Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 236, which saw Rodolfo Vieira become the all-time octagon leader in arm-triangle choke wins.
The UFC’s lengthy stretch of events rolled on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 236 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] (24-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) emerged victorious in the main event when he scored an upset of [autotag]Joe Pyfer[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) by unanimous decision in their middleweight bout.
For more on the numbers from the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 236.
UFC Fight Night 236 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 236 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $236,500.
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 236 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 236 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Joe Pyfer[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Robert Bryczek[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Darrius Flowers[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Bolaji Oki[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tim Cuamba[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Bruna Brasil[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jeremiah Wells[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Bogdan Guskov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Hyder Amil[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $6,000
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 2361 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: $850,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,557,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.
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 Dec. 18-24.
The UFC on ESPN 46 main event between Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori set a new bar for strikes landed in a middleweight bout.
UFC on ESPN 46 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas proved to be a historic night.
The main event saw [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) emerge from a key matchup of former middleweight title challengers with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) in which he set a new single-fight record for most significant strikes landed in a divisional contest.
The Fight of the Night delivered, but for more numbers on the entire card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 46.
[lawrence-related id=2651430]
UFC on ESPN 46 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 on ESPN 46 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $140,000.
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 46 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 46 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,000
def [autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Tereza Bleda[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriella Fernandes[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Ronnie Lawrence[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zac Pauga[/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 $4,500; 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 $46,000 while title challengers get $46,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-46 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $3,790,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,379,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.
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 April 17-23.
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 219 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Jessica Andrade vs. Erin Blanchfield.
| Andrade vs. Blanchfield |
Pauga vs. Wright |
Parisian vs. Pogues |
Knight vs. Prachnio |
Hernandez vs. Miller |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 13-8 |
 Blanchfield (55%) |
 Pauga (65%) |
 Parisian (64%) |
 Knight (64%) |
 Miller (64%) |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 16-5 |
 Andrade |
Pauga |
Parisian |
Knight |
Miller |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 15-6 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
 Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Matt Erickson 15-6 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
 Hernandez |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 14-7  2017 Champion |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Parisian |
Knight |
Miller |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 13-8 |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 12-9 2018, 2022 Champion |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Parisian |
 Prachnio |
Hernandez |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 12-9 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 11-10/em> |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Hernandez |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 11-10 |
Blanchfield |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 10-11 |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Parisian |
Prachnio |
Miller |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 10-11 2014 Champion |
Andrade |
Pauga |
Pogues |
Knight |
Miller |
The is back on its home turf this week, and a short-notice women’s flyweight bout tops the card.
UFC Fight Night 219 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (24-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at flyweight. Andrade took the fight on just a week’s notice when Taila Santos couldn’t travel with visa issues.
Andrade is slight favorite at -135 at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Blanchfield, who is fighting in her first UFC main event, is +115. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with Andrade at a 7-4 clip.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC) at light heavyweight. Pauga is the biggest favorite on the main card at -280, and he’s our lone unanimous pick.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at heavyweight. Pogues is a -250 favorite, but he has just a 7-4 lead in the picks from our staff members.
The closest fight on the entire card at the betting window is at light heavyweight between [autotag]William Knight[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-4 UFC). Knight is a -125 favorite, but he’s got a huge 9-2 lead in the picks.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Alex Hernandez[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC) takes on UFC record holder [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] (35-16 MMA, 24-15 UFC) at lightweight. Hernandez is more than a 2-1 favorite, but it’s Miller who has a big 8-3 lead from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Blanchfield (55 percent), Pauga (65 percent), Parisian (64 percent), Knight (64 percent) and Miller (64 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
“He is the definition of a kill or be killed fighter. He’s never even been to a third round. I think that plays in my favor.”
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag] likes the style matchup against [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag].
Pauga (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) meets Wright (12-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 219 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
He takes on Wright, who has finished all his wins, but also has been finished in all his losses.
“It’s an exciting matchup,” Pauga told reporters at media day Wednesday. “He is the definition of a kill or be killed fighter. He’s never even been to a third round. I think that plays in my favor.
“I have a style, especially at light heavyweight, where I’m trying to push him against the wall, grind him out, and him trying to get out of there early is just going to play in my hands.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788 tag=420038866]
Pauga made it to the final on Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a heavyweight, but will return to his natural light heavyweight class in his UFC debut against Wright.
“I definitely had to clean up my diet,” Pauga said on returning to 205. “I walked in the cage last fight at my natural walk-around weight of 245. That’s what I walk around at. So I did have to hire a nutritionist, get a diet – but I’m better for it.
“It makes me a better fighter. It makes me a little bit more pissed off and a little bit angrier. I’m a better fighter. I’m lighter, I’m faster, but it is frustrating. It makes camp different.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 219.
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 Jan. 9-15.
Heavyweight Zac Pauga and middleweight Jordan Wright are now light heavyweights as the UFC has booked them in the middle for Feb. 18.
[autotag]Zac Pauga[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] will meet in the middle.
At UFC Fight Night 219, Pauga (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who most recently competed at heavyweight, and Wright (12-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC), who most recently competed at middleweight, will square off in a 205-pound bout.
The event takes place Feb. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Pauga, 34, was a light heavyweight for his entire professional career prior to a heavyweight stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 30” in 2021. After two exhibition wins on the reality series, Pauga was knocked out in the final against Mohammed Usman.
Wright, 31, has not competed at light heavyweight since his UFC debut in August 2020 when he defeated Ike Villanueva. Wright returns to the division on the heels of three straight losses.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 219 lineup includes:
[vertical-gallery id=1973776]
