Tag: Erik Perez

UFC veterans in MMA, karate and kickboxing action Feb. 22-25

Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC returns to Mexico for UFC Fight Night 237.

The event at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City features a flyweight clash between former champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag].

Many other combat sports events are taking place that feature several familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Feb. 22-25.

Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Unbeaten Muhammad Mokaev booked vs. Alex Perez at UFC’s Saudi Arabia debut

The UFC’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia is taking shape with the addition of a key flyweight bout between Muhammad Mokaev and Alex Perez.

The UFC’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia is beginning to take shape with the addition of a key flyweight bout between [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag].

After the promotion recently struck a deal to start bringing events to the flourishing Middle Eastern combat sports hub of Riyadh, matchups are beginning to be made for UFC Fight Night on March 2, including Mokaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) vs. Perez (23-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC).

Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie that agreements are in place for the bout following an initial report from UFC op Eurosport on X. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

UFC Fight Night on March 2 is expected to take place at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh. Broadcast plans have not been announced.

Mokaev, No. 8 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings, has been on a quest to become the youngest champion in UFC history and break Jon Jones’ longstanding record. The 23-year-old is unlikely to meet the timeline, however, but can take a big step toward solidifying a championship fight against former title contender Perez.

No. 15 Perez, for his part, will attempt to compete for just the second time since he unsuccessfully challenged then-champ Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255 in November 2020. The 31-year-old has had nine scheduled fights canceled over the past three years, hurting his chances to build any momentum in the weight class.

The latest lineup for UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia now includes:

  • Eryk Anders vs. Jamie Pickett
  • Muhammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez

Bellator 292 salaries: Five get six-figure paydays, including Benson Henderson in retirement fight

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.

Bellator 292: Best photos from San Jose

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)

UFC veterans in MMA action March 9-12

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 pre-event facts: All-time KO leader meets all-time submission leader

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.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 9-15)

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 Jan. 9-15.

Erik Perez vs. Enrique Barzola booked for Bellator 292

“Goyito” Perez returns for his first fight in almost two years.

[autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] is back.

The Mexican star is set to take on Peru’s [autotag]Enrique Barzola[/autotag] on March 10 as part of the line-up for Bellator 292 in San Jose. The bout will be contested at bantamweight.

Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

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Perez (20-8 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) hasn’t competed in well over a year. He was last seen in action when he defeated Blaine Shutt in a unanimous decision back in May 2021 at Bellator 258. Perez was supposed to return in April 2022 against Cee Jay Hamilton, but was forced to withdraw due to undisclosed reasons.”Goyito,” a pioneer for MMA in Mexico, is 6-2 since leaving the UFC in 2014.

Barzola (18-7-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) looks to rebound from two consecutive defeats, the first time he has back-to-back losses in his career. “El Fuerte” lost to Juan Archuleta and Magomed Magomedov in his most recent outings. Prior to that, Barzola had a 2-0 start in Bellator, defeating former champion Darrion Caldwell and Nikita Mikhailov.

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Two fights scrapped from Bellator 278 lineup, including ‘Goyito’ Erik Perez vs. Cee Jay Hamilton

Bellator 278 has lost two bouts two days out from the event.

HONOLULU – It’s fight week for Bellator in Hawaii, but two bouts have been removed from Friday’s event, including the return of “Goyito” [autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag].

Bellator 278 takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie. The event is the first half of a two-night doubleheader for the promotion at the same arena.

Perez (20-8 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) withdrew from his scheduled bantamweight bout against [autotag]Cee Jay Hamilton[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) for undisclosed reasons, multiple people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie.

Hamilton will be paid his show money, despite not weighing in or fighting.

Additionally, the previously-scheduled bout between former RIZIN lightweight champion [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag] (15-11 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is off for undisclosed reasons. Zane withdrew, a promotion official confirmed to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA Fighting.

With the cancellations, the Bellator 278 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Juliana Velasquez vs. Liz Carmouche – for women’s flyweight title
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Nikita Mikhailov – bantamweight grand prix wild card
  • Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello – bantamweight grand prix wild card
  • Christian Edwards vs. Grant Neal
  • Nate Andrews vs. Manny Muro

PRELMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Weber Almeida vs. Fabricio Franco
  • Scotty Hao vs. Dante Schiro
  • Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry

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Erik Perez replaces Jared Scoggins, fights Cee Jay Hamilton at Bellator 278

MMA veteran Erik Perez takes short notice fight against Cee Jay Hamilton at Bellator 278 in Hawaii.

[autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] has added a trip to Hawaii to his schedule.

The bantamweight has taken a short-notice opportunity, replacing Jared Scoggins to take on [autotag]Cee Jay Hamilton[/autotag] on April 22 at Bellator 278 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Multiple sources informed MMA Junkie of the change.

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Perez (20-8 MMA, 1-2 NMMA) last fought in May 2021 when he picked up his first win under the Bellator banner, outpointing Blaine Shutt in a unanimous decision at Bellator 258.

Prior to that, “Goyito” has a pair of defeats that plagued his Bellator run. The 32-year-old Mexican most notably made a name for himself during his stint in the UFC. He competed in the UFC from 2012 to 2016 and went 7-2 in the organization.

Meanwhile, Hamilton (15-9 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) is looking to get his first win under the Bellator lights. He lost his debut via submission against Magomed Magomedov and then suffered a TKO loss to Matheus Mattos.

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