2024 in UFC | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Information | ||||
First date | January 13, 2024 | |||
Last date | TBD | |||
Events | ||||
Total events | TBD | |||
UFC | TBD | |||
TUF Finale events | TBD | |||
Fights | ||||
Total fights | TBD | |||
Title fights | TBD | |||
Chronology | ||||
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The year 2024 is the 31st year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
On August 9, 2023, U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware granted class action status to more than 1,200 former UFC fighters who competed between December 2010 and June 2017 and are suing for $800 million upward to $1.6 billion in wages, as the lawsuit claims Zuffa had abused its power to suppress UFC fighters' wages. The anti-trust law also permits private plaintiffs to be able to recover three times the damages suffered, meaning the UFC may ultimately pay several billions of dollars worth of damages. [1] The case has a scheduled April 8, 2024 trial date. [2] On March 20, 2024, TKO, UFC parent company reached an agreement to settle all claims in the class action lawsuits for $335 million where the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes. [3]
The UFC announced a new partnership with Drug Free Sport International, begin in January 2024, the same company that oversees the anti-doping programs of the NCAA, MLB, NFL, and NBA. The administration of the UFC Anti-Doping Program, including sanctioning decisions, will be handled exclusively and independently by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), where the former FBI agent George Piro would serve as the independent administrator of the UFC's anti-doping program. [4]
On September 12, 2023, Endeavor merged with professional wrestling promotion WWE to form a new publicly traded company under the stock symbol "TKO". [5] TKO executive chairman Vince McMahon resigned on January 26, 2024 after Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, filed a lawsuit against McMahon for sex trafficking and sexual assault. [6]
In February 2024, the third Performance Institute was opened in Mexico City, Mexico. [7]
On April 2, 2024, it was announced by TKO that Endeavor was privately taken 100% by its largest investor, Silver Lake, three years after Endeavor three-year run as a public company where Endeavor purchased the UFC for just over $4 billion in 2016. [8] [9]
On April 12, 2024, UFC announced a new glove where changes were made to reduce hand injuries and eye pokes (every 14 fights with an average delay of 50 seconds), while maintaining dexterity and not affecting performance. The new gloves were already tested during the ten weeks of the Dana White's Contender Series 2023 and gloves will be used starting June 2024. New features of the gloves include: (1) a wristband locking system to prevent grabbing of the gloves; (2) all seams are now on the palm side with a lack of seams on top of the hands to minimize abrasions and cuts; (3) removal of finger binding that allows the hand to close maturely to reduce eyes pokes, abrasions, and cuts; (4) padding to the sides of the index and pinky finger of the glove to protect bone; (5) ergonomic curved wristband for better fit around the wrist scooped or angled finger holes to eliminate bunching on the inside of the fisted hand lining; (6) and thicker foam padding for maximum flexibility and protection with an updated law profile hook and loop that minimizes snag and reduces weight; they have an authentication and data chip which allows the UFC to identify a pair of gloves to a fighter in a specific fight. [10] [11]
The gloves come in XXXS to XXXXL sizes with weight lighter by 1 to 1.5 ounces compared to the previous gloves; the new glove weighs between 3 and 4.9 oz. [12] New gloves include five different glove colors: gun-metal gloves will be used for traditional UFC fights; gold gloves with an octagon trim for championship fights and main event bouts; black gloves for “The Ultimate Fighter”; blue gloves for Dana White’s Contender Series; and red gloves for Road to the UFC tournaments. [13] [14]
These fighters have either been released from their UFC contracts, announced their retirement, or joined other promotions:
The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2024:
The list below is based on fighters suspended either by (1) United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) or World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for violation of taking prohibited substances or non-analytical incidents, (2) by local commissions on misconduct during the fights or at event venues, or (3) by the UFC for reasons also stated below.
ISO | Name | Nickname | Division | From | Duration | Tested positive for / Info | By | Eligible to fight again | Ref. | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hamdy Abdelwahab | The Hammer | Heavyweight | July 30, 2022 | 2 years | Metenolone and its metabolite | USADA | July 30, 2024 | [68] | ||
Jeff Molina | El Jefe | Flyweight | November 5, 2022 | None | Linked to the investigation that began as a result of suspicious betting activity ahead of the Nov. 5 UFC fight between Darrick Minner | NYAC NSAC UFC | To be determined by NYAC and NSAC / temporary barred from UFC | [69] | ||
José Henrique Souza | Canela | Welterweight | March 8, 2023 | 2 years | 19-Norandrosterone and 19-Noretiocholanolone | USADA | March 8, 2025 | [70] | Parted with UFC as of Spring 2023. | |
Braxton Smith | The Beautiful Monster | Heavyweight | April 19, 2023 | 2 years | Exogenous testosterone and/or its precursors | USADA | April 19, 2025 | [71] | Parted with UFC as of June 2023. | |
Walt Harris | The Big Ticket | Heavyweight | July 11, 2023 | 4 years | Drostanolone and its metabolites, exogenous testosterone, and Anastrozole | CSAD | July 11, 2027 | [72] | ||
Miles Johns | Chopo | Bantamweight | September 23, 2023 | 4+1⁄2 months | Turinabol | NSAC | February 6, 2024 | [73] | $2,300 fine $157.04 in prosecution fees. | |
Khusein Askhabov | Lion' | Featherweight | February 8, 2024. | 2 years | Methandienone (aka Dianabol or D-Bol) metabolites | Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) | February 8, 2026 | [75] | Askhabov was released by UFC | |
The following The Ultimate Fighter seasons are scheduled for broadcast in 2024:
Season | Division | Winner | Runner-up | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Ultimate Fighter 32 [76] | Featherweight | |||
Middleweight |
Title fights in 2024 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Event | Notes | |||
Women's Bantamweight | Raquel Pennington | def. [77] | Mayra Bueno Silva | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 297 | [lower-alpha 1] |
Middleweight | Dricus du Plessis | def. [78] | Sean Strickland (c) | Decision (split) (47–48, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 297 | [lower-alpha 2] |
Featherweight | Ilia Topuria | def. [79] | Alexander Volkanovski (c) | KO (punch) | 2 | 3:32 | UFC 298 | [lower-alpha 3] |
Bantamweight | Sean O'Malley (c) | def. [80] | Marlon Vera | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–44) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 299 | [lower-alpha 4] |
Women's Strawweight | Zhang Weili (c) | def. [81] | Yan Xiaonan | Decision (unanimous) (49–45, 49–45, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | UFC 300 | [lower-alpha 5] |
Light Heavyweight | Alex Pereira (c) | def. [82] | Jamahal Hill | KO (punches) | 1 | 3:14 | UFC 300 | [lower-alpha 6] |
Flyweight | Alexandre Pantoja (c) | vs. [83] | Steve Erceg | UFC 301 | [lower-alpha 7] | |||
Lightweight | Islam Makhachev (c) | vs. [84] | Dustin Poirier | UFC 302 | [lower-alpha 8] |
Anthony Smith is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, Smith has also formerly competed for Strikeforce and Bellator. As of December 12, 2023, he is #10 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
Derrick Lewis is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts in UFC history. A professional competitor since 2010, Lewis has also competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy FC, where he was the Heavyweight Champion. As of March 12, 2024, he is #12 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Andrew Martin Dober is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA, and Titan Fighting Championship.
Abdul Razak Alhassan is a Ghanaian mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2013, he formerly fought in Bellator and Legacy Fighting Championship.
Sean O'Malley is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion. As of March 12, 2024, he is #6 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Cory Sandhagen is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2015, Sandhagen has also competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance. As of April 16, 2024, he is #2 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.
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Trevin Giles is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Giles currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Mario Alberto Bautista is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of April 16, 2024, he is #12 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.
Alonzo Menifield is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, he has formerly fought in Bellator and the Legacy Fighting Alliance. As of December 19, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
Youssef Zalal is a Moroccan professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Jamahal Hill is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. As of April 16, 2024, he is #3 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.
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Gregory Felipe Santos Rodrigues is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is an eight-time National BJJ Champion. He was the Smash Global MMA Middleweight Champion and former Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Middleweight Champion.
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