Tag: Josh Hill

Alvin Kamara’s 49-yard walk-off TD is the Saints Play of the Day

Alvin Kamara’s 49-yard walk-off touchdown against the Giants in 2018 is the Saints Play of the Day:

We’re now at 49 days until the New Orleans Saints season opener, which makes this 49-yard walk-off touchdown by Alvin Kamara our Saints play of the day. Kamara had a career day against the New York Giants, totaling 181 yards from scrimmage along with three rushing touchdowns. It was a  statement performance from the second-year pro at the time.

During this play, the Saints were up by 8 points with 2:16 left in regulation, which meant this was a crucial drive for both teams. The Saints decided to run a simple power play to Kamara on first down, likely just trying to run the clock down to two minutes as they had already passed midfield. But when you give the ball to special players, special things happen.

Set up by great blocks by fullback Zach Line and tight end Josh Hill, Kamara hit a seam with great burst and was off to the races. With one defender to beat at the second level, Kamara granted him a final stiff arm before gliding his way into the end zone to seal the game for the Saints. He and Michael Thomas kept running into the tunnel after that, making one of the defining moments in what was a special season for New Orleans.

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Former Saints tight end Josh Hill joins team’s pro scouting department

Former Saints tight end Josh Hill joined the team’s pro scouting department. He’s the latest former player to begin his second football life in New Orleans:

Another former New Orleans Saints player joined the team’s staff. Longtime tight end Josh Hill was recently hired by the team to work in the teams pro scouting department. It was reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill that the plan is for Hill to initially work as an advanced scout, studying tape for future opponents and helping to identify tendencies to exploit on game days.

This wouldn’t be the first time that a former player has returned to the facility to join the staff. We’ve seen guys like Zach Strief, Jahri Evans and Sterling Moore all make their way back down to add value as former players who have had success in this league. Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, Hill’s former position coach, took the same path by returning to the team he once suited up for as a player.

Hill has been afforded the same opportunity as a player the Saints coveted for a long time as a reliable and dependable piece during the team’s success run starting in 2017. He spent 8 years with the Saints spanning from 2013 to 2020, playing in 117 games. During his tenure, Hill combined for 116 receptions for 1,071 yards and 15 touchdowns, but he was most highly regarded by his coaches for his blocking ability and team-first attitude.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 17-23)

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 July 17-23

Bellator 292 salaries: Five get six-figure paydays, including Benson Henderson in retirement fight

Check out the full list of fighter salaries from this past Friday’s Bellator 292 event in San Jose, Calif.

Twenty fighters competed this past Friday at Bellator 292 with the titleholders leading all disclosed payouts.

California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter payouts Thursday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments or discretionary bonuses.

Three of five fighters who pocketed six-figure disclosed paydays tied for the top spot on the list with $150,000. Lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) submitted Benson Henderson (30-12 MMA, 7-7 BMMA) in the main event, which also was the opening round of Bellator’s lightweight grand prix.

Both Nurmagomedov and Henderson made a disclosed $150,000 flat purse for their fights, win or lose. The other $150,000 recipient was Alexander Shabliy (23-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who made $75,000 to show and a $75,000 win bonus for his finish of Tofiq Musayev (20-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in the tournament’s opening round.

In addition, Linton Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) made a flat $100,000 for his heavyweight knockout of Valentin Moldavsky (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) and Michael Page (21-2 MMA, 17-2 BMMA) made a flat $100,000 for his quick injury TKO of Goiti Yamauchi (28-6 MMA, 14-5 BMMA).

Scroll below to see what the 20 fighters on Bellator 292 were paid – disclosed amounts only.

Bellator 292 post-event facts: Michael Page takes sole possession of company knockout record

Check out the numbers to come out of Bellator 292, where Michael “Venom” Page broke a longstanding tie for most KO/TKO wins in history.

Bellator put on its third event of the year Friday with Bellator 292, which took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

The lightweight grand prix got its start on the card with a pair of quarterfinal matchups. Reigning champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) made his first step in defending through the tournament when he quickly stopped former UFC and WEC champ [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-12 MMA, 7-7 BMMA) by first-round submission.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 292.

Bellator 292: Best photos from San Jose

Check out these photos from Bellator 292, which took place at Kia Forum in San Jose, Calif.

Check out these photos from Bellator 292, which took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 9-15)

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. 9-15.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 11-17)

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 July 11-17.

Josh Hill out of Bellator bantamweight grand prix, Nikita Mikhailov to face Enrique Barzola

Josh Hill is out of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix and a replacement has been announced to face Enrique Barzola.

The wild card round of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix has a new matchup after a fighter withdrawal.

[autotag]Josh Hill[/autotag] has pulled out from his bout against [autotag]Enrique Barzola[/autotag] due to undisclosed reasons. Hill (21-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) was set to meet Barzola at Bellator 278 on April 22 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

Stepping up to replace hill will be [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag], the promotion announced on Monday.

Mikhailov (9-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will enter the grand prix on a five-fight win streak that includes two wins under the Bellator banner. He most recently finished Blaine Shutt via third rounds ground and pound at Bellator 273 in January.

Barzola (17-5-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), a 10-fight UFC veteran, will keep the date he was preparing for, but now faces a new opponent in his second Bellator bout.

The winner of this fight will move on to face [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] in the semifinals at Bellator 282 on June 24.

With the change, the Bellator 278 lineup now includes:

  • Juliana Velasquez vs. Liz Carmouche
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Nikita Mikhailov
  • Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello
  • Christian Edwards vs. Grant Neal
  • Nate Andrews vs. Manny Muro
  • Weber Almeida vs. Fabricio Franco
  • Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Erik Perez
  • Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry
  • Scotty Hao vs. Dante Schiro

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Bellator bantamweight grand prix takes another hit with Josh Hill withdrawal

The Bellator bantamweight grand prix has been snakebitten – and it hasn’t even begun.

The withdrawals continue to pile up for the Bellator bantamweight grand prix.

[autotag]Josh Hill[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) is the latest fighter to withdraw from the promotion’s 135-pound tournament. He is out of his previously-scheduled “wild card” bout against [autotag]Enrique Barzola[/autotag] (17-5-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), which was booked for the Bellator 278 co-main event on April 22 in Honolulu.

Two people with knowledge of the change informed MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. A reason for Hill’s withdrawal was not revealed and it is unclear whether or not Barzola will remain on the card against a new opponent.

Hill vs. Barzola was originally expected to be a tournament alternate bout. However, when champion Sergio Pettis and contender James Gallagher withdrew due to injury, Hill vs. Barzola was slated as a “wild card” bout.

A second wild card bout, Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello is slated for the April 22 event. The next day at Bellator 279, grand prix quarterfinal bouts Juan Archuleta vs. Raufeon Stots, and Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Patchy Mix are scheduled to take place.

The side of the bracket containing the wild card bout winners will also feature Magomed Magomedov and Leandro Higo. Those two bouts are expected to take place on June 24 at Bellator 282.

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