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 from Jan. 2-8.
A key women’s flyweight matchup between Jennifer Maia and Casey O’Neill is in the works for London’s UFC 286.
A ranked women’s flyweight matchup is targeted for UFC 286 in London.
A bout between former title challenger [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] and undefeated [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] is being planned for the pay-per-view event on March 18, which takes place at The O2.
MMA Junkie confirmed the fight is in the works with multiple sources following a first report from MMA Island. Details surrounding the matchup are being discussed, but bout agreements have been not signed by both parties at this time.
O’Neill (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) who currently holds the No. 9 spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s flyweight rankings, will compete for the first time after being forced out of a matchup against Jessica Eye at UFC 276 in July due to a torn ACL. Through four fights in the UFC, the 25-year-old O’Neill has recorded three stoppages over Shana Dobson, Lara Fritzen and Antonina Shevchenko. Her most recent victory was a split decision win over Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 271.
On the other side, Maia (20-9-1 MMA, 5-5 UFC) will look to make it two straight in the win column. In her previous outing, Maia, 34, won a unanimous decision over Maryna Moroz to snap a two-fight skid. The upcoming bout against O’Neill also represents the opportunity to stay above .500 since her title shot against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 255 in 2020.
With the addition, the UFC 286 lineup includes:
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Former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger Jennifer Maia can breathe a little easier after picking up a win.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] can breathe a little easier now that she’s got a win under her belt.
The former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger ended a two-fight losing skid at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 215. Maia (20-9-1 MMA, 5-5 UFC) defeated Maryna Moroz (11-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) by unanimous decision on the preliminary portion of the card.
It was the first time Maia entered a bout with two consecutive defeats. She’s relieved that number didn’t extend to three.
“I’m obviously very happy,” Maia told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I feel like a cleansed soul after a win. I feel like I could’ve done more, but I tried to fight smart and intelligently to come out with the win.”
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Maia admits she felt pressured going into UFC Fight Night 215. She felt like she was in a must-win situation.
“Surely, obviously coming off the losses and also fighting someone below me in the rankings, it’s an added pressure,” Maia said. “I needed this win for myself.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.
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UFC Fight Night 215 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 Fight Night 215 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $80,000.
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 Fight Night 215 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 215 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chase Sherman[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Natividad[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tereza Bleda[/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 and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts. 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $7,634,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,812,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 215, which featured a number of notable feats.
The UFC closed its November schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 215, a decision-heavy event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
One fighter who didn’t need the judges, however, was [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who made the most of his makeshift main event opportunity with a second-round TKO of [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight clash.
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 Fight Night 215.
UFC on ESPN 33 was one of the rare events in the modern climate where disclosed fighter salaries have trickled into the public.
UFC on ESPN 33 was one of the rare events in the modern climate where fighter salaries have trickled into the public.
Curtis Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC), who defeated Chris Daukaus (13-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) by second-round TKO in the main event of the card this past Saturday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, was the highest paid athlete on the card, netting $262,000 in disclosed earnings from the event.
The total salaries from the 12-bout card was $1,434,000, with just four names cracking the six-figure mark with their payouts.
MMAFighting.com received salary information from the Ohio State Athletic Commission on Tuesday.
Check out the full fight purses for UFC on ESPN 33.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 33, which saw Neil Magny tie Georges St-Pierre’s long-held wins records.
The UFC returned in front of crowds for non-PPV events in the U.S. on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 33 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The 12-fight card was capped off by a sensational showing from [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who used his hands and no wrestling to crush [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) into a second-round TKO and remind everyone that he’s still a young and evolving player in the heavyweight division.
Blaydes set some personal records in the win, but there were other bits of UFC history across the card, as well. For more on the numbers, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 33.
After losing out on a big opportunity, Manon Fiorot got an even better one.
After losing out on a big opportunity, [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] got an even better one.
Fiorot (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was originally scheduled to face Jessica Eye in Saturday’s UFC 272 event, but the bout was scrapped after Eye withdrew due to injury.
But it didn’t take long for Fiorot to get booked again as she will now be taking on another former title challenger in [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] (19-8-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 33, which takes place March 26 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Two people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie on Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Unbeaten in the UFC, France’s Fiorot went the distance for the first time in the octagon when she defeated Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 195 in October. Prior to that, the former UAE Warriors flyweight champion had finished her past five opponents.
Currently ranked No. 4 in the UFC’s flyweight rankings, former title challenger Maia has split her past six fights. After defeating Eye at UFC 264, the 33-year-old former Invicta FC champ suffered a decision loss to Katlyn Chookagian in January.
With the addition, the current UFC Columbus lineup includes:
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 32, which saw history made on the promotion’s first event of 2022.
The first UFC event of the year took place Saturday with UFC on ESPN 32 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
A 10-fight card that was ravaged by lineup changes ultimately concluded with a strong performance from [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who returned from a career-long layoff to battle [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision in the matchup of featherweight contenders.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 32.
UFC on ESPN 32 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 32 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $132,000.
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 32 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 32 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chase Sherman[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Rogerio Bontorin[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dakota Bush[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joseph Holmes[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Court McGee[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Croom[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]TJ Brown[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]: $11,000
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 20-32 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $132,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $6,299,500
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