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 19-25.
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 17-23.
Moments after his UFC Fight Night 212 win, Joanderson Brito told the world what he wants next: Dan Ige in Rio de Janeiro.
LAS VEGAS – Moments after he finished the task at hand, [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag] turned his attention to what’s next.
Saturday at UFC Fight Night 212, Brito (13-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) defeated newcomer Lucas Alexander (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) via rear-naked choke submission at 2:12 of Round 1.
Quick work completed, Brito took advantage of his in-cage interview when he called for a fight against Dan Ige at the upcoming UFC 283 event in Rio de Janeiro.
“The styles match up,” Brito told reporters at a post-fight news conference. “You can say sometimes that a fight may be a mismatch here or there, but no. The styles match up. Our styles and our game plans and styles and our games match. He’s a guy who’s a striker. He’s a guy who uses a lot of his boxing. He moves around a lot – a guy who is so experienced. So I just think people will really enjoy a fight between us.”
Brito, 27, has won in back-to-back first-round finishes against Alexander and longtime UFC fighter Andre Fili. Meanwhile, Ige (15-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is a UFC-ranked featherweight on a three-fight losing skid.
Ige, 31, took a comical approach to Brito’s callout. Ige reenacted the famous “Homer Simpson backs into the bushes” meme in an Instagram video.
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Whether it’s Ige or someone else, Brito put emphasis on his location request rather than the opponent callout.
“I think it would be wonderful,” Brito said. “The Brazilian people, the Brazilian crowd is just so fiery. It’s just so lively. I think it would be a really good atmosphere for me to fight in – not just (against) Dan Ige, but anyone. If I actually fought on that card, they’d see that I’m entertaining. That’s what I’m going to bring and I think everybody would love to have that fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.
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UFC Fight Night 212 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 212 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $151,500.
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 Fight Night 212 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 212 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Misha Cirkunov[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Mana Martinez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Davis[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jacob Malkoun[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Nick Maximov[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Piera Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Pete Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mike Jackson[/autotag]: $4,500
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 2127 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2121 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $6,642,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,810,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.
Joanderson Brito called his shot with Dan Ige after quickly dispatching of Lucas Alexander at UFC Fight Night 212.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag] was one of the biggest favorites on the UFC Fight Night 212 card, and for good reason.
Brito (14-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) easily dispatched short-notice replacement opponent Lucas Alexander (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their featherweight bout on Saturday’s card at the UFC Apex. A rear-naked choke got the job done at the 2:02 mark of Round 1.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
Tubarão strikes 🦈 #UFCVegas62
pic.twitter.com/wH26v5HPzZ— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022
After the win, Brito called his short and invited Dan Ige to meet him in the octagon at UFC 283 on Jan. 21 in Brazil.
“I’m entertainment,” Brito told Paul Felder through an interpreter in his post-fight interview. “I’m the reason why you guys stopped to watch this. Hey Dan Ige, let’s fight in Rio (at UFC 283).”
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 212 include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.
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This week’s UFC return has a late change to the lineup in Las Vegas.
This week’s UFC return has a late change to the lineup in “Sin City.”
[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag] (13-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was set to fight [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) until he suffered a broken hand. Now Brito will fight promotional newcomer [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 212.
MMA Junkie confirmed the targeted new matchup with a person with knowledge of the booking, who asked to remain anonymous since it hasn’t been formally announced by the UFC. UFC Fight Night 212 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
Alexander, from Brazil, got some eyeballs on him in February with a TKO win on UFC Fight Pass at the debut fight card of Anthony Pettis’ new MMA promotion. The win was the 27-year-old’s fifth straight.
Brito made his way to the UFC starting on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2021. In January, he dropped a decision to Bill Algeo in his promotional debut, which snapped a 12-fight unbeaten streak. But in April, he bounced back in a big way with a 41-second knockout of longtime UFC fighter Andre Fili and picked up a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Baghdasaryan has been out of action for 11 months. After a DWCS win in 2020, he picked up 2021 UFC wins over Collin Anglin, which won a $50,000 bonus, and Bruno Souza. He was set to return against T.J. Laramie in April, but pulled out. And for the Brito fight, he’s out again.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 212 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.
The UFC handed out post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, and one fighter got to double dip.
The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, and one fighter got to double dip.
After UFC on ESPN 35, two fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Las Vegas, and another cashed a $100,000 check. Check out the winners below.
Andre Fili was the biggest favorite on the UFC on ESPN 35 main card. But Joanderson Brito apparently didn’t care.
[autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag] was the biggest favorite on the UFC on ESPN 35 main card. But [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag] apparently didn’t care.
Brito (13-3-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) drilled Fili (21-9 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC), who was near 3-1 favorite status, with a right hand early in their featherweight fight. Fili fell to the canvas, and Brito wasted no time following him down.
He only needed about 10 hammer fists, first from his feet, then from his knees, to get referee Herb Dean to step in just 41 seconds into the bout.
OHHHHH MYYYYYY 😳
Joanderson Brito gets it done LIGHTNING quick! #UFCVegas53 pic.twitter.com/BJ2JoCZWXm
— UFC (@ufc) May 1, 2022
Afterward, Brazil’s Brito said learning of the death of an uncle earlier in the day made the win extra special.
The win was Brito’s first in the UFC after coming up short against Bill Algeo in January. Fili’s loss was the first time he’d been finished since a knockout setback to Yair Rodriguez six years ago. His losses since then all had been by decision until Brito stunned him.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the main card of UFC on ESPN 35.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main card for UFC on ESPN 35.
UFC on ESPN 35 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.
Last event’s results: 3-1
Overall picks for UFC main cards in 2022: 38-14
Welcome to MMAJunkie’s Quick Picks and Prognostications, where I’ll be giving brief, fight-day breakdowns for UFC main cards.
With that in mind, I hope these write-ups don’t come off as curt or dismissive, as my goal here is to offer quick picks and analysis in a digestible format. All odds listed are provided by Tipico Sportsbook.
If you’d like more detailed analysis from me, then feel free to check out my weekly show, The Protect Ya’ Neck Podcast.
So, without further ado…
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.
