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. 6-12.
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 Jan. 9-15.
UFC 283 is down a middleweight as Brad Tavares has withdrawn from his bout opposite Gregory Rodrigues, who hopes to remain on the card.
UFC 283 is down a middleweight.
Tuesday, [autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) revealed [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC) has withdrawn from their scheduled Jan. 21 meeting due to what is thought to be an injury.
“He’s out,” Rodrigues said in an interview with SuperBook Sports. “UFC started working to find someone to fight me in Brazil. I hope they find somebody. I was so prepared. I was so excited for my fight against Brad, to get a guy with his experience. But that’s not going to happen, not on this show. One thing I know is I’m ready. I’m so prepared. Anyone can come and ‘Robocop’ will be ready. I’ll put a show on.”
An additional person with knowledge of the change confirmed it Tuesday to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The promotion still seeks a replacement to take the bout scheduled for Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the person added.
BREAKING — Brad Tavares is OUT for his match up with Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues in UFC 283 in Brazil.
“Anyone can come in and robocop will be ready and I will put a show on” @gregory_mma @rkruck pic.twitter.com/ZrrjtosOhN
— SuperBook Sports (@SuperBookSports) January 10, 2023
Rodrigues, 30, won six of his most recent seven with the only defeat in the stretch a split decision loss to Armen Petrosyan in February. Should he remain on UFC 283, Rodrigues enters the bout on a two-fight winning streak that includes knockout victories against Chidi Njokuani and Julian Marquez.
With the change, the UFC 283 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ABC, 8 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
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Brad Tavares says he has no issue going into enemy territory to fight Gregory Rodrigues in Brazil at UFC 283.
[autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] will be going into enemy territory later this month.
The middleweight takes on [autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag] on Jan. 21 at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro. It’s safe to assume Brazil’s Rodrigues (13-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will have the crowd on his side like most Brazilians do in home fights.
Given the passion and the “you’re going to die” chants from the fans, non-Brazilians might find it intimidating and even a disadvantage to some degree – but not Tavares (19-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC). He’s unfazed by what may come with being the visitor.
“As far as going into his home country and fighting him on his home soil, it’s nothing new to me,” Tavares told MMA Junkie Radio. “Previously in my career, I went on a streak where I fought everybody in their hometown.
“I went to Japan and fought Riki Fukuda. I went to England and fought Tom Watson. I went down to Florida and fought Yoel Romero – granted, he’s from Cuba, but that’s his new hometown. He has his whole fan base there. So it’s nothing new to me. I’ve done it before. This ain’t the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last time.”
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As far as the challenge itself, Rodrigues is entering UFC 283 with momentum. The 30-year-old has two consecutive wins, both stoppages, and won post-fight bonuses for each.
Tavares, who’s coming off a decision loss to Dricus du Plessis, knows he’s got a tough task and is aware of the dangers “Robocop” presents.
“I know one thing about him: He’s a tough dude, and you see that in his fights,” Tavares said. “He gets hurt or rocked, whatever it may be, and people think they’ve got him. They think they’ve got the fight won, and no – he puts their lights out. He’s a super dangerous guy, a super tough guy.”
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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 Sept. 26-Oct. 2.
After suffering a gruesome cut earlier this month, Gregory Rodrigues has already been booked for his next fight.
[autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag] isn’t looking to waste any time.
Just weeks after suffering a gruesome cut in a TKO win over Chidi Njokuani at UFC Fight Night 210, Rodrigues (13-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has been booked for his next fight. He meets perennial middleweight contender [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC) at UFC 283 on Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Super Lutas.
Rodrigues has knocked out three of his past four opponents. In his most recent outing earlier this month, “Robocop” rallied to finish Njokuani in Round 2, but was on the receiving end of a big knee which caused a nasty gash between his eyes. His back-and-forth battle took home the Fight of the Night bonus.
Meanwhile, Tavares will look to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 276 in July. Prior to that, the Season 11 “Ultimate Fighter” alum scored back-to-back wins over Antonio Carlos Junior and Omari Akhmedov.
With the addition, the current UFC 283 lineup includes:
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Check out the facts and figures to come out of UFC 276, where Alexander Volkanovski continued his epic run with a 22nd consecutive win.
The biggest UFC event of the year thus far took place Saturday with UFC 276, which went down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and featured a plethora of notable names – none more so than a pair of champions from Oceania.
In the main event, [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) outpointed [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) for a unanimous decision to defend the middleweight title. That win came soon after [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) defended the featherweight title against [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) with another unanimous decision in their trilogy bout.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 276.
Check out the best photos from Dricus Du Plessis’ unanimous decision win over Brad Tavares at UFC 276.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]’ unanimous decision win over [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag] at UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports)
Check out these photos from the UFC 276 ceremonial weigh-ins and the final fighter faceoffs.
Check out these photos from the UFC 276 ceremonial weigh-ins at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photos by Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie)
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.
