Waldo Cortes-Acosta calls for Mohammed Usman after UFC Fight Night 215, fight outside Apex

Waldo Cortes-Acosta has a couple of requests for the UFC.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] has a few requests for the UFC.

The UFC heavyweight has a couple of things in mind following his second win inside the octagon. Cortes-Acosta (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) defeated Chase Sherman (16-11 MMA, 4-10 UFC) by unanimous decision in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 215. It was his second fight in just 21 days after he made his debut for the promotion last month at UFC Fight Night 213.

Cortes-Acosta has an opponent in mind for his return, and that’s Kamaru Usman’s brother, Mohammed.

‘I’ve said it. I want [autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag],” Cortes-Acosta told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I want him. I want him. I don’t know what’s happening, but I want him.”

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But Cortes-Acosta’s requests don’t stop there. Having fought twice at the UFC Apex, the unbeaten heavyweight would like to experience fighting with a crowd, and he sees fitting the last pay-per-view of 2022 – UFC 282 on Dec. 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“I’m anxious to see the people going crazy, chanting ‘Salsita Boy’ and going crazy,” Cortes-Acosta said. “I want to see that. I want to feel that motivation from people whenever they’re chanting my name.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Lowest payout in program history

UFC Fight Night 215 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 215 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $80,000.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 215 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chase Sherman[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Natividad[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tereza Bleda[/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 and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts. 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: $7,634,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,812,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 post-event facts: Jack Della Maddalena makes waves with third-straight KO

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 215, which featured a number of notable feats.

The UFC closed its November schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 215, a decision-heavy event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

One fighter who didn’t need the judges, however, was [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who made the most of his makeshift main event opportunity with a second-round TKO of [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight clash.

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 215.

UFC Fight Night 215 bonuses: Jack Della Maddalena’s first-round blitz among four POTN winners

Check out who took home an extra $50,000 at UFC Fight Night 215.

The UFC handed out Performance of the Night bonuses after Saturday’s card, including the winners of the first and final bouts of the event.

After UFC Fight Night 215, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

Derrick Lewis medically cleared after stomach issues scratched UFC Fight Night 215 headliner

Derrick Lewis has been deemed as having a clean bill of health after he was pulled from the UFC Fight Night 215 main event.

[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] has been deemed as having a clean bill of health after he was pulled from the UFC Fight Night 215 main event.

In the midst of Saturday’s card, UFC officials announced Lewis (26-10 MMA, 17-8 UFC) came down with an illness that would prevent him from stepping into the octagon with Serghei Spivac (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) for their scheduled showdown at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The details around Lewis’ health were unknown immediately after the announcement, but Dr. Jeff Davidson, who works with the UFC, told MMA Junkie after the event that “The Black Beast” had been hospitalized with a stomach issue.

Dr. Davidson said Lewis was subsequently cleared of the issues and has been released from the hospital.

It’s unknown at this time what the promotion’s plans are for Lewis going forward, or whether the bout with Spivac will be rescheduled.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 results: Kennedy Nzechukwu throttles Ion Cutelaba in makeshift main event

Kennedy Nzechukwu won the first UFC main event of his career with an impressive finish of Ion Cutelaba at the UFC Apex.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] has won the first main event of his UFC career by finishing Ion Cutelaba.

The light heavyweight bout served as the impromptu main event of UFC Fight Night 215 at the UFC Apex, after the originally scheduled headliner Derrick Lewis was forced to withdraw due to illness. Although the bout was elevated to main event status, it remained a three-round contest, but Nzechukwu (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) only needed two to stop Cutelaba (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC).

The fight started off fast, with the light heavyweights immediately trading hard strikes. With both fighters landing flush, Cutelaba switched it up and looked for a takedown, and eventually landed in mount.

Nzechukwu worked his way back up to his feet, but was dumped back to the mat before getting back up again, where he then had to deal with a kimura threat and foot stomps until the round ended.

At the beginning of the second round, Nzechukwu came out on fire with hard strikes, putting Cutelaba in a bad spot. A beautifully-timed knee from Nzechukwu found the mark as Cutelaba changed levels for a takedown, sparking the finishing flurry of punches.

Picking up his fifth win under the UFC banner, Nzechukwu, 30, makes it back-to-back finishes. In July, he finished Karl Roberson in the third round via TKO. Only one of his UFC wins have reached the judges’ scorecards.

Cutelaba, 28, sees his current skid continue, dropping three straight. His last victory came by unanimous decision over Devin Clark last September.

Full results of UFC Fight Night 215 include:

  • Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Ion Cutelaba via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:02
  • Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Chase Sherman via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Muslim Salikhov def. Andre Fialho via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:03
  • Jack Della Maddalena def. Danny Roberts via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:24
  • Charles Johnson def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Jennifer Maia def. Maryna Moroz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Miles Johns def. Vince Morales unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Ricky Turcios def. Kevin Natividad split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Vanessa Demopoulos def. Maria Oliveira unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Brady Hiestand def. Fernie Garcia unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Natalia Silva def. Tereza Bleda via TKO (spinning back kick) – Round 3, 1:27

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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Twitter reacts to Kennedy Nzechukwu’s comeback TKO of Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 215

See the top Twitter reactions to Kennedy Nzechukwu’s comeback TKO of Ion Cutelaba in the UFC Fight Night 215 main event.

[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] wasn’t supposed to headline UFC Fight Night 215, but when Derrick Lewis pulled out of the event on fight day, he made the most of his makeshift opportunity against [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag].

After a rough start to the light heavyweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nzechukwu (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) stormed back in the second round to hurt and earned the TKO of Cutelaba (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC).

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Nzechukwu’s victory over Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 215 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie wass on scene and reported from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 215 event, and you can join us for live play-by-play and official results.

UFC Fight Night 215 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Former title challenger Derrick Lewis (26-10 MMA, 17-8 UFC) and Serghei Spivac (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) were supposed to meet in the heavyweight main event. However, the bout was canceled mid-card after Lewis fell ill.

Ion Cutelaba (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC) took on Kennedy Nzechukwu (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in the new light heavyweight main event.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC Fight Night 215 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway) on Twitter.

UFC Fight Night 215 discussion thread

UFC Fight Night 215 takes place Saturday in Las Vegas, and you can discuss the event here.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reported from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 215 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. You can discuss the card here.

Be sure to follow along with the card updates in our UFC Fight Night 215 results post, and then discuss the event in the comments section below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 video: Muslim Salikhov finishes Andre Fialho with spinning back kick, punches

What a way for Muslim Salikhov to get back on track at UFC Fight Night 215.

What a way for [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] to get back on track.

Salikhov defeated [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag] with a spinning back kick and punches on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 215 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The finish came 1:03 into the third round of their welterweight bout.

Salikhov (19-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) got the finish after a huge second round in which he took over the fight, as evidenced by all three judges scoring it 10-8 in his favor. When they came out in the third round, Salikhov teed off on a broken-down Fialho (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) until the finishing sequence, which you can watch in the video below:

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Salikhov, 38, now has won six of his past seven bouts. Fialho became the first UFC fighter to compete five times this year since his promotional debut in January. He went 2-3.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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