I’m healthy. I’m so appreciative for the opportunity to be a UFC fighter, and I’m not going to let it go to waste.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.

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Yan Xiaonan happy to snap losing skid at UFC Fight Night 211: ‘A year long I didn’t feel happy’

Yan Xiaonan relieved to be back in the win column.

[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] is over the moon.

The UFC strawweight contender is overjoyed with her win over Mackenzie Dern in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 in Las Vegas. After 25 minutes of fighting, Yan (15-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) defeated Dern (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in a majority decision.

The victory put Yan back in the win column. The Chinese fighter hadn’t tasted victory since November 2020 prior to Saturday night.

“I cannot be happier right now,” Yan said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “I lost my last two fights, so a year long I didn’t feel happy. I was pretty low in the previous year. I worked so hard hoping this day would come back to me.”

“… I feel very happy that I made the right choice to stay in the U.S. and keep training at Team Alpha Male. The whole team helped me a lot. Mackenzie’s jiu-jitsu is definitely another level. I felt it during the fight. She’s very dangerous. There were a lot of times during the fight it was very dangerous. But I survived through that and I made it.”

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Prior to the pair of defeats, Yan was on a 13-fight unbeaten run, with six of those fights under the UFC banner. She was considered a top title contender, and she wants to return to that status.

“My ultimate goal in the UFC is the belt,” Yan said. “Now I have fought the best wrestler in this division, the best striker in this division, the best jiu-jitsu fighter in this division. So no matter who the UFC gives me, I don’t fear. Just, let’s fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.

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Video: Priscilla Chan horrified by bloody UFC action while husband Mark Zuckerberg has the time of his life

The horror! Dr. Priscilla Chan had one of the best errrr only seats in the house at UFC Fight Night 211 – and things got a little intense.

Much was made about Mark Zuckerberg’s “UFC debut” – but it may have been an inversely powerful experience for his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan who accompanied him Saturday at UFC Fight Night 211.

Let me preface everything I’m about to say with this. I genuinely think if you’re someone who frequents MMA events, you’ve been here to a certain degree.

You know, you REALLY want to watch the fights and there’s someone there with you who has little interest or experience in doing so. Perhaps the person agrees to watch, politely, unaware of what they’re about to witness.

And you KNOW that when they do watch, there’s one of two possibilities. The first, from experience, I find happens more often than not. I’ll hype up a fight and why I love MMA and then the fight will immediately begin its plunge toward making my “Worst All-Time MMA Bouts” list. The second possibility, is that it’s way more intense than the average MMA fight. Blood instantly starts pouring out of someone’s forehead – or someone gets kneed in the nuts and starts dry heaving.

Anyway, I feel like that second option was kind of what was going on with Zuckerberg and his Mrs. at the UFC Apex. In the bout between Trevin Jones and Raoni Barcelos, things got a little wild – and bloody.

Who got to witness it from the best seat (and one of the only seats that night) in the house? You got it.

In a laugh-out-loud moment, Chan couldn’t take any more and covered her face. She gave it another try, but instantly regretted it with an even more intense face cover. But I mean, she’s probably the normal one. A medical doctor, she probably feels wrong for watching – like the rest of us would, if we were normal.

With all that said, I genuinely wonder what the car ride conversation home will be. Perhaps, “Honey, you told me we were going to see Cirque du Soleil,” followed by a long period of silence and then Zuckerberg going, “… but Dana invited us to be the only two people at UFC Vegas 62, too.”

It’s quite possible we see Mr. Zuckerberg back at a UFC event soon – only solo. Or who knows? Maybe Chan will totally be cool with it. I just think it was too much too soon. At least she wasn’t at Bellator where somebody broke their leg tonight.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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UFC Fight Night 211 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2022 total hits $6.5 million

UFC has paid out $6.5 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay to its athletes this year after UFC Fight Night 211.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $164,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 211 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Trevin Jones[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Don Shainis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jesse Ronson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chelsea Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Randy Costa[/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 2117 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2111 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,491,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,658,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.

UFC Fight Night 211 bonuses: Six fighters take home extra $50,000 each

The UFC handed out six post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, and all six winners fought on the preliminary card.

The UFC handed out six post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, and all six winners fought on the preliminary card.

After UFC Fight Night 211, six fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

UFC Fight Night 211 results: Yan Xiaonan takes majority decision over Mackenzie Dern in main event

Yan Xiaonan shined on the feet and escaped Mackenzie Dern’s submission attempts on the mat in the main event of UFC Fight Night 211.

The classic clash of styles between a striker and grappler told the story of the UFC Fight Night 211 main event.

[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] was able to show her striking skills while stifling the aggressive grappling and submission threat of Mackenzie Dern, leading to a majority decision after 25 minutes of action.

When the dust settled, Yan (15-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) did enough to convince two of the three judges she was the winner of the bout with two scores of 48-47, while a third judge thought Dern (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) rallied hard enough in the final frame to make the fight a draw.

The women’s strawweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 211 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Punches and kicks were traded frequently at the beginning of the first round. Dern offered punches upstairs while Yan mixed up her attack with kicks to the legs. Midway through the round, Dern got in on a single leg against the fence, but Yan displayed solid takedown defense to keep the fight standing. While the second Dern takedown attempt was also stopped, the third saw the fighters go to the ground. However, Yan reversed and ended up on top, and landed a few punches before the round ended.

After a few striking exchanges to start the second, Dern sold out for Yan’s legs, and scooted across the mat until she was able to bring her down to attack submissions. A slick transition from the BJJ ace saw Dern lock in an omoplata, which transitioned to an arm triangle. Yan was able to escape both attempts, but Dern ended up in full mount, where she began raining down punches.

Yan landed solid strikes to begin the third, but her momentum was halted when Dern locked up an arm and pulled her down into guard. They returned to their feet a seconds later, and continued trading hard strikes. A hard left hand wobbled Dern, but Yan was unable to capitalize on the moment. Yan continued to land sharply from distance, but Dern was able to complete a takedown in the closing seconds of the round.

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A Dern single-leg attempt was turned away by Yan early in the fourth. Working behind a sharp left jab, Yan kept Dern at distance, and unloaded combinations when she tried to close the range. The kicks from Yan resurfaced as well. Dern was able to pull guard from a takedown attempt, and although she was able to get an armbar attempt in, there was not enough time on the clock.

Dern came out aggressive and got Yan to the mat just 30 seconds into the round. Armbar threats mixed with punches from full mount put Yan in a world of trouble with a lot of time on the clock. Yan gave up her back, but Dern continued to hunt for submissions while landing punches. Dern went for an armbar, but Yan escaped and the fighters traded punches on the ground until the horn.

Two of the judges saw the fight in Yan’s favor, while another saw the bout as a draw.

Yan gets back in the win column, putting an end to a two-fight skid. The No. 9 ranked strawweight in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie strawweight rankings entered on the heels of a pair of setbacks against Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez. Prior to her skid, however, Yan won her first six appearances under the UFC banner.

Dern entered on the heels of a split decision win over Tecia Torres at UFC 273 in April. Trading wins and losses over her last four outings, a loss to Marina Rodriguez stopped Dern’s four-fight win streak that included three first-round submission wins.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 211 include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.

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Twitter reacts to Yan Xioanan’s win over Mackenzie Dern at UFC Fight Night 211

Check out what the MMA community had to say about Yan Xioanan’s UFC Fight Night 211 win over Mackenzie Dern.

UFC Fight Night 211 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Yan Xioanan[/autotag] solidified top contender status when she defeated [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] by majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47).

As is the case with every UFC main event, the MMA community had plenty to say about it on Twitter. Everyone has an opinion. Check out below what MMA Twitter had to say about Xioanan’s win.

UFC Fight Night 211 discussion thread

UFC Fight Night 211 takes place Saturday in Las Vegas, and you can discuss the event here.

UFC Fight Night 211 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It kicks off at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

Be sure to follow along with the latest card updates in our UFC Fight Night 211 live results post, and then discuss the event in the comments section below.

Round-by-round updates and official results begin at approximately 4 p.m. ET for the preliminary card and 7 p.m. ET for the main card.

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MMA’s worst-kept secret confirmed: Mark Zuckerberg at UFC Fight Night 211

The media was shut out from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The media was shut out from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Earlier in the week, credentialed media members were able to attend Wednesday’s media day for the event, as well as Friday’s official weigh-ins and faceoffs. But it already had been announced by the UFC that they wouldn’t be allowed to cover the fights themselves.

The hot rumor was that Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be in attendance – and for that reason, the only media there would be in the form of the UFC’s broadcast partner, ESPN, which aired the fights on ESPN+.

Even headliner Mackenzie Dern said as much during her media day interview. “I know Mark Zuckerberg rented out the whole event,” Dern said.

The way she put it caused UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] to go into defensive mode and he tweeted that Zuckerberg “did NOT rent out the UFC Apex. That’s total bullsh*t.”

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Saturday in Las Vegas, though, few were surprised to see Zuckerberg sitting cageside in the background during the fights.

The UFC even reposted an Instagram post from Zuckerberg in which he thanked White for inviting him to the fights. With him in the picture, along with his wife, was Melinda Davenport, an internal communications director for Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and several other brands.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjMKW4hLypl/

Zuckerberg’s presence called into question whether or not White was untruthful. And in a technical sense, he wasn’t, so far as anyone knows. If Zuckerberg was there by invitation, then Dern’s claim that he rented the venue out was inaccurate. White merely said he didn’t rent it out – not that he wouldn’t be there.

But his appearance leads to bigger questions, such as why he was there for this particular event, and why him being there necessitated the rare and arguably troublesome decision to shut out the media from attendance.

Zuckerberg is one of the richest people in the world with a net worth in the neighborhood of $50 billion.

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UFC Fight Night 211 video: 10-to-1 favorite Sodiq Yusuff wins in 30 seconds, calls out ‘The Korean Zombie’

The oddsmakers heavily favored Sodiq Yusuff and Saturday he showed why.

UFC featherweight contender [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] looked every bit of a 10-to-1 favorite Saturday when he defeated promotional newcomer [autotag]Don Shainis[/autotag] in 30 seconds.

The second main card bout at UFC Fight Night 211 in Las Vegas, Yusuff (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) utilized his clinch early on the charging Shainis (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Unable to escape Yusuff’s clutches, Shainis ate a variety of knees. Shainis shot for a takedown and Yusuff snatched his neck. With a tight grip, Yusuff pulled for a guillotine choke – and got the tap.

After the win, Yusuff called for a fight against “The Korean Zombie” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who has not competed since an April title fight loss to Alexander Volkanovski.

Yusuff, 29, extends his winning streak to two. His only UFC loss to date came against Arnold Allen in April 2021. Meanwhile, Shainis, who took the fight on short notice, has a five-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 211 include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.

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