Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 July 26-Aug. 1:
Su Mudaerji will step in on short notice to replace Jeff Molina and face Zarrukh Adashev on Jan. 20.
[autotag]Zarrukh Adashev[/autotag] will still get to compete on “UFC Fight Island.”
With [autotag]Jeff Molina[/autotag] forced to withdraw from the UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 20, [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will step in to face Adashev (3-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the plans but requested anonymity as the UFC has yet to make a formal announcement. The @bigpunches Instagram channel was first to report the news.
Adashev, a former kickboxer, was signed to the UFC in June after notching three straight wins. His winning streak came to a halt in his promotional debut when he was knocked out by Tyson Nam at UFC on ESPN 10.
After dropping his UFC debut to Louis Smolka in November 2018, China’s Mudaerji has won two in a row. The 24-year-old is coming off a 44-second “Performance of the Night” knockout of Malcom Gordon at UFC on ESPN 18.
With the change, the lineup for UFC Fight Night on Jan. 20 includes:
[vertical-gallery id=437692]
MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 30 fighter weigh-ins.
MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 30 fighter weigh-ins.
Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.
In the featured bout, middleweight [autotag]Jhonoven Pati[/autotag] (6-3), a two-time LFA veteran whose six career victories have all come by way of stoppage, faces [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] (10-4), who has appeared twice before on Dana White’s Contenders Series but lost each time to UFC contract winners Charles Byrd and Puna Soriano.
The weigh-ins take place at the UFC host hotel in Las Vegas. The UFC Apex hosts Tuesday’s card, which streams on ESPN+.
The full Dana White’s Contender Series 30 weigh-in results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
