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 June 12-18.
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Kutateladze has withdrawn from four of his past five scheduled UFC bouts.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
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)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
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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.
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.
It didn’t take long for Thiago Moises to get a new opponent for his Brazilian homecoming.
It didn’t take long for [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] to get a new opponent for his Brazilian homecoming.
Moises (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) lost [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) as his UFC 283 opponent just a few days ago, but promotional newcomer [autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has stepped in on short notice.
MMA Junkie confirmed the new matchup with people with knowledge of the booking. The people asked to remain anonymous because the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the news.
UFC 283 takes place Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC and ESPN+.
Costa has won back-to-back fights and seven of his past eight. In November, he picked up a third-round knockout win at LFA, which was his second win for the promotion.
Winner of four of his past six, Moises snapped a two-fight skid when he submitted Christos Giagos in the first round at UFC on ESPN 38 in June 2022. The finish earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus. The in his home country of Brazil will be his first there in nearly four years.
Kutateladze has split his first two octagon appearances. After he edged out Mateusz Gamrot in his UFC debut in October 2020, the All-Stars Training Center fighter lost a hard-fought split decision to Damir Ismagulov at UFC on ESPN 37 in June.
With the change, the UFC 283 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ABC, 8 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 283.
Guram Kutateladze has been forced to withdraw from UFC 283.
[autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag] has been forced to withdraw from UFC 283.
Kutateladze (12-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was booked to face [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) on Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, but has pulled out for undisclosed reasons. It is unknown whether Moises will remain on the card.
A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the news to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Ag Fight was first to report the news.
Kutateladze has split his first two octagon appearances. After edging out Mateusz Gamrot in his UFC debut in October 2020, the All-Stars Training Center fighter lost a hard-fought split decision to Damir Ismagulov at UFC on ESPN 37 in June.
Winner of four of his past six, Moises snapped a two-fight losing skid by submitting Christos Giagos in the first round at UFC on ESPN 38 in June. The finish earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus.
The current UFC 283 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 283.
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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 Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
Rising lightweights Thiago Moises and Guram Kutateladze will square off at UFC 283.
Rising lightweights [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] and [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag] will square off at UFC 283.
Moises (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) takes on Kutateladze (12-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Canal Encarada first reported the booking.
After a solid run that landed him a spot in the UFC’s lightweight rankings, Moises dropped two straight to current champion Islam Makhachev and Joel Alvarez. However, in his past outing, the 27-year-old rebounded with a bonus-winning first-round submission of Christos Giagos at UFC on ESPN 38 in June.
Kutateladze has split his first two octagon appearances. His debut win came over Mateusz Gamrot in October 2020, but the Allstars Training Center fighter was then defeated by Damir Ismagulov at UFC on ESPN 37 in June.
With the addition, the UFC 283 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 283.
Six fighters were handed indefinite medical suspensions after what many fans are calling the most violent UFC card of the year.
UFC on ESPN 37 took place Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas where the promotion put on what many fans are calling one of the most violent cards of 2022.
With violence, however, comes injuries. Tuesday, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the commissioning body that regulated the event, released a list of medical suspensions for UFC on ESPN 37 fighters. The TDLR does not give injury specifics, but reveals the duration of suspensions.
Among those handed indefinite suspensions were main event winner Josh Emmett, co-main event loser Tim Means, Albert Duraev, Julian Marquez, Deron Winn, and Kyle Daukaus. Note: fighters can return sooner than the date listed if they receive medical clearance from a physician prior to completion of their suspension.
Check out the full list of medical suspensions below.
