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Fighters could lose pay for criticising UFC's COVID-19 safety measures

(Reuters) - UFC fighters taking part at the UFC 249 event in Florida could lose their purses and bonuses if they publicly criticise the fight promotion’s health and safety precautions for COVID-19, according to an event participation agreement seen by Reuters.

With sporting events cancelled around the globe due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the UFC is staging three cards in eight days in Jacksonville, Florida.

Before competing, fighters taking part in the UFC 249 event on May 9 were asked to sign an eight-page event participation agreement.

A non-disparagement clause in the undated agreement states that “the Participant will not suggest or communicate to any person or entity” that the events “have been or will be held without appropriate health, safety or other precautions, whether relating to COVID-19 or otherwise.”

The agreement goes on to say that if a fighter does breach this clause, “the Company may revoke all or any part of any prize monies or awards won ... including, but not limited to, purses, win bonuses, other fight-related bonuses and event-based merchandise royalties.”

Though signed exclusively to the promotion, UFC fighters are independent contractors rather than employees, and purses and bonuses form a major part of the income of almost all of the fighters on the roster.

A UFC spokesperson declined to comment on the clause and the possibility of penalties being imposed on fighters, instead referring to comments Dana White gave to Yahoo in which the UFC president said that fighters would not be punished for airing their opinions about the health and safety arrangements.

“If a fighter says something that isn’t true — if he says we didn’t test anyone for this — that would (violate the agreement). But if he said something that was true, his opinion, then that is different,” White said.

In recent weeks, one fighter has expressed reservations about getting in the cage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heavyweight Greg Hardy, who suffers from asthma, said in a news conference on Thursday that he was “terrified” of the virus, but he went on to compete on the UFC 249 card and scored a decision victory over Yorgan De Castro.

A planned middleweight bout between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Uriah Hall on Saturday was called off after Souza tested positive for COVID-19 following his arrival in Florida.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h...g-ufcs-covid-19-safety-measures-idUKKBN22M0BW
 
US mixed martial arts event held in empty venue

The US saw its first major sporting event since March on Saturday when UFC 249 was held in Jacksonville, Florida.

The popular mixed martial arts spectacle, which featured several fights, is usually played out in packed arenas - but Saturday's competition was closed to the public and only televised.

There were, however, confirmed coronavirus cases on the eve of the event. Brazilian middleweight Jacare Souza and his two cornermen tested positive, forcing the fighter to withdraw.

UFC 249 still went ahead with strict health and safety protocols were in place inside the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

422b7055-adf1-42ab-b9a6-d636e3519754.jpg
 
LOL at tony Ferguson.This was bound to happen.he stood no chance against Justin.Now the real fight happens between Habib and Justin.
 
JUSTIN GAETHJE caused a massive upset by destroying, dismantling and debasing the No.1 contender at lightweight - Tony Ferguson.

While I wrote the word "upset" mainly to reflect pre-bout expectations and the betting odds - serious fight fans knew it was not going to be easy for the favorite Tony - but no one expected this one sided pummeling that Tony received.


All things being equal Justin will face Khabib whenever it is feasible. And it will be a great contest as Justin began wrestling at 4 years old and is an accomplished wrestler but he rarely uses it in his MMA fights.

In other news, Henry Cejudo TKO'd Dominic Cruz and promptly announced his retirement - which to be honest - I am not believing yet.

In a much anticipated heavyweight bout - Francis Ngannou destroyed Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a mere 20 seconds in spectacular fashion.

Overall a great card albeit in a fanless event.
 
Watching UFC Fight night Co-main event at Heavy weight IVANOV vs SAKAI.

Without the crowd it feels so amazing hearing these kicks and punches so clearly.
 
Damn these big guys are going full throttle when it comes to punches and leg kicks. Especially Sakai's leg kicks are finding the target.
 
Ivanov taking some punishment here. But he is tough. The guy spent 6 hours in a coma after getting stabbed like 50 times. So, he's not going to give up anytime soon. In fact he's never been knocked out in his entire career so far. This is the beauty of heavy weight - all takes is one massive knock out punch.
 
Sakai made a major foul - he held the fence to avoid getting taken down by Ivanov. That should be a point deduction. I hope the judges noticed it.
 
A dream start for Burns. He is on top - sinking heavy top pressure on to Woodley. Great escape for Woodley. He got up on his feet.
 
I think Woodley is looking for that 1 punch knock out, because he's doing not much in this round so far to score some points.
 
This is the 4th round now - and in every round Burns has dominated more or less. While Burns may have begun this fight as an underdog - it will actually now be an upset if Woodley wins this.

Burns is burning through Woodley.
 
1 minute left in the 5th round. Woodley is heading for a humiliating defeat unless he can get the 1 punch knock out.
 
Woodley's worst night in a very very long time. That was total domination by the No.6 Burns who destroyed the No. 1 contender Woodley.
 
Sport returned to Las Vegas overnight as Brazil's Gilbert Burns defeated US former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

As with the UFC's recent live events in Florida, there were no fans in attendance at the UFC Apex facility and social distancing measures were in place.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission last week gave the go-ahead for combat sports to return to Vegas.

Boxing promoter Bob Arum's Top Rank has lined up cards to be held at the MGM Grand Conference Center, starting with USA's WBO featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson taking on Puerto Rican Felix Caraballo in a non-title bout on 9 June.
 
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman retained his title with a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.

The emirate's Yas Island had been transformed into 'UFC Fight Island', a closed-off region where four UFC events are set to be held during July.

The first main event of the four-event run saw Nigerian Usman, 33, successfully defend his belt with a gritty display to earn scores of 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 from the three judges after five gruelling rounds.

Masvidal, who was drafted in to face Usman at just six days' notice after the Brazilian Gilbert Burns tested positive for Covid-19, ultimately couldn't find an answer to Usman's powerful wrestling game.

The 35-year-old American found a home for his strikes early on as he started the faster of the pair. He had a clear speed and accuracy advantage in the striking department and he stung the champion with multiple shots during the opening exchanges, while nullifying Usman's early takedown attempts.

But Usman exerted constant pressure on the challenger as he denied Masvidal the time and space to throw his strikes. Usman looked to use his clinch work to wear on Masvidal, with much of the second round spent against the cage in a lengthy and gruelling exchange. The legacy of the round was a nasty cut above Masvidal's right eye, courtesy of an accidental clash of heads.

A huge slam takedown from Usman was the biggest moment of the third round as the champion continued to smother Masvidal's striking.

That pattern repeated through the final two rounds as Usman shut down Masvidal, who had earned his shot at the title with a trio of stoppage victories over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in 2019.

Usman's victory improved his record to 17-1 and extended his winning streak to 16 fights in the UFC.

"Jorge is a tough guy and I give him credit for that," said Usman.

"They call him 'Gamebred' for a reason - he's always game to fight. I'm just a level better. I have more tools in the toolbox."

In the night's co-main event, Alexander Volkanovski, 31, retained his featherweight title by edging a split-decision verdict after five tight, tense rounds with former champion Max Holloway.

Australian Volkanovski, who defeated Holloway via unanimous decision to dethrone the Hawaiian and win the 145lb title at UFC 245 in December, was dropped in the first two rounds of the rematch. He had to battle his way back into the contest as he claimed the last three rounds to deny Holloway revenge.

Despite having to train in near-isolation in his home town of Waianae, Holloway, 28, appeared to have made the necessary adjustments from their first meeting, which saw Volkanovski hold the edge in the striking exchanges.

Holloway briefly dropped Volkanovski with a head kick at the end of the opening round, then repeated the trick with an uppercut at the end of the second as he started the sharper of the two.

The third round saw Volkanovski start to work his way back into the contest with the closest round of the fight, before outpacing the former champion through the fourth and fifth rounds to take the fight to the scorecards.

Volkanovski ended up edging a split decision with scores of 47-48, 48-47 and 48-47 to extend his winning streak to 19 fights, including nine in the UFC.

"I knew it was two rounds apiece going into that last round. I had to win that last round," said Volkanovski.

In the first title fight of the night, Russian bantamweight Petr Yan demolished two-time former featherweight champion Jose Aldo to capture the vacant bantamweight title.

Yan, 27, registered a staggering 194 significant strikes - a UFC record - en route to a fifth-round TKO finish of Aldo as he joined lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov as Russia's second UFC champion.

Yan stung Aldo in the opening 90 seconds with a big right hand and appeared to have the Brazilian badly hurt with a body shot in the closing seconds of the opening round as the Russian took charge early. But Aldo started to find a regular home for his powerful leg kicks as he worked his way back into the contest in round two.

With the fight in the balance heading into round three, Yan pushed the pace and worked Aldo relentlessly to the body and head as he started to sap the Brazilian's gas tank.

Then, as Aldo slowed in the championship rounds, Yan turned up the heat as he battered his foe with ground strikes until referee Leon Roberts waved off the fight at the 3:24 mark of the final round.

After the fight, Yan paid tribute to his opponent, then named the man he wants to face in his first title defence.

"Aldo is a legend. I have only respect for him," he said.

"My division has very tough fighters in the top five. The number one contender is Aljamain Sterling. I will fight everyone. I like it, it's my job."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/53379875
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mehmosh Raza defeats Calum Murrie via split decision<br><br>Rewatch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BRAVECF43?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BRAVECF43</a> now on <a href="https://t.co/fMntiTbleT">https://t.co/fMntiTbleT</a> 🍿📺🔥<br>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BRAVECF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BRAVECF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bahrain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bahrain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KHK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KHK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/khkpower?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#khkpower</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yearofchange?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#yearofchange</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thehawk?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#thehawk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/priceofgladiators?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#priceofgladiators</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mma?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mma</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/globalpromotion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#globalpromotion</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BRAVECF2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BRAVECF2020</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BRAVENation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BRAVENation</a> <a href="https://t.co/ivRvTg3MRu">pic.twitter.com/ivRvTg3MRu</a></p>— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/bravemmaf/status/1311958029546541056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Joaquin Buckley delivered what the UFC called "the most unbelievable" knockout in its history against Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Island Five.

The 26-year-old American fighter swung his right leg round to stun compatriot Kasanganay with a heel kick while his left leg was being held.

Clips of the move were widely shared and liked on social media by UFC fans and fighters alike.

"That may be the craziest knockout ever," said ex-champion Daniel Cormier.

When asked about the knockout after the fight, middleweight Buckley said: "It was just open. I saw he had my leg and my foot and I just spun and kicked. I aimed and I fired and it got the result we needed."

Elsewhere at the event in Abu Dhabi, England's Tom Breese enjoyed a first-round victory over Canadian KB Bhullar, while at the top of the bill, American bantamweight Cory Sandhagen beat Marlon Moreas of Brazil.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54497517
 
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva says he will retire after his fight with Uriah Hall in Las Vegas on Saturday, 31 October.

The 45-year-old Brazilian, who held the middleweight title for a record seven years, had his first professional fight in 1997 and joined the UFC in 2006.

He has not fought since a defeat by Jared Cannonier in May last year.

"This is the last fight. For sure, this is the last fight. Probably," Silva told MMA Junkie.

"I love the sport. I've prepared my mind for this. I've prepared for fighting my entire life, but yes, this is my last fight in UFC."

It will be Silva's 46th professional bout. He has 34 wins on his record but the Brazilian has only one victory on the promotion in the past eight years.

"Preparing my mind, preparing my body," he added about what he would miss most. "This I think is most important and I feel sad because I don't have this anymore. This is the last one."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54634782
 
After a very long time I have bought the PPV for KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV vs JUSTIN GAETHJE.

The majority consensus seems to be and I agree with that is - that Justin represents the toughest challenge Khabib has faced so far. Khabib so far has not faced an elite fighter with a wrestling background - not that Justin actually ever uses it in his UFC fights - but it is going to be an interesting element in the mix.

The other unknown element is that this is the first time Khabib is fighting after his father's death. Everyone knows how significant a role Abdulmanap played in Khabib's fight career.

The co-main event is also important as it is between former Middleweight champ Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. Robert lost his title to Israel Adesanya and he absolutely wants to have another crack at him and Jared was called out by Israel himself so both the fighters have no lack of inspiration.

Really looking forward to this fight today. Also, after a long time the main card is scheduled at 2 pm EST here in the US given that the fight is happening in Abu Dhabi.
 
The last fight of the prelims had Tai Tuivasa winning by a TKO at the fag end of the 1st round -( in fact only one second was left) over Stefan Struve.

Tai stopped his 3 fight losing streak by doing so and has ensured that he has a future still in the UFC.
 
The first fight of the main card is between Ion Cutelaba vs Magomed Ankalaev.

This is going to be hopefully such a good fight because the last time these two fought it ended in a very controversial way.

I was actually there in person in the Chartway Arena in Norfolk back in February 29th earlier this year for a UFC Fight Night and the referee stopped the fight when Ion still looked okay.

Anyway Magomed - another fighter from Dagestan this time will look to secure a clean win and Ion will do his absolute best to set the record straight.
 
It's unbelievable how there are so many fighters coming from that one small region in Eastern Russia - Dagestan - a place steeped in a rich culture of wrestling.
 
The Dagestani fighter destroys Ion - knocked him out in the very first round. Right hook, left hand and then rained down brutal blows.
 
What a beautiful left hand by Magomed that floored Ion. That's 5 straight UFC fight wins in a row for Magomed.
 
The second fight in the main card is the women flyweight division between the American Lauren Murphy and Liliya Shakirova from Uzbekistan.
 
Next fight is between Jacob Malkoun vs Phil Hawes.

Jacob is making his debut in UFC and he trains with Robert Whittaker.
 
Holy Cow.......what was that - Phil Hawes absolutely destroys Malkoun in the very first round within the first few seconds.
 
What a dream debut for Phil Hawes. What a way to make your UFC debut - job done all in 18 seconds in the first round.
 
Justin Gaethje is entering the arena. What an entertaining fighter this guy is. I never was disappointed watching Justin fight.
 
Michael Chandler is here - the most high profile latest recruit into the UFC. He is a former Bellator champion. He is the back up fighter for Khabib vs Justin.
 
There was a bit of confusion if the referee paused the fight because of a groin strike but actually it was a powerful leg strike straight to the body of Walt Harris which quickly ended the fight.
 
Next up is a much anticipated co-main event at Middleweight between former champ Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier.

Cannonier was called out by the champ Israel Adesanya himself - so if Jared wins this - he should expect to fight Israel in the near future.

Of course Israel's callout of Jared should be more than enough of a motivation for Robert to insert himself right into having another shot at Israel.
 
A very good first round. Jared unloaded some outside leg kicks - but Robert has outstruck Jared. Overall a very close first round.
 
Great second round. Once again Jared unloading a lot of leg strikes but Robert definitely found a home in Jared's head with his numerous jabs and straight punches.
 
And just as I thought Robert wins this in a reasonably emphatic fashion. Beautiful fight IQ shown by Robert.
 
I still cannot forget how Justin destroyed Tony Ferguson - a guy for a very long time thought to be a legitimate rival to Khabib.
 
KHABIB -

What a champ - what an incredible chamption. A triangle choke in the second round.

Khabib crying out --tearing up - surely for his late father.

Justin came to congratulate Khabib.
 
Salute champ. Khabib's mom apparently told him - not to fight anymore on this planet without his father and I guess he's following his mother's diktat.

I thought he might stick around for one last fight against former champ Georges St.Pierre - but I do not know now.
 
leonidas_alexandar said:
Salute champ. Khabib's mom apparently told him - not to fight anymore on this planet without his father and I guess he's following his mother's diktat.

I thought he might stick around for one last fight against former champ Georges St.Pierre - but I do not know now.
Click to expand...

Nah, he is done. He won't compete.

What a legend
 
First of all, great performances by Volkov and Whittaker, as well as that American who KO'd the Aussie in under 20 seconds.

But wow, Khabib really is a beast is he not? His striking looked great (always been underrated), took a few solid shots from the heavy-handed Gaethje and didn't look phased at all, and the finish was amazing. Was very emotional, especially when the camera panned down to his gloves.

The only chance of him coming back for GSP would be if he had his mother's blessing, and that he wanted to. Because his dad wanted him to retire 30-0. However, seeing the emotional outburst, I don't think he wants to continue without his father anyway. Definitely one of the GOATs.

I'm curious how lightweight will look now? There are talks of McGregor-Poirier possibly being for the belt, but I think the winner of that should fight Gaethje for the belt. If I'm being honest, I don't see anyone beating McGregor, especially since Gaethje doesn't like to wrestle.
 
Just a word of appreciation for Justin Gaetjhe, very classy in victory and defeat. When he won the itermediate belt he took it off and threw it to the floor and said he wanted the real thing and that meant fighting Khabib.

I am a big fan of Tony Ferguson, but his trash talking of Khabib ended up blowing up in his face when he got dismantled by Gaetjhe.

This was a good fight, and Justin did manage to hit Khabib with some solid shots, but Khabib could get hit by a truck and wouldn't go down. Fascinating two rounds while it lasted.
 
Rafael dos Anjos dispatched Paul Felder at UFC Vegas 14 and immediately called out Conor McGregor for his next fight.

After his points win over five rounds, the Brazilian said the lightweight division was wide open and called out the Irishman, another former champion.

"I think me and Conor is the fight to make," said the 36-year-old.

Earlier, Britain's Cory McKenna became the first Welsh woman to feature in the UFC and the 21-year-old marked her debut with a win over Kay Hansen.

McKenna beat the American, also 21, with a unanimous decision in their strawweight contest.
 
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