Paulo Costa believes Khamzat Chimaev is selectively pursuing fights with smaller opponents so he can “bully” them. Ciryl Gane is out until some time in 2023 after breaking his hand hitting Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris. It’s your Sunday MMA Quick Hits — let’s go!
Jack Shore Suffers “Serious” Knee Injury
Welsh bantamweight Jack Shore has been forced out of his fight with Kyler Phillips due to a knee injury. The bout was to take place on November 19; the promotion is expected to seek a replacement for Shore.
Shore himself broke the news on his Instagram story this past week.
“Unfortunately I am out of my upcoming fight due to a serious knee injury,” Shore wrote. “Gonna be sidelined for likely the rest of the year as this one is gonna take a bit of time to get right!”
Disclosed UFC 278 Salaries Are Depressing
The new UFC welterweight champion made just $350,000 (discounting any PPV points), multiple fighters made just $10,000, and some big names were grossly underpaid at UFC 278.
It’s 2022. No one in the UFC should be making $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win. No one. No excuses. You might as well go flip burgers at that point.
MMA Fighting acquired the disclosed purses from the August PPV event via a FOIA request.
Some lowlights: Harry Hunsucker, in his third UFC fight, was paid $12,000 to appear on a PPV main card.
Paulo Costa, a former title challenger, made just $65,000 to show, $65,000 to win. He’s a main event level fighter, or in this case, co-main event.
A.J. Fletcher and Daniel Lacerda made just $10,000 each. When you deduct manager’s fees, gym costs, taxes, and miscellaneous expenses, they’re left with a bag of chips and a can of coke under today’s inflation. Victor Altamirano, who won on the Contender Series, also was on a 10/10 deal, but he at least won his fight.
Here’s a wild concept: no one in the UFC should be making less than $20,000 per fight. This event made over $4.2 million dollars at the gate alone, more than double athlete salaries. On top of that, the UFC rakes in PPV dollars and sponsorship money. It actually feels pretty gross seeing these numbers with that in mind.
Main Card
Leon Edwards ($350,000 + no win bonus = $350,000) def. Kamaru Usman ($500,000)
Paulo Costa ($65,000 + $65,000 win bonus = $130,000) def. Luke Rockhold ($200,000)
Merab Dvalishvili ($99,000 + $99,000 win bonus = $198,000) def. Jose Aldo ($400,000)
Lucie Pudilova ($23,000 + $23,000 win bonus = $46,000) def. Wu Yanan ($20,000)
Tyson Pedro ($43,000 + $43,000 win bonus = $86,000) def. Harry Hunsucker ($12,000)
Preliminary Card
Marcin Tybura ($120,000 + $120,000 win bonus = $240,000) def. Alexandr Romanov ($36,000)
Jared Gordon ($47,000 + $47,000 win bonus = $94,000) def. Leonardo Santos ($44,000)
Sean Woodson ($24,000) vs. Luis Saldana ($14,000)
Ange Loosa ($12,000 + $12,000 win bonus = $24,000) def. A.J. Fletcher ($10,000)
Early Preliminaries
Amir Albazi ($16,000 + $16,000 win bonus = $32,000) def. Francisco Figueiredo ($14,000)
Aoriqileng ($12,000 + $12,000 win bonus = $24,000) def. Jay Perrin ($12,000)
Victor Altamirano ($10,000 + $10,000 win bonus = $20,000) def. Daniel Lacerda ($10,000)
Paulo Costa Says Khamzat Chimaev Fights Smaller Opponents So He Can Bully Them
UFC middleweight Paulo Costa got into it with Khamzat Chimaev at the UFC Performance Institute this week — and he’s not about to stay quiet when it comes to “Borz.”
Speaking to The Mac Life, Costa accused Chimaev of targeting smaller opponents.
“I know you just want to fight small guys, short guys, shy guys like Burns,” Costa told the website. “Guys who you can beat and be a bully, but I’m not. I’m a big one, I’m the biggest middleweight in the UFC so you cannot bully me. When you show up, I will be here, ready for you because you are a ‘Gourmet Chechen,’ you are a fake gangster so that’s it.
“I know this guy don’t want this fight. He will try and fight somebody else who has no grappling, no jiu-jitsu, no wrestling. I have nothing more to say about that guy. I’m fresh, I can fight him with just one hand because it’s broken, but I don’t care man.”
Death of Queen Elizabeth II Postpones Shields Boxing Match
Boxing champ Claressa Shields, who also competes in MMA under the PFL banner, has seen her bout with Savannah Marshall postponed due to death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen, 96, passed away Thursday, and the entire United Kingdom has entered an official mourning period.
Elizabeth served as Queen for over 70 years, ascending to the throne at just 25. Shields vs. Marshall now has a new provisional date of October 15, per a report by ESPN.
“Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II was an iconic and unrivaled leader for our nation and an inspiration for women all over the world,” British promoter Ben Shalom of Boxxer said in a statement. “Her leadership and her strength of character showed that there were no limits to what women can accomplish.”
Ciryl Gane Out Until 2023
Tai Tuivasa apparently has a very hard head.
French heavyweight Ciryl Gane, who knocked Tuivasa out in the third round of the pair’s UFC Paris main event just over a week ago, will be out until 2023 with a broken hand. Gane injured the appendage during the bout.
On the plus side, “Bon Gamin” says he’ll use the time off to heal up some other injuries as well.
So I'll be out of action for a few months guys, to heal my hand that broke during the fight with Tai. I will use that time to heal some other injuries as well and come back stronger than ever in 2023 💪🏽
I'm coming back for that belt, and I'm not going ANYWHERE 👑 pic.twitter.com/V1VvLZtBVk
— Ciryl Gane (@ciryl_gane) September 9, 2022
UFC Paris recap
The latest Cageside Live recapped UFC Paris, featuring one of the best heavyweight fights in recent memory.
