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 26-July 2.
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.
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)
Check out which veterans of the UFC are in MMA action this weekend across the globe.
It’s another home game for the UFC, although this event isn’t taking place at the UFC Apex, nor T-Mobile Arena. UFC Fight Night 221 takes place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, featuring a bantamweight clash between Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan.
Elsewhere, many other MMA events are taking place that feature familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
These 10 veterans of the global MMA leader are competing in MMA boxing this week from March 9-12.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
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. 6-12.
Patricio Freire added to his records for most wins and title-fight victories in Bellator history with a dominant defense at Bellator 286.
The final stretch of Bellator’s 2022 schedule kicked off Saturday with Bellator 286, which took place at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif., and featured a 13-fight lineup.
The main event saw the most decorated fighter in company history further enhance his legacy when [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (34-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) cruised to a lopsided unanimous decision over [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) to defend his featherweight title for the first time in what’s his third title reign in the division.
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 Bellator 286.
Check out which UFC veterans are competing in various promotions across the globe this week.
The UFC is back in action for another event at in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 211 featuring MacKenzie Dern vs. Yan Xiaonan.
Outside of Saturday’s event at the UFC Apex, there are a number of veterans of the promotion competing across the globe in MMA and kickboxing. Whether they are trying to fight their way back to the big stage of the world MMA leader or solidify themselves as a staple of their current promotions, these UFC veterans will be looking to get their hand raised this weekend.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
Yoel Romero lost his Bellator debut – but was still compensated the highest amount of anyone on the card.
Bellator 266 is in the books and although [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] was the victorious half of the main event, he didn’t receive the highest disclosed payout according to the event’s commissioning body.
While Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) pocketed a $100,000 flat salary for his three-round split decision, his opponent [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) earned $150,000 in defeat. The fight was Romero’s promotional debut with Bellator and his first bout since his UFC departure in 2020.
MMA Junkie acquired a full list of Bellator 266 payouts Wednesday from California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster. The amounts include win and show purses, but do not account for any discretionary bonuses.
Bellator 266 took place Saturday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
Check out the full list of Bellator 266 payouts below:
The lineup for Bellator return to its Northern California home base is set with the addition of four new fights on the preliminary card.
The lineup for next week’s Bellator return to its Northern California home base is set with the addition of four new fights on the preliminary card.
[autotag]Rhalan Gracie[/autotag] (0-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will return to MMA for the first time since 2007 when he takes on [autotag]Shane Keefe[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at welterweight.
Plus, [autotag]Eddie Abasolo[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Art Hernandez[/autotag] (4-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a 160-pound contract weight fight; [autotag]Edwin De Los Santos[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Jon Adams[/autotag] (0-1-1 MMA, 0-1-1 BMMA) at flyweight; and [autotag]Jesse Delgado[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) fights [autotag]Joshua Dillon[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a 130-pound contract weight bout.
Bellator 266 takes place Sept. 18 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The card will be Bellator’s first in San Jose in more than two years.
In the main event, [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) finally will make his Bellator debut when he takes on former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] (22-6 MMA, 9-3 BMMA).
Romero signed with Bellator in December 2020 after a seven-year run with the UFC. He was booked to make his promotional debut against Anthony Johnson to open the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix in May, but was forced to withdraw because of concerns over his eye following a pre-fight medical exam.
Romero, 44, hasn’t fought since March 2020 when he dropped a unanimous decision to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 248, which marked his third consecutive loss. His other two defeats in the skid came against Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. Romero hasn’t won since a February 2018 knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.
Davis is coming off an April unanimous decision loss to champion Vadim Nemkov in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix, which snapped a three-fight winning streak.
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The Bellator 266 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET, Showtime)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)
It was 930 days in between fights for Khalid Murtazaliev.
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UNCASVILLE, Conn. – It was 930 days in between fights for [autotag]Khalid Murtazaliev[/autotag]. When he won in his return Friday at Bellator 255, he remembered the elation and excitement that accompanies a victorious performance inside the cage.
At the post-fight news conference, an emotional Murtazaliev (15-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) reflected on his unanimous decision victory over Fabio Aguiar on the preliminary card.
“It’s been almost three years’ layover for me with surgeries, injuries, and everything,” Murtazaliev told MMA Junkie. “I forgot already that feeling to fight inside the cage. I’m very glad I got back and picked up the victory, but the fight didn’t start as well as I wanted to start it. Thank God I picked up the victory and next time the fight will be more entertaining.”
The most recent time Murtazaliev competed inside the cage before Friday was in September 2018, when he defeated C.B. Dolloway by TKO by retirement in his UFC debut. In October and December of the same year, Murtazaliev failed two USADA drug tests for drostanolone and its metabolite. As a result of the findings, USADA suspended Murtazaliev for two years. He was subsequently released from the UFC in early 2020.
Murtazaliev has now won four straight appearances inside the cage. Twelve of his 15 professional MMA wins have come by knockout or TKO.
Check out Murtazaliev’s full post-fight news conference in the video above.
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