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 a promotion from June 26-July 2.
After the removal of Cris Lencioni, Bellator 298 features a new matchup for James Gallagher as he fights an Aljamain Sterling teammate.
[autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] has a new Bellator 298 opponent following the removal of [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag].
[autotag]James Gonzalez[/autotag], a teammate of UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, has accepted the bout and will battle Gallagher in a bantamweight matchup Aug. 11 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A promotion official with knowledge of the matchup Monday confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report by MMA Fighting.
Gonzalez (10-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), 32, is a training partner of Sterling’s at Longo and Weidman MMA in Garden City, N.Y. He steps into another opportunity as a likely underdog against a Bellator mainstay, similarly to the time he defeated then-undefeated Cody Law at Bellator 282 in June 2022.
Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) , 26, has not competed since a November 2021 submission loss to Patchy Mix at Bellator 270 in his native Dublin. He pulled out of back-to-back fights due to injury prior to the Lencioni booking.
Lencioni, 28, was recently removed from the bout, as he remains in intensive care following a cardiac arrest suffered during training in early June. The most recent update posted to a GoFundMe account was from June 23. The fundraiser has raised over $27,000 for Lencioni.
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With the change, the Bellator 298 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, YouTube, 5:30 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
Bellator has officially pulled Cris Lencioni from his fight with James Gallagher after he suffered cardiac arrest earlier this month.
The Bellator 298 lineup unsurprisingly has lost a fight while gaining five others.
In a press release announcing the five new bouts Thursday, Bellator also removed [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] from the lineup. While the release made no mention of Lencioni’s removal, a promotion official confirmed to MMA Junkie that he won’t compete at Bellator 298 after it was revealed last week that the 28-year-old is in intensive care following a cardiac arrest suffered in training. There haven’t been any updates on his condition since.
Bellator intends to find a replacement for Gallagher, who hasn’t competed since a submission loss to current interim bantamweight champion Patchy Mix in November 2021. Gallagher’s previous two fight bookings prior to Lencioni were canceled.
Among the five additions, flyweight [autotag]Diana Avsaragova[/autotag] will look to remain undefeated when she takes on UFC veteran Justine Kish. Avsaragova (6-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) is coming off a split decision win over Alejandra Lara in February at Bellator 290.
Below is the updated Bellator 298 lineup:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, YouTube, 5:30 p.m. ET)
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030791]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
The family of Cris Lencioni says the Bellator featherweight is in “his biggest fight yet” after he suffered a cardiac arrest June 8.
The family of [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] says the Bellator featherweight is in “his biggest fight yet” after he suffered a cardiac arrest June 8.
Questions were raised about Lencioni after FanSided’s Amy Kaplan originally tweeted June 10 that he collapsed at his gym while training, adding that she received conflicting information from a family member claiming Lencioni was in a coma and a teammate stating his condition was far less serious. Kaplan later deleted the tweet.
Further questions were raised Sunday by Chael Sonnen, a longtime Lencioni training partner, after he posted a video on YouTube saying Lencioni needed prayers.
The severity of Lencioni’s health status was confirmed Monday by his mother-in-law, Angela Hibbard, who wrote in a GoFundMe message that he was in intensive care after suffering a cardiac arrest.
“As you can imagine, this was completely unexpected considering he is only 28 and in peak physical condition,” Hibbard wrote. “Cris is currently in the ICU in his biggest fight yet. We believe in the goodness of God, and we don’t know anyone with more will, strength, and determination than Cris. Cris has already overcome so much in his life, and we have faith in his ability to overcome any obstacle.”
Lencioni’s wife, Marca, later posted a message on his Instagram page.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctr7ljnyhsq/?igshid=YmM0MjE2YWMzOA%3D%3D
In a statement to MMA Junkie, a Bellator official said the promotion was “aware of Cris Lencioni’s current medical condition and monitoring the situation closely. We ask you to join us in sending thoughts and prayers to Cris and his family as he navigates his recovery process.”
Lencioni (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) is scheduled to fight James Gallagher on Aug. 11 at Bellator 298, although the matchup figures to be in jeopardy under the current circumstances.
Lencioni is on a four-fight winning streak, including two victories in his return to Bellator. He took a split decision from Cody Law last December, then submitted Blake Smith with an inverted triangle choke this past April at Bellator 294.
Cris Lencioni, a Bellator featherweight, is battling a health scare of unknown severity, but one that his promotional family is asking “thoughts and prayers” for.
[autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag], a Bellator featherweight, is battling a health scare of unknown severity, but one that his promotional family is asking “thoughts and prayers” for.
Social media reports circulated this past week that Lencioni suffered a medical incident in training, and those reports ranged from the 28-year-old in a coma to situations far less severe. Lencioni’s immediate family has not given an update.
But Sunday, Chael Sonnen, a longtime Lencioni training partner near Portland, posted a video saying Lencioni needed prayers. He said he’s been in daily contact with the family and said Lencioni was not in a coma, according to a doctor, at any time after he collapsed.
A Bellator official confirmed to MMA Junkie on Sunday that Lencioni had suffered an incident.
“We are aware of Cris Lencioni’s current medical condition and are monitoring the situation closely,” a Bellator official said in a statement to MMA Junkie. “We ask you to join us in sending thoughts and prayers to Cris and his family as he navigates his recovery process.”
Lencioni is scheduled to fight James Gallagher at Bellator 298 on Aug. 11, though that matchup likely is in jeopardy for cancellation. He has four straight wins, including two in his return to Bellator.
He took a split decision from Cody Law in December 2022, then submitted Blake Smith with an inverted triangle choke at Bellator 294 in April.
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 May 22-28.
James Gallagher’s Bellator return in South Dakota will come at 145 pounds.
[autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag]’s return will come at 145 pounds.
Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) meets [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) at Bellator 298 on Aug. 11 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A person with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking, but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Severe MMA was first to report the matchup.
Gallagher hasn’t competed since a Round 3 submission loss to new interim champion Patchy Mix in November 2021. The 26-year-old has withdrew from the bantamweight grand prix due to a hand injury that required surgery, as well as bouts against Brett Johns and Leandro Higo. Prior to his loss to Mix, Gallagher was on a four-fight winning streak, including three by submission.
Lencioni is coming off a second-round inverted triangle submission finish of Blake Smith at Bellator 294 in April. “Sunshine” currently is on a four-fight winning streak.
With the addition, the Bellator 298 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from April 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from April 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for April.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
Liz Carmouche is making her footprint on the Bellator record books after recording another title defense at Bellator 294.
The first half of Bellator’s doubleheader in Hawaii went down Friday with Bellator 294, which took place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and saw a champion defend her title in the main event.
[autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) recorded a second consecutive defense of her women’s flyweight title when she rallied from a 3-0 deficit on the scorecards to submit [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] (13-8-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) with an arm-triangle choke in the fourth frame of their rematch.
For more on the numbers behind Carmouche’s win, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts form Bellator 294.
An unusual submission was pulled off by Cris Lencioni on the Bellator 294 prelims in Honolulu.
[autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] was a heavy favorite when he entered Bellator 294 and he showed why with a grappling showcase that ended in highlight reel fashion.
In a preliminary card bout Friday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Lencioni (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) masterclassed his way to a rear triangle submission of [autotag]Blake Smith[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). The tap came at 3:39 of Round 2.
After a successful Round 1 on the canvas, Lencioni dragged it back down in Round 2. He first worked a kimura from half guard and moved to mount. As Smith shifted, Lencioni grabbed hold of the back. From the back, Lencioni choked up high and wrapped his legs around Smith’s head. After some short punches and a torque of the arm, Lencioni readjusted his legs and got the tap.
What a submission from @crissunshinemma 👏
Watch #Bellator294 @MonsterEnergy Prelims fueled by @7elevenhawaii on the Bellator YouTube channel 🍿 pic.twitter.com/cBZqH0a8NF
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 22, 2023
Lencioni, 28, has won four fights in a row, with two in Bellator since he returned to the promotion in 2022. Smith, a former CFFC champion, has now lost two fights in a row.
Both fighters missed weight ahead of their Bellator 294 bout. Smith weighed 146.4 pounds (0.4 pounds over the featherweight limit). Lenconi weighed 152.4 pounds (6.4 pounds over the featherweight limit).
The Bellator 294 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 294.
