Tag: Zhang Mingyang

Ozzy Diaz vs. Zhang Mingyang prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 248

Ozzy Diaz and Zhang Mingyang look to establish their names at 205 pounds. How long will the UFC Macau main card opener last?

[autotag]Ozzy Diaz[/autotag] and [autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag] meet Saturday on the UFC Fight Night 248 main card at Galaxy Arena in Macau. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 4-1
UFC main cards, 2024: 99-90-3

Ozzy Diaz vs. Zhang Mingyang UFC Fight Night 248 preview

Diaz (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut in a main card opening spot. After a failed audition on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, Diaz navigated his way to the UFC by picking up two stoppage wins in 2024 under the LFA banner. … Zhang (17-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters on a double-digit winning streak, and will look to extend it further in his second UFC appearance. In February, Zhang debuted with a first-round finish of Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 298.

Ozzy Diaz vs. Zhang Mingyang UFC Fight Night 248 expert pick, prediction

Despite having a guaranteed lightweight action fight between Hayisaer Maheshate and Nicholas Motta stuck on the prelims, the UFC matchmakers decided to kick off the main card with a light heavyweight bout between Zhang and Diaz.

Outside of the UFC brass’ penchant for force-feeding us lower-level big guy brawls on Fight Night cards, I suspect that these two get this quietly important spot due to their do-or-die nature.

Zhang is primarily a first-round finisher and seems like the type of talent who is ripe to start stinking up the joint with slogfests as soon as he starts experiencing any sort of a step up in competition.

Whereas Diaz, who doesn’t have as many fights on paper as Zhang does, is arguably more experienced than the Chinese fighter given what he’s seen on the regional scene.

If Diaz were a bit more durable, then I’d probably take a flier on him as an underdog. But will volatility being equal, I’ll reluctantly side with the more dynamic finisher who doesn’t have to travel for a home-soil fight.

The pick is Zhang by knockout in Round 1.

Ozzy Diaz vs. Zhang Mingyang UFC Fight Night 248 odds

The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the Chinese fighter, listing Zhang -340 and Diaz +260 via FanDuel.

Ozzy Diaz vs. Zhang Mingyang UFC Fight Night 248 start time, how to watch

As the main card opener, Diaz and Zhang are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 6:10 a.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 248.

Zhang Mingyang planning renaissance for big Chinese MMA fighters, calls out Tyson Pedro after UFC 298

Zhang Mingyang picked up a $50,000 performance bonus in his promotional debut for a first-round knockout of Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 298.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – [autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag] beat Brendson Ribeiro with a first-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Take a look inside the fight with Mingyang, who picked up a $50,000 performance bonus in his promotional debut.

UFC 298 medical suspensions: Henry Cejudo among 9 fighters suspended 180 days

Nine UFC 298 competitors are out a potential 180 days due to injuries sustained in their fights Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event in Anaheim, Calif. was not a good night to be a limb.

UFC 298 took place at Anaheim, Calif. and featured 12 bouts and 24 fighters. Nine of those fighters were handed six-month suspensions as a result of injuries sustained in their bouts. Eight of those potential injuries were deemed possible fractures.

Monday, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster, who oversaw the event, provided MMA Junkie with a full list of medical suspensions.

Scroll below to see how much time UFC 298 competitors will have to take off as a result of their bouts Saturday. It’s important to note fighters may return before the conclusion of their suspensions if they are cleared by a physician (unless denoted “no exception” or “mandatory”).

UFC 298 post-event facts: Ilia Topuria makes history with title coronation

The best facts to come out of UFC 298, which saw a number of historic feats, including Ilia Topuria’s title KO of Alexander Volkanovski.

The UFC’s second pay-per-view of 2024 was a memorable one, with UFC 298 on Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., seeing a changing of the guard in the featherweight division.

In the main event, [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) became the new featherweight champion when he delivered on his promise to knock out longtime titleholder [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC), which he did in the second round of their fight to claim gold.

For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 298.

UFC 298 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Alexander Volkanovski’s $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 298 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $252,000.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 298 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.

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 298 took place at Honda Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 298 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Danny Barlow[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Oban Elliott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Val Woodburn[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: $11,000

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 $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: $1,093,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,800,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

UFC 298 video: Zhang Mingyang obliterates Brendson Ribeiro with 3-punch combo in debut

“The Mountain Tiger” instantly made his presence felt in the light heavyweight division at UFC 298.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – “The Mountain Tiger” has made his presence felt in the UFC light heavyweight division.

In front of a nationally televised ESPN audience, [autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag] capped off a scintillating promotional debut with a vicious knockout of Brendson Ribeiro on Saturday at UFC 298 from Honda Center.

The finish came at the 1:41 mark of the first round when Mingyang (17-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) perfectly timed a counter left hand that resulted in a beautiful three-punch combo to sendRibeiro (15-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) crashing to the canvas. A couple of follow-up hammerfists followed, although they weren’t needed, to force the referee to stop the fight.

Take a look at the finish in the video below (via X):

Mingyang, 25, was making history as the first light heavyweight fighter from China to compete in the UFC. Now he’s the first Chinese 205 pounder to score a victory.

He was hyped after the win and called out champion Alex Pereira for UFC 300. That’s getting ahead of himself, but Mingayang could make some noise in the division soon enough.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC 298 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Zhang Mingyang def. Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 298: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Zhang Mingyang’s first-round knockout win over Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 298.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag]’s first-round knockout win over [autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag] at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. (Fight and venue photos by Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today Sports)

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Nov. 20-26)

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. 20-26.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 23-29)

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. 23-29.

Defying the odds: The 10 biggest MMA betting upsets of 2022

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022, according to the oddsmakers, across Bellator, the UFC, PFL and more.

Who doesn’t love a good upset?

In 2022, MMA saw its fair share of underdogs who defied the odds in the UFC, Bellator and beyond. While everyone has an opinion of who should win and who should lose, the oddsmakers (and how the betting public responds) largely get the final say on what history reflects.

This year, with the help of MMA database Tapology, MMA Junkie has compiled the top 10 betting upsets of 2022. Fights that were eligible were those that multiple major online sportsbooks recognized, and that Tapology recorded prior to the close of the betting line.

Promotions eligible include UFC, Bellator, PFL, KSW, DWCS, Road to UFC, Eagle FC, and One Championship.

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022 below. Only major MMA promotions were included in the tally.