Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from Magomed Umalatov’s victory over Andrey Koreshkov in the 2024 PFL 3 main event in Chicago.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Magomed Umalatov[/autotag]’s unanimous decision victory over Andrey Koreshkov in the 2024 PFL 3 main event, which took place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. (Photos courtesy of PFL MMA)
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, itโs nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, weโve got your back.
Each week, weโll 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 or officially announced by a promotion from June 5-11.
The Bellator x RIZIN 2 card continues to fill as Lorenz Larkin enters a fight with high violence potential and Danny Sabatello returns.
Two main card bouts have been added to the upcoming Bellator x RIZIN show this summer.
At Bellator x RIZIN 2, welterweight strikers [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag] (26-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (25-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) will collide, before bantamweight contenders [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) later on the July 30 card (July 29 in the United States) at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Promotion officials announced the bookings Wednesday.
Koreshkov, 32, has won four straight fights. Over that stretch, he’s alternated fights in and outside of Bellator, as the promotion has allowed him to take bouts outside the promotion. Koreshkov most recently competed at Shlemenko FC 4 in June and won by TKO.
Larkin, 36, has not lost in eight straight appearances and has bounced between middleweight and welterweight. In February, Larkin landed one of the most violent knockouts of 2023 when he put Mukhamed Berkhamov to sleep with a standing elbow in February.
๐๐ข๐ข๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ง! What a KO from @da_MONSOON ๐ฑ
๐ป @MonsterEnergy Prelims fueled by @NorthgateGlzMrk | Bellator YouTube
๐บ #Bellator290 | ๐ช๐ฉ๐บ & ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐+ | 9pm ET / 6pm PT pic.twitter.com/XlwX1jOc78
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 5, 2023
Magomedov, 31, looks to get back in the win column after a submission loss to Patchy Mix in December. The bout was a bantamweight grand prix semifinal, which Magomedov advanced into after a quarterfinal win over Enrique Barzola.
Sabatello, 30, bounced back in April from a bantamweight grand prix semifinal loss of his own vs. Raufeon Stots. Sabatello defeated rising prospect Marcos Breno by second-round submission.
With the additions, the Bellator x RIZIN 2 lineup includes:
A full recap of Bellator’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, fights and individual performances of 2022.
Another year is in the books for Bellator.
The promotion hosted 17 fight cards to maintain its status among the top dogs in the MMA space. During that time, many records were set and a host of historic moments were produced.
Now that the year has come to a close, here are some of 2022’s most significant fights and individual performances.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past two weeks.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, itโs nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, weโve got your back.
Each week, weโll 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 April 18-May 1.
Paul Daley has one left in the tank โ and it looks like Andrey Koreshkov is his man.
[autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] made it known he only has one more fight left in the tank.
Unenthused about originally-offered opponents, Daley (43-18-2 MMA, 9-5 BMMA) is now targeted to face a veteran in former Bellator welterweight champion [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag] (25-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA), a promotion official Monday confirmed to MMA Junkie after an initial report by reporter Michael Morgan on Twitter. The welterweight bout is slated for May 13 at Bellator London, which takes place at OVO Arena Wembley.
Daley, 39, has been with Bellator for the past seven years. His losses in the promotion have been to Bellatorโs elite-level welterweights: former Bellator champions Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald, former WSOF champ Jon Fitch and upcoming Bellator title challenger Michael Page, as well as Jason Jackson.
Heโll be 39 when he steps in the cage for the last time and said his retirement was supposed to be sooner.
โIโve been planning for it for a long time,โ Daley said. โIโve had a lot of fights. Bellator has treated me well while Iโve been there, and I always knew it was going to be my last promotion. Iโve put things in place so that when I do call it a day, I can do so comfortably.”
As for Koreshkov, he competed Saturday at Bellator 274 when he ran through former UFC fighter Chance Rencountre. The win came 38 seconds into Round 1 via a spinning back kick to the body that punctured Rencountre’s lung and broke five ribs.
With the addition, the Bellator London lineup includes:
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So you want to be a fighter?
[autotag]Chance Rencountre[/autotag] is in rough shape after his Bellator debut ended violently in favor of opponent [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag].
The bout was the Bellator 274 co-main event Saturday and ended in 38 seconds after Koreshkov (24-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) spin-kicked Rencountre (16-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in the upper right torso.
MMA Junkie, who was on scene for the event, witnessed Rencountre leave the arena under his own power, though he moved gingerly and favored his upper body.
Sunday, his manager, Brian Butler of SuckerPunch Entertainment, revealed in an Instagram post Rencountre suffered a punctured lung and five broken ribs.
The injuries hospitalized Rencountre, who according to Butler, is in good spirits as he prepares for surgery. Butler also shared an image of the x-ray and a picture of Rencountre in his hospital bed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaNoSjep342/
Bellator 274 took place Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
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At Bellator 274, Andrey Koreshkov melted former UFC fighter Chance Rencountre in 38 seconds with a kick to the stomach.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. โ [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag] made quick work of a short-notice replacement Saturday at Bellator 274 and did so in fashion.
Thirty-eight seconds into Round 1, Koreshkov (24-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) finished former UFC fighter Chance Rencountre (16-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a spinning back kick to the liver. The bout served as the card’s co-main event at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Check out the flashy kick highlight below:
The placement on this kick from Koreshkov was fantastic #bellator274 pic.twitter.com/cSsuC21QHv
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) February 20, 2022
Koreshkov, a former welterweight titleholder for Bellator, is now on a three-fight winning streak that includes victories over Adriano Rodrigues, Sabah Homasi, and Rencountre. After the fight, Koreshkov called out Paul Daley, who has one fight left before he retires from mixed martial arts.
Official Bellator 274 results include:
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All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, itโs nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, weโve got your back.
Each week, weโll 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 Feb. 7-13.
Andrey Koreshkovย vs. Mukhamed Berkamov set for Bellator 274 co-main event, full card announced.
Former Bellator welterweight champion [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag] has his first fight of 2022 booked.
The Russian has been booked to take on fellow countrymanย [autotag]Mukhamed Berkhamov[/autotag] in the co-main event of Bellator 274. The card is set to take place on Feb. 19 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
A welterweight bout between contenders Neiman Gracie and Logan Storley is set to headline the event, which airs on Showtime.
The promotion announced Koreshkov (24-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA)ย vs. Berkhamov (15-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) on Tuesday, along with a slew of matchups, for Bellator 274.
Koreshkov is on a two-fight winning streak and 3-1 in his past four trips to the cage. The 31-year-old most recently competed in August where he defeated Sabah Homasi by unanimous decision. Koreshkov held the Bellator title from 2015 to 2016, capturing it against Douglas Lima and defending it once against former UFC champion Benson Henderson.
His opponent, Berkhamov, made his Bellator debut in October, submitting Jaleel Willis with a guillotine choke in the first round of their contest. Berkhamov only has one defeat in his professional record and is currently riding a 12-fight winning streak.
The latest Bellator 274 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD
PRELIMINARY CARD
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