UFC 224 Reebok Fighter Payouts: Amanda Nunes Tops Everyone

Amanda Nunes topped everyone in sponsorship money.

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UFC 224 is in the books, and now it’s time for Reebok to pay the fighters their sponsorship money.

UFC 224 took place on Saturday, May 12, 2018, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The main card aired on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card aired on FX at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington in a female bantamweight title fight headlined this event while Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout served as the co-headliner.

Rounding out the five bout main card was Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Cooper in a women’s strawweight bout, John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher in a bantamweight bout, and Lyoto Machida vs. Vitor Belfort in a middleweight bout.

The full payouts include:

Amanda Nunes: $40,000 def. Raquel Pennington: $30,000

Kelvin Gastelum: $10,000 def. Ronaldo Souza: $10,000

Mackenzie Dern: $3,500 def. Amanda Cooper: $5,000

John Lineker: $10,000 def. Brian Kelleher: $5,000

Vitor Belfort: $20,000 def. Lyoto Machida: $20,000

Cezar Ferreira: $10,000 def. Karl Roberson: $3,500

Aleksei Oleinik: $5,000 def. Junior Albini: $3,500

Davi Ramos: $3,500 def. Nick Hein: $5,000

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos: $5,000 def. Sean Strickland: $5,000

Warlley Alves: $5,000 def. Sultan Aliev: $3,500

Jack Hermansson: $5,000 def. Thales Leites: $15,000

Ramazan Emeev: $3,500 def. Alberto Mina: $5,000

Markus Perez: $3,500 def. James Bochnovic: $3,500

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Amanda Nunes Reacts To Raquel Pennington’s Corner Failing To Save Her

Amanda Nunes sounded off on Raquel Pennington’s corner failing to save her at #UFC224:

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Although UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes scored a third straight title defense in dominant fashion over Raquel Pennington (watch full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., May 12, 2018) UFC 224 from Rio, it didn’t come without some controversy.

That controversy stemmed from the fact that Pennington had told her corner that she was ‘done’ and didn’t want to fight anymore after it appeared Nunes had broken her nose with some big knees in the fourth round of a sustained beating from the champion.

She was instead sent out to get finished in one of the bloodier scenes witnessed in recent memory following her cornerman Jason Kutz’s refusal to let her stop:

“No, no, no, girl,” Kutz said. “Don’t go out like this. C’mon, girl. I know it hurts. Let’s power through this. Let’s power through this and believe. Change your mindset. Let’s throw everything we got. We’ll recover later. Throw everything we got.”

Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports

At the UFC 224 post-fight press conference, Nunes addressed the situation after only finding out about it when her partner Nina Ansaroff told her about the fight. Speaking through an interpreter via MMAjunkie, Nunes gave her view that after Pennington was sent to the hospital, it could have been avoided as her cornerman had failed her:

“It’s sad. (My girlfriend) Nina (Ansaroff) told me. I didn’t even know. Nina told me in the locker room. It’s sad because you could avoid something. She went to the hospital. It might be a bad injury for her to go to the hospital. I already asked Nina to text her – if she needs anything I’m here. It’s sad.

“If she didn’t have the right conditioning to fight then the coach should have thrown in the towel for sure. I think my coach wouldn’t let me go through that. It’s sad. Everyone must be saying a lot of bad things about him on social media, but I really think she needs to surround herself with people who want the best for her so she can really evolve for her next fights. Unfortunately, tonight (the cornerman) failed.”

Conditioning certainly may have been an issue for Pennington after a year-and-a-half off and three surgeries, yet it seemed like the never-ending beatdown from Nunes, including the broken nose, was the reason Pennington was ready to quit.

If she was admittedly at that point, her corner should have stopped the fight, a view many have taken online and one that Nunes fully believes herself. To the champ, the relationship with a fighter and cornerman is a friendship where one has to look for the other’s safety, so she hoped Pennington would be able to surround herself with people who have her best interests in mind going forward:

“He should have listened to her at that moment,” Nunes said. “It’s important to have that friendship with your coach and for the coach to understand the athlete. I think that’s why I bond so well with my coaches and it’s working out. I hope that right now, going forward, she can be with people that really understand. People that are with her 100 percent.”

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Video: Raquel Pennington Says ‘She’s Done,’ But Corner Sends Her Out To Get Finished

Many think Raquel Pennington’s corner should have thrown in the towel. Watch and decide for yourself:

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Raquel Pennington was battered and bloodied by Amanda Nunes (watch highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., May 12, 2018) UFC 224 from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Following three surgeries and a layoff that spanned 18 months, Pennington returned for the tough challenge of fighting the most dominant woman in her weight class, and even though she held her own, the nonstop attack of Nunes was clearly too much for “Rocky” to handle.

That became apparent in the fourth round when Nunes began to land a torrent of knees that opened Pennington up and broke her nose after battering her leg with low kicks early in the bout. The damage was so great that Pennington actually told her corner that she ‘was done’ in between the fourth and fifth rounds in a video via BT Sport UFC:

“I’m done. I want to be done.”

Pennington then appeared to argue with her team for a second before listening to their words. However, Pennington’s cornerman Jason Kutz wasn’t having it, urging her to fight on (via MMAjunkie):

“No, no, no, girl,” Kutz said. “Don’t go out like this. C’mon, girl. I know it hurts. Let’s power through this. Let’s power through this and believe. Change your mindset. Let’s throw everything we got. We’ll recover later. Throw everything we got.”

Pennington ultimately went out for the fifth round, absorbing a ton of unnecessary damage when Nunes destroyed her nose to end the fight with the challenger in a bloody mess. Her cornerman instantly received much criticism for his decision to not listen to her wish to stop competing and taking more damage.

What did you think? Should Pennington’s cornerman have stopped the fight right when she asked him?

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Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington Full Fight Video Highlights

Watch Amanda Nunes dominate Raquel Pennington via TKO at #UFC224:

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UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes secured her third title defense by battering Raquel Pennington in a fifth-round TKO stoppage in the main event of last night’s (Sat., May 12, 2018) UFC 224 from Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pennington certainly had her moments with a few crisp strikes and a strong takedown, yet the advantage of the champion was clear from the outset when she dropped ‘Rocky’ with the very first strike of the bout, a low leg kick. ‘The Lioness’ maintained a nonstop pace of relentless pressure from there, pushing Pennington against the fence with a rapid, athletic arsenal of low kicks, punches, and knees.

Nunes appeared well on her way to winning every round of the five-round title affair, but she ultimately ended it before that when she took Pennington to the ground and opened up her already badly broken nose with an elbow, resulting in a brutal TKO and a river of blood perhaps unnecessarily flowing from the challenger.

The manner of the finish perhaps could have been avoided as Pennington said she was ‘done’ in between the fourth and fifth rounds, to which her corner urged to fight on, but that’s a different story to discuss in the aftermath of the action-packed UFC 224.

For now, watch the highlights of Nunes’ latest impressive victory right here:

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Amanda Nunes Emerges from Ronda Rousey’s Shadow, Ready for Cyborg Fight

Amanda Nunes has finally emerged from the shadow of Ronda Rousey. It took longer than it should have. Nunes had eclipsed Rousey in skill long before she sent the groundbreaking …

Amanda Nunes has finally emerged from the shadow of Ronda Rousey. It took longer than it should have. Nunes had eclipsed Rousey in skill long before she sent the groundbreaking …

UFC 224 Results: Amanda Nunes Beats Raquel Pennington in Main Event

Amanda Nunes is a bad, bad woman. The Lioness once again ended her night with the UFC women’s bantamweight title around her waist with a fifth-round TKO win over Raquel Pennington in the main event at UFC 224 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro…

Amanda Nunes is a bad, bad woman. The Lioness once again ended her night with the UFC women’s bantamweight title around her waist with a fifth-round TKO win over Raquel Pennington in the main event at UFC 224 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro…