Tag: UFC Fight Night 237

Brandon Royval aims to ‘keep spoiling parties’ against Alexandre Pantoja after UFC Mexico win

The fiesta was spoiled by Brandon Royval at UFC Mexico, and now he’s looking to do the same at UFC 301.

MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] spoiled the fiesta Saturday at Mexico City Arena, and he hopes to continue his tour of disappointing UFC attendees.

With a split decision win over former titleholder Brandon Moreno in the UFC Fight Night 237 main event, Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) thinks the logical next choice for a flyweight title challenger is himself. A May 4 rematch vs. titleholder [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is what he wants.

“I’m going to keep spoiling parties,” Royval told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “At UFC 301, I’m going to fight Pantoja, and I’m going to take his belt in his hometown. We’ll keep spoiling parties. After I win that belt, I’ll defend my belt in Denver, Colorado.”

[lawrence-related id=2718780,2718663]

Some fights fans might be sour to the idea of running back a fight that just took place in December. Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) defeated Royval at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

However, Royval would ask the naysayers to look at his improvement in the two months since then and what he was able to accomplish Saturday in hostile territory.

“You’ve seen it,” Royval said. “I’ve made adjustments in six weeks or five weeks, whatever it was. It was five weeks because I hurt my hand, and I couldn’t get back into training. I had a five-week training camp for that. In five weeks, I made a bunch of adjustments. I didn’t get held down. Brandon Moreno tried to slow me down, hold me down, slow the pace, keep me down. They ain’t going to hold me down no more, bro.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Brian Ortega reacts to bizarre ankle roll before big UFC Mexico win, plays it cool on possible title shot

Brian Ortega waited 19 months to come back only to have a final unexpected obstacle before rallying to submit Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 237.

MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] wasn’t just in pain. He was in disbelief after he rolled his ankle when he jumped and landed awkwardly while octagon announcer Bruce Buffer introduced him for the UFC Fight Night 237 co-main event.

What an unfortunate thing to happen just moments before his first fight in 19 months.

“Talk about things stacked against me,” Ortega told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Saturday night’s post-event news conference. “… I’d be lying if I said panic didn’t set in for a bit.”

The awkward moment – reminiscent of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw rupturing his Achilles before he jogged onto the field in Super Bowl LVIII – seriously concerned UFC CEO Dana White, as well.

“Saw that happen and then he looked like he saw a ghost after that, and I thought it was gonna be over quick,” White said. “And then you remember Brian Ortega, who is mentally and physically right, is a problem for anybody.”

That proved to be true on this night at Mexico City Arena, where Ortega weathered an early storm against Yair Rodriguez before rallying in the second round and then winning by arm-triangle choke submission 58 seconds into the third.

“Obviously I started just off right off the bat, and I got clipped, and then I paid the price for not being in the zone and focused on what I was supposed to do,” Ortega said. “I survived it. I think I ended up somehow taking him down at the end of that first and then we walked back, and adrenaline kicked in. It was like, ‘All right, let’s go.'”

Indeed, Ortega snatched the momentum at the end of the second round, which carried over into the third and led to his first submission since 2017.

Prior to UFC Fight Night 237, Ortega spoke about experiencing a “rebirth” as a person during his long layoff. He said afterward that he felt like a new fighter in the cage, too.

“Absolutely, 100 percent,” Ortega said. “The rebirth is basically a human having to come face to face with themselves in the mirror and really change all the bad things about you that, in the long run, will break you. My family knows all the things that I went through, and it was hard. My dad used to say that the eagle was his favorite animal and explained this process to me, and I didn’t really care about it. Then when I went through what I went through, that’s when I understood to be a better father, husband, family man, a fighter, I mean you name it, I had to go to war with myself. And it changed a lot of things about me that I didn’t want to, but I did.”

Even with the extensive period of inactivity, Ortega (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) entered UFC Fight Night 237 ranked No. 4 in the official UFC featherweight rankings. The win over No. 3 Rodriguez (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) positions him well for a potential title shot against new champion Ilia Topuria, who claimed the belt last week with a knockout of longtime champ Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.

Ortega, however, wouldn’t stake his claim and showed some respect for Volkanovski, whom he lost to in September 2021. But if the opportunity presents itself for a second title shot, he’s not turning it down.

“There’s some questions out there, but obviously Volk was a great champ,” Ortega said. “For people to kick him down right now, I find it kind of disrespectful after everything he’s done. Some things have to play themselves out, and we’ll see. But if he decides that he does not want to fight and chill, I’m more than happy to go to Spain.”

[lawrence-related id=2718780,2718431,2717776]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

UFC Fight Night 237 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Headliners get combined $17,000

UFC Fight Night 237 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

MEXICO CITY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $135,500.

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 237 took place at Mexico City Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 237 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Fransisco Prado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Yazmin Jauregui[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jesus Aguilar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mateus Mendonca[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Edgar Chairez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Lacerda[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ronaldo Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Erik Silva[/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 2371 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: $1,228,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,935,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC Fight Night 237

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237 event in Mexico City.

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 237 went with as their backing tracks in Mexico City (fighters listed alphabetically).

Dana White: UFC Mexico crowd fight ‘one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen’; not a bad look for UFC

Dana White has “never seen any sh*t” like the multi-person crowd fight on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 237 in Mexico City.

MEXICO CITY – UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] was captivated by the wild crowd fight that took place Saturday at UFC Fight Night 237.

During the main card of the event at Mexico City Arena, footage came out of a multi-person altercation going on in the audience. It was so noticeable one of the athletes on the card requested the fans calm down during his post-fight interview, and White saw it, as well.

White was asked about the situation during the UFC Fight Night 237 post-fight press conference, and whether he thought it gives off a bad impression of the UFC. He shut down that notion, but was animated in the description of his perspective.

“The fight in the crowd doesn’t look good for the UFC? That never happens. That literally never happens,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “It happened here in Mexico City. The crazy thing about that fight, when that fight broke out, it felt like it kept going forever. So I ran over there and was watching it. Nobody stopped it. I was waiting for security to come in. They just let them go until it was over.

“That was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. I don’t think it’s a bad look for the UFC. It happened and that was the end of that. I think after everybody saw the end of that sh*t, nobody else wanted to try that again. No security. The fight just went on until it was over. I’ve never seen any sh*t like that in my life.”

Although White is false when he says crowd fights never happen at UFC events, he’s correct in that big ones like Saturday are not commonplace.

White did not reveal if he knew of any medical or legal fallouts from those who were involved.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

UFC Fight Night 237 bonuses: Brian Ortega’s comeback upset nets extra $50,000

After UFC Fight Night 237, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Mexico City.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a two-time title challenger.

After UFC Fight Night 237, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Mexico City. Check out the winners below.

UFC Fight Night 237 results: Brandon Royval upsets Brandon Moreno in Mexico

The winner of the UFC Fight Night 237 main event was Brandon, but not the one the Mexico City crowd in attendance hoped for.

The winner of the UFC Fight Night 237 main event was Brandon, but not the one the Mexico City crowd in attendance hoped for.

Saturday at Mexico City Arena, [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated former flyweight champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC) by split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47).

The five-round non-title affair was filled with high-volume exchanges, despite the elevation. Royval overcame a bothersome left knee, which his Factory X corner iced between rounds, to defeat Moreno with his aggression and boxing.

Moreno was strong early, but as the fight progressed, Royval’s rate of success increased. The fight was razor-close going into the fifth round. Both corners indicated to their fighters the urgency of the moment.

The final minute of the bout was thrilling as the two flyweights wildly chucked fists at each other in a last-ditch effort to make their final impressions of three cage-side judges.

While the “Brandon” that rolled off Bruce Buffer’s tongue caused some confusion, the “Royval” sealed the deal.

The first meeting between the two took place in November 2020 and ended in unfortunate fashion when Royval injured his shoulder, which caused a stoppage with one second left in the first round. The win propelled Moreno to a title tetralogy against Deiveson Figueiredo. Upon his return, Royval went 3-1 en route a title challenge against Alexandre Pantoja, which he lost by unanimous decision in December.

It’s unclear if Royval will be next for Pantoja. UFC CEO Dana White would not commit to who the next flyweight contender is during his post-fight news conference.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 237 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

UFC Fight Night 237 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 237 in Mexico City.

MEXICO CITY – UFC Fight Night 237 took place Saturday, and you can see live play-by-play and official results from Mexico City Arena right here.

Former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (21-7-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) and recent title challenger Brandon Royval (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) met in the main event rematch. And former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez (18-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) rematched two-time title challenger Brian Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the co-feature.

Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results. You also can get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) on X.

Social media reacts to Brandon Royval’s upset of Brandon Moreno in UFC Fight Night 237 rematch

The MMA community reacted to Brandon Royval’s upset of former champ Brandon Moreno in their UFC Fight Night 237 rematch.

[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] avenged one of the key losses of his career against [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 237 – and did it in enemy territory.

Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) went into a hostile situation at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City and upset former two-time flyweight champion Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) by split decision, getting one back after he suffered a first-round TKO loss in their first meeting back in November 2020.

With the win, Royval could potentially get another title shot against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in May.

Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Royval’s victory over Moreno at UFC Fight Night 237.

* * * *

UFC Fight Night 237 results: Brian Ortega rolls ankle during introduction, rallies to tap Yair Rodriguez anyway

Brian Ortega’s first attempt vs. Yair Rodriguez ended in injury and a loss. The second attempt started with an injury and ended with a win.

[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag]’s first attempt vs. [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] ended in an injury and a loss. The second attempt started with an injury and ended in victory.

In a rollercoaster 15-minute stretch, Ortega (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) overcame an ankle injury and an onslaught of striking to defeat Rodriguez (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) by arm-triangle choke at the 0:58 mark of Round 3.

Ortega was tagged numerous times in the opening frame by Rodriguez, as the MMA world watched and wondered what went wrong with his leg during Bruce Buffer’s introduction. Ortega appeared to tweak something, and briefly hopped around around on one leg, but later revealed he twisted his ankle.

Impaired or not, Ortega controlled position in Round 2 before the submission came in Round 3. He ended Round 2 in mount and drowned Rodriguez more in Round 3. Ortega locked in the choke, got the tap, and picked up his first win since October 2020.

The release of the submission post-tap was a bit delayed, and got the attention of referee Marc Goddard who gave an apologetic Ortega an earful upon the fight’s conclusion.

Ortega, 33, snaps a two-fight skid that consisted of losses to Alexander Volkanovski and Rodriguez, who defeated him by TKO due to shoulder injury in their first meeting in July 2022.

Rodriguez, 31, is now on a two-fight skid. His previous outing was a TKO loss to Alexander Volkanovski in a July title challenge.

The featherweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 237 co-main event at Mexico City Arena.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 237 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.