Goiti Yamauchi – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Goiti Yamauchi honored to fight a Gracie, headline first Bellator event: ‘There’s something meaningful in this fight’

Goiti Yamauchi sees Bellator 284 as a special moment in his career.

[autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag]’s return to the cage holds plenty of significance.

Despite having over 30 fights logged as a professional and being one of the most experienced fighters on the Bellator roster, Yamauchi (27-5 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) sees Friday’s Bellator 284 bout as a unique and special moment in his career.

Bellator 284 will be Yamauchi’s first main event bout in his nine years with the promotion and he’ll also be fighting Neiman Gracie, a member of the legendary Gracie family.

“First of all, I’m fighting in my first main event, my first five rounds – that’s really meaningful,” Yamauchi said during Wednesday’s pre-fight media day. “Everybody that gets a main event in a big promotion, that’s a special moment.

“But what really makes it important and meaningful, is fighting against a guy who comes from the family that made this work here. Gracie family, they’re so important to me. Not just for me, but for all the fight community. There’s something meaningful in this fight.”

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The Gracie family is responsible for the creation of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And it’s no secret Gracie (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) follows the tradition, given he’s one of the most talented grapples in Bellator.

Twenty-one of the 27 victories Yamauchi has as a professional have come by submission. He, too, is a standout grappler in the promotion. The 29-year-old would like to measure his grappling skills against a Gracie, but it’s definitely not something he’s going to force.

“I would love to,” Yamauchi explained. “… I never see the fight game as, ‘I want to test myself.’ That would be too stupid if I just do it for my ego. Like I said before, I’m going to win the fight.

“If I have to fight five rounds on the ground, I’m good. If I have to go five rounds in the striking, I’m also pretty good and comfortable. It’s all about taking the right opportunities and not making many mistakes.”

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 13-19)

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 June 13-19.

Bellator 284 lineup announced, including Neiman Gracie vs. Goiti Yamauchi headliner, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, more

The Bellator 284 lineup also includes a heavyweight contender bout in the co-main event.

Major promotional MMA heads back to South Dakota this summer.

Bellator 284 is set to take place Aug. 12 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, the promotion officially announced Wednesday. Atop the card is a five-round welterweight matchup between [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) and [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 13-4 BMMA).

Gracie, 33, most recently competed in a five-round war against Logan Storely in February. The battle was back-and-forth until the final horn, shortly after which Storley was named winner by split decision. The loss moved Gracie to 2-3 in his past five appearances.

Yamauchi, 29, has won back-to-back fights entering Bellator 284. His most recent performance, a quick submission win against Levan Chokheli, marked his divisional debut at welterweight.

In the co-main event, top heavyweight contenders collide as [autotag]Valentin Moldavksy[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) looks to rebound from a title shot loss when he battles undefeated rising star [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA).

Also on the card, former Bellator women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA). Macfarlane will look to snap a two-fight losing skid, including a title defeat to Juliana Velasquez and a unanimous decision to Justine Kish.

Meanwhile, Ellen has won two of her most recent three bouts.

The current Bellator 284 lineup includes:

Neiman Gracie vs. Goiti Yamauchi
Valentin Moldavksy vs. Steve Mowry
Bruna Ellen vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
Weber Almeida vs. Ilias Bulaid

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Goiti Yamauchi: ‘Health and performance’ triggered move to welterweight at Bellator 279 despite lightweight success

A staple of the lightweight division, Goiti Yamauchi explains why he moved up a weight class after he won four of five.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] competed much of his career at lightweight, but not any more.

A staple of the division, Yamauchi (26-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA) seldom lost fights at 155 pounds, which makes his shift up 15 pounds seem a little out of left field. But for Yamauchi, who competes at Bellator 279 it made sense for multiple reasons.

“A lot of things changed a lot because it’s 15 pounds more,” Yamauchi told MMA Junkie at a news conference Thursday. “Whoever cuts weight knows how difficult it is to cut weight. It makes a (big) difference. It’s way better. … We decided to move up just because of my health and performance. If you’re healthy, you will automatically gain performance. Me and my team and all the Bellator staff, we thought about it.”

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With contender status at lightweight, Yamauchi doesn’t think it’ll take long for his name to start being mentioned at the top of the welterweight division. His new weight class journey starts with Levan Chokheli (10-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) on Saturday’s prelims.

“For me, it’s a new beginning,” Yamauchi said. “I’m not shying away to start a new weight class. For me, if I had to start in the other weight class, I would do it because it’s what I love. I do MMA regardless of the weight class. So for me being here, competing and doing what I love, pursing my dream, it’s what matters. My goal is to be the best. My goal is to be the champion and I plan to do it as fast as I can.”

Bellator 279 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Cat Zingano to meet Pam Sorenson at Bellator 276; Cris Cyborg says Zingano turned down title fight

Cat Zingano could’ve had a title fight, but she’ll instead meet Pam Sorenson on the Bellator 276 prelims.

Bellator’s plan was to have Cat Zingano challenge women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg for the title, but that’s not happening.

Zingano instead will face Pam Sorenson on March 12 at Bellator 276, which takes place at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., just outside of St. Louis. MMA Fighting first reported the booking, which a promotion official later confirmed to MMA Junkie on Tuesday.

Zingano, 39, has gone 2-0 so far since signing with Bellator in October 2019. After a unanimous decision win over Gabrielle Holloway in her promotional debut, Zingano submitted Olivia Parker by first-round armbar in April 2021.

The victory seemingly set up a title-fight showdown with Cyborg, who indicated on Twitter that Zingano declined the opportunity.

“She turned down a World Title Fight to compete on the prelims?!” Cyborg tweeted and later deleted (screenshot below).

It’s unclear if that’s exactly how things turned out, but Bellator president Scott Coker said on Jan. 29 that the promotion wanted to boon Cyborg vs. Zingano “as soon as possible.” He seemed to indicate that the hold-up was on Zingano’s end.

“I think timing is going to be an issue on that fight, when Cat is ready to fight her,” Coker said after Bellator 273. “We would like that fight to happen as soon as possible.”

“That is our plan, but we have to have both fighters agree to that plan. We’re talking to the managers, Cat’s manager, find out when she’ll be ready to, No. 1, fight, and will she be willing to fight Cyborg?”

That won’t be the case, and Zingano (11-4 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will instead fight 35-year-old Soreno (9-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who has split her first two Bellator outings. She won a split decision over Roberta Samad in August before she lost a unanimous decision to Arlene Blencowe this past November at Bellator 271.

While Zingano vs. Sorenson is scheduled for the prelims, a middleweight bout between [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and [autotag]John Salter[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 18-5 BMMA) is the most recent addition to the main card. Eblen is considered one of the fastest-rising fighters in the division, while Salter looks to bounce back from a title shot loss against Gegard Mousasi.

Other additions to the card include a lightweight battle between [autotag]Derek Anderson[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA).

Notable prospects middleweight [autotag]Romero Cotton[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), women’s flyweight [autotag]Diana Avsaragova[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), featherweight [autotag]Cody Law[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), and welterweight [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) have also been matched up with non-rostered opponents.

The lineup for Bellator 276 currently includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)

Adam Borics vs. Mads Burnell
Phil Davis vs. Julius Anglickas
Johnny Eblen vs. John Salter
Jay Jay Wilson vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET )

Pam Sorenson vs. Cat Zingano
Jose Augusto vs. Alex Polizzi
Derek Anderson vs. Goiti Yamauchi
Romero Cotton vs. Lance Wright
Diana Avsaragova vs. Ashley Deen
Cody Law vs. Johnny Soto
Roman Faraldo vs. Kelvin Rayford
Jordan Howard vs. Trevor Ward
Dan Busch vs. Josh Augustine

‘I wasn’t expecting a striking fight’: Goiti Yamauchi surprised himself with first-round TKO at Bellator 263

Goiti Yamauchi didn’t expect to defeat Chris Gonzalez by TKO at Bellator 263, but he’s not complaining.

[autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] isn’t known for his hands, but they got the job done on Saturday.

At Bellator 263, Yamauchi (26-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA) faced Chris Gonzalez in the first bout on the main card at The Forum in Los Angeles.

To the surprise of many, including Yamauchi himself, who is primarily a grappler with multiple submission wins to his credit, a first-round knockout in his favor was not the outcome he saw coming.

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a striking fight,” Yamauchi said during the post-fight news conference. “But thank God I won the fight. … We always think about the worst situation that we can go through in the fight, and I felt really loose, light, and smooth today in the cage.”

Yamauchi’s TKO finish marked his first such stoppage in 13 fights, with his last occurring in 2013 against Saul Almeida at Bellator 109.

Watch Yamauchi’s full post-fight press conference discussing the fight, his preparation, and much more in the video above.

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Bellator 263 post-event facts: A.J. McKee lights up record books with title win

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 263, which saw A.J. McKee become an undefeated champion with a main event win.

Arguably the biggest event in Bellator history went down Saturday with Bellator 263, which took place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and saw a title change hands in the main event.

The promotion’s 16-man featherweight grand prix came to a conclusion in the headliner when [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) dethroned champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA) by first-round submission to start a new era in the division and take home a $1 million prize.

For more on the numbers behind McKee’s title win, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 263.

Bellator 263 salaries: Patricio Freire, A.J. McKee to pocket $1.4 million combined

The California State Athletic Commission released a full list of disclosed Bellator 263 fighter payouts to MMA Junkie ahead of the event.

LOS ANGELES – The Bellator 263 main event loser will take home a six-figure payday with the winner earning seven figures.

Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] is set to make $250,000 in disclosed show money while [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] will pocket $150,000 in disclosed show pay. The winner will be awarded an additional $1,000,000 – the prize that comes with winning the promotion’s 145-pound grand prix.

Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Following the conclusion of Friday’s official weigh-ins at the host hotel, MMA Junkie acquired a list of disclosed payouts from the California State Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings.

The full list of Bellator 263 disclosed payouts (show/win) include:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. E.T., Showtime)

Patricio Freire: ($250,000/$1,000,000) vs. A.J. McKee ($150,000/$1,000,000)
[autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] ($26,000/$26,000) vs. [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] ($61,000/$61,000)
[autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] ($26,000/$0) vs. [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] ($30,000/$30,000)
[autotag]Islam Mamedov[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000) vs. [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] ($50,000/$0)
[autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] ($31,000/$31,000) vs. [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] ($32,000/$32,000)

PRELIMS (7 p.m. E.T., MMA Junkie)

[autotag]Ilara Joanne[/autotag] ($13,000/$13,000) vs. [autotag]Vanessa Porto[/autotag] ($15,000/$15,000)
[autotag]Daniel Carey[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000) vs. [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag] ($25,000/$25,000)
[autotag]Khasan Magomedsharipov[/autotag] ($25,000/$0) vs. [autotag]Jonathan Quiroz[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000)
[autotag]Johnny Cisneros[/autotag] ($4,000/$4,000) vs. [autotag]Joshua Jones[/autotag] ($4,000/$4,000)
[autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag] ($50,000/$0) vs. [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] ($70,000/$0)
[autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] ($25,000/$25,000) vs. [autotag]Jordan Winski[/autotag] ($10,000/$10,000)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXNByfW9aZw

Bellator 263 predictions: Who’s picking A.J. McKee to take Patricio Freire’s title?

Check out our staff members’ picks for Bellator 263, featuring a featherweight title fight between champ Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee.

	Freire vs. McKee	Burnell vs. Sanchez	Muro vs. Nurmagomedov	Mamedov vs. Primus	Gonzalez vs. Yamauchi
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 111-66	McKee (64%)	Burnell (52%)	Nurmagomedov (96%)	Mamedov (65%)	Yamauchi (74%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 112-65 2018 Champion	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 109-68	McKee	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 109-68	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 108-69 2020 Champion	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 107-70 2014 Champion	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 106-71	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 106-71	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 105-72	McKee	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Primus	Yamauchi
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 105-72 2017 Champion	Freire	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Primus	Gonzalez
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 104-73	Freire	Sanchez	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Yamauchi
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 103-74	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 100-77	Freire	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 36-25	McKee	Burnell	Nurmagomedov	Mamedov	Gonzalez
BetMGM Betting Favorites	Freire -115	Burnell -125	Nurmagomedov -1100	Mamedov -200	Yamauchi -165

Bellator makes its long-awaited return to the road this week with the featherweight title on the line at the top of the bill.

Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, lightweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (32-4 MMA, 20-4 BMMA) puts his 145-pound title on the line against [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 17-0 BMMA) in a fight that doubles as the featherweight grand prix final. It’s nearly a pick’em fight at the betting window, where Freire is at -115 at BetMGM with the comeback on McKee at -105. Not surprisingly, our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are torn in their picks, too – Freire has the smallest possible edge at 7-6.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is a slight favorite at -125 against two-time featherweight title challenger [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA). And like the close picks in the main event, it’s tight here, too. Burnell has a 7-6 lead from our pickers.

Our lone unanimous pick should come as little surprise. [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is a massive 11-1 favorite against [autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] (12-6 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), and he’s got a 13-0 shutout in the picks.

[autotag]Islam Mamedov[/autotag] (19-1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is a 2-1 favorite against former lightweight champion [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA), and he’s got a big 11-2 picks lead.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (25-5 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) at lightweight. Yamauchi is the betting favorite at -165, but Gonzalez bucked the trend with our pickers at 11-2.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, McKee (64 percent), Burnell (52 percent), Nurmagomedov (96 percent), Mamedov (65 percent) and Yamauchi (62 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Bellator 263 media day faceoffs video: Things get testy in one fight

Check out the four fights that were featured to faceoff at Bellator 263 media day in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES – Bellator 263 media day took place Wednesday at the host hotel, and MMA Junkie was on the scene for the festivities. After fielding questions from reporters, the fighters came together for faceoffs.

Featured on the dais were [autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Islam Mamedov[/autotag] vs. former lightweight champion [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag], and [autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag].

You can watch watch the highlights of those faceoffs in the video above.

Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

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