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Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 235, from Renato Moicano to Molly McCann to Themba Gorimbo.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 235 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Natalia Silva sees herself being UFC champion in the near future.
LAS VEGAS – For [autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag], it doesn’t matter who she fights next, as there’s only one thing she has her eyes on: The UFC championship belt.
The Brazilian women’s flyweight continued her impressive streak Saturday and improved her run to 11-0 since her most recent defeat, which dates back to 2017. Silva (18-5-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) defeated longtime UFC fighter Viviane Araujo (12-7 MMA, 6-6 UFC) with a unanimous decision on the main card of UFC Fight Night 235.
Although she was in a prime position to make a callout, Silva wanted to part in asking for a name and said she’s only focused on the title.
“I don’t know about the next opponent because all the time I’ve said I’m here to be the champion,” Silva said at the UFC Fight Night 235 post-fight press conference. “I’m working for this, and I’m here to fight whoever the UFC gives. I’ll fight and win because I have one focus on my life: I want to be the champion. I’m working all day for this, and I will be the champion soon. You can mark my words. I’m working for this.”
Although Silva has no one in mind, she does have a preference on where she wants to fight. Silva has no issue fighting at the UFC Apex, but she would like to fight in front of a crowd, especially if it’s in her home country.
“So when I’m fighting, it doesn’t matter the place because all the time I’m here in the cage in my mind I’m thinking that this is my gym,” Silva said. “In the cage or gym, I’m relaxed because every day I train in there, but I prefer to fight again with my fans watching me. I want to fight in Brazil or another event with people because the energy is so good.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.
Molly McCann reflects on her UFC strawweight debut win over Diana Belbita at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 235.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] can breathe a little more easy after a successful strawweight debut.
The fan-favorite fighter foought for the first time at 115 pounds Saturday at UFC Fight Night 235. In dominant fashion, McCann (14-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) submitted Diana Belbita (15-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) with an armbar in the first round of their bout.
It was an emotional moment for McCann, who was hoping to reinvent herself in a new weight class after off consecutive stoppage losses at 125 pounds.
“It’s just been the hardest 14 months of my life,” McCann said at the UFC Fight Night 235 post-fight press conference. “My biggest dream was to fight at MSG, and (I) got destroyed. I got co-main event at London and got destroyed.
“I had to really dig in deep to see if I really wanted it. My coach pulled me aside and asked, ‘How much do you really want to be a champion? It’s going to cost that to make this weight and to achieve at this weight.’ Every single person online doubted me. Every single person gave me hell. That’s icing on top of the cake, that performance. It’s not going to shut them up, obviously, but I couldn’t have done any better. It was mixed martial arts.”
McCann is looking to return to the cage this summer. She’s determined to be a UFC champion and wants to start climbing her way up the rankings.
“My hand is a little sore. I’ll have that X-rayed, and I’ll have a look, take a week off, go back to the gym, and then assess when it’s best for us,” McCann said. “I hear July is in Manchester, and I’d really like to have a go then. I’m not one to call anyone out. I’m a company woman who takes any fight she’s given. Let’s hope that the matchmakers are fair, stylistically. Let me work through the rankings.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.
Nassourdine Imavov put a troubling 2023 behind him with a UFC Fight Night 235 main event win and is now relevant again at middleweight.
The career trajectory of [autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] took another positive step forward Saturday when he earned his first UFC main event win against Roman Dolidze.
Imavov (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) outworked Dolidze (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to a majority decision win in the UFC Fight Night 235 middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The Frenchman now puts a winless 2023 behind him and tries to make noise at 185 pounds, but who should be his next opponent?
Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on Imavov’s future after UFC Fight Night 235.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.
UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo sees a title fight in his future this 2024.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag] plans to do what few have done in UFC history – go from unranked to champion in one calendar year.
The UFC welterweight envisions himself fighting for and winning the UFC belt this 2024 despite only having three fights in the promotion and not yet being seen as a title contender in the division.
It may be a tough buy for some, but Gorimbo (12-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who picked up a first-round KO win at UFC Fight Night 235 this past Saturday, is convinced that he’ll have a quick and unconventional path to the title.
“It’s going to happen,” Gorimbo told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 235 post-fight press conference. “What’s going to happen is that it’s going to be something like a short-notice fight with a top-10 (opponent). I’ll beat him, and then I’ll make my case. It’s not going to be a clear pathway (where) I have to fight through the rankings. I don’t have to do that. When I look at it, I have a big platform. Secondly, I have the skill and I’m a bad fight for anyone in the top 10. They might not think of it, but I am.”
Gorimbo is 2-0 since losing by submission in his UFC debut. He defeated Takashi Sato by decision last May, and knocked out Rodriguez this Saturday.
The 33-year-old made a big splash outside the octagon with his viral reaction video to movie star and WWE wrestler Dwayne Johnson gifting him a house to live in after sleeping at his gym and only having a few dollars to his name.
Gorimbo has a feeling things will work out in his favor and he’ll be fighting for the belt unexpectedly. He thinks he’ll either beat champion Leon Edwards or unbeaten title contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.
“It’s not going to be the case where I have to go top 15, top 10, top five,” Gorimbo said. “For me, I don’t wish anyone to get injured, but someone is going to get out of the fight. The UFC is going to send them a name, and the name is Themba Gorimbo, and they’ll have no choice but to accept it. And then I go in there and do my job, win, and it will be Leon or Rakhmonov. I believe those are the two guys at the top when I get there.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.
Randy Brown crossed paths with Michael Chiesa at the UFC Apex after his KO win at UFC Fight Night 235 and expects that matchup next.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag] has been eagerly awaiting his chance to break into the welterweight rankings, and he might get it after an impressive UFC Fight Night 235 win.
Brown (18-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) earned his sixth victory in his past seven fights on Saturday when he scored a blistering first-round knockout of Muslim Salikhov (19-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at the UFC Apex. His only losses in the past five years have come to Jack Della Maddalena and Vicente Luque, and now he wants another chance to join the upper tier of the weight class.
Chiesa represents that opportunity, Brown said. “The Ultimate Fighter 15” winner is No. 14 in the latest official UFC rankings, but has only fought once since November 2021. Because of that lack of activity, Brown said it’s time for Chiesa to fight or surrender his ranking.
“I just always thought we would be a good matchup for years,” Brown told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 235. “These are the guys that I’ve been watching. These are guys that when I grew up watching MMA as an amateur, that I’ve seen in ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and I’ve got a ton of respect for them. I just think you have to defend your ranking. As someone established in the rankings – or, as you say, ‘a contender’ – you can’t just rest on your laurels. This isn’t a shot to him or anything, but I just feel like he doesn’t fight as consistent as he should.
“If I’m a contender coming up and I’m looking at these guys and I’m like, ‘Who can I realistically get a matchup with?’ and the guys that aren’t fighting – you’ve got to do something to prove you belong in that spot. I feel like he’s one of the guys that don’t fight enough, so I just locked in on him.”
To Brown’s fortune, Chiesa (18-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) was working as a desk analyst at UFC Fight Night 235. They crossed paths in the backstage area after Brown’s win, and he said they respectfully discussed a future showdown.
“We’re trying to get it done,” Brown said. “He said maybe UFC 300 is a little too soon for him, but he wants to do it. If he’s a man of his word, which I think he is, hopefully the UFC can come to something or we can go to the UFC and work it out. We’ll see.”
For now, Brown, 33, will revel in the triumph of another successful night of work. He finish of Salikhov marked his first knockout win since June 2019, and Brown said it was one of the stronger representations of his best ability.
“I was prepared for a scrap,” Brown said. “But I knew if I came in and I was healthy and I could get off all the things that I trained for, that I could get the finish.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.
Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 235, which saw Randy Brown continue his run of success in the loaded welterweight division.
The UFC opened its four-event February schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 235, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) achieved his first octagon main event win to close out the card when he outworked [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to a majority decision in their matchup of ranked UFC middleweights.
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 235.
Charlie Radtke said he won’t stop talking about deserving a bonus until he gets one. He’ll have to keep waiting.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag] beat Gilbert Urbina with a first-round TKO Saturday to open up the main card at UFC Fight Night 235 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Radtke, who said he won’t stop talking about deserving a post-fight bonus until he gets one, and suggested media members should pay him for interviews.
UFC Fight Night 235 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 235 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $170,500.
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 235 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 235 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Aliaskhab Khizriev[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Azat Maksum[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Pete Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jeong Yeong Lee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Blake Bilder[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Marquel Mederos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Landon Quinones[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Thomas Petersen[/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 2351 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:
Year-to-date total: $615,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,322,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.
See what the fighters from UFC Fight Night 235 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas.
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.
See what the fighters from UFC Fight Night 235 went with as their backing tracks in Las Vegas (fighters listed alphabetically).
