Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Feb. 12-18.
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 lineup for Bellator’s fall return to Ireland continues to build with the addition of four new matchups.
The lineup for Bellator’s fall return to Ireland continues to build with the addition of four new matchups.
Dublin’s own [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] (13-8-1 MMA, 2-4 BMMA) will return to fight in front of his home fans in a welterweight bout against Italy’s [autotag]Daniele Miceli[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). Promotion officials announced the new booking Monday for Bellator 299, which takes place Sept. 23 at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
In addition, Bellator officials announced the inclusion of featherweight fights between unbeaten Irishman [autotag]Ciaran Clarke[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Przemyslaw Gorny[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Darragh Kelly[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Jelle Zeegers[/autotag] (2-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), plus [autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Gregory Babene[/autotag] (22-11 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).
Queally will attempt to snap a three-fight skid. After a May 2021 win over Patricky Freire in Connecticut due to a doctors stoppage, the pair rematched later that year for the vacant lightweight title. But when they ran it back, Freire knocked out Queally in the second round and started his current skid ahead of losses to Benson Henderson and Bryce Logan.
Miceli got back in the win column this past November with a first-round submission win in France. After a loss in his lone Bellator fight in 2016, he has bounced around the European regional circuit.
Clarke is one of Bellator’s homegrown prospects. The 28-year-old Irishman is unbeaten in his pro career and has racked up three rear-naked choke wins in his first seven fights, all for Bellator. Gorny will make his Bellator debut on the strength of three straight wins, including two straight stoppages in 2022.
Kelly has three of his first four pro wins by stoppage, including a D’Arce choke finish of Andre Ferreira at a Clan Wars event earlier this month. Zeegers, from the Netherlands, will be making his Bellator debut.
The 42-year-old Ward will try to get back on track after back-to-back decision losses to Fabian Edwards and, most recently, Mike Shipman in February at Bellator 291. Prior to that, the longtime fighter had won seven of eight under the Bellator banner. France’s Babene is a perfect 4-0 for Bellator, including a first-round knockout of Shipman at Bellator 280 in 2022.
With the additions, the Bellator 299 lineup in Dublin now includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie/YouTube, 11 a.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Dublin.
Ciaran Clarke might be starting to get used to opponents changing on him – not that it’s a good thing.
DUBLIN – [autotag]Ciaran Clarke[/autotag] might be starting to get used to opponents changing on him – not that it’s a good thing.
Clarke (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) on Saturday takes on Leonardo Sinis (11-5-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a featherweight bout to open up the Bellator 291 main card at 3Arena in Dublin. Clarke will be fighting in front of his home Irish fans.
But for the second straight fight, Clarke has had to deal with an opponent change. He was set to take on Keir Harvie, but Sinis stepped in. This past September, also in Dublin, he had to shift from Georges Sasu for a matchup with Rafael Hudson, which he won by third-round submission to stay unbeaten.
No matter the opponent, though, Clarke said he’ll sign on the dotted line.
Check out Clarke’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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Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 291 main card in Dublin, featuring Yaroslav Amosov vs. Logan Storley.
| Amosov vs. Storley |
Carvalho vs. Kennedy |
Logan vs. Queally |
Harding vs. Kavanagh |
Clarke vs. Sinis |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 15-11 |
 Amosov (73%) |
 Kennedy (80%) |
 Queally (83%) |
 Kavanagh (77%) |
 Clarke (90%) |
| Matt Erickson 18-8 |
 Storley |
Kennedy |
Queally |
 Harding |
Clarke |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 17-9 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 17-9 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 16-10  2018, 2022 Champion |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 16-10 |
Amosov |
 Carvalho |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 15-11/em> |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 15-11 2017 Champion |
Storley |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 14-12 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 14-12 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 12-14 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 12-14 2014 Champion |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
Bellator 291 predictions: Who’s picking Logan Storley to upset Yaroslav Amosov?
Bellator is in Ireland with one of the most dominant fighters in MMA at the top of the bill.
Bellator 291 takes place Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin. 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, welterweight champion [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) meets interim champ [autotag]Logan Storley[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) in a title unification bout. The two fought in late 2020, when Amosov took a split decision. He won the title his next time out.
Amosov is slight favorite at -165 at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Storley is +130. But our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with Amosov, who has MMA’s longest active winning streak, at a big 9-2 clip.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) at featherweight. Kennedy nearly is a 3-1 favorite, and he’s a near-unanimous pick at 10-1 from our staff members.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] (13-7-1 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) is just a -150 favorite at lightweight in front of his home fans against [autotag]Bryce Logan[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 0-4 BMMA), but Queally is one of our two unanimous picks on the main card at 11-0.
[autotag]Janay Harding[/autotag] (6-6 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) meet in a women’s featherweight fight, and each is hoping a win will lead to a title shot. Kavanagh is more than a 2-1 favorite on her home turf, and she has a near-unanimous edge in the picks at 10-1.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Ciaran Clarke[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) takes on late-notice replacement and promotional newcomer [autotag]Leonardo Sinis[/autotag] (11-5-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at featherweight. Clarke is the biggest favorite on the main card at more than 4-1, and not surprisingly is our other unanimous pick.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Amosov (73 percent), Kennedy (80 percent), Queally (83 percent), Kavanagh (77 percent) and Clarke (90 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.
Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 291, where champ Yaroslav Amosov returns to put his 26-fight winning streak in the line.
The second Bellator offering of the year lands on Saturday with Bellator 291, which takes place at 3Arena in Dublin, with a main card set to air on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.
The promotion’s undisputed welterweight champion will be decided in the main event. Current titleholder [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) will return from a layoff that included fighting in the war for his native Ukraine to take on interim champ [autotag]Logan Storley[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA). The pair fought once before as contenders, with Amosov taking a split decision at Bellator 252 in November 2020.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 291.
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. 7-13.
Check out the numbers behind Bellator 285, where Yoel Romero added to one of the most unique records in MMA.
Bellator returned from a six-week hiatus on Saturday with Bellator 285, which went down at 3Arena in Dublin and featured a 13-fight lineup on the card.
The main event featured a dominant performance from former UFC and WEC lightweight champion [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA), who shut down Ireland’s [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) over the course of five rounds to win a unanimous decision and begin his late-career push toward the title.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 285.
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)
