UFC on ESPN+ 40 – Syndication Server

Max Griffin explains why his mother was far from happy with his UFC on ESPN+ 40 win

Max Griffin chats to MMA Junkie Radio to relive his gruesome TKO finish of Ramiz Brahimaj, and reveals how his own mother hated how he won.

Picking up a big win in the octagon is always a moment to celebrate for the fighter’s friends, family and teammates, but one person in that group wasn’t at all happy with Max Griffin’s TKO victory over Ramiz Brahimaj at UFC on ESPN+ 40 – his mother.

Griffin (16-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC), whose fighting moniker, rather appropriately, is “Pain,” almost tore Brahimaj’s left ear clean off his head as he connected first with a big punch, then with a nasty close-range elbow that left Brahimaj’s ear hanging off.

It meant referee Mark Smith immediately waved off the bout, with Griffin earning the TKO win. But while the Sacramento, California native was happy to snap a two-fight skid and pick up a stoppage win, Griffin revealed to MMA Junkie Radio that his mother wasn’t so impressed with the nature of her son’s win.

“Yeah, my mom was mad!” Griffin grinned. “For hurting somebody! I was like, ‘Mom! It happens!’ and she was like, ‘Well, it’s not something to be proud of. You’ve dished out the most gruesome injury in UFC history!’ They said it was worse than the Leslie Smith ear and that other guy that fought Kimbo (James Thompson), so that must be the worst ear, worst appendage injury, in MMA history, or close.”

Griffin’s mother was repulsed by the graphic scene that followed the conclusion of her son’s fight, and Griffin admitted that even he was taken aback by the sheer amount of damage he inflicted on Brahimaj’s ear. Once he realized the extent of the damage, he knew the fight was over.

“I wasn’t expecting it. I saw a little bit, (then) hit him with the elbow. (The team) were calling out for the elbow. Actually, they told me to disengage and they said to throw that elbow, and I waited to get that overhook and, wham!” he recalled. “When I looked, I saw that ear from about an inch away and was like, ‘Oh my god! It’s over!’ Then Mark Smith was there right at the same time. I knew it was over. What I’d seen, oh yeah! That fight’s over! I didn’t want to hit him again and make it any worse. I jumped on the cage (and) I had his freakin’ blood all over my face. I looked at the pictures and I had his blood in my teeth. It was crazy, bro!”

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.

MMA Junkie Radio #3103 with guest Kevin Holland, Bellator and UFC recaps, more

Check out the latest edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” right here.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will be live on SportsCastr beginning at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

On Episode 3,103, the guys talk to special guest [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag], a UFC middleweight coming off a win over Charlie Ontiveros. They’ll also look back at the most recent Bellator and UFC events.

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Thiago Santos breaks down UFC on ESPN+ 40 upset loss to Teixeira: ‘I wasn’t there’

Former title challenger Thiago Santos made a long-awaited return at UFC on ESPN+ 40 on Saturday and left disappointed.

[autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] didn’t make an appearance at the UFC on ESPN+ 40 post-fight news conference.

Moments earlier, Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) tapped to a third-round rear-naked choke against fellow Brazilian Glover Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in the main event. It was Santos’ long-awaited return after surgeries on both knees.

A win would have kept him in the light heavyweight title picture less than two years after he suffered a close decision loss to former champion Jon Jones in a fight many thought he had done enough to win to become champion. Instead, the upset loss gave Santos two straight setbacks and put him back in the pack for title contention.

Sunday, Santos posted his first public comments on the loss on his Instagram account and said, essentially, the game plan never came together.

“I’m so disappointed by myself,” Santos posted. “I didn’t anything what I have trained, I wasn’t there. I just wanna say sorry to my coaches, my family and everyone who support me. thank you God for everything in my life, I am so blessed, nothing can change my faith.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHWB0WhpVvR

Santos was more than a 2-1 favorite against Teixeira, who almost inexplicably is on one of the best runs of his UFC career despite being north of 40. Teixeira has five straight wins and is very much in the discussion to get the first crack at new light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz for the title.

Callout Collection: Who UFC on ESPN+ 40 winners want next – and how likely they’ll get them

Max Griffin and Darren Elkins were among those who name-dropped their preferred next opponents at UFC on ESPN+ 40 in Las Vegas.

Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.

So after Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 40 event in Las Vegas, who took advantage of their time on the mic?

See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.

Glover Teixeira shared a surprisingly sweet moment with his opponent at UFC on ESPN+ 40

These two UFC fighters had a sweet exchange after Teixeira defeated Santos.

Glover Teixeira continues to do the unexpected.

The light heavyweight fighter, who is 41 years old, defeated former title challenger Thiago Santos (21-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) in an upset at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas during UFC on ESPN+ 40. It was a huge moment for Teixeira (32-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC), who is now arguably deserving of a title fight against Jan Blachowicz.

But rather than Teixeira jumping to celebrate, he pushed aside the referees and the medical staffers, and he went to hug Santos. For a few moments after the fight, they spoke to one another and embraced, a rare moment of sweet sportsmanship in a sport that can be overly brutish.

Here’s a look at their interaction after the find came to an end.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER!

🇧🇷 @GloverTeixeira gets the finish in RD 3️⃣. #UFCVegas13 pic.twitter.com/gyFuea8T4N

— UFC (@ufc) November 8, 2020

It’s nice to see fighters show some love for each other after a few rounds in the octagon where they beat each other, literally, into submission. The moment was a small dose of humanity from Teixeira, who is a fun underdog story in MMA.

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Yan Xiaonan says she’s ‘one shot away’ from potential all-China title fight after UFC on ESPN+ 40

Take a look inside Yan Xiaonan’s unanimous decision win over Claudia Gadelha at UFC on ESPN+ 40 in Las Vegas.

[jwplayer AW6RVqFy-FLu19iir]

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] defeated Claudia Gadelha via unanimous decision Saturday to open up the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 40 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Xiaonan, who claimed her sixth straight UFC win to move one step closer to title contention in the strawweight division.

UFC on ESPN+ 40 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $36.5 million

UFC on ESPN+ 40 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 40 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $146,500.

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 on ESPN+ 40 took place at UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN+ 40 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]: $15,000
def. [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag]: $15,000

[autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $20,000
def. [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Khalid Taha[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamey Simmons[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Bevon Lewis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag]: $20,000
def. [autotag]Eduardo Garagorri[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Gustavo Lopez[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Anthony Birchak[/autotag]: $4,000

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:

“UFC on ESPN+ 40: Santos vs. Teixeira” – $146,500
“UFC on ESPN+ 39: Hall vs. Silva” – $145,000
“UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje” – $215,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 38: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie” – $120,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 37: Moraes vs. Sandhagen” – $129,000
“UFC on ESPN 16: Holm vs. Aldana” – $118,000
“UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa” – $225,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 36: Covington vs. Woodley” – $169,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 35: Waterson vs. Hill” – $137,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 34: Overeem vs. Sakai” – $82,500
“UFC on ESPN+ 33: Smith vs. Rakic” – $158,000
“UFC on ESPN 15: Munhoz vs. Edgar” – $88,000
“UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3” – $201,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 32: Lewis vs. Oleinik” – $162,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 31: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan” – $103,500
“UFC on ESPN 14: Whittaker vs. Till” – $209,500
“UFC on ESPN+ 30: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2” – $165,000
“UFC on ESPN 13: Kattar vs. Ige” – $97,000
“UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal” – $305,500
“UFC on ESPN 11: Blaydes vs. Volkov” – $178,500
“UFC on ESPN 10: Eye vs. Calvillo” – $95,000
“UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer” – $266,000
“UFC on ESPN 9: Woodley vs. Burns” – $114,500
“UFC on ESPN 8: Overeem vs. Harris” – $184,500
“UFC on ESPN+ 29: Smith vs. Teixeira” – $166,000
“UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje” – $305,500
“UFC on ESPN+ 28: Lee vs. Oliveira” – $209,500
“UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero” – $257,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 27: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo” – $119,500
“UFC on ESPN+ 26: Felder vs. Hooker” – $130,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 25: Anderson vs. Blachowicz 2” – $186,500
“UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes” – $243,000
“UFC on ESPN+ 24: Blaydes vs. Dos Santos” – $169,000
“UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy” – $165,000

Year-to-date total: $5,550,500
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $36,555,000

Tag: UFC on ESPN+ 40