Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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 Dec. 20-26.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.
NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.
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 268 took place at the Madison Square Garden. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 268 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Al Iaquinta[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Williams[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Allan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Souza[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/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 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $5,112,500
Program-to-date total: $5,112,500
Just five days before the event, there’s been a change to the UFC 268 prelims.
Just five days before the event, there’s been a change to the UFC 268 prelims.
[autotag]Aleksa Camur[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) is out of his light heavyweight fight against [autotag]John Allan[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Stepping in for Camur on short notice will be [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] (15-5-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC). MMA Junkie confirmed the new matchup with people with knowledge of the booking after an initial report from MMA DNA.
UFC 268 takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+.
Jacoby hasn’t lost since he returned to MMA after pausing that part of his combat sports career to focus on kickboxing. He won his way back to the UFC in August 2020 on Dana White’s Contender Series, then picked up back-to-back wins over Justin Ledet and Maxim Grishin. After a split draw with Ion Cutelaba in May, Jacoby stopped Darren Stewart with a first-round TKO in late August.
Allan is in search of his first UFC win. He made his promotional debut in July 2019 and took a decision from Mike Rodriguez. But the win was overturned to a no contest when Allan failed a post-fight drug test. In December 2020, he dropped a split decision to Roman Dolidze.
Camur was looking to bounce back from back-to-back decision losses to William Knight in September 2020 and Nick Negumereanu in June. Those losses were the first of his career on the heels of a DWCS TKO win over Fabio Cherant to get into the UFC and a decision over Ledet in his promotional debut in January 2020.
With the change, the UFC 268 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
Darren Stewart will look to snap his losing skid when he steps in as a replacement opponent against Dustin Jacoby on Aug. 28.
[autotag]Darren Stewart[/autotag] will look to snap his losing skid when he steps in as a replacement opponent.
[autotag]Askar Mozharov[/autotag] has been forced out of the UFC Fight Night on Aug. 28 and Stewart (12-7-2 MMA, 5-6-2 UFC) will step in to face [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] (14-5-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) at an event that doesn’t have a publicly known location or venue at this time.
A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Jacoby’s gym, Factory X, was first to report the news.
Stewart is winless in his past three octagon appearances. After his UFC Fight Night 187 matchup with Eryk Anders was ruled a no contest due to an illegal knee that rendered him unable to continue, the pair ran things back at UFC 263 in June. In his light heavyweight debut, Stewart fell short to Anders in the rematch. He’ll remain at the weight class when he steps in to face Jacoby.
Former GLORY kickboxer Jacoby is unbeaten since rejoining the UFC roster in 2020. After picking up two straight wins over Justin Ledet and Maxim Grishin, the Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner battled Ion Cutelaba to a split draw in May.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Aug. 28 includes:
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 23, which saw Jiri Prochazka brutally knock out Dominick Reyes in Las Vegas.
The UFC’s busy May schedule kicked off on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.
The main event of the night featured a knockout for the ages. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) landed just the third spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history when he flattened [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the second round of their light heavyweight contender matchup, seemingly securing a title shot for himself.
For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 40 post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 23.
UFC on ESPN 23 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 on ESPN 23 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $146,500.
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 on ESPN 23 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 23 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili [/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Poliana Botelho[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]TJ Brown[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]KB Bhullar[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Felipe Colares[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Luke Sanders[/autotag]: $6,000
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 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $833,500
Program-to-date total: $833,500
After a wild pre-fight faceoff that went viral, Ion Cutelaba and Dustin Jacoby failed to determine a winner at UFC on ESPN 23.
After a wild pre-fight faceoff that went viral, [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] and [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] failed to determine a winner when they stepped in the octagon at UFC on ESPN 23.
Cutelaba (15-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) blew the doors off Jacoby (14-5-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) in the opening round of Saturday’s light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He racked up what seemed like a definitive 10-8 round on the scorecards, setting the stage for Jacoby to rally back and even things on the scorecards.
That’s exactly what he did. Jacoby won the final two rounds to force 29-28, 28-29 and 28-28 scorecards from the judges, making it a split draw.
Cutelaba did everything in his power for a first-round finish, as he’s successfully achieved 12 times in his career. Jacoby took a ton of shots and gave up a 205-pound single-round record eight takedowns, but he would not go away.
The pace slowed down big time in Round 2 and Round 3, but that allowed Jacoby to settle into a pace and output that got him the edge.
All three judges had different scorecards in the fight, which set up the split draw.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 23 results include:
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Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 23 main card, featuring Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka.
| Reyes vs. Prochazka |
Chikadze vs. Swanson |
Cutelaba vs. Jacoby |
Jotko vs. Strickland |
Dvalishvili vs. Stamann |
Botelho vs. Carolina |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 50-34 |
 Prochazka (69%) |
 Chikadze (59%) |
 Cutelaba (59%) |
 Strickland (69%) |
 Dvalishvili (70%) |
 Botelho (81%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 57-31 |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 56-32  2018 Champion |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
 Jacoby |
 Jotko |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 54-34 |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 54-34 |
 Reyes |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Jotko |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 54-34 |
Reyes |
 Swanson |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
 Stamann |
Botelho |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 53-35 |
Reyes |
Chikadze |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 53-35 2017 Champion |
Prochazka |
Swanson |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Stamann |
Botelho |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 52-36 2020 Champion |
Reyes |
Swanson |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 51-37 |
Reyes |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 49-39 2014 Champion |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 49-39 |
Reyes |
Swanson |
Cutelaba |
Jotko |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 48-40 |
Reyes |
Chikadze |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Prochazka -135 |
Chikadze -175 |
Cutelaba -120 |
Strickland -275 |
Dvalishvili -250 |
Botelho -275 |
After an event in Florida, the UFC is back on its home turf with a former light heavyweight title challenger at the top of the bill.
UFC on ESPN 23 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
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In the main event, former 205-pound title challenger [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (27-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Prochazka is a slight favorite at -135 at BetMGM, but it’s Reyes with a slight 7-5 lead in the picks from our 12 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is a -175 favorite against [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] (27-11 MMA, 12-7 UFC) at featherweight. Chikadze doubled up on Swanson in our picks at 8-4.
Our most contentious fight from a picking standpoint is at light heavyweight between [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) and [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Cutelaba is a mild favorite at -120, and the picks are dead even at 6-6.
[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and [autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag] (22-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) have similar records going into their middleweight bout. But Strickland is a big favorite at -275, and he’s got a 9-3 lead in the picks.
[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is a big favorite, too, at -250 in his bantamweight bout against [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag] (19-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC), and only two pickers are taking Stamann in an upset.
And to open the main card, we have our only unanimous pick at 12-0. [autotag]Poliana Botelho[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) pitched a picks shutout in her women’s flyweight bout against [autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Prochazka (69 percent), Chikadze (59 percent), Cutelaba (59 percent), Strickland (69 percent), Dvalishvili (70 percent) and Botelho (81 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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That escalated quickly – too quickly for Dana White to stop it.
LAS VEGAS – The intensity between [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] and [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] just ratcheted up a notch ahead of their UFC on ESPN 23 light heavyweight fight.
During Friday’s weigh-ins faceoffs, Cutelaba walked onto the stage, gave UFC president Dana White a firm handshake, and then proceeded to grab Jacoby by the back of his neck as he was in a fighter’s stance. White quickly tried to separate the two fighters as UFC security also rushed in.
“Oh, f*ck. Come on,” White said out loud. “I was just ragging on Sean (Shelby) before I walked in here.”
White’s reference was to his criticism of UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby for reacting too slowly to Jeremy Stephens’ hard shove of Drakkar Klose, which gave Klose a concussion and forced him to withdraw from their UFC on ESPN 22 the day of the event.
You can watch the staredown between Cutelaba and Jacoby in the video above.
UFC on ESPN 23 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex. It airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.
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Check out the full list of medical suspensions for UFC Fight Night 186.
Three fighters from last week’s UFC Fight Night 186 event could be out six months from competition.
[autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag], [autotag]Sabina Mazo[/autotag] and [autotag]Ronald Lawrence[/autotag], who competed at last Saturday’s UFC event in Las Vegas, all are required further testing and doctor clearance in order to avoid lengthy 180-day suspensions. Lawrence (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Moises (15-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) require foot x-rays to get clearance, while Mazo (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) needs an x-ray on her left leg.
On the other hand, headliners [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] and [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] do not need further medical clearance to return to competition after their five-round fight. Gane (8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) wasn’t given a suspension while Rozenstruik (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was given 21 days off with 14 days no contact.
MMA Junkie on Tuesday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.
The full list of UFC Fight Night 186 medical suspensions includes:
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