Yanal Ashmouz worked construction gig during long layoff ahead of UFC Fight Night 242

Yanal Ashmouz got back in the win column after the first loss of his career, which came in July 2023.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Yanal Ashmouz[/autotag] beat Trevor Peek with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the main card at UFC Fight Night 242 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Ashmouz, who got back in the win column after the first loss of his career, which came in July 2023.

Yanal Ashmouz def. Trevor Peek

Yanal Ashmouz

Result: Yanal Ashmouz def. Trevor Peek via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Ashmouz (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), Peek (9-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC)
Key stats: Ashmouz had 8:16 of total control time compared to just 30 seconds for Peek.

Ashmouz on the fight’s key moment

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 07: (R-L) Yanal Ashmouz of Israel punches Trevor Peek in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on September 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

“I didn’t get the chance to finish him, but after one year of not fighting, the performance I put on, in my opinion, it was good. I wanted to come back earlier. I tried to fight earlier, like February, even May, but it didn’t happen. It doesn’t matter now – all good … next step.”

Ashmouz on his layoff

“Work – that’s what I did (on my layoff), honestly. I just kept training. I’m working and waiting for my opportunity to fight. That’s it. I was working in the sun all day – working construction, building, and it’s very hard. It’s construction for real, like all day in the sun, just concrete, metals, everything. That’s what I do every day – and train, too.”

Ashmouz on what he wants next

Yanal Ashmouz def. Trevor Peek, UFC Fight Night 242 (via UFC)

“Maybe three or four months, I can come back. I want to (be back soon) because it’s my career. Time is running out, so I want to fight more. I’m not that type of guy (for callouts). Whatever they give me, I’m going to fight. I don’t care.”

To hear more from Ashmouz, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 242.

UFC Fight Night 242 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Gilbert Burns, Jessica Andrade net $21,000

UFC Fight Night 242 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 242 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $157,500.

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

The full UFC Fight Night 242 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kyle Nelson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Yanal Ashmouz[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Trevor Peek[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Chris Padilla[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Rong Zhu[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Isaac Dulgarian[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brendon Marotte[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Andre Lima[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Gabriel Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Yi Zha[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jaqueline Amorim[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dylan Budka[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nathan Fletcher[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zygimantas Ramaska[/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 2421 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: $5,482,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $28,219,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 242.

Trevor Peek vs. Yanal Ashmouz prediction, pick, start time, odds for UFC Fight Night 242

Will Trevor Peek and Yanal Ashmouz throw caution to the wind at UFC Fight Night 242?

[autotag]Trevor Peek[/autotag] and [autotag]Yanal Ashmouz[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 242 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 6-0
UFC main cards, 2024: 76-61-3

Trevor Peek vs. Yanal Ashmouz UFC Fight Night 242 preview

Peek (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will look to rebound from a unanimous decision loss against Charlie Campbell in April. His only professional losses have come under the UFC banner, where he has traded wins and losses since his arrival after Dana White’s Contender Series. … Ashmouz (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) also enters after a loss. In his last fight, which was his second under the UFC banner, he lost unanimously to Chris Duncan last July. His debut last March was a 75-second finish of Sam Patterson at UFC 286.

Trevor Peek vs. Yanal Ashmouz UFC Fight Night 242 expert pick, prediction

Kicking off the main card is a proper action fight at 155 pounds between Peek and Ashmouz.

Both lack the traditional martial arts bases and finely combed technique that you’d typically find in this division, but they bring what MMA fans love – mindless slugfests and knockouts.

In their defense, each fighter has made concerted efforts to clean things up a bit in recent outings, and they deserve credit for doing so. However, if I’m being honest, I’d much rather these two embrace their inner urge to play “Rock’em, Sock’em Robots” over trying to be more well-rounded and technical.

Regardless of what kind of fight we end up with, I’ll reluctantly side with Peek due to his blocked-headed durability and comical offensive output. The pick is Peek by unanimous decision.

Trevor Peek vs. Yanal Ashmouz UFC Fight Night 242 odds

The oddsmakers opened this at pick’em odds, but public money as come in on the American, listing Peek -125 and Ashmouz +100 via FanDuel.

Trevor Peek vs. Yanal Ashmouz UFC Fight Night 242 start time, how to watch

As the main card opener, Peek and Ashmouz are expected to walk out to the cage at approximately 7:05 p.m. ET (4:05 p.m. PT). The fight will air on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 242.

Chris Duncan def. Yanal Ashmouz at UFC Fight Night 224: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Chris Duncan’s unanimous decision win over Yanal Ashmouz at UFC Fight Night 224 at The O2 in London.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Yanal Ashmouz[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 224 at The O2 in London. (Photos by Per Haljestam, USA TODAY Sports)

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 1-7)

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 from May 1-7.

UFC Fight Night in London gets Yanal Ashmouz vs. Chris Duncan booking

The UFC is headed back to London, and the fight card is filling up, including the addition of Yanal Ashmouz vs. Chris Duncan.

Both in search of second UFC wins, lightweights [autotag]Yanal Ashmouz[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag] are lined up to fight each other in the promotion’s return to London this summer.

Ashmouz (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Duncan (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will square off July 22 at The O2 as part of a UFC Fight Night event, two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie. They asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Israel’s Ashmouz, 28, made quite the first impression at The O2 in March when he brutally knocked out highly touted Sam Patterson in 75 seconds at UFC 286. Prior to his UFC signing, Ashmouz made stops in PFL Challenger Series, CFFC, and Ring of Combat, among other promotions.

Scotland’s Duncan, 29, enters the bout on a three-fight winning streak. After a wild back-and-forth brawl with Charlie Campbell earned him a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Duncan debuted at UFC 286 and won a split decision over Omar Morales.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup July 22 in London includes:

  • Molly McCann vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Mick Parkin vs. Jamal Pogues
  • Davey Grant vs. Daniel Marcos
  • Jai Herbert vs. Fares Ziam
  • Joel Alvarez vs. Marc Diakiese
  • Yanal Ashmouz vs. Chris Duncan