UFC on ESPN 62 – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Wang Cong confident she’d beat Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC – like she did in kickboxing

Does the UFC have a budding star on their hands with Wang Cong?

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Wang Cong[/autotag] arrived in style during UFC on ESPN 62 fight week – from her faceoff dressed as the “Joker” to her 62-second one-punch knockout of Victoria Leonardo.

Though she only holds a half-dozen fights-worth of MMA experience, Cong (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has a hefty resume of combat sports bouts. That includes a 2015 kickboxing victory over [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (23-4-1 MMA, 13-2-1 UFC).

Should they ever meet in the UFC, Cong thinks something similar will transpire.

“You guys only know I beat Shevchenko in kickboxing,” Cong told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “But you don’t know I’m a sambo world champion, a boxing world champion, and a kickboxing world champion. I think comparing Valentina Shevchenko to me is that she has more experience. But I took some time to compete in boxing. I believe my striking is better than her. … If she takes the fight, (I can beat her) any time.”

Shevchenko competes Sept. 14 in a title challenge vs. Alexa Grasso in the UFC 306 co-main event, so Cong likely has a way to go before a rematch occurs. In the meantime, Cong has faith in her past opponent.

“I believe she can take the fight to (Grasso) again,” Cong said. “Because we competed in kickboxing, I know how good she is, and I believe in her (to win at UFC 306).”

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Following her victory Saturday, she called for a fight vs. Casey O’Neill as her next potential outing. O’Neill (10-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) defeated Luana Santos at UFC 305 on Aug. 17, but was handed a 180-day medical suspension by the Western Australia Combat Sports Commission. The extent of the injury or whether or not it was precautionary is not yet known.

But for Cong, the callout was more about where (in the rankings) and not who.

“I just looked at the rankings board and think it’s a good fight,” Cong said. “I just want to jump in the rankings and get my title shot.”

Regardless of who or when or where is next for her, Cong radiates confidence, as she without hesitation called herself the best female flyweight boxer in the UFC.

“I didn’t take a close look for the whole division,” Cong said. “But myself, I’m very confident because I don’t care about others. I believe I’m the best.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

After dyslexia challenges during youth, ‘TUF 32’ winner Ryan Loder spreads message of hard work

Long before he won “TUF 32” at UFC Vegas 96, Ryan Loder was a kid who struggled significantly at school – until he found success in sports.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ryan Loder [/autotag]had a dream come true Saturday when he smashed Robert Valentin in a crucifix to become “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 32 middleweight winner.

“Dream come true,” Loder told MMA Junkie and other reporters after his second-round TKO finish at UFC on ESPN 62. “Since beginning of starting to fight, this was the goal. Now, I’m in the show and that’s what it’s about.

It was a long journey through sports and wrestling for Loder (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), though a relatively short one to this point in MMA. Loder turned professional in October 2021, less than three years ago.

Throughout the “TUF 32” series, Loder’s battles outside of the cage or off the mat were highlighted. Growing up with dyslexia was challenging, but sports became a way to live comfortably.

“There’s a part (of the series) where a lot of people did reach out to me, saying there’s a part where I said I’m not smart enough,” Loder said. “I definitely felt that way when I was younger. It was tough growing up. I had so many great people around me who boosted me up and showed me, ‘Hey, maybe you do struggle in English and writing and grammar, but you’re so much smarter in everything else.’

“The harder I work at things, the better you get out of them. I think at a young age, I always had to work harder than a lot of people, especially in school. I just carried that through sports. Sports really saved my life. School was tough, but I really excelled in sports. So I can understand a lot more in that. It helped me. One, I had a lot of great people. Two, the struggles in the beginning made me better now.”

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Loder, 33, declined to make any requests for what he wants his next bout to be. He said his career path is in the UFC’s hands, as he works to move toward the top of the middleweight division.

“(The middleweights here) are all tough,” Loder said. “They should be here and they’re all tough. I think there is a lack of wrestlers. So that’s something where I see and I go, OK, maybe that’s my avenue and I can stay in the middleweights and take over with my wrestling. I think a lot of people are going to have to make up on lost time. There’s not a lot of D1 wrestlers coming through.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

Gerald Meerschaert downplays breaking Anderson Silva’s middleweight finishes record at UFC on ESPN 62

“It’s a cool thing to say for now and then when I’m retired it’ll be fun to tell my kids and watch them not care.”

LAS VEGAS – When you think of the UFC middleweight division, you think of Anderson Silva. Why? Because the former longtime champion was the ultimate finisher during his Hall of Fame career.

Suffice to say, any fighter who breaks one of Silva’s records, those are bragging rights of the highest order. And yet for [autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag], it’s no big deal – at least for now.

Meerschaert, a 36-year-old UFC veteran since 2016, made promotional history Saturday night as he submitted Edmen Shahbazyan in the second round at UFC on ESPN 62 in Las Vegas, surpassing Silva for most finishes in UFC middleweight history with 12.

“It’s cool to say. You know what I mean? I don’t think about it much right now. It’s just kind of one fight at a time,” Meerschaert told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after his win at the UFC Apex. “I wish I could give you more than that, because it is a cool thing. Truthfully, if I sit here and stop to give myself a little pat on the back, that’s awesome just to have my name in the same conversation or sentence as somebody like Anderson Silva or Demian Maia. That’s great, but I’ve got a lot of fight left in me. I’ve got a lot more fights to go. When I hang them up, though, that’ll be a cool thing to throw around. …

“It’s a cool thing to say for now and then when I’m retired it’ll be fun to tell my kids and watch them not care.”

Meerschaert (37-17 MMA, 12-9 UFC) had to survive nearly being finished in the second round after Shahbazyan dropped him and pounced with dozens of punches to the head, many of them blocked by his arms. It was a dangerous sequence, but Meerschaert said he kept thinking it was great for him as he expected Shahbazyan to tire himself out. Sure enough, that’s what happened, which led Meerschaert locking in an arm-triangle choke for the finish at 4:12 of Round 2.

Was the finish how Meerschaert drew it up? Absolutely not.

“I’ve had cleaner performances. But what fun is it if you don’t get punched in the face a few times, right?” Meerschaert said, before adding. “As long as I’m awake, I’ve got a chance to win. I pretty much blocked everything and just had to weather the storm a little bit, found my way out. …

“I know if I’m still awake, there’s a way for me to win. You’ve got to put me 6 feet under before I’m gonna stop fighting.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 62 winner Tabatha Ricci reveals ‘there is no secret juice’ to her success

Following her UFC Vegas 96 win, Tabatha Ricci said the secret to her success is simple – and it’s not juice of any kid.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag] keeps winning, and her success boils down to one word: discipline.

After her UFC on ESPN 62 co-main event victory, Ricci (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) explained that hard work and a healthy lifestyle, as cliche as it sounds, are what separates her from the rest of the pack.

“Discipline. There is no secret juice,” Ricci said with a laugh during a post-fight news conference with reporters, including MMA Junkie. “There is nothing. There is no secret lifestyle. Full week Sunday to Sunday is how the way you take your life. What you eat, how you sleep, who you walk with, just stay disciplined.”

Ricci defeated strawweight staple Angela Hill (17-14 MMA, 12-14 UFC) by unanimous decision at the UFC Apex as she earned three 29-28 scorecards from the judges. The win could push her into the top 10 of the UFC’s official rankings.

“It feels amazing,” Ricci said. “I worked very hard to be in the top 10. Actually, I was expecting that in my last fight against Tecia, to be up in the rankings. Unfortunately, she was out of the rankings so I didn’t get the shot. Now, fighting Angela, put me in the top 10. It proves to myself that I’m ready for the next level.”

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Ricci, 29, is now 2-0 in 2024. Though the momentum is building, Ricci isn’t eager to get back in the cage as soon as possible. The girlfriend of rising boxer (and Dana White project) Callum Walsh, Ricci is planning for the couple to take a trip overseas between fights.

“I’ve been fighting a lot,” Ricci said. “I think this year, I want to take some time for myself and enjoy my family and my friends. Actually, I want to go to Thailand in December with my muay Thai gym and take Callum (Walsh) with me. I want to train some muay Thai there, get more mastered at these strikings and stuff and then come back next year more high level mastering everything and trying to be a more well-rounded fighter.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

Caio Borralho: UFC on ESPN 62 win over Jared Cannonier ‘takes me to one of the best in the world’

Caio Borralho knows he’s capable of being “a big superstar” in the UFC, and he’d love to talk to Dana White about making that happen.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] knows he’s capable of being “a big superstar” in the UFC, and he’d love to talk to Dana White about making that happen.

“I just want a meeting with Dana. I think I deserve a meeting with Dana, you know?” Borralho told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I always see all those guys go inside his room, have a meeting with him, Hunter (Campbell), all those guys, you know? I want to be one of those guys.”

Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) just might be one of those guys coming out of UFC on ESPN 62, where he dug deep to score the biggest win of his career by out-slugging former title challenger Jared Cannonier in is first main event Saturday night at the UFC Apex.

“I’m very thankful to be in there 25 minutes with one of the best in the world,” Borralho said. “Tell me one guy that did that to Jared. There’s nobody that did that to Jared the way I did it. The durability that I had over the shots that I took, and I kept standing. I’m very proud of my performance.”

As he should be.

Borralho, the face of the emerging Fighting Nerds team in Sao Paulo, Brazil, said his studying of Cannonier paid off in a big way.

“I saw it all coming. Me and my team, we anticipated everything that he ever done,” Borralho said. “That’s why we are The Fighting Nerds. We calculate, we study, and when the test comes we take A+.”

Borralho’s toughness and fight IQ were on display over the course of 25 minutes. He almost got the finish in Round 5 after he dropped Cannonier with a stiff straight left hand. But even without it, he believes he made the statement he was looking to make.

“I think it takes me to one of the best in the world,” Borralho said. “I’m top five right now – at least, I deserve a top-five spot on Tuesday. I think I proved myself as one of the best in the division, that I can strike and not only grapple.”

He continued, “The mantra of this training camp was to show the new champ arrived, and I think I showed that a little bit. If I’m not the next one (to get a title shot), at least when there’s a conversation about who’s the next one, my name is gonna be around there. I know that.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 62 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $28 million

The UFC has now paid athletes more than $28 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay after UFC on ESPN 62.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 62 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $166,500.

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 62 took place at the UFC Apex. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 62 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ryan Loder[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Robert Valentin[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Mairon Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kaan Ofli[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Francis Marshall[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Dennis Buzukja[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Zach Reese[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jose Medina[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]James Llontop[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jacqueline Cavalcanti[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josiane Nunes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Wang Cong[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]: $4,500

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 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,620; 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 $32,000 while title challengers get $42,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-62 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

“UFC on ESPN 62: Cannonier vs. Borralho” – $166,500
“UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya” – $243,500
“UFC on ESPN 61: Tybura vs. Spivac 2” – $128,000
“UFC on ABC 7: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” – $211,000
“UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2” – $307,500
“UFC on ESPN 60: Lemos vs. Jandiroba” – $139,000
“UFC on ESPN 59: Namajunas vs. Cortez” – $180,500
“UFC 303: Pereira vs. Prochazka 2”, – $311,500
“UFC on ABC 6: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov” – $186,000
“UFC on ESPN 58: Perez vs. Taira” – $116,000
“UFC on ESPN 57: Cannonier vs. Imavov” – $186,500
“UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier” – $281,500
“UFC Fight Night 241: Barboza vs. Murphy” – $158,500
“UFC on ESPN 56: Lewis vs. Nascimento” – $186,000
“UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg” – $280,000
“UFC on ESPN 55: Nicolau vs. Perez” – $175,000
“UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill” – $460,000
“UFC Fight Night 240: Allen vs. Curtis 2” – $162,500
“UFC on ESPN 54: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot” – $173,000
“UFC on ESPN 53: Ribas vs. Namajunas” – $148,000
“UFC Fight Night 239: Tuivasa vs. Tybura” – $189,500
“UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera 2” – $359,000
“UFC Fight Night 238: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev” – $133,500
“UFC Fight Night 237: Moreno vs. Royval 2” – $135,500
“UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria” – $243,000
“UFC Fight Night 236: Hermansson vs. Pyfer” – $236,500
“UFC Fight Night 235: Dolidze vs. Imavov” – $170,500
“UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis” – $285,500
“UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” – $159,500

Year-to-date total: $5,324,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $28,061,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 62 bonuses: Gerald Meerschaert’s come-from-behind, record-breaking finish earns him $50K

To go with his name in the UFC record book, Gerald Meerschaert also fattened his wallet at UFC on ESPN 62.

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one for a submission that made some history.

After UFC on ESPN 62, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.

***

Fight of the Night: Caio Borralho vs Jared Cannonier

Caio Borralho def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 48-46)

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] put on one of the most entertaining fights of the year in the night’s headliner. Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) had to dig deep and nearly finished Cannonier (17-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in the fifth round but ultimately won a unanimous decision that should place him right in the middle of title contention at middleweight.

Performance of the Night: Michael Morales

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 24: Michael Morales of Ecuador battles Neil Magny in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 24, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Michael Morales def. Neil Magny via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 1, 4:39

[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) passed the biggest test of his career with flying colors as he scored a ground-and-pound TKO win over Neil Magny late in the first round to remain undefeated.

Performance of the Night: Gerald Meerschaert

Gerald Meerschaert def. Edmen Shahbazyan via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:12

Not only did [autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag] (37-17 MMA, 12-9 UFC) stage a Comeback of the Year candidate, he made history when rallied to submit Edmen Shahbazyan. With the result, Meerschaert passed former champion and Hall of Famer Anderson Silva for the most finishes (12) in UFC middleweight history.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 62 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 62 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 62 took place Saturday with 12 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC on ESPN 62 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 62 results: Caio Borralho digs deep for biggest career win over Jared Cannonier

To earn the biggest win of his UFC career, the nerd had to dig deep.

For all of 25 minutes, [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] battled in a nonstop slugfest in the UFC on ESPN 62 main event. And in the the end, it was The Fight Nerds’ Borralho who dug just a little bit deeper to earn a unanimous decision win by scores of 49-45, 49-45 and 48-46.

The victory over No. 5 Cannonier should vault Borralho, No. 12, toward the top of the official UFC middleweight rankings – and he made it clear that better be the case.

“Tuesday, my name better be in the top five,” Borralo, who remained undefeated in the UFC, said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.

Borralho (17-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) got off to a strong start with a calculated first round as he picked his shot wisely, but Cannonier (17-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) seemed to get his swagger going in Round 2, even at one point appearing to wobble Borralho. But in Round 3, Borralho clearly wobbled Cannonier with hard straight left in the final minute, which separated an otherwise close round. The action continued at a high pace in Round 4, with Cannonier busting open Borralho’s right eye by landing a hard combination.

There was no reason for either man to feel comfortable heading into the fifth, and it showed in their approaches, with Borralho and Cannonier still slipping and dipping and throwing counters at each other. Borralho, however, erased all doubt when he landed a right hook followed by a stiff left that dropped Cannonier to the canvas with under 2 minutes remaining. Borralho kept control by working for an arm-triangle choke for the remainder of the round, which sealed the deal.

With the hard-fought win in his back pocket, Borralho, wearing his signature thick black-framed glasses with tape in the middle, felt emboldened to declare a takeover.

“I’m the new face (of the middleweight division), even with some scratches,” Borralho said. “Everybody that sees these glasses must be afraid, because we are The Fighting Nerds. We’re coming to take over!”

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Below are complete UFC on ESPN 62 results:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 62.

UFC on ESPN 62: Best photos from Las Vegas

Check out these photos from the fights at UFC on ESPN 62 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos from the fights at UFC on ESPN 62 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Fight and venue photos courtesy of the UFC via Getty Images) (Gallery will update throughout the event.)