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Check out these photos from James Gallagher vs. James Gonzalez at Bellator 298.
Check out these photos from [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag]’s victory over James Gonzalez at Bellator 298 in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Photos courtesy of Bellator MMA)
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.
After the removal of Cris Lencioni, Bellator 298 features a new matchup for James Gallagher as he fights an Aljamain Sterling teammate.
[autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] has a new Bellator 298 opponent following the removal of [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag].
[autotag]James Gonzalez[/autotag], a teammate of UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, has accepted the bout and will battle Gallagher in a bantamweight matchup Aug. 11 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A promotion official with knowledge of the matchup Monday confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report by MMA Fighting.
Gonzalez (10-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), 32, is a training partner of Sterling’s at Longo and Weidman MMA in Garden City, N.Y. He steps into another opportunity as a likely underdog against a Bellator mainstay, similarly to the time he defeated then-undefeated Cody Law at Bellator 282 in June 2022.
Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) , 26, has not competed since a November 2021 submission loss to Patchy Mix at Bellator 270 in his native Dublin. He pulled out of back-to-back fights due to injury prior to the Lencioni booking.
Lencioni, 28, was recently removed from the bout, as he remains in intensive care following a cardiac arrest suffered during training in early June. The most recent update posted to a GoFundMe account was from June 23. The fundraiser has raised over $27,000 for Lencioni.
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With the change, the Bellator 298 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, YouTube, 5:30 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
At Bellator 295, Aaron Pico likely would’ve had a finish if James Gonzalez wasn’t so tough and durable.
[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] utilized a concoction of brutal body punches and heavy wrestling to get back in the win column Saturday at Bellator 295.
If it wasn’t for the toughness of opponent [autotag]James Gonzalez[/autotag], the judges wouldn’t have had much work to do. Pico (11-4 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) defeated Gonzalez (10-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) handily by unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 across the board.
Pico unleashed big hooks to the body and head throughout the opening round. He remained patient as Gonzalez intermittently countered with short standing elbows that snuck through the guard. Pico utilized the clinch and cagework in between combinations.
In Round 2, Pico went to his wrestling. Heavy on the canvas, Pico was able to control Gonzalez. The threat of the wrestling was there for the remainder of the fight, as Pico used it to open up his striking even more.
👀 @AaronPicoUSA is an animal with these body shots.#Bellator295 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/k8LiJETium
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 23, 2023
Pico hasn’t had a linear path toward his current position as a top featherweight contender in Bellator. Since his professional debut, Pico has had his ups and downs. But since January 2020, Pico has only lost once – and it was in his previous fight before Saturday night and it was a TKO due to shoulder injury against Jeremy Kennedy.
Gonzalez was a short-notice replacement who filled in for Otto Rodrigues. A member of Longo and Weidman MMA, Gonzalez found some big promotion success with a win over Cody Law in Bellator and a victory over Vikas Singh Ruhil in PFL Challenger Series before Saturday’s fight snapped the two-fight winning streak.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 295 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.
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 April 10-16
Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022, according to the oddsmakers, across Bellator, the UFC, PFL and more.
Who doesn’t love a good upset?
In 2022, MMA saw its fair share of underdogs who defied the odds in the UFC, Bellator 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 2022. Fights that were eligible were those that multiple major online sportsbooks recognized, and that Tapology recorded prior to the close of the betting line.
Promotions eligible include UFC, Bellator, PFL, KSW, DWCS, Road to UFC, Eagle FC, and One Championship.
Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022 below. Only major MMA promotions were included in the tally.
James Gonzalez dramatically captured the CFFC featherweight title in 46 seconds with a nasty arm-dislocation TKO finish of defending champion Pat Sabatini.
[autotag]James Gonzalez[/autotag] stepped in on short notice and captured the Cage Fury Fighting Championships featherweight title Saturday night in Bensalem, PA. with one of the nastiest armbars you’ll see all year, but be warned, this one isn’t for the faint of heart.
Gonzalez (6-3) challenged defending champion Pat Sabatini (11-3) in the main event of CFFC 81, which was streamed live on UFC Fight Pass, and finished his man in just 46 seconds with a stomach-churning injury TKO.
The pair clashed in the center of the cage from the opening bell as the action went to the canvas almost immediately. Gonzalez found himself on the bottom but, crucially, grabbed a hold of Sabatini’s right arm. Then, after manoeuvering himself on the mat, the Serra-Longo prospect tightened his hold on Sabatini’s arm and started to torque it backwards, as he contorted the champion’s arm into the sort of unnatural position that had everybody watching – including MMA Junkie’s own John Morgan, who was on play-by-play duties with CM Punk and Jessica Penne – grimacing and gasping in shock at the armbar, which evoked memories of Frank Mir’s infamous finish of Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 back in June 2004.
Remarkably, Sabatini didn’t tap, but Gonzalez knew the fight was over as he shouted to the referee that he had broken the champion’s arm. The referee, who had the best vantage point of all, swiftly moved in, stopped the contest and freed the injured Sabatini, who looked down at his contorted arm seemingly more in disappointment than immediate pain.
Medics quickly entered the cage to assess Sabatini’s injury, which was later diagnosed as a suspected dislocated shoulder and elbow. The full extent of his injuries will be discovered when he receives further evaluation next week, but it’s fair to say he’s going to be out of action for a few weeks, at least.
After the bout – and after Punk had tried to calm down the pro-Sabatini crowd – Gonzalez said he wants to become a two-division CFFC champion, with his sights now set on the promotion’s 135-pound belt. But he also said he’d relish the opportunity to showcase his skills on the next season of Dana White’s Contender Series.
“First, I would like to say I wish that didn’t happen. I wish he could have tapped and saved his arm from breaking like that,” he said. “I respect Pat Sabatini. He’s been on the circuit with me since I started and I always thought I was going to fight him sooner. But we fought him tonight, and this is what happened. But I wish him a speedy recovery.
“I’ve been trying to get fights as much as possible. It’s really hard to find guys who want to fight me, in either weight class, and I guess you guys saw why. But I just want to say I’m happy for the opportunity for CFFC. I’d love to get a shot at that 135-pound belt, too, because I’m not messing around, guys. I do this because I love it. I took this fight on six days’ notice, I had the flu, I still came through and did what I had to do. If I don’t get that 135-pound shot, I wouldn’t mind getting on that Contender Series in the summer. Give me some good fights, I’m here to put on a show.”
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.
Cage Fury Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Pat Sabatini has drawn a late replacement for his upcoming title defense.
Cage Fury Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag] has drawn a late replacement for his upcoming title defense.
MMA Junkie today learned from CFFC officials that [autotag]Mauro Chaulet[/autotag] has been forced out of a planned CFFC 81 bout with Sabatini (11-2), and Serra BJJ Academy product [autotag]James Gonzalez[/autotag] (5-3) has agreed to step in on less than one week’s notice.
The contest now headlines Saturday’s CFFC 81 event, which streams live on UFC Fight Pass from Parx Casino in Bensalem, Penn.
Sabatini is no stranger to late changes to his bookings, with two consecutive planned appearances scrapped during fight week, including this past November’s CFFC 79 and September’s CFFC 78. Sabatini already owns three defenses of his CFFC title and his hoping another win will punch his ticket to the UFC.
Meanwhile, “Speedy” Gonzalez was last in action at this past August’s CFFC 77 event, where he picked up a TKO win over Giorgi Kudukhashvili. The win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Gonzalez, who had some up short in back-to-back Ring of Combat title fights against Bill Algeo and Mike Trizano.
With the change to the card, CFFC 81 now includes:
