Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Before UFC Fight Night 230 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes fighters speak to reporters at media day.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 230, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.
Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
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 Aug. 7-13.
Viviane Araujo will have a change in opponent and venue after Casey O’Neill withdrew from UFC 293.
[autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] will have a change in opponent and venue after [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] withdrew from UFC 293.
Araujo (11-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) was scheduled to meet O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on Sept. 9 in Sydney, but the bout was scrapped after O’Neill was forced out due to an injury. Araujo now meets [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] (21-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on Oct. 14 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people of knowledge of the situation told MMA Junkie of change on Tuesday after an initial report by Sherdog.
O’Neill released a statement saying she’s already underdone surgery for the injury, but did not reveal exactly what happened (via Twitter):
Hurts to say this but unfortunately I am out of my fight in Sydney. Just had surgery on Friday and have already started recovering, looking to get rebooked in December ! Next year I’ll make sure I’m on an Australia card 🇦🇺 ❤️
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) August 8, 2023
Hurts to say this but unfortunately I am out of my fight in Sydney. Just had surgery on Friday and have already started recovering, looking to get rebooked in December ! Next year I’ll make sure I’m on an Australia card 🇦🇺 ❤️
Araujo will look to rebound after coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in her career. The 36-year-old dropped two straight unanimous decisions to current flyweight champion Alexa Grasso, and most recently Amanda Ribas at UFC 285.
Maia has split her past four octagon appearances. She is coming off two straight wins over Maryna Moroz and O’Neill, where she handed the Aussie fighter her first-career loss at UFC 286 in March.
The latest lineup for UFC Fight Night on Oct. 14 now includes:
Despite her win, Jennifer Maia claims Casey O’Neill was ‘very greased up, very oily’ at UFC 286 in London.
LONDON – [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] left UFC 286 with her hand raised, but there’s still something that’s not sitting right with her.
The former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger claimed her opponent, [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag], was greased up entering their main card about at The O2 in London on Saturday. In the end, Maia (21-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) won a unanimous decision using her striking, but she thinks the fight would’ve looked much different if not for what she alleged was greasing by O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
“I’m happy with my performance, but I have so much more to show,” Maia told reporters in her UFC 286 post-fight news conference. “I really wanted to show you guys my ground game, but Casey was very greased up, very oily, very slippery, and that really threw me off.”
When asked to clarify her comments, Maia said she thinks it was more than sweat that made O’Neill hard to grapple.
“Listen, I don’t want to take shots like this – it can be skin moisturizer – but definitely I know it was not just sweat.”
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The Brazilian said she noticed something was up in the first grappling exchange of the fight, and that’s why the grappling specialist resorted to a striking approach for the remainder of the fight.
“The first time we locked bodies (I noticed) – as soon as we locked bodies against the cage,” Maia said. “I have a very strong game against the cage, and I felt it extremely difficult to get a hold of her and keep a hold of her because she was so slippery. So I had to abandon that and go to boxing.”
Regardless, Maia left London victorious and now finds herself on a two-fight winning streak. She thinks a third victory could set her up for a championship bout.
“My goal is to eventually fight for the title again – maybe one more fight and then I’ll be ready to fight for the title,” Maia said.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
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Check out the numbers to come out of UFC 286, where Justin Gaethje made more history with another Fight of the Night effort.
The UFC hosted its fourth numbered event of the year on Saturday with UFC 286, which took place at The O2 in London and saw home country hero [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] compete in the main event.
Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) registered his first welterweight title defense when he edged rival [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC) by majority decision in their trilogy bout, giving him a 2-1 lead in their series.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 286.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 286 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $266,500.
LONDON – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 286 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $266,500.
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 286 took place at The O2. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 286 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Gunnar Nelson[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Omar Morales[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Yanal Ashmoz[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Sam Patterson[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jafel Filho[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Gabriel Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Malcolm Gordon[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Joanne Wood[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Ludovit Klein[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Veronica Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Juliana Miller[/autotag]: $4,000
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 $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $1,634,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $16,153,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
Casey O’Neill entered UFC 286 at 9-0, but was handed her first loss by Jennifer Maia.
[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] utilized her technical striking Saturday to become the first opponent to defeat previously-surging flyweight contender [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag].
The bout was part of the UFC 286 main card at The O2 in London and saw Maia (21-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) defeat O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
The fight was largely a technical striking match for its duration. While O’Neill found success with her strikes, her combinations were shorter and less in volume than Maia’s. As O’Neill often fired single strikes, Maia would answer with two or three. O’Neill pressed the action, but Maia utilized her footwork to elude the pressuring foe.
Maia’s jab in particular found a home. When O’Neill tried to grapple her in Round 2, Maia reversed position against the fence. In Round 3, O’Neill pursued with an increased level of urgency. She found success with her strikes and range, though Maia bloodied her nose.
In the final minute, the two fighters opened up. Maia shot for a takedown and controlled O’Neill against the fence until the final 10 seconds. O’Neill landed a handful of significant punches in the waning seconds.
Winning via unanimous decision! 🙌
🇧🇷 @JenniMaiaUFC hands O'Neill her first professional loss. #UFC286 pic.twitter.com/N1lwkwat6W
— UFC (@ufc) March 18, 2023
With the victory, Maia extends her winning streak to two. In November, Maia defeated Maryna Moroz by unanimous decision. The two-fight streak comes after three losses in the previous four fights, including a UFC 255 title challenge against then-champion Valentina Shevchenko.
O’Neill encounters her first MMA loss at age 25. She spent the months leading up to the fight recovering and readying after an ACL tear in early 2022. Her UFC victories to date include Shana Dobson, Lara Fritzen, Antonina Shevchenko, and Roxanne Modafferi.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 286 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
Check out the best photos from Jennifer Maia’s unanimous decision win over Casey O’Neill at UFC 286 in London.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] at UFC 286 at The O2 in London. (Photos by Per Haljestam, USA TODAY Sports)
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC 286 main card in London, featuring a Leon Edwards-Kamaru Usman welterweight title rematch.
| Edwards vs. Usman |
Fiziev vs. Gaethje |
Barberena vs. Nelson |
Maia vs. O’Neill |
Dolidze vs. Vettori |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 30-19 |
 Usman (59%) |
 Fiziev (52%) |
 Nelson (62%) |
 O’Neill (73%) |
 Vettori (59%) |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 33-16 |
Usman |
 Gaethje |
 Barberena |
O’Neill |
 Dolidze |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 30-19/em> |
Usman |
Fiziev |
Nelson |
 Maia |
Vettori |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 30-19 |
Usman |
Gaethje |
Nelson |
O’Neill |
Dolidze |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 30-19 |
Usman |
Fiziev |
Nelson |
O’Neill |
Dolidze |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 29-20 |
 Edwards |
Gaethje |
Nelson |
O’Neill |
Dolidze |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 29-20  2018, 2022 Champion |
Usman |
Fiziev |
Barberena |
O’Neill |
Dolidze |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 28-21 |
Usman |
Fiziev |
Barberena |
O’Neill |
Vettori |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 27-22 2014 Champion |
Usman |
Fiziev |
Nelson |
O’Neill |
Vettori |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 27-22 |
Usman |
Gaethje |
Nelson |
O’Neill |
Vettori |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 26-23 2017 Champion |
Usman |
Gaethje |
Barberena |
O’Neill |
Vettori |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 26-23 |
Edwards |
Gaethje |
Nelson |
O’Neill |
Vettori |
The UFC is back in London for the third time in about a year this week with a welterweight trilogy rematch atop the card.
UFC 286 takes place Saturday at The O2 in London. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) takes on former champ [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) in a trilogy title rematch. Usman had little issue with Edwards for nearly 25 minutes when they fought this past August, but Edwards pulled off a stunning late head-kick knockout to take the title.
Usman is a -250 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Edwards is +200. It’s not a shutout, though it is a blowout. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Usman ahead at 9-2.
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In the co-feature, [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) takes on former interim lightweight champ [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC). Fiziev is more than a 2-1 favorite, but it’s Gaethje who has the slimmest possible picks lead at 6-5.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag] (18-9 MMA, 9-7 UFC) meets [autotag]Gunnar Nelson[/autotag] (18-5-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in a welterweight bout. Nelson is the biggest favorite on the main card at -360, but he has just a 7-4 lead in the picks from our staff members.
[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] (20-9-1 MMA, 5-5 UFC) takes on the unbeaten [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a women’s flyweight bout. O’Neill is a -170 favorite – the smallest favorite on the main card. Yet she is our closest thing to a unanimous pick at 10-1.
And to open the main card, former middleweight title challenger [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (18-5-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) fights [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC). Vettori nearly is a 3-1 favorite at the betting window, but he only has a 6-5 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Usman (59 percent), Fiziev (52 percent), Nelson (62 percent), O’Neill (73 percent) and Vettori (59 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
Jennifer Maia is excited to see fresh blood at the top of the UFC women’s flyweight division after Alexa Grasso’s title upset.
LONDON – [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] is excited to see fresh blood at the top of the UFC women’s flyweight division after Alexa Grasso’s title upset of [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] earlier this month.
That said, former title challenger Maia (20-9-1 MMA, 5-5 UFC) doesn’t think the new champion represents the top fighter in the weight class as she enters a key bout with Casey O’Neill (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 286. The event takes place at The O2 in London with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
“I was very happy with Grasso’s win,” Maia told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at UFC 286 media day on Wednesday. “It shakes things up even though we still believe Valentina’s the very best one in the weight class.”
Maia thinks the turnover of the belt gives a boost of motivation for fighters like herself, who are trying to climb the ranks into another opportunity to compete for gold.
The matchup with O’Neill is a key opportunity for the Brazilian, who will serve as the biggest challenge to date for the undefeated O’Neill. She intends to find out how good she really is.
“I think the biggest difference is she’s a well-rounded fighter,” Maia said. “She can stand, she can grapple – she’s very, very dedicated to her craft. But the biggest difference is I have a lot more experience fighting great fighters than she does, and that’s going to play a part.
“Beating her would give me two victories in a row, which regardless still puts me close to go up in the rankings and have another title shot.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
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