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 the promotions from Sept. 25-Oct. 1.
A women’s flyweight bout between Ariane Lipski and Casey O’Neill has been added to UFC 296.
[autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] will make her return in the final UFC pay-per-view of the year in her first fight since she suffered her first professional defeat.
The women’s flyweight has been booked against former KSW champion [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag] at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a person with knowledge of the matchup following an initial report from AG Fight on Thursday.
O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) hasn’t fought since March, when she lost a unanimous decision to Jennifer Maia at UFC 286 in London. Prior to the defeat, the 25-year-old was unbeaten in her MMA career, which included four wins under the UFC banner. O’Neill was supposed to return at UFC 293 earlier this month, but was forced to withdraw from the bout against Viviane Araujo due to injury.
Lipski (15-8 MMA, 4-5 UFC) is looking to continue to build momentum after breaking free from her worst run in the UFC. She’s currently on a two-fight winning streak with decisions over JJ Aldrich and Melissa Gatto. Lipski was on a 1-3 run before the current rally.
With the addition, the UFC 296 lineup now includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
Ariane Lipski beat Melissa Gatto with a split decision Saturday at UFC on ESPN 47. She’s still chasing her first UFC knockout.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag] beat Melissa Gatto with a split decision Saturday on the main card at UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Lipski, who has back-to-back decision wins in 2023.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 48, where Grant Dawson joined an exclusive club by putting together a nine-fight unbeaten streak in the octagon.
The UFC’s loaded July schedule got off to a hot start on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 48, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and featured six stoppages out of 12 fights.
One of those finishes came in the main event, when [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) held serve as a top middleweight when he turned back [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] (25-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a second-round TKO before calling for a title shot.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 48.
UFC on ESPN 47 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $144,500.
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 on ESPN 47 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 47 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Melissa Gatto[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000
def.[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ivana Petrovic[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Blagoy Ivanov[/autotag]: $6,000
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 $47,000 while title challengers get $47,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-47 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $4,109,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,698,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
Ariane Lipski spent much of her UFC on ESPN 47 training camp under the watchful eye of retired women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag] couldn’t have asked for a much better training situation ahead of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47 bout against Melissa Gatto.
Lipski (15-8 MMA, 4-5 UFC) got the chance to share the gym with recently retired former two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes in South Florida, and she said it boosted both her physical and mental game prior to sharing the cage with Gatto (8-1-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in their women’s flyweight fight, which takes place at the UFC Apex and airs on ESPN/streams on ESPN+.
“It’s such an inspiration,” Lipski told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 47 media day. “Great opportunity for me, just to see her train the way she does. Had the opportunity to learn from her. She was always there to try to help. Even in her training camp she would still look at me on the mats and mistakes and say, ‘Hey, do this.’ Always trying to give me some advice that could maybe make a better fight. She’s great. I’m a big fan of her and have an opportunity to know her and be a friend of her. It’s an honor for me.”
Lipski, 29, hopes the ideal preparation for her fight will show in the results. It’s been nearly three years since the Brazilian was able to string together consecutive winning results, and after beating JJ Aldrich in March, she hopes the momentum will spill over.
“The way I fight, my style, is always look to finish the fight,” Lipski said. “But I’m becoming a well-rounded fighter, more focused, more technical fight. Every fight the level goes up. My opponent is good. It’s not easy to finish the fight. Sure, I want to. But my focus is win.
To hear more from Lipski, check out her complete UFC on ESPN 47 media day interview above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
Before UFC on ESPN 47 on Saturday, 14 athletes from the card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day.
LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for July kicks off Saturday with UFC on ESPN 47, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
A middleweight bout serves as the main event, with [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) taking on [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a matchup between one established contender and an opponent looking to make a splash in just his second octagon appearance.
Before fight night arrives, though, 14 athletes from this weekend’s card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream above, check below for the archived videos of each media day session.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 47, which sees Kevin Lee return to the promotion with records on his resume.
The UFC’s rampant summer schedule continued on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 47, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN/streams on ESPN+.
Opening a four-event lineup in July will be a middleweight headliner between [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who are scheduled for five rounds.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s prevent facts about UFC on ESPN 47.
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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 April 17-23.
Ariane Lipski’s upset of JJ Aldrich at UFC Fight Night 221 was on account of her improved wrestling, she said.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag] beat JJ Aldrich with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 221 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Lipski, who pulled off an upset over a favorite of more than 4-1.
