Defying the odds: The 10 biggest MMA betting upsets of 2023

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2023, according to the oddsmakers, across Bellator, the UFC, PFL and more.

Who doesn’t love a good upset?

In 2023, MMA saw its fair share of underdogs who defied the odds in the UFC, Bellator, PFL, and beyond. While everyone has an opinion of who should win and who should lose, the oddsmakers (and how the betting public responds) largely get the final say on what history reflects.

This year, with the help of MMA database Tapology, MMA Junkie has compiled the top 10 betting upsets of 2023. Fights that were eligible were those that multiple major online sportsbooks recognized, and that Tapology recorded before the close of the betting line.

Promotions eligible include UFC, Bellator, PFL, KSW, DWCS, Road to UFC, and ONE Championship.

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2023 below. Only major MMA promotions were included in the tally.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for July: New champion crowned in five-round thriller

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.

Nominees

UFC on ESPN 48 post-event facts: Grant Dawson’s numbers show title trajectory

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 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean Strickland, Kevin Lee get most money

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.

UFC on ESPN 47 video: Elves Brener stuns Guram Kutateladze, oddsmakers with rally for upset TKO

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.

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.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 12-18)

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 12-18.

Guram Kutateladze says visa issues forced him out of UFC on ESPN 45, next fight already being worked on

Guram Kutateladze wants to make sure people know it wasn’t an injury that pulled him out of UFC on ESPN 45.

[autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag] wants to make sure people know it wasn’t an injury that pulled him out of UFC on ESPN 45.

Kutateladze was unable to obtain his U.S. visa in time, forcing him to withdraw from his fight against Jamie Mullarkey (16-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He was replaced by Dana White’s Contender Series alum Muhammad Naimov (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

Kutateladze (12-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) explained his situation in an Instagram post and said his next fight is already in the works.

“Fight Update: I did not pull out from the fight, I was pulled due to visa complications. Ready and prepared for fight with anybody. Fight date is being worked on as we speak. (Upcoming weeks, we are back). Stop speculation. Thanks for understanding. God bless.
• • •
On the video preparing together with my brother @khamzat_chimaev.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs57ik3KuJ7/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

Kutateladze has withdrawn from four of his past five scheduled UFC bouts. The Georgian fighter has competed just twice since signing with the UFC in 2020 – a win over Mateusz Gamrot in his debut and a split decision loss to Damir Ismagulov last June.

UFC on ESPN 45 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45

With Guram Kutateladze out, Muhammad Naimov steps in to face Jamie Mullarkey at UFC on ESPN 45

Tajikistan has another fighter on the UFC roster.

Tajikistan has another fighter on the UFC roster.

Shortly after the addition of Muin Gafurov, the UFC has signed Tajikistan-born [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag], who will replace [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag] to face [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 45. Kutateladze was unable to obtain his U.S. visa in time, forcing him to withdraw from the bout.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA Mania.

Naimov (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is 3-1 since he fell short on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2020. The 28-year-old is on a three-fight winning streak and most recently scored a 34-second head kick knockout in March.

Since he dropped his first two octagon bouts, Mullarkey (16-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has won four of his past five. The Australian fighter is coming off back-to-back wins over Michael Johnson and, most recently, Francisco Prado at UFC 284 in February.

UFC on ESPN 45 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 45 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi
  • Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda
  • Jared Gordon vs. Jim Miller
  • Victor Altamirano vs. Tim Elliott
  • Karine Silva vs. Ketlen Souza
  • Jamie Mullarkey vs. Muhammad Naimov

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
  • John Castaneda vs. Muin Gafurov
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Don’Tale Mayes
  • Johnny Munoz vs. Daniel Santos
  • Jinh Yu Frey vs. Elise Reed
  • Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Luan Lacerda
  • Maxim Grishin vs. Philipe Lins

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 1-7)

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 May 1-7.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 2-8)

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. 2-8.