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 from Feb. 27-March 5.
Aljamain Sterling owns the longest winning streak in the history of the bantamweight division after his UFC 280 title defense.
The most anticipated UFC event of the year took place Saturday with UFC 280 from Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
In the main event, [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) became the new UFC lightweight champion when he seamlessly rolled through [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (33-9 MMA, 21-9 UFC) en route to a second-round submission that gave him the vacant strap.
The co-headliner saw [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) continue his run as bantamweight champion when he registered a second defense with a second-round TKO of [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC).
For more on the numbers to come out of the two title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 280.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 280 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $306,500.
ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 280 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $296,500.
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 280 took place at Etihad Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 280 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gadzhi Omargadzhiev[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Malcolm Gordon[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lina Lansberg[/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 $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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $6,929,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,106,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.
Check out the best photos from Armen Petrosyan’s unanimous decision win over AJ Dobson at UFC 280 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]AJ Dobson[/autotag] at UFC 280 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. (Photos by Craig Kidwell, USA TODAY Sports)
Ricky Turcios landed just 11.5 percent of his strike attempts at UFC on ESPN 39, putting him in the record books for the wrong reasons.
After International Fight Week took over the MMA world, UFC on ESPN 39 on Saturday proved to be something of a hangover card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) put a highlight on the end of a long night of fights, though, when he scored a fifth-round knockout of former UFC champ [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] (32-14 MMA, 20-12 UFC) to extend his winning streak in the lightweight division to six consecutive fights.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 39.
Analyzing Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 39 bout odds and lines between Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan, with MMA picks, tips and predictions.
In a middleweight bout on the main card, Caio Borralho and Armen Petrosyan meet Saturday at UFC on ESPN 39 – also known as UFC Vegas 58 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. Below, we analyze the UFC on ESPN 39 Borralho vs. Petrosyan odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The prelims can be viewed on ESPN/ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the main card on ESPN/ESPN+ starts at 9 p.m.
Borralho made his UFC debut in April with a unanimous-decision victory over Gadzhi Omargadzhiev, and he has posted 10 wins and a no-contest across his past 11 professional bouts. Four of his past 5 fights have ended up going the distance.
Petrosyan also has just 1 fight under his belt under the UFC banner, posting a split-decision win over Gregory Rodriguez in late February. Before his arrival at the UFC, all 7 of his pro bouts resulted in a KO/TKO, with 6 wins.
Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9 a.m. ET.
[tipico]
Records: Borralho (11-1-0) | Petrosyan (7-1-0)
Both of these guys are punching machines and knockout artists at the lower levels. However, target Borralho (-260) to win this event, as he enters the fight with a 4-inch reach advantage. The southpaw will use that to keep Petrosyan at arm’s length. He has also been a lot more accurate with his punches.
You can’t take Borralho laying more than 2 1/2 times your potential return, however. Instead, look to the method of victory and take a chance on BORRALHO BY POINTS (+165) for a much better value.
YES: FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE (+130) is a good value here. Both fighters have been knockout specialists in the early portion of their careers, but each went the distance in their UFC debut fights. Look for this one to be a rather slow go.
Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.
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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, 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 18-May 1.
Five fighters could be looking at six months out after UFC Fight Night 202.
Five fighters could be looking at six months out after UFC Fight Night 202.
[autotag]Priscila Cachoeira[/autotag], who defeated Ji Yeon Kim in a bloody “Fight of the Night” battle, will need clearance for a right nasomaxillary suture fracture and 1st metacarpal base fracture before returning to action.
Also potentially looking at 180-day terms are [autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag], who needs an X-ray on his left foot; [autotag]Ramona Pascual[/autotag], who must have her bilateral nasal bone fracture cleared; [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag], who needs an X-ray on his left foot; and [autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag], who needs an MRI on his left knee.
On Wednesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the official record keeper of the Association of Boxing Commissions. All fighters’ suspensions can terminate sooner should they be cleared by a doctor.
Check out the full UFC Fight Night 202 medical suspensions below.
Armen Petrosyan scored one of the best knockouts on this season of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday.
[autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag] scored one of the best knockouts on this season of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday when he put [autotag]Kaloyan Kolev[/autotag] to sleep.
Petrosyan (6-1) was forced to fend off the grappling advances of Kolev (10-1) for nearly an entire round in their light heavyweight bout. With just 33 seconds remaining in the frame, though, he connected with a perfect left head kick that sent his opponent flying back in the cage wall for the finish.
UFC president Dana White was ecstatic by the outcome, and appeared to elude to Petrosyan as he walked past his seat that a UFC contract was on the way.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
WHAT IN THE WORLD 🤯
Petrosyan w/ the IMPRESSIVE finish!
[ #DWCS live on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/TS0lOQdDJe
— UFC (@ufc) October 20, 2021
Quick night for Armen Petrosyan as he extends his 100% finishing rate 👀
[ #DWCS live on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/jveARJT7Xi
— UFC (@ufc) October 20, 2021
After the fight, Petrosyan said he was happy with performance and felt good about his chances of getting a contract offer.
“I’m very happy,” Petrosyan told Laura Sanko post-fight through an interpreter. “This was a hard road, but we did everything perfect.”
Dana White’s Contender Series 44 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streamed on ESPN+.
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