Tag: TUF 26 Finale

Quote: Shevchenko Doesn’t Deserve Flyweight Title Shot

Newly crowned UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano may have just won the belt, but she’s already calling shots like she’s ruled over the division for years. Montano, who holds a modest 4-2 MMA record, won the 125-pound strap at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26 Finale, defeating Roxanne Modafferi. Shortly after her big win, she was quoted […]

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Newly crowned UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano may have just won the belt, but she’s already calling shots like she’s ruled over the division for years.

Montano, who holds a modest 4-2 MMA record, won the 125-pound strap at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26 Finale, defeating Roxanne Modafferi. Shortly after her big win, she was quoted later shutting down women’s bantamweight Valentina Schevchenko’s desire to fight for the flyweight belt.

Montano expounded upon her statement regarding who is worthy of a title shot in a division that was literally just created in the UFC during an appearance on The MMA Hour:

“You want to fight the best so that you can prove to everybody else that you are the best, but right now the best is not Shevchenko at ‘25. She hasn’t fought at that weight. It’s not Paige VanZant, she hasn’t fought at that weight either. So I think it’s pretty silly and I’m a person who wants fair fights and so I just don’t think they are deserving of it right now. I would like it to be Sarge, I think she deserves another chance. She made it through six weeks of hell doing that. I was there watching, I was there partaking in that six-week period, so I know how much heart she has and how much she’s wanting this.

Montano also refused to entertain a title fight with former strawweight Paige VanZant, who along with Shevchenko has never fought at 125 pounds in the UFC before. However, both women are moving to the flyweight division, and both carry impressive UFC and MMA records in addition to a ton of attention in terms of women’s MMA.

Shevchenko lost a somewhat underwhelming decision to current women’s bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes at UFC 215, but there’s no shame in that considering how dominant Nunes has been lately. VanZant carries with her a 7-3 MMA record, and is looking to reinvent herself at 125 pounds

TUF 26 featured a cast full of 125-pound female fighters, with Montano and Sijara Eubanks making it to the finals. Eubanks was hospitalized the day before the event and Modaferri stepped in on extremely short-notice.

With a newly created division wide open for contenders, Montano won’t be able to call the shots for much longer.

Who should be Montano’s first title defense? Does she have a point about fighters coming from other weight classes being unworthy of a flyweight title shot?

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TUF 26 Finale Ratings Deliver Lowest-Watched UFC Live Show Ever

The UFC and Bellator MMA went up against each other on Friday night. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise to see that both events turned out poorly in the ratings. What’s interesting is that the two promotions held events on the same night, with the women’s flyweight championship fight as the main event of the […]

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The UFC and Bellator MMA went up against each other on Friday night. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise to see that both events turned out poorly in the ratings.

What’s interesting is that the two promotions held events on the same night, with the women’s flyweight championship fight as the main event of the UFC’s TUF 26 Finale.

At the end of the day for the UFC, just because you put a title on the line doesn’t mean that fight fans will tune in if they don’t care about the fighters who are competing for the title.

The ratings are out, and here they are. The TUF 26 Finale, which was headlined by Nicco Montaño becoming the first women’s flyweight champion in history with a five-round decision over Roxanne Modafferi, pulled 501,000 viewers on FOX Sports 1.

This marks the lowest-rated primetime live UFC show ever on the network. By looking at the history books, the previous event to draw the lowest ratings on the network was a July 13, 2016, show headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Lando Vannata that did 609,000 viewers.

The event peaked in its viewership for the main event after 1 a.m. in the closing rounds at 566,000 viewers.

The prelims averaged 361,000 viewers and had an additional 3,569 viewers streaming during an average minute. The previous low for prelims in 2017 was 453,000.

On the flip side, Bellator 189 took place in Thackerville, Oklahoma and was headlined by Julia Budd retaining her featherweight title over Arlene Blencowe. That event did 439,000 viewers, which would be the third lowest for a primetime show since Bellator has been on Spike.

UFC 218 went down on Saturday night, and the prelims pulled in 694,000 viewers. The preliminary card featured one of the year’s best fights with Yancy Medeiros’ win over Alex Oliveira.

However, it marked the fourth-lowest prelims before a pay-per-view event of the year. The Medeiros vs. Oliveira fight peaked the number at 841,000 viewers.

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TUF 26 Finale Salaries: Montano & Modafferi Easily Top List

Now that “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF) 26 Finale has concluded, the salaries have been released. This past Friday night (Dec. 1), an inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s flyweight champion was crowned. Nicco Montano d…

Now that “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF) 26 Finale has concluded, the salaries have been released. This past Friday night (Dec. 1), an inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s flyweight champion was crowned. Nicco Montano defeated Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision to capture the gold. Both competitors walked off with $100,000. Check out the rest of […]

TUF 26 Finale Salaries: Main Event Fighters Make Serious Bank

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the salaries on Monday and some of the top tier talents got paid some major cash. The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale (also known as The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale) took place on Friday, December 1, 2017 at Park Theater in Paradise, Nevada. The main card aired […]

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the salaries on Monday and some of the top tier talents got paid some major cash.

The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale (also known as The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale) took place on Friday, December 1, 2017 at Park Theater in Paradise, Nevada.

The main card aired on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card was split broadcasted on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Ultimate Fighter final (to determine the inaugural UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion) between Roxanne Modafferi and Nicco Montano headlined this event. Sean O’Malley vs. Terrion Ware in a bantamweight served as the co-main event. Rounding out the six bout card was Barb Honchak vs. Lauren Murphy in a female flyweight bout, Gerald Meerschaert vs. Eric Spicely in a middleweight bout, DeAnna Bennett vs. Melinda Fabian in a female flyweight bout, and Joe Soto vs. Brett Johns in a bantamweight bout.

Montana earned a flat payday of $100,000 and wasn’t eligible for a win bonus. Modafferi also earned $100,000 flat.The full payouts include:

Nicco Montano: $100,000 (no win bonus) def. Roxanne Modafferi: $100,000

Sean O’Malley: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Terrion Ware: $10,000

Lauren Murphy: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Barb Honchak: $10,000

Gerald Meerschaert: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus) def. Eric Spicely: $14,000

DeAnna Bennett: $10,000 vs. Melinda Fabian: $10,000

Brett Johns: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus) def. Joe Soto: $31,000

Montana De La Rosa: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Christina Marks: $10,000

Ryan Janes: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Andrew Sanchez: $28,000

Rachael Ostovich: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Karine Gevorgyan: $10,000

Shana Dobson: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Ariel Beck: $10,000

Gillian Robertson: $20,000 (includes $ win bonus) def. Emily Whitmire: $10,000

 

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TUF 26 Finale Bonuses: Four Fighters Nab $50,000

Bonuses for “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF) 26 Finale have been revealed. Last night (Dec. 1), TUF 26 Finale took place inside the Park Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card aired live on FOX Sports 1. Preliminary action was also seen on…

Bonuses for “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF) 26 Finale have been revealed. Last night (Dec. 1), TUF 26 Finale took place inside the Park Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card aired live on FOX Sports 1. Preliminary action was also seen on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. The main event saw Nicco Montano capture […]

Nicco Montano vs. Roxanne Modafferi Full Fight Video Highlights

In the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Season 26 Finale (TUF 26 Finale) event last night (Fri. December 1, 2017), the first-ever UFC women’s flyweight champion in history was crowned. Young Nicco Montano took on longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Roxanne Modafferi for the honor. Montano entered the fight 3-2 in her professional […]

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In the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Season 26 Finale (TUF 26 Finale) event last night (Fri. December 1, 2017), the first-ever UFC women’s flyweight champion in history was crowned. Young Nicco Montano took on longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Roxanne Modafferi for the honor.

Montano entered the fight 3-2 in her professional MMA career, and went undefeated in her TUF tenure to earn her spot in the finals against Modafferi. A title win so young in the 28-year-old’s MMA career would be a huge statement to make in the sport’s biggest promotion.

Modafferi is no stranger to the TUF lifestyle, having been on the program’s 18th season back in 2013. She was eventually eliminated from the show. Modafferi has fought for various promotions all round the world throughout her fighting career, and with a record of 21-13, her experience edge gave her a huge advantage over Montano.

The pair went to war in a back-and-fourth five round affair that saw each woman have their respective moments to shine. When it was all said and done, however, the judges believed that Montano did enough to walk away from the cage as the promotion’s first-ever female 125-pound champion.

You can check out the full fight video highlights below:

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