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 May 8-15.
Luca Iovine has been around the block a time or two, but Brian Moore wants to give him a rude welcome to Bellator.
DUBLIN – Luca Iovine has been around the block a time or two, but [autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] wants to give him a rude welcome to Bellator.
Moore (15-9 MMA, 6-5 BMMA) has been up and down with Bellator the past nearly six years. But the important part is that right now, after a win this past September, he’s up – and can make it two straight when he takes on Iovine (18-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 291 at 3Arena in Dublin.
Moore will be fighting in front of his home fans in Ireland, so you can bet on him getting a big pop from the crowd against his Italian opponent, whose resume includes fights for Cage Warriors and Venator.
Check out Moore’s full pre-fight media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.
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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 Nov. 21-27.
Brian Moore wants to knock out Leando Higo.
[autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] knows exactly what he wants next.
The Bellator bantamweight is looking to step up in competition and revisit a failed booking following his most recent win. Moore (15-9 MMA, 6-5 BMMA) returned to the cage this past Friday, defeating Arivaldo Silva in a clear unanimous decision at Bellator 285 in Dublin.
And now with some momentum back, Moore is hoping to clash against former Bellator title challenger Leandro Higo.
“Me and Leandro were meant to fight in Italy a while back,” Moore told reporters at the Bellator 285 post-fight press conference. “He had a visa issue, so it’s a fight that I really wanted. I really respect the ‘Pitbull’ brothers, not so much him. So I’ll take him.”
He later added,
“It’s unfinished business. I was meant to fight him in Italy, he couldn’t get his visa, but I still want to knock him out.”
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Moore snapped a two-fight losing streak with the win over Silva. He feels he’s primed to hang with the best despite past setbacks in the promotion.
“It was a domination from start to finish,” Moore said regarding his win. “I was going for the finish, you know how I am, but he was very tough, and he had a chin on him. He was unpredictable and had a good guard and really good takedowns.
“So I had to pick my shots, but it was a domination from start to finish. I’m happy for that. Every time that I have fought in Ireland, I’ve been given top fives and top 10’s only. This is the first time I fought someone outside the rankings and look what happened. I’m ready for that step back up in competition next.”
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Watch the preliminary stream and keep up with live and official results of Bellator 285 in Dublin, Ireland.
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Bellator 285 takes place Friday, and you can join MMA Junkie for the preliminary live stream and official results.
The event takes place at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
In the main event, [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (29-11 MMA, 6-6 BMMA) steps into the backyard of Ireland’s [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) for a lightweight showdown.
The co-feature will see [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) take on [autotag]Melvin Manhoef[/autotag] (32-15-1 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) in a light heavyweight bout.
Official Bellator 285 results include:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 1 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 285.
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Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 285 which took place at 3Arena in Dublin.
Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 285 which took place at 3Arena in Dublin. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)
The Bellator 269 lineup is shaping up as Usman Nurmagomedov, Vitaly Minakov, and a handful of other fighters were added to the Oct. 23 card.
Bellator 269 is shaping up.
On Tuesday, the promotion announced a handful of additions – and a change – the Oct. 23 card scheduled for VTB Arena in Moscow. Included in the latest lineup is [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) who takes his third career Bellator assignment against [autotag]Patrik Pietila[/autotag] (11-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
Nurmagomedov, , most recently competed at Bellator 263 in July when he defeated Manny Muro via first-round TKO. The younger cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov has been praised by Bellator president Scott Coker as one of the promotion’s top rising stars.
Additionally, with [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] out, the former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Vitaly Minakov[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) now meets former Titan FC champion [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). The fight was first reported by Russian outlet Fight Time.
Minakov, 36, has not competed since August 2019 when he knocked out Tim Johnson in 105 seconds at Bellator 225. The victory returned him into the win column after his first career loss, which came against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216 in February 2019.
Sowma, 28, rides into the matchup the momentum of his first Bellator victory. After a unanimous decision loss to Tyrell Fortune in November 2020, Sowma knocked out former UFC and PFL fighter Ronny Markes in 69 seconds at Bellator 262 in July.
The promotion also announced four prelim fights have also been added to the card including [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMM A) vs. [autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), [autotag]Grachik Bozinyan[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Ross Houston[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), [autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Stephanie Ielo Page[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA, and [autotag]Christian Eckerlin[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Alexey Shurkevich[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
The Mikhailov vs. Moore matchup was first reported by Severe MMA, while the Bozinyan vs. Houston fight was first reported by Armenia MMA.
Bellator 269 takes place Oct. 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
With the addition, the Bellator 269 lineup includes:
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If Bellator do indeed return to Dublin, there’s no way Brian Moore is going to miss out.
If Bellator does, indeed, return to Dublin, there’s no way Irish bantamweight [autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] is going to miss out.
Moore (14-7 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), who defeated Jordan Winski via unanimous decision at Bellator 263 on Saturday, wants to ensure that he’s part of the rumored Nov. 5 Bellator card in Ireland.
The 33-year-old hasn’t competed at home since losing to current featherweight champion A.J. McKee in November 2017 and was forced to miss out on the promotion’s past three Dublin cards.
“November, Dublin,” Moore said at the post-fight news conference. “I’m not missing that show. I headlined that show against A.J. McKee in a very entertaining, very close fight, and I haven’t been able to compete in that since with different injuries. Now I’m on a three-fight win streak, it would be a five-fight win streak only for my hands, but it would mean the world to me to fight on the main card in Dublin in November.”
Watch the full post-fight press conference with Moore in the video above.
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The California State Athletic Commission released a full list of disclosed Bellator 263 fighter payouts to MMA Junkie ahead of the event.
LOS ANGELES – The Bellator 263 main event loser will take home a six-figure payday with the winner earning seven figures.
Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] is set to make $250,000 in disclosed show money while [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] will pocket $150,000 in disclosed show pay. The winner will be awarded an additional $1,000,000 – the prize that comes with winning the promotion’s 145-pound grand prix.
Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
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Following the conclusion of Friday’s official weigh-ins at the host hotel, MMA Junkie acquired a list of disclosed payouts from the California State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings.
The full list of Bellator 263 disclosed payouts (show/win) include:
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. E.T., Showtime)
PRELIMS (7 p.m. E.T., MMA Junkie)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXNByfW9aZw
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, 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 July 19-25:
