Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Diana Belbita added to October UFC Fight Night event

Former UFC strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz returns to action in October against Diana Belbita.

A women’s strawweight matchup between [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] and former title challenger [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag] is heading to a UFC Fight Night in October.

On Oct. 7 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Belbita (15-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC) faces Kowalkiewicz (15-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) in what will be the second appearance of the year for both fighters. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with two sources following the bout appearing on the ESPN event schedule.

The UFC Fight Night event features a lightweight matchup between Grant Dawson and Bobby Green, and will air live on ESPN+.

Belbita, 27, will look to keep the momentum going following a unanimous decision win over Maria Oliveira at UFC 289 in June. If successful, she will get back to .500 in her young UFC tenure.

However, standing in her way will be Kowalkiewicz, 37, who is in the midst of a late career resurgence as a winner of three straight. The Polish fighter was thought to be on her way out after dropping five straight through 2018-21, but has since turned things around with consecutive wins over Felice Herrig, Silvana Gomez Juarez and Vanessa Demopoulos.

With the addition, the current UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 7 includes:

  • Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green
  • Joaquin Buckley vs. Alex Morono
  • Diana Belbita vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
  • Drew Dober vs. Ricky Glenn
  • Chris Gutierrez vs. Montel Jackson
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Joe Pyfer
  • Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Kanako Murata
  • Bill Algeo vs. Alexander Hernandez
  • Johnny Munoz vs. Aori Qileng
  • Nate Maness vs. Mateus Mendonca
  • Khusein Askhabov vs. Daniel Pineda
  • Ion Cutelaba vs. Philipe Lins
  • Montana De La Rosa vs. Stephanie Egger

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Karolina Kowalkiewicz sees Diana Belbita as logical matchup at UFC 294 or UFC 295

It wasn’t long ago Karolina Kowalkiewicz was on a five-fight UFC losing skid. Now she looks to close 2023 with a fourth consecutive win.

LAS VEGAS – Former UFC title challenger [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag] is ready for the next step in her career rebuild.

After a five-fight skid from 2018-2021, Kowalkiewicz’s (15-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) career was on life support. She needed a change, and made a big move when she relocated from her native Poland to Florida for training at American Top Team.

The move has paid dividends. Kowalkiewicz has won her past three fights and is starting to reestablish herself in the strawweight division.

“I fell in love with the sport once again,” Kowalkiewicz told MMA Junkie Radio at UFC X Radio Row earlier this month. “I started everything from the beginning and it worked very good for me.

Kowalkiewicz, 37, said she hopes to return to action before the end of the year. She named UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 21 or UFC 295 in New York on Nov. 11 as events that would meet her timelines, and even had a potential opponent in mind.

“I want to fight as soon as possible because I am ready,” Kowalkiewicz said. “I am in training right now. I still don’t have a date or an opponent. I don’t know. Maybe Diana Belbita.”

Karolina Kowalkiewicz doesn’t resent Vanessa Demopoulos for UFC Fight Night 224 weight miss

Oftentimes, fighters lay into their opponents for missing weight. That’s not the case with Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Vanessa Demopoulos.

LAS VEGAS – Oftentimes, fighters lay into their opponents for missing weight.

Following her UFC Fight Night 224 win, [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag] took a different route when asked about opponent [autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]’ botched weigh-in Friday ahead of their fight.

“Sometimes it happens,” Kowalkiewicz told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “I don’t know why she didn’t make weight. But if the doctors said she cannot cut weight anymore, OK. The health is the most important. So OK, for me it is not a problem.”

Kowalkiewicz (15-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) went 15 minutes with Demopoulos (9-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) before she was awarded a unanimous decision victory, her third win in a row. Kowalkiewicz said she didn’t feel a noticeable weight or strength difference from Demopoulos, who weighed 1.5 pounds over the strawweight limit.

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As for what’s next, Kowalkiewicz didn’t have an opponent or date on her mind. All she wants is to return relatively soon – and have fans in the building when she does.

“I need to talk with my coach,” Kowalkiewicz said. “If he agrees with me, I want to fight as soon as possible. I need two weeks of vacation because I want to go to my family, to Poland. I need to rest a little bit. I’ll go back to ATT to train again and start preparing for my next fight. … Any open arena event. … I love fans, yeah. We fight for fans, so fighting in big arena is the best feeling in the world. ”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 post-event facts: Mackenzie Dern climbs strawweight bonus list

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 224, which saw Mackenzie Dern rack up another $50,000 bonus in the main event.

The UFC closed out its May schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) by unanimous decision in the Fight of the Night, with the grappling specialist landing a career-best 126 significant strikes over the course of five rounds.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 224.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 224: The newest version of Mackenzie Dern is a freaking problem

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 224, including Mackenzie Dern’s beastly showing.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC Fight Night 224 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Two fighters net max non-title money

UFC Fight Night 224 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 224 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $179,500.

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 224 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 224 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Hayisaer Maheshate[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Nick Fiore[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Takashi Sato[/autotag]: $6,000

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 2241 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: $3,214,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,803,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 224 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Mackenzie Dern (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Angela Hill (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) in a women’s strawweight bout. In the co-feature, Anthony Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at middleweight.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC Fight Night 224 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway ) on Twitter.

UFC Fight Night 224 pre-event facts: Will third time be the charm for Mackenzie Dern?

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where Mackenzie Dern will make her third attempt at a UFC main event victory.

After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.

Vanessa Demopoulos aims to break into UFC rankings by returning to ‘wild little monster’ roots

“Lil Monster” went 3-0 in 2022 and now has UFC rankings on her mind.

[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag] credits learning how to be poised and composed for her career turnaround, but maybe it’s time to add a little crazy into the mix again, too.

Now training at Factory X ahead of a May 20 bout against [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event, Demopoulos (9-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) thinks her in-cage intelligence is advanced enough to revert back to her old fighting style – a hybrid of the calm and the storm.

“I feel like I really did a good job of following the gameplan of what my coaches were requesting of me to do inside the octagon,” Demopoulos recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I was a great listener and I think moving forward I’d like to listen to my own instincts a little bit more. I went from being a super crazy, fun, wild fighter to being a little bit more reserved, which was good and necessary and needed. I look forward to being a little bit more of the wild little monster that I’ve always known and came up as.”

In 2022, Demopoulos went 3-0 with wins over Silvana Gomez Juarez, Jinh Yu Frey, and Maria Oliveira. In her estimation, she knocks on the door of the top 15. The only obstacle that stands between her and an official UFC ranking is a former promotional title challenger.

“She’s a contender in her own right. She’s been amongst the best. She’s fought all of the top 15 almost,” Demopoulos said. “… I’m personally looking forward to jumping forward in the rankings and making my way. I’m so excited for this fight for so many different types of reasons. We signed a tough opponent.

“As we saw, Silvana has been known for her knockout power and she wasn’t able to put KK away. In fact, KK did end up winning that fight via decision. She’s a contender in her own right. She has been amongst the best. She has fought all of basically the top 15 almost. So, I’m personally still very much looking forward to this fight and getting into the rankings myself after the victory May 20.”

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 20-26)

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 Feb. 20-26.