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 Oct. 3-9.
Thirteen bouts including two title fights are set for Bellator’s return to Chicago.
Bellator’s long-awaited return to Chicago this fall now has 13 official fights on the docket.
Bellator 288 is set for Nov. 18 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with the main card airing on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The card is headlined by two title fights including the light heavyweight grand prix final rematch between champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).
Their first meeting at Bellator 277 in April ended in a “no contest” after an unintentional clash of heads on the ground caused a fight-ending laceration on Nemkov’s face.
In the co-main event, lightweight champion [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) will attempt to defend the title for the first time against undefeated challenger [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).
Rounding out the main card is [autotag]Akhmed Magomedov[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (42-13 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) at featherweight, [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at heavyweight and [autotag]Levan Chokheli[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA).
With the addition, the Bellator 288 lineup includes:
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Unbeaten Bellator prospect Davion Franklin gets his next test at Bellator 280 in Paris.
Heavyweight prospect [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] will get his next test on the same card at which gold in his weight class will be on the line.
Franklin is set to return to action at Bellator 280 on May 6 when he takes on [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag]. MMA Junkie verified the booking with a person close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to officially announce.
Bellator 280 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris and airs on Showtime. The event is headlined by a rematch between heavyweight champ Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo.
Franklin (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) has been flawless thus far in his young career. The 27-year-old has finished four of his five career wins thus far, including three first-round knockout victories.
James (13-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will attempt to derail the prospect in what will be his first Bellator appearance since his MMA debut in March 2014. The 40-year-old has spent the majority of his career fighting in the Russia-based ACA organization, and is coming off a string of three consecutive first-round knockout wins.
The latest Bellator 280 lineup includes:
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