Justin Gonzales – Syndication Server

2024 PFL 3 video: Gabriel Braga knocks out Justin Gonzales in first fight since father’s death

Three months after his father was reportedly murdered by a drug gang, Gabriel Braga returns to the PFL cage with a big TKO finish.

[autotag]Gabriel Braga[/autotag] entered 2024 PFL 3 to compete for the first time since his father’s death, and he walked away with the victory.

As the clock wound down in Round 1, Braga (13-1) drilled opponent [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (14-4) with a clean punching combination that stopped the fight at the 4:59 mark. The win at Wintrust Arena in Chicago earned Braga six points in the 2024 featherweight regular season standings.

Braga, the 2023 runner-up, hadn’t fought since his father, Diego, was killed in Brazil in January. Reports indicated a drug gang murdered Diego while searching for a stolen motorcycle.

Diego served as his son’s head coach and mentor for his entire career, so Gabriel felt the impact both personally and professionally. In February, he withdrew on weigh-ins day from a fight vs. Bellator champion Patricio Freire as he determined he wasn’t mentally ready to compete.

Gabriel Braga!!! 6 Points!

Massive W for him and immediate emotion as he wins without his father in his corner for the first time#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
🇺🇸ESPN
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/UesYOjzNkW

— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 20, 2024

With the victory, Braga moves to 5-1 in PFL with two finishes by strikes.

A Bellator import, Gonzales loses his PFL debut and falls into a three-fight skid.

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The up-to-the-minute 2024 PFL 3 results include:

Gabriel Braga def. Justin Gonzales via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:59
Goiti Yamauchi def. Neiman Gracie via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kai Kamaka III def. Bubba Jenkins via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Adam Borics def. Enrique Barzola via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Timur Khizriev def. Brett Johns via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Murad Ramazanov def. Laureano Staropoli via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:07
Don Madge def. Brennan Ward via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:02
Thad Jean def. Romain Debienne via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:07

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 3.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 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 or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 11-17.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 13-19)

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 March 13-19.

Bellator 287 predictions: Three unanimous nods and one blowout in Milan

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 287 main card in Milan, Italy.

	Piccolotti vs. Barnaoui	Edwards vs. Ward	Rogers vs. Wilde	Fisher vs. Gonzales
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 167-100	Barnaoui (58%)	Edwards (73%)	Rogers (76%)	Gonzales (84%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 179-93 2018 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 172-100	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 170-102	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 169-103	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 169-103 2014 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 166-106	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Simon Samano @SJSamano 165-107	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Brian Garcia @thegoze 159-113 2017 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Nolan King @mma_kings 159-113	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 152-120	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 133-138	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales

Bellator is back in Italy this week with a lightweight matchup at the top of the lineup.

Bellator 287 takes place Saturday at Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Adam Piccolotti[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) takes on promotional newcomer [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at lightweight. Barnaoui is a slight betting favorite around -150, and our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have him as a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.

In the co-main event [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) is one of our three unanimous picks on the main card in his middleweight fight against [autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA). Edwards is the brother of new UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards; Ward is a teammate of Conor McGregor. Edwards is as much as a 6-1 favorite and an 11-0 pick from our staff members.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) is a 4-1 favorite in his lightweight bout against [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (14-4-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA). Rogers is our second unanimous pick on the main card.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) is nearly a 3-1 favorite in his featherweight bout against [autotag]Andrew Fisher[/autotag] (19-8-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA). Gonzales is our third 11-0 pick

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Barnaoui (58 percent), Edwards (73 percent), Rogers (76 percent) and Gonzales (84 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 287.

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Bellator 279 ceremonial weigh-in faceoffs video: Title fights, grand prix bouts, and more

The event in Honolulu features Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe, Juan Archuleta vs. Raufeon Stots, Patchy Mix vs. Kyoji Horiguchi, and more.

HONOLULU – The pre-fight necessities are in the books for the second of two Bellator events this week, and all that’s left to do is fight.

The Bellator 279 fighters got face to face for the first and only time, officially at least, at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins. Included in that mix were headliners [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 8-4 BMMA), who fight for Cyborg’s women’s featherweight title.

A few quick words were exchanged, though seemingly nothing personal. Cyborg sported artistically-worked facepaint of the Brazilian flag.

The most intense faceoff was between co-main eventers [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), who compete in an interim bantamweight title fight that doubles as a grand prix quarterfinal. The other quarterfinalists competing Saturday, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] (29-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) had a lighter mood as the two flexed and shook hands.

Former women’s flyweight champion and Hawaii native [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) showed a sign of respect to opponent [autotag]Justine Kish[/autotag] (7-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) when she presented her with a lei.

Saturday’s card at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu is the second of back-to-back Bellator events in Hawaii’s capital city. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. Check out all the faceoffs for Bellator 279 in the video above.

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Justin Gonzales took Aaron Pico loss personally, made adjustments for Kai Kamaka fight: ‘I’m going to f*ck him up’

Former LFA champion Justin Gonzales isn’t used to losing and doesn’t want it to happen again.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] comes into Bellator 279 with a sour taste in his mouth, but one he’s ready to wash out as soon as possible.

For the first time in his professional career, Gonzales (12-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) enters a fight coming off a loss, a unanimous decision defeat to Aaron Pico at Bellator 271 in November. Defeat stung.

“I took that loss pretty personal,” Gonzales told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight news conference. “It was the first one of my career. Obviously, I take it personal. I didn’t like it. I hate losing. It doesn’t matter if it’s chess. It’s doesn’t matter if it’s cards. It doesn’t matter if it’s a race. It doesn’t matter if it’s a fight. I hate that sh*t. I hate losing.”

At Bellator 279, Gonzales has a chance to restart his momentum when he fights King (11-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) in lightweight prelim bout. While a loss is a loss, Gonzales thinks he accurately identified and adjusted the necessary fixes.

“I took it personal, took some time, reanalyzed some things, focused on some things, and we weren’t too far off. I’m better than ever. (I’ve) evolved, grown, ready to handle some business.”

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Gonzales, a former LFA champion, now has a chance to further put the loss behind him when he fights former UFC fighter Kai Kamaka (9-4-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), a home-state fighter, on the Bellator 279 prelims.

“If I’ve got to beat this dude up on the feet, then so be it. I’ll beat him up on the feet. If I’ve got to wrestle him (or) break him down, then that’s what’s going to happen. Kai is tough. He’s a gamer. He’s going to bring the fight. I know that. Especially being here in Hawaii, he wants to put on a show. But in my eyes, I’m just all-around better than him – so I’m going to f*ck him up.”

Bellator 279 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Bellator 271 post-event facts: Cris Cyborg leads Bellator champs in defenses

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 271, which took place Friday and saw Cris Cyborg defend her title in 92 seconds.

[autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] continued her reign of terror on Friday with another dominant title defense against [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] in the Bellator 271 main event.

Cyborg (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) recorded her third consecutive defense when she stopped Kavanagh (7-5 MMA, 4-5 BMMA) by knockout just 92 seconds into the headliner, which took place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

For more on the numbers, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 271.

Bellator 271 results: Aaron Pico shines all around, beats Justin Gonzales for first career decision

For the first time in a dozen pro fights, Aaron Pico went a full 15 minutes inside the cage and came out victorious.

[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] had never reached a judges’ decision prior to Friday, but once he did, he was awarded a victory.

A well rounded performance turned in, Pico (8-4 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) defeated [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) at Bellator 271. The event took place Friday at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Pico, 25, who has been highly touted in combat sports since his teenage years, displayed poise, control, calm, and calculation – traits that he’s admitted in the past he needed to improve on.

From the opening bell, the two men slung leather. The first punch of the fight was from Gonzales, and it set the tone. It glanced off the noggin of Pico, who took it and moved forward. In Round 1, both striking and wrestling were on display. The most damage was done by Pico, who landed a pair of violent body punches and a hook that stunned Gonzales. He also scored a takedown to close out the round.

A different tone was set in Round 2 when Pico scored a takedown in the opening minute. It took Gonzales over 90 seconds to get back to his feet. A few punches later, Gonzales was taken down again. Pico mounted Gonzales but ran out of time.

The third round saw more dominant wrestling from Pico, who controlled Gonzales on the canvas. In the final minute, Gonzales rose to his feet and went for broke. He was met by another violent Pico body punch and was unable to muster up much offense before the final buzzer sounded.

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With the victory, Pico extends his unbeaten streak to five. It also includes wins over Aiden Lee, John de Jesus, Solo Hatley Jr., and Daniel Carey. Over the span of his 12-fight professional MMA career, Pico has registered six knockouts or TKOs and two submissions.

The loss for Gonzales is his first as a professional. A former LFA champion, Gonzales made his promotional debut at Bellator 260 in June when he defeated Tywan Claxton by split decision. Friday’s loss snapped a 21-fight winning streak, including amateur bouts.

Updated Bellator 271 results include:

Aaron Pico def. Justin Gonzales via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Arlene Blencowe def. Pam Sorenson via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Steve Mowry def. Rakim Cleveland via submission (Kimura) – Round 1, 3:28
Bruna Ellen def. Desiree Yanez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Roman Faraldo def. Robert Turnquest via knockout (flying knee) – Round 1, 1:17
Cody Law def. Colton Hamm via knockout (elbows) – Round 1, 4:21
Valerie Loureda def. Taylor Turner via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Muhammed DeReese via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ethan Hughes def. Mahmoud Sebie TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:05

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Bellator 271 predictions: Is anyone picking against all-time great Cris Cyborg?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 271 main card, featuring Cris Cyborg vs. Sinead Kavanagh.

	Cyborg vs. Kavanagh	Fortune vs. Vassell	Gonzales vs. Pico	Blencowe vs. Sorenson	Cleveland vs. Mowry
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 190-104	Cyborg (76%)	Fortune (73%)	Pico (76%)	Blencowe (58%)	Mowry (83%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 194-100	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 188-106	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Mowry
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 184-110 2014 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 182-112 2020 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Mowry
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 182-112	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Mowry
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 181-113	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Sorenson	Mowry
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 177-117	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Sorenson	Mowry
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 177-117 2018 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Sorenson	Mowry
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 172-122	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Sorenson	Mowry
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 171-123 2017 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Cleveland
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 169-125	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 169-125	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 110-68	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry

Bellator has set up shop in South Florida this week, and the women’s featherweight title is on the line at the top of the bill.

Bellator 271 takes place Friday at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (24-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) puts her title up against challenger [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA). Cyborg is a massive -5000 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Kavanagh is +1200. Given those odds, it’s not surprising that not a single one of our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers is picking against Cyborg.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 11-1 BMMA) is a -205 favorite in his heavyweight bout against former title challenger [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 9-5 BMMA). Fortune is our other unanimous pick on the main card at 13-0.

Also on the main card, the undefeated [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (8-3, 8-3 BMMA) at featherweight. Pico is a big favorite at -370, but he has just a small lead in our staff picks at 8-5.

Former women’s featherweight title challenger [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (14-8 MMA, 7-4 BMMA) is a big -370 favorite against [autotag]Pam Sorenson[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Blencowe has a big 9-4 lead in our picks.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) puts his unbeaten record up against [autotag]Rakim Cleveland[/autotag] (22-13-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Mowry is a huge 8-1 favorite, and he’s a near unanimous pick from our staff members at 12-1.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (76 percent), Fortune (73 percent), Pico (76 percent), Blencowe (58 percent) and Mowry (83 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Aaron Pico to fight undefeated Justin Gonzales at Bellator 271

If Aaron Pico’s good times are to continue in Bellator, he’ll have to hand his next opponent his first loss.

If [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag]’s good times are to continue in Bellator, he’ll have to hand his next opponent his first loss.

Pico, who’s riding a four-fight winning streak, is set to meet undefeated [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] in a featherweight bout Nov. 12 at Bellator 271. A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news to MMA Junkie following an initial report from ESPN on Thursday.

Pico (8-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA), 25, has been on a tear since back-to-back losses in 2019, earning finishes – two knockouts and two submissions – in all four fights during his winning streak. Pico’s reemergence has coincided with a move to Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M. He most recently dominated Aiden Lee before scoring a third-round submission by anaconda choke this past June at Bellator 260.

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Gonzales, 30, is coming off a successful promotional debut at Bellator 260 where he won a split decision against Tywan Claxton. Gonzales (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) entered Bellator after winning an LFA championship in 2020. He was collegiate wrestling teammates with UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje at the University of Northern Colorado.

Bellator 271 takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the Bellator 271 lineup now includes:

Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Sinead Kavanagh – for women’s featherweight title
Tyrell Fortune vs. Linton Vassell
Arlene Blencowe vs. Pam Sorenson
Justin Gonzales vs. Aaron Pico

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