Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 3-9)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Oct. 3-9.

UFC books Malcolm Gordon vs. Allan Nascimento for Aug. 13 event

Flyweights Malcolm Gordon and Allan Nascimento will collide at a UFC Fight Night event expected to take place in San Diego.

A flyweight fight is the newest addition to the UFC lineup on Aug. 13.

Canada’s [autotag]Macolm Gordon[/autotag] and Brazil’s [autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag] will square off in a 125-pound battle at the UFC Fight Night event. The card is expected to take place in San Diego.

Three people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Gordon (14-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) had a rocky start to his promotional tenure but has since rebounded. After back-to-back losses, Gordon is now on a two-fight winning streak. He defeated Francisco Figueiredo by decision in July 2021 before he beat Denys Bondar by TKO due to injury at UFC Fight Night 200 in February.

Nascimento (19-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has split his UFC appearances to date. After a split decision loss to Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC 267 in October, Nascimento rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Jake Hadley in May.

With the addition, the UFC lineup for Aug. 13 includes:

  • Dominick Cruz vs. Marlon Vera
  • Devin Clark vs. Azamat Murzakanov
  • Aspen Ladd vs. Sara McMann
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Alexa Grasso
  • Yazmin Jauregui vs. Istela Nunes
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bruno Silva
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs. Martin Buday
  • Malcolm Gordon vs. Allan Nascimento

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Photos: UFC on ESPN 36 weigh-ins and faceoffs

Check out these photos of the UFC on ESPN 36 official weigh-ins and faceoffs in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos of the UFC on ESPN 36 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)

UFC on ESPN 36 predictions: Can ex-champ Jan Blachowicz get back on track vs. Aleksandar Rakic?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 36 main card in Las Vegas, featuring ex-champ Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic.

Blachowicz
vs.
Rakic
Cutelaba
vs.
Spann
Grant
vs.
Smolka
Chookagian
vs.
Ribas
Camacho
vs.
Torres
Hadley
vs.
Nascimento
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
79-38
blachowicz2022
Blachowicz
(56%)
spann2022
Spann
(53%)
grant2022
Grant
(80%)
ribas2022
Ribas
(52%)
torres2022
Torres
(73%)
hadley2022
Hadley
(81%)
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
78-40
blachowicz2022
Blachowicz
spann2022
Spann
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
77-41
trophy copy 2018 Champion
rakic2022
Rakic
spann2022
Spann
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
76-42
trophy copy 2014 Champion
rakic2022
Rakic
spann2022
Spann
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
76-42
rakic2022
Rakic
spann2022
Spann
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
camacho2022
Camacho
hadley2022
Hadley
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
75-43
rakic2022
Rakic
spann2022
Spann
smolka2022
Smolka
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
74-44
blachowicz2022
Blachowicz
spann2022
Spann
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Nolan King
@mma_kings
74-44
rakic2022
Rakic
cutelaba2022
Cutelaba
smolka2022
Smolka
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
73-45
trophy copy 2017 Champion
rakic2022
Rakic
spann2022
Spann
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
72-46
rakic2022
Rakic
cutelaba2022
Cutelaba
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
68-50
rakic2022
Rakic
spann2022
Spann
grant2022
Grant
chookagian2022
Chookagian
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
59-59
blachowicz2022
Blachowicz
spann2022
Spann
smolka2022
Smolka
ribas2022
Ribas
torres2022
Torres
hadley2022
Hadley

The UFC is back in its Las Vegas home base this week with a former champion at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 36 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (28-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) takes on [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC). Rakic is a 2-1 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Blachowicz is +150. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Rakic at a pretty high 8-3 clip.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (16-6-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in another light heavyweight bout. Cutelaba is a -240 favorite, but it’s underdog Spann with a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC will go after his fifth straight post-fight bonus award when he takes on [autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) at bantamweight. Grant is more than a 3-1 favorite and has a big 8-3 edge in the picks from our staff members.

Former women’s flyweight title challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) will go after her fourth straight win when she meets [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Chookagian nearly is a 2-1 favorite and only one of our pickers is taking Ribas in an upset.

[autotag]Frank Camacho[/autotag] (22-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) returns after a hiatus of nearly two years to take on [autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at lightweight. Torres is a modest -130 favorite – the smallest favorite on the main card. But he’s a near-unanimous pick at 11-1.

And to open the main card, we have our only unanimous pick: -230 favorite [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is an 11-0 pick against [autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag] (18-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their flyweight bout.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Blachowicz (56 percent), Spann (53 percent), Grant (80 percent), Ribas (52 percent), Torres (73 percent) and Hadley (81 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento rescheduled for UFC Fight Night on May 14

The matchup between Jake Hadley and Allan Nascimento has been rebooked for May.

[autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag] has been rebooked.

Hadley (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his long-awaited promotional debut when he faces Nascimento (18-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on May 14, which doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Eurosport NL was first to report the rebooking.

Nascimento originally replaced Francisco Figueiredo against Hadley at UFC London in March, but the bout was scrapped after Hadley withdrew due to injury.

Hadley secured a UFC deal when he submitted Season 29 “Ultimate Fighter” alum Mitch Raposo at Dana White’s Contender Series 43 this past October. But Hadley’s signing didn’t come without a bit of controversy. The unbeaten former Cage Warriors champion weighed in one pound over the flyweight limit and allegedly was unprofessional toward some of the UFC staff, causing issues behind the scenes. However, Dana White decided to sign him anyway.

A training partner of UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil alum Nascimento fell short in his promotional debut when he was defeated by Tagir Ulanbekov in a back-and-forth grappling affair at UFC 267.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 14 includes:

  • Viviane Araujo vs. Andrea Lee
  • Frank Camacho vs. Manuel Torres
  • Jamall Emmers vs. Daniel Pineda
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. Angela Hill
  • Nick Maximov vs. Andre Petroski
  • Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka
  • Ion Cuțelaba vs. Ryan Spann
  • Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento

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With Francisco Figueiredo out, Jake Hadley will now face Allan Nascimento at UFC Fight Night on March 19

Jake Hadley has drawn a new opponent for his UFC debut.

[autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag] has drawn a new opponent for his UFC debut.

Francisco Figueiredo has been forced out of UFC Fight Night on March 19 and [autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag] (18-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will step in to face Hadley (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the rumored London card.

Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the change Friday. They asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Hadley secured a UFC deal when he submitted Season 29 “Ultimate Fighter” alum Mitch Raposo at Dana White’s Contender Series 43 this past October. But Hadley’s signing didn’t come without a bit of controversy. The unbeaten former Cage Warriors champion weighed in one pound over the flyweight limit and allegedly was unnprofessional toward some of the UFC staff, causing issues behind the scenes. But UFC president Dana White decided to sign him anyway.

Training partner of UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil alum Nascimento fell short in his promotional debut when he was defeated by Tagir Ulanbekov in a back-and-forth grappling affair at UFC 267.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night lineup for March 19 includes:

  • Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento
  • Luana Carolina vs. Molly McCann
  • Cody Durden vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
  • Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Tom Aspinall

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UFC 267 medical suspensions: Glover Teixeira among six facing potential six-month terms

Six fighters were suspended for 180 days due to injuries sustained in Abu Dhabi.

Glover Teixeira lived out a championship dream at UFC 267, but it came with a price.

After the UFC light heavyweight title was wrapped around his waist for the first time, a goal he’d chased for two decades, Teixeira was handed a six-month suspension by the commissioning regulatory body for a right shoulder injury.

MMA Junkie obtained a list of medical suspensions Tuesday from MixedMartialArts.com, the official record keeper of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).

UFC 267 took place Saturday, Oct. 30 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

Teixeira wasn’t the only one handed a potential 180-day suspension. Preliminary card fighters Albert Duraev, Benoit St-Denis, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Michal Oleksiejczuk, and Allan Nascimento were also given six-month terms.

Scroll below to see a complete list of UFC 267 suspensions below. It’s important to note fighters can become eligible to return to competition prior to suspension completion if they are cleared by a physician.

UFC 267 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jan Blachowicz gets biggest bag at $42,000

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 267 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $298,000.

ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 267 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $298,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 267 took place at the Etihad Arena in Yas Island. The card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC 267 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Albert Duraev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Shamil Gamzatov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Hu Yaozong[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,787,000
Program-to-date total: $4,787,000