Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from February 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from February 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for February.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
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Yair Rodriguez reacts to his submission loss to Brian Ortega at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237.
[autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] is staying positive despite suffering a loss on home soil.
The former UFC interim featherweight champion posted on Instagram on Sunday to react to his loss to Brian Ortega. Rodriguez (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was submitted by Ortega (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in the third round of their co-main event at UFC Fight Night 237 in Mexico City.
“Things didn’t go our favor yesterday,” Rodriguez wrote on Instagram in Spanish. “I can only thank God that I was able to leave without any serious injuries or wounds. Thank you to all my team for standing by me despite all the ups and downs and all of you guys who always support me win or lose a fight. I leave with that and all the love and support that the Mexican public always gives me every time I fight here. I’m still strong and moving forward. I can’t say much right now, the only thing that’s left, is to accept what’s going to come and keep fighting for a better future. Thank you, Mexico. I love you all.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3yPljbJNWZ/
This was the second time Rodriguez and Ortega fought. In July 2022, Rodriguez won by TKO due to an Ortega injury. Rodriguez had been going back and forth with current UFC champion Ilia Topuria in interviews, and many thought a title fight for Rodriguez could’ve been on the table with a win.
Rodriguez is currently on a two-fight skid. Prior to the Ortega rematch, he lost to Alexander Volkanovski in a title unification bout.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.
Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 237, including the paths of Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 237 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 237, which saw Yair Rodriguez hit the first losing skid of his career.
The UFC’s final event of February took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 237 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico.
A flyweight contender re-emerged in the main event, when replacement headliner [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) exacted revenge on former UFC champ [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) with a split decision victory in their rematch from November 2020.
For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 237.
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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:
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[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.
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.
WELCOME BACK BRIAN ORTEGA 🤯@BrianTCity submits Rodriguez for a HUGE victory at #UFCMexico pic.twitter.com/fn2yVkU5V8
— UFC (@ufc) February 25, 2024
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.
The MMA community reacted to Brian Ortega’s thrilling submission of Yair Rodriguez in their UFC Fight Night 237 rematch.
[autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] put himself back in the title discussion on Saturday when he avenged his loss to [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] in their UFC Fight Night 237 rematch.
After their first fight in July 2022 ended with Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) suffering an arm injury in the first round, Rodriguez (15-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) could not repeat the result. Ortega got his hand raised by third-round submission in the featherweight co-headliner, which took place at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Ortega’s victory over Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 237.
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Check out the final staredown between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega ahead of their co-main event bout at UFC Fight Night 237.
MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] had their final staredown ahead of their co-main event bout at UFC Fight Night 237.
As expected, the two featherweight contenders kept respectful during their faceoff. Rodriguez (18-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) and Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) are set to clash in a five-round co-main event, which takes place Saturday at Mexico City Arena (ESPN+).
Rodriguez and Ortega fought back in 2022. The bout ended in a TKO win due to injury for Rodriguez, as Ortega injured his shoulder in a grappling exchange. This is Ortega’s first fight since the injury.
Check out the video above to see the staredown between Rodriguez and Ortega from the UFC ceremonial weigh-Ins.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.
The co-main event of UFC Fight Night 237 is official after both Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega made the featherweight limit.
MEXICO CITY – The co-main event of UFC Fight Night 237 is official after [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] came in at the limit of their featherweight bout.
Ahead of the UFC’s return to Mexico, which takes place Saturday at Mexico City Arena and streams on ESPN+, both Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) vs. and Rodriguez (18-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) came in at 146 pounds, making their five-round co-main event bout official.
The two fought back in 2022. The bout ended in a TKO win due to injury for Rodriguez, as Ortega injured his shoulder in a grappling exchange. This is Ortega’s first fight since the injury.
Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.
Just the mention of UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is enough to cause Yair Rodriguez to spew expletives.
MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] has typically been one of the most respectful fighters in the UFC, but there is one man on the roster who fills him with rage.
Rodriguez (18-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has his hands filled with a rematch against Brian Ortega in the co-feature of UFC Fight Night 237, but when asked about the current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, Rodriguez began spewing expletives into the microphone.
“I would love to f*ck him up,” Rodriguez told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I don’t want to fight him, I want to f*ck him up. There’s a f*cking big difference on that, just to make that clear. And anywhere I f*cking see him, I’ll f*ck him up.
“… F*ck this b*tch. I don’t f*cking like him.”
Topuria and Rodriguez have taken shots at each other in interviews and social media posts over recent months, which has caused tensions to boil over. As it stands today, Rodriguez doesn’t believe he would be able to control himself if he was in the same room with Topuria.
“I don’t normally get into this kind of situation with nobody, I’m really respectful,” Rodriguez said. “But this f*cking guy, you know, I just don’t really like him. I don’t like him. I don’t have to f*cking like him. I want to f*ck him up. That’s what I want to do.”
“El Pantera” may have the opportunity to settle his differences with “El Matador” inside the octagon, but first he has to get past Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) again in what he believes is a title eliminator fight.
The pair first met in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 in July 2022. The bout ended abruptly during a grappling exchange in the first round after Ortega suffered a shoulder injury.
Contrary to how he feels about Topuria, Rodriguez admits he never wanted to fight his friend Ortega the first time around and isn’t exactly thrilled to do so for a second time. However, sometimes in the fight game, friends must fight to reach the top of the division, and that’s the position that Rodriguez finds himself in again.
“It’s always weird. I never wanted to fight the guy,” Rodriguez said. “This time is no different. I like his family, I like him. He’s Mexican, so it’s not the same feeling. It’s a job we have to do. Not something that I really wanted to do.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.
