Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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 or officially announced by a promotion from June 26-July 2.
The Bears created a dish that belongs in a Michelin Star restaurant with their 2023 schedule reveal.
The Chicago Bears 2023 schedule has finally been released and with it, a fun video to go along with the reveal. Over the last few years, NFL teams have embraced the schedule reveals with engaging videos on social media. The Bears have been no different, but their videos haven’t exactly been up to par with other NFL teams. That wasn’t the case this year, though.
The Bears parodied the hit FX television show “The Bear” which is based in Chicago to unveil their schedule. With the help of current and former players, as well as celebrities to star in the video, the Bears created a dish that belongs in a Michelin Star restaurant.
Liz Carmouche is making her footprint on the Bellator record books after recording another title defense at Bellator 294.
The first half of Bellator’s doubleheader in Hawaii went down Friday with Bellator 294, which took place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and saw a champion defend her title in the main event.
[autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) recorded a second consecutive defense of her women’s flyweight title when she rallied from a 3-0 deficit on the scorecards to submit [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] (13-8-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) with an arm-triangle choke in the fourth frame of their rematch.
For more on the numbers behind Carmouche’s win, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts form Bellator 294.
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 March 13-19.
Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 289, which took place Friday and saw a number of significant betting upsets.
Bellator put on its 17th and final event of the year on Friday with Bellator 289, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Two champions defended their titles at the top of the card. In the main event, [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) edged [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) by split decision in their grudge match to defend interim bantamweight gold and advance to the finals of the promotion’s grand prix.
The co-headliner saw [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) earn a second consecutive win over [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA), this time without controversy as she scored a second-round submission to defend women’s flyweight gold.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 289.
Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 289 in Uncasville, Conn.
Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 289, headlined by an interim bantamweight title and grand prix semifinal bout between Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)
Check out our staff members’ picks for Bellator 289, including Raufeon Stots vs. Danny Sabatello and Liz Carmouche vs. Juliana Velasquez.
| Stots vs. Sabatello |
Carmouche vs. Velasquez |
Magomedov vs. Mix |
Adams vs. Rosta |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 192-116 |
 Stots (77%) |
 Velasquez (62%) |
 Magomedov (62%) |
 Rosta (89%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 204-109  2018 Champion |
Stots |
 Carmouche |
 Mix |
Rosta |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 195-118 |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 193-120 |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 191-122 |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 191-122 2014 Champion |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 189-124 |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 188-125 |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 182-131 2017 Champion |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 180-133 |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 172-141 |
Stots |
Velasquez |
Mix |
Rosta |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 154-159 |
Stots |
Carmouche |
Mix |
Rosta |
Bellator is back at its regular East Coast stomping ground with tournament semifinals and two title fights.
Bellator 289 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, interim bantamweight champion [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) takes on heated rival [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in one of two grand prix semifinals. Stots is a slight -160 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Sabatello is +125. But our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Stots as one of three unanimous picks on the main card.
In the co-feature, women’s flyweight [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) puts her title on the line for the first time in a rematch with [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA), whom she beat by TKO in April. Velasquez protested the stoppage to no avail, but now has a shot at redemption. Even though she’s a -180 favorite over the champ, it’s underdog Carmouche who has a whopping 10-1 lead from our staff pickers.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) meets [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) in the second bantamweight tournament semifinal. The odds are the closest on the entire card with Magomedov just a -135 favorite. But our staff members have Mix in an 11-0 shutout.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Anthony Adams[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has a tough task at middleweight against the unbeaten 10-1 favorite [autotag]Dalton Rosta[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA). Given the odds, it’s not surprising Rosta is our third unanimous pick in four fights.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Stots (77 percent), Velasquez (62 percent), Magomedov (62 percent) and Rosta (89 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.
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. 17-23.
Bellator 289 takes place Dec. 9 and is headlined by two title fights, including the Danny Sabatello vs. Raufeon Stots grudge match.
Bellator has added four new fights to its final event of 2022.
Scheduled for Dec. 9 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Bellator 289 already featured two bantamweight grand prix fights and a women’s flyweight title fight. Now, its undercard is filling up, too.
Most notably, a middleweight bout between rising contender [autotag]Dalton Rosta[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Anthony Adams[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take place.
Rosta, 26, is undefeated as a professional. In his most recent outing, Rosta dominated blue-chip wrestling prospect Romero Cotton en route to a third-round knockout. Meanwhile, Adams upset former UFC fighter Khalid Murtazaliev via unanimous decision in his Bellator debut in September 2021 and has not competed since.
A promotion official recently notified MMA Junkie of the addition, as well as [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Shamil Nikaev[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at lightweight, [autotag]Cass Bell[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Jared Scoggins[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at bantamweight, and [autotag]Kevin Boehm[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag] (9-5-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA).
The Boehm vs. Kamaka bout was first reported by BellatorZone.
Rosta with the best finish of #Bellator283?@DaltonRosta 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 Romero Cotton in R3 to take him to 7-0 in the Bellator cage 🔥
Watch the replay on @BBCiPlayer 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/JSbTwZITxC
— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) July 24, 2022
With the additions, the Bellator 289 lineup includes:
[listicle id=2578870]
Aaron Jeffery will get a big opportunity when he meets former title challenger Austin Vanderford.
[autotag]Aaron Jeffery[/autotag] will get a big opportunity when he meets a recent title challenger.
[autotag]Anthony Adams[/autotag] has been forced out and Jeffery (12-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will step in on short notice to face [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) at Bellator 284, which takes place Aug. 12 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
Jeffery confirmed the news on social media after an initial report from ESPN.
Jeffery fell short on two stints on Dana White’s Contender Series, losing to Brendan Allen in 2019 and Caio Borralho in September 2021. The former CFFC middleweight champion made a successful Bellator debut in June when he scored a second-round TKO of Fabio Aguiar.
Vanderford will look to rebound from his first career loss. After defeating Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259, Vanderford got a title shot against middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 275 in February, but was stopped in just 85 seconds.
With the change, the Bellator 284 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET)
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