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 Aug. 14-20.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for July.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
UFC lightweight Elves Brener refuses to get too big for his britches after scoring the biggest win of his career so far.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag] refuses to get too big for his britches after scoring the biggest win of his career so far.
Brener (15-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) came into his UFC on ESPN 48 bout with Guram Kutateladze (12-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) as a significant betting underdog at +500. He was given next to no chance of victory, but then he went through the fire and scored a third-round TKO win in the lightweight bout that netting him Fight of the Night honors.
It was a massive result for the 25-year-old, who is a primary training partner of former UFC champ Charles Oliveira at Chute Boxe in Brazil, but it’s not a win that will disrupt his focus or ego.
“I want to go step by step,” Brener told MMA Junkie Radio through an interpreter at UFC X Radio Row earlier this month. “A few weeks ago nobody knows who I am, but right now you can see my pictures, my Instagram – everything is growing so big. But it’s step by step.”
Part of keeping humble is not calling anyone out just yet. He’s only had two fights inside the UFC to this point, and although both wins were significant, he still sees himself in a position where the UFC brass should guide his development.
“I know the UFC is going to pick a good guy for the next fight for me,” Brener said. “I’m ready for whoever is coming next.”
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Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses which fighter left a lasting impression with their performance at UFC on ESPN 48.
Half of the fights at UFC on ESPN 48 ended early, including the main event.
A number of rising prospects put a stamp on their performances by recording finishes at the UFC Apex, including [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag], [autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag], [autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag], [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag], and [autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag].
A more established name in the middleweight division, [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag], capped off the evening with a finish of Abus Magomedov in the feature bout of the event.
But which performance stood out the most?
Was it Fakhretdinov who spoiled the UFC return of former lightweight interim title challenger Kevin Lee? Was it Brener who shocked many with a stoppage of massive favorite Guram Kutateladze? What about a non-stoppage performance from Michael Morales who picked up a big win over veteran Max Griffin by unanimous decision?
MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to discuss which fighter made an impact at the event.
Check out the video above, and the latest complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 48.
Elves Brener pulled off his second straight big upset when he finished Guram Kutateladze with a third-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 47.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag] beat Guram Kutateladze with a third-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Brener, who won for the fourth straight time – and second straight time as a big underdog in the UFC.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 48, where Grant Dawson joined an exclusive club by putting together a nine-fight unbeaten streak in the octagon.
The UFC’s loaded July schedule got off to a hot start on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 48, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and featured six stoppages out of 12 fights.
One of those finishes came in the main event, when [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) held serve as a top middleweight when he turned back [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag] (25-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a second-round TKO before calling for a title shot.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 48.
UFC on ESPN 47 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 47 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $144,500.
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 47 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 47 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Melissa Gatto[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,000
def.[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Rinat Fakhretdinov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Yana Santos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ivana Petrovic[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Blagoy Ivanov[/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 $47,000 while title challengers get $47,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-47 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $4,109,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,698,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
At UFC on ESPN 47, Elves Brener was a five-to-one underdog against Guram Kutateladze but cashed underdog bets with a late TKO rally.
[autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag] wasn’t going to win, if you believed the sports books.
But betting odds and real life are two different things. At UFC on ESPN 47, Brener (15-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) rallied to finish [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at 3:17 of Round 3. The event took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Ahead of the fight, Brener was listed as an average +491 underdog across major online sports books (per BestFightOdds). As the fight progressed, Kutateladze appeared a step ahead, though the bout was competitive.
Bloody but not beaten, Brener remained confident and focused as he landed a left hand directly to the right temple of Kutateladze. While the blow didn’t seem to connect square on the target, Kutateladze immediately retreated, crumpled, and stuck up his hand. Brener pounced with a few more punches before referee Chris Tognoni intervened.
ELVES BRENER, WHAT A COMEBACK 😤 #UFCVegas76 pic.twitter.com/xpuQ0XPzio
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 1, 2023
The win is Brener’s second in as many UFC appearances. It succeeds a split decision victory for Brenner, who upset Zubaira Tukhugov with similar odds.
Kutateladze, who has struggled to have fight bookings follow through, falls to a two-fight winning skid after a UFC debut win over Mateusz Gamrot.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 47 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
