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 Nov. 21-27.
Bryce Mitchell needs an opponent for the UFC Fight Night 214 main event in early November. Damon Jackson knows a guy.
[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] needs an opponent for the UFC Fight Night 214 main event in early November. [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] knows a guy.
That guy, Jackson said, is him.
Jackson (22-4-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Friday posted a video on Twitter in which he lobbied for the spot in the headliner against Mitchell (15-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), whose original opponent, Movsar Evloev, pulled out of the Nov. 5 card with an injury.
Mitchell said Dan Ige is going to fight Ilia Topuria because Topuria can’t make featherweight for a matchup with Mitchell, so he wants the Mitchell fight on short notice.
“So apparently Dan Ige and Ilia Topuria are fighting because Ilia can’t make weight for the Mitchell fight, and it’s like I’m sitting here begging for the damn fight. Just so everybody knows, I am begging for the fight,” Jackson said in his video post. “I’m thinking, who else is begging to take a fight on a one-week or two-week notice? Who the hell else is doing this? I’m just trying to fight one more time this year, and I want a ranked opponent. I want someone in the top 10, someone in the top 15, and it’s like, this is my opportunity to step in and I’m ready to go, Bryce Mitchell. I’m more country than you. I want the fight, man. Give me the fight.”
So @Topuriailia is fighting @Dynamitedan808 and I am begging for the @ThugnastyMMA match up, and no one else can make weight @ufc give me a shot 🤜👊💪 pic.twitter.com/RjjqbNvCBt
— Damon Jackson (@damonbjackson) October 21, 2022
Jackson has won four straight fights since a first-round knockout loss to Topuria in December 2020. After an October 2021 win over Charles Rosa, Jackson has gone 3-0 in 2022 with a submission of Kamuela Kirk, decision over Daniel Argueta and a 69-second TKO of Pat Sabatini in September that won a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Mitchell was set to headline a UFC card for the first time against Evloev. He’s a perfect 6-0 in the UFC after Season 27 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which got him his start in the promotion. His three most recent wins have been decisions over Rosa, Andre Fili and Edson Barboza, the latter of which came in March after a layoff of about 16 months.
Damon Jackson’s big win at UFC Fight Night 210 came with a heavy heart.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag]’s big win at UFC Fight Night 210 came with a heavy heart.
Jackson (22-4-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) handed Pat Sabatini (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) his first octagon loss when he took him out by first-round TKO this past Saturday at the UFC Apex. It was an emotional night for Jackson, whose brother died just four days before the fight. However, Jackson had no intention of withdrawing and was able to honor his brother in incredible fashion.
“Going back to two months ago whenever I tore my pec in some way, if I wanted to pull out, I would have pulled out then,” Jackson told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “It never even crossed my mind, but he’s been there for me my entire career and supported me from fighting local amateur shows to getting all the way to the UFC. He’s been a really big fan of me and just been there for a long time, just done everything for me, and (it was a) very unexpected loss.
“I haven’t gotten to see my family yet. I definitely want to get there to them and just make this more a reality, because I feel like it still hasn’t kicked in, because I haven’t seen anyone yet. I haven’t been around my family yet, haven’t got to see them cry or anything. So it’s definitely nice to get past the fight and have it turn out the way it did, and now I can kind of go and be a normal human again.”
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Not only was it an impressive, bonus-winning finish for Jackson, but it came over a highly touted prospect in Sabatini. Jackson said he’s one to watch, too.
“I’m a top prospect,” Jackson said. “I want big fights. I saw him as a good opponent for sure, and he had some hype, because he’s on a four-fight win streak, and that’s not easy to do, but I’m on a three-fight win streak before that fight. Now I’m on a four-fight win streak, so I don’t look at these guys like they’re above me, I just look at everyone in my division as someone I can take out, and any day, any time, someone can lose.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 210.
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Gillian Robertson’s name is all over the record books after another submission win at UFC Fight Night 210.
The UFC’s final event of September took place Saturday with UFC Fight Night 210, which went down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and featured 13 fights on the docket.
The last of those fights was an important showdown in the bantamweight division. [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) delivered a fourth-round TKO of [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) after a bad cut forced a doctor’s stoppage, putting Sandhagen back on the winning track after consecutive losses.
For more ont he numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 210.
UFC Fight Night 210 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 210 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $155,500.
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 Fight Night 210 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 210 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Gregory Rodrigues[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Joe Pyfer[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alen Amedovski[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Louis Cosce[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Denise Gomes[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Zellhuber[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tony Gravely[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cameron VanCamp[/autotag]: $4,000
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 2107 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2101 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: $6,326,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,494,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 210.
What a moment for Damon Jackson and his family at the UFC Apex.
[autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] had every reason not to compete at UFC Fight Night 210 if that’s what he chose, but the thought never crossed his mind.
Jackson’s brother, Bradley, died suddenly at 37 this past Tuesday. Rather than withdraw from his fight against Pat Sabatini days later to cope with a family tragedy, Jackson pushed through.
In doing so, Jackson honored his brother with the ultimate tribute, needing just 1:09 to finish Sabatini for a TKO victory Saturday in Las Vegas. The finish started with a front kick that stunned Sabatini and ended with punches that caused a verbal submission.
ACTION JACKSON WASTED NO TIME 👊 #UFCVegas60 pic.twitter.com/VV0lo2o06b
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 17, 2022
The moments after the finish were an emotional scene with Jackson’s family in attendance at the UFC Apex (via Twitter):
.@damonbjackson dedicated his #UFCVegas60 win to his brother, Bradley, who died last week. pic.twitter.com/tAhZyPld11
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 17, 2022
Just days after his brother's death, Damon Jackson pulled off an epic, emotional win over Pat Sabatini.#UFCVegas60 | Results: https://t.co/Zyte58YEH2 pic.twitter.com/OOxVTUzD6T
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 17, 2022
“It still doesn’t feel real yet,” Jackson told Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview inside the octagon “… It means a lot for me to come out here and compete. There was no chance of me not fighting. …
“I never even second-guessed competing. I knew I had to do this. I knew I had to come out here and do what I always do. This is the only time I feel normal, is when I get to come out here and compete. All the emotion I’ve been holding back this whole week is kind of coming out right now. I never cried in front of a group of people. I just want to be around my mom and around my dad and see my family.”
With the finish, Jackson (22-4-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) pushed his winning streak to four fights and halted Sabatini’s winning streak at six.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 210.
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Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 210, where Cory Sandhagen looks to avoid a three-fight skid in the main event.
The UFC hosts its final event of September on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 210, which goes down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams entirely on ESPN+.
A crucial bantamweight matchup serves as the main event. [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will attempt to snap his two-fight skid when he takes on the surging [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (19-6-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) in a showdown scheduled for five rounds.
For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 210.
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 June 13-19.
Damon Jackson makes a couple of requests for the UFC following his victory at UFC Fight Night 207.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] has two requests for the UFC brass.
The UFC featherweight is hoping to get a spot on the upcoming UFC 277 event in Dallas on July 30, and also get a fight booking against fellow veteran Darren Elkins. These goals come after Jackson (21-4-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) extended his winning streak to three in a row on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 27 in Las Vegas.
Jackson defeated newcomer Daniel Argueta by a unanimous decision on the preliminary portion of the card.
The 33-year-old fights out of Dallas and says an opportunity to fight there would be a meaningful moment in his career.
“Dana (White), Sean (Shelby), you guys give me that Dallas card,” Jackson said. “People don’t know this, but I was born and raised about an hour from Dallas, so having that fight there is as close to a hometown fight as I could ever get.
“My entire pro career has been based out of Dallas. So I was 3-0 when I moved to Dallas and I’ve been fighting there since 2013, so it would just be incredible to fight at the American Airlines Center. … It would just be cool as hell. And I told my kids, you know, I would never let them come to the (UFC) Apex, I would never let them go to a different country to watch me fight, but I was like, if I fight in Dallas, I was like, you guys can go. We’ll get a box, and we’ll just sit you guys up in the box and you can see. It would be so cool to fight in Dallas and be in front of my family and friends.”
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The placement on UFC 277 is a priority for Jackson. But if he could add the cherry on top and make a second order, Jackson would love to fight Elkins, who last fought at the end of April and has yet to be booked for a return.
“I want Darren Elkins,” Jackson said. “I would love to have that fight. He’s a guy that you call and he’s going to be like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be there, whatever.’ He’s down to fight. I know he would bring the fight for sure and I would love that fight, you know? Whoever they call me to fight, I’ll take it. I’m not going to turn a fight down and I think Sean (Shelby) knows that and I think everyone knows that if you want to call me out, I’m game. Let’s go.”
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An underling of Cub Swanson, Daniel Argueta is headed to the UFC.
LFA has a long history of sending titleholders to the UFC.
Bantamweight champion [autotag]Daniel Argueta[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been added to the illustrious list. He recently signed to fight [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] (20-3-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) on short notice at UFC Fight Night 207.
The event takes place June 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Jackson replaces Darrick Minner, who withdrew and cited a concussion.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Eurosport NL first reported the matchup when it was verbally agreed to.
Argueta, 28, is an underling of UFC featherweight staple Cub Swanson. He competed on “The Ultimate Fighter 29” in 2021 and was eliminated when he lost an exhibition bout to eventual season winner Ricky Turcios. In May, Argueta won the LFA bantamweight title when he took a hard-fought battle against Diego Silva by split decision.
Jackson, 33, is rolling in his second stint with the UFC. Since he rejoined the promotion in 2020, Jackson has gone 3-1 with victories over Mirsad Bektic, Charles Rosa and Kamuela Kirk. He rides a two-fight winning streak into UFC Fight Night 207.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 207 lineup includes:
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