Tag: Virna Jandiroba

UFC on ESPN 54 winner Virna Jandiroba hopes to receive ‘a little goodwill’ from matchmakers with next fight

On the best run of her career, No. 5-ranked Virna Jandiroba is ready for top competition ahead of her and hopes the UFC obliges her wish.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – How good does [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] feel about herself right about now? So good that she sung part of an answer to a question in English.

Jandiroba, who entered No. 5 in the official UFC strawweight rankings, was victorious Saturday at UFC on ESPN 54 as she defeated No. 10 contender Loopy Godinez by unanimous decision at Boardwalk Hall. The result halted Godinez’s winning streak at four while pushing Jandiroba’s own streak to three.

Given Jandiroba’s victories have come against some of the division’s stiffest competition in Angela Hill, Marina Rodriguez and now Godinez, it’s not far-fetched to believe the 35-year-old Brazilian is on the best run of her nearly 11-year career.

“I feel good,” Jandiroba said, singing in English. “I feel so good. I’m not here by accident. I’m here because I am hardworking. I’ve trained (for) years. I deserve this. I’m so happy for my performance.”

A former Invicta FC champion at 115 pounds, Jandiroba (20-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) could be one win away from a UFC title shot – and she knows this. That’s why she hopes the promotion will oblige her one wish coming out of this win.

“I think all I’m missing right now is a little goodwill from the UFC,” Jandiroba said in Portuguese through an interpreter. “Just let me fight fighters above me. Because I’m ready. I’m ready to face any of the girls that are above me. If they let me, I know I’m gonna do well.”

That means Jandiroba has former champ Jessica Andrade, Amanda Lemos, Tatiana Suarez, Yan Xiaonan, and champ Zhang Weili on her wish list of opponents. Jandiroba said that while she would’ve loved to compete at UFC 301 on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro, she knows there’s no matchup that could come together on such short notice that makes sense for her.

And so, Jandiroba plans to wait, hoping to receive some of that “goodwill” from the UFC.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

UFC on ESPN 54 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $24.5 million

UFC on ESPN 54 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 54 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $173,000.

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 on ESPN 54 took place at Boardwalk Hall. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 54 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Kyle Nelson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rhys McKee[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jamall Emmers[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Herbert Burns[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Dennis Buzukja[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Connor Matthews[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ibo Aslan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caolan Loughran[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Angel Pacheco[/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 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,540; 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 $54,000 while title challengers get $54,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-54 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,842,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,579,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

UFC on ESPN 54 play-by-play, live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC on ESPN 54 in Atlantic City.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – UFC on ESPN 54 took place Saturday, and MMA Junkie live play-by-play and official results. UFC on ESPN 54 (ESPN/ESPN+) took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

In the main event, Erin Blanchfield (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) took on Manon Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in a likely women’s flyweight title eliminator. Joaquin Buckley (18-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) took on Vicente Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) in the welterweight co-feature, and former middleweight champion Chris Weidman (16-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) returned against Bruno Silva (23-11 MMA, 4-5 UFC).

Below, you can check out the results and play-by-play from UFC on ESPN 54.

UFC on ESPN 54 results: Virna Jandiroba halts Loopy Godinez’s strawweight streak

Virna Jandiroba once again played spoiler at UFC on ESPN 54, this time ending Loopy Godinez’s winning streak.

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] had all the momentum coming into UFC on ESPN 54, but [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] once again played spoiler.

Former Invicta FC champ Jandiroba (20-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) did what she does best, bringing a 15-minute fight into her style and pace against Godinez (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC). As a result, she was awarded the unanimous decision by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in the strawweight bout at Boardwalk Hall.

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The fight was heavy on grappling. In the first round, Godinez landed a few solid strikes but spent most of the frame fending off the grappling advances of her opponent. Then, in the second, Godinez spent the majority of the stanza attacked for a leg lock, but Jandiroba patiently defended to escape a tricky round to score.

With either fighter having the chance to make a big impression in the third and final round, it remained competitive. Both women landed some strikes that lacked significant power, but then tied up in a late-round grappling exchange that saw Jandiroba take the back and attack with a rear-naked choke. She couldn’t finish it, but it was the positional statement that she needed for the win.

Jandiroba’s winning streak now hits three fights and includes Godinez, Marina Rodriguez and Angela Hill. Godinez, meanwhile, suffers her first defeat at 115 pounds since April 2021 after winning her past six.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 54 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

Virna Jandiroba def. Loopy Godinez at UFC on ESPN 54: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Virna Jandiroba’s unanimous decision win over Loopy Godinez at UFC on ESPN 54.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 54 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. (Fight and venue photos by Ed Mulholland, USA Today Sports)

UFC on ESPN 54 official weigh-in results: Fighter somehow gains weight between attempts, misses mark

The UFC on ESPN 54 weigh-ins ended oddly as Julio Arce somehow gained 0.25 pounds between attempts and his team was scratching their heads.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Ahead of Saturday’s fights at Boardwalk Hall, the 28 fighters involved in UFC on ESPN 54 hit the scales at the host hotel. One missed weight.

Atop the event, which airs on ESPN/ESPN+, is a pivotal women’s flyweight main event between top contenders [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

In the co-main event, welterweight standouts [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) and [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) collide. Also on the card, former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) attempts to reenter the win column against [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

All of those fighters made weight, but one from the prelims. [autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag] missed the featherweight limit after previously missing at bantamweight in April 2022. He was given two attempts and gained 0.25 pounds between attempts.

Arce’s re-weigh was the last weigh-in of the day. A different New Jersey State Athletic Commission (NJSAC) representative than who weighed in the other 27 fighters and Arce’s first attempt, weighed in Arce the second time. This caused further frustration and disbelief from Arce’s team, who said they had weighed 146 on their own scale. Arce was fined 20 percent of his purse and the fight will continue as scheduled.

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Check out the full UFC on ESPN 54 weigh-ins results below:

MAIN CARD (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Erin Blanchfield (125) vs. Manon Fiorot (125.25)
  • Joaquin Buckley (170) vs. Vicente Luque (170)
  • Bruno Silva (186) vs. Chris Weidman (186)
  • Sedriques Dumas (185) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (185)
  • Bill Algeo (146) vs. Kyle Nelson (145)
  • Rhys McKee (170.25) vs. Chidi Njokuani (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Nate Landwehr (145.25) vs. Jamall Emmers (145)
  • Loopy Godinez (115) vs. Virna Jandiroba (115)
  • Julio Arce (147)* vs. Herbert Burns (145)
  • Dennis Buzukja (145.25) vs. Connor Matthews (145)
  • Ibo Aslan (205) vs. Anton Turkalj (205)
  • Viktoriia Dudakova (125) vs. Melissa Gatto (125)
  • Jacob Malkoun (185) vs. Andre Petroski (186)
  • Caolan Loughran (135) vs. Angel Pacheco (135)

* Arce missed featherweight limit by 1 pound; 20 percent fine

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Nov. 27-Dec 3.)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Nov. 27-Dec. 3.

Loopy Godinez vs. Virna Jandiroba joins UFC’s March 30 lineup

Loopy Godinez will look to continue her rise in UFC’s strawweight division against Virna Jandiroba in March.

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] will look to continue her momentum when she takes on a top 10 ranked strawweight.

Godinez will next face [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] at an unannounced UFC Fight Night event on March 30, which doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location.

MMA Junkie verified the matchup with a person close to the situation after Jandiroba confirmed the matchup on social media after an initial report from MMA Melotto. The person requested anonymity because the promotion hasn’t made an official announcement.

Winner of six of her past seven bouts, Godinez (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) went 4-0 in 2023, capping the year off with a split decision win over Tabatha Ricci at UFC 295. Prior to that, the 30-year-old scored a Performance of the Night submission of Elise Reed.

Brazil’s Jandiroba (19-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has also had recent success, but hasn’t matched Godinez’s activity. The former Invicta FC champion is coming off back-to-back wins over Angela Hill in May 2022, followed by a unanimous decision of Marina Rodriguez at UFC 288 this past May.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 19-25)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from June 19-25.

Virna Jandiroba injured; Tatiana Suarez to face former UFC champ Jessica Andrade in Nashville

With Virna Jandiroba out due to injury, Tatiana Suarez will now get a new opponent in former UFC champion Jessica Andrade.

[autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag] has a new opponent for the upcoming UFC event in Nashville, Tenn.

Suarez (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was originally scheduled to face Virna Jandiroba on Aug. 5. However, Jandiroba has been forced out of the bout due to a knee injury, and former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (24-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) will fill in to face Suarez. MMA Junkie confirmed the details of Jandiroba’s injury following an official announcement of the fight change by the promotion Tuesday.

The UFC Fight Night event takes place at Bridgestone Arena and is headlined by a bantamweight matchup between Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Suarez, 32, returned to action in February after nearly four years on the sideline due to injuries. At UFC Fight Night 220, she submitted Montana De La Rosa in a flyweight bout to remain undefeated. Despite the success, she relayed her plan to move back to strawweight for her next outing.

Andrade, 31, will look to halt a two-fight stoppage skid. The former strawweight champion was submitted by Erin Blanchfield in February, and then fell to Yan Xiaonan by TKO in May. Prior to the setbacks, Andrade won three straight, including a pair of stoppages of Cynthia Calvillo and Amanda Lemos.

With the change, the lineup for the UFC event on Aug. 5 includes:

  • Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Tatiana Suarez
  • Tanner Boser vs. Aleksa Camur
  • Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Ludovit Klein
  • Dustin Jacoby vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
  • Damon Jackson vs. Billy Quarantillo
  • Ion Cutelaba vs. Ovince Saint Preux
  • Jake Hadley vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
  • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Kyler Phillips
  • Asu Almabaev vs. Ode Osbourne
  • Carlston Harris vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Steve Garcia vs. Sean Woodson

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