Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from Timur Khizriev vs. Enrique Barzola at 2024 PFL 6 in South Dakota.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Timur Khizriev[/autotag]’s victory over Enrique Barzola at 2024 PFL 6, which took place at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Photos by Cooper Neill, PFL)
Check out which veterans of the UFC are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC returns back to its home base in Las Vegas for UFC on ESPN 51.
The event at UFC Apex features a welterweight bout between [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] and former lightweight champion [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag].
Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing in MMA and bareknuckle boxing this week from Aug. 10-12.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
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.
Check out the full list of fighter salaries from this past Friday’s Bellator 292 event in San Jose, Calif.
Twenty fighters competed this past Friday at Bellator 292 with the titleholders leading all disclosed payouts.
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter payouts Thursday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments or discretionary bonuses.
Three of five fighters who pocketed six-figure disclosed paydays tied for the top spot on the list with $150,000. Lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) submitted Benson Henderson (30-12 MMA, 7-7 BMMA) in the main event, which also was the opening round of Bellator’s lightweight grand prix.
Both Nurmagomedov and Henderson made a disclosed $150,000 flat purse for their fights, win or lose. The other $150,000 recipient was Alexander Shabliy (23-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who made $75,000 to show and a $75,000 win bonus for his finish of Tofiq Musayev (20-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in the tournament’s opening round.
In addition, Linton Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) made a flat $100,000 for his heavyweight knockout of Valentin Moldavsky (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) and Michael Page (21-2 MMA, 17-2 BMMA) made a flat $100,000 for his quick injury TKO of Goiti Yamauchi (28-6 MMA, 14-5 BMMA).
Scroll below to see what the 20 fighters on Bellator 292 were paid – disclosed amounts only.
Enrique Barzola said he doesn’t like to predict the future, but has an inkling he might bounce between a pair of weight classes.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – [autotag]Enrique Barzola[/autotag] said he doesn’t like to predict the future, but has an inkling he might bounce between a pair of weight classes.
Barzola (19-7-2 MMA, 7-3-1 BMMA) this past Friday outworked fellow former UFC fighter Erik Perez (20-9 MMA, 1-3 BMMA) for a unanimous decision to close out the preliminary card at Bellator 292 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
That win was his return to featherweight and snapped a two-fight skid that came against former bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta at a 141-pound contract weight and Magomed Magomedov at bantamweight. Dating back to the end of his 10-fight UFC run, Barzola fought at bantamweight twice and in-between weights from 135-145 twice.
Now he thinks he might just take fights in whichever division they’re available.
“(It) depends on my coaches,” Barzola told MMA Junkie after his win over Perez. “Maybe I want to continue in this division at 145. I want to continue at 145, but I will be ready for 135. I would like to fight with Aaron Pico in the future.”
Check out Barzola’s full post-fight interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.
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Check out the numbers to come out of Bellator 292, where Michael “Venom” Page broke a longstanding tie for most KO/TKO wins in history.
Bellator put on its third event of the year Friday with Bellator 292, which took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
The lightweight grand prix got its start on the card with a pair of quarterfinal matchups. Reigning champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) made his first step in defending through the tournament when he quickly stopped former UFC and WEC champ [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-12 MMA, 7-7 BMMA) by first-round submission.
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 Bellator 292.
Check out these photos from Bellator 292, which took place at Kia Forum in San Jose, Calif.
Check out these photos from Bellator 292, which took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)
Enrique Barzola is happy to see Cain Velasquez back coaching at AKA.
[autotag]Enrique Barzola[/autotag] is excited to return to the Bellator cage on Friday.
“The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2” winner is eager for his first fight of 2023. He’s set to take on veteran Erik Perez in a featherweight contest at Bellator 292 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Not only will Barzola (18-7-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) get a chance to snap a two-fight skid and restart a campaign for the Bellator bantamweight title, but he’ll also get to fight having prepared with none other than former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Cain Velasquez[/autotag].
Velasquez is back to coaching the MMA team at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose after he was granted bail this past November in his case of attempted murder involving a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s 4-year-old son.
“At the moment, he’s a coach of the team,” Barzola told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “He’s working with us. He’s working with all the fighters, from the young ones to the ones that have a long trajectory in MMA. He helps us focus. He supports and pushes us with all the experience that he has. He was a great fighter, he was champion, so we all admire him at the gym.”
Barzola, who’s been training at AKA for the past several years, has experienced training under Velasquez before and after his legal situation arose. The Peruvian fighter sees a difference.
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“He’s always supported the fighters, even before this situation happened,” Barzola said. “Then he goes through that situation, he spent like half a year locked up because of what happened, and now he returns, and with a great attitude. His attitude just has so much excitement. He’s really pushing us.
“He’s not training us like he’s a retired fighter, and now he’s a coach. He’s training us like if he were still fighting. He’s really supportive, and he’s sharing all his experience with us. He’s truly pushing us to our limit. He’s a great coach.”
Barzola enters Bellator 292 on the heels of defeats to top contender Magomed Magomedov and former champion Juan Archuleta. Prior to the pair of loses, Barzola had a 2-0 start in Bellator, defeating Nikita Mikhailov and Darrion Caldwell.
After competing against some of the best in Bellator, Barzola thinks he can still put together wins and make another run for the title.
“Absolutely,” Barzola said. “If not, I wouldn’t be training. I still want to train hard every day. I have that discipline of waking up early, eating well, training hard, and everything needed to keep climbing. This sport is of ups and downs. I’m an experienced fighter and I plan on moving upwards. I’m waiting for my moment, and I’m focused. I’m going to be ready.
“I’m going to win two or three more fight, and then I can deserve to fight for the title. I don’t want the title right now, but it will come through my work and good results. I’m focused on this fight and hopefully next year I can be in a position to fight for the title.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.
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Check out which veterans of the UFC are in MMA action this weekend across the globe.
It’s another home game for the UFC, although this event isn’t taking place at the UFC Apex, nor T-Mobile Arena. UFC Fight Night 221 takes place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, featuring a bantamweight clash between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan.
Elsewhere, many other MMA events are taking place that feature familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
These 10 veterans of the global MMA leader are competing in MMA boxing this week from March 9-12.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
Bellator 292 will see the man who holds the most knockout wins in company history share the cage with the promotion’s all-time submission leader.
Bellator returns to its home base of San Jose, Calif., on Friday with Bellator 292, which takes place at SAP Center with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
The main event features the start of the promotion’s lightweight grand prix. The title will be on the line in the opening-round matchup, as reigning 155-pound champ [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) will attempt to make his first defense against former UFC and WEC titleholder [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA).
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 292.
