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 from Oct. 17-23.
Molly McCann owns two of six spinning elbow knockouts in UFC history after UFC Fight Night 208.
The UFC’s encore in London did not live up to the standards of its visit to the city earlier this year. Nine of the 14 bouts at UFC Fight Night 208 on Saturday at The O2 went to a decision.
The heavyweight main event capped off in disappointing fashion when [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) suffered a knee injury just 15 seconds into the fight, giving [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) a TKO victory.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 208.
One flyweight’s loss is another’s gain.
A matchup between two of the UFC women’s flyweight division’s rising fighters is set for a March 12 showdown.
At UFC Fight Night 203, [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and [autotag]Sabina Mazo[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will collide in a 125-pound bout. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+. Maverick replaces the withdrawn [autotag]Mandy Bohm[/autotag], who pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Wednesday, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Maverick was the first to announce the news on her Instagram page.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaWAYcwMU99/
Maverick, 24, will look to snap a two-fight losing skid after back-to-back decision defeats to Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield. Meanwhile, Mazo also lost her most recent two fights, with hers coming against Alexis Davis and Mariya Agapova.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 203 lineup includes:
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 192, which saw Anthony Smith extend his winning streak with a main event finish.
UFC Fight Night 192 featured a rare first-round submission finish in the main event as [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] put away [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag].
Saturday’s event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, featured a key light heavyweight matchup in the headliner. Smith (35-16 MMA, 11-6 UFC) shined once again to close a fight card, as he managed to hurt Spann (19-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on the feet before closing the show with a rear-naked choke.
“Lionheart” almost never sees the judges, and that track record is starting to show itself on his overall UFC resume.
For more on the numbers, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of UFC Fight Night 192.
UFC Fight Night 192 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 192 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $162,000.
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 192 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 192 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Mandy Bohm[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Christos Giagos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tony Gravely[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Antonio Arroyo[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Tafon Nchukwi[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mike Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Rong Zhu[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brandon Jenkins[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]JP Buys[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Sarah Alpar[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Carlston Harris[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Gustavo Lopez[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Heili Alateng[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Hannah Goldy[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Emily Whitmire[/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 2011 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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $3,592,500
Program-to-date total: $3,592,500
Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 192 odds and lines between Ariane Lipski vs. Mandy Bohm, with MMA picks, tips and predictions.
In a women’s flyweight bout on the main card, Ariane Lipski faces Mandy Bohm at the UFC Fight Night 192 – also known as UFC Vegas 37 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility. Below, we analyze the UFC Fight Night 192: Lipski vs. Bohm odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The entire card can be viewed on ESPN+ with the prelims beginning at 4 p.m. ET and the main card at 7 p.m. ET.
Lipski checks into this one on a two-bout skid, getting dropped via KO/TKO in Round 2 in each of the past two fights against Montana De La Rosa and Antonina Shevchenko. Since arriving at the UFC, she is just 2-4.
Bohm will be making her UFC debut. She enters this bout with a four-inch reach advantage. She has never lost in seven professional bouts with one no contest. Her last fight against Griet Eeckhout at Bellator 247 ended with a unanimous-decision win. Three of her past five fights have gone the distance.
Odds via Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:50 a.m. ET.
Play our new free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
Records: Lipski (13-7-0) | Bohm (7-0-0)
BOHM (-102) is the short ‘dog in this fight, but she comes in with a lot of confidence, and she holds that important reach advantage.
Lipski (-125) just hasn’t been doing well lately, and Bohm should be able to keep Lipski, a.k.a. the “Queen of Violence”, at a distance.
I like BOHM ON POINTS (+200) for a chance to double up. As mentioned, three of her past five professional fights have ended up needing the help of the judges.
Four of Lipski’s past seven fights have also ended up going the distance. As such, OVER 2.5 ROUNDS (-200) is a good play, and a better value than Yes (-240): Will the fight go the distance?
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Fifteen fighters are no longer on the promotion’s roster – including one 10-year veteran.
Over a dozen fighters are no longer with Bellator MMA.
Promotion officials recently informed MMA Junkie of 15 athletes who have parted ways with the promotion, though they didn’t specify if the departures are a result of contract termination, free agency or something else.
Twelve of the 15 names are fighters from the promotion’s European series, which has not held an event since October 2020.
Scroll below to see the names who have parted ways with Bellator.
The full fight card for Bellator 247 set for Milan, Italy on Oct. 3, has been confirmed.
The fight card for the second leg of Bellator’s Italian triple-header has now been confirmed.
Bellator 247 takes place Thursday, Oct. 1 at the Allianz Cloud in Milan, with a 10-fight preliminary lineup preceding a four-bout main card.
The night’s main event features a welterweight battle between England’s [autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] (42-17-2 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) and America’s [autotag]Derek Anderson[/autotag] (16-3 MMS, 7-3 BMMA), while the co-main event sees middleweight London Shootfighters prospect [autotag]Norbert Novenyi[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) take on French newcomer [autotag]Laid Zerhouni[/autotag] (7-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
Also set for main card action is England’s former flyweight title challenger [autotag]Kate Jackson[/autotag] (11-4-1 MMA, 3-2), who takes on Dutch Bellator kickboxing champion [autotag]Denise Kielholtz[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA), while the opening bout of the main card offers a showcase for Moroccan striker [autotag]Ilias Bulaid[/autotag] (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), who takes on the debuting Italian [autotag]Ivan Naccari[/autotag] (0-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
With the additions, the Bellator 247 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (12:15 p.m. ET, MMA Junkie)
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Bellator postponed more than 30 fights over three events in May due to the coronavirus outbreak. But which one was the biggest loss?
Bellator postponed three additional events from its May calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bellator 232 (San Jose, Calif.) on May 9, Bellator Europe 8 (London) on May 16 and Bellator 243 (Temecula, Calif.) on May 29 were all pushed back due to safety concerns over the ongoing crisis, causing more than 30 matchups to fall apart.
There were certainly some matchups of significance and great intrigue on the docket, too, but which fight is the biggest loss from our upcoming watchlist? MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Dave Doyle, and Farah Hannoun give their opinions in the latest edition of Triple Take.
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It’s not difficult to understand why [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] is a polarizing figure. Many aren’t fans of his, and only tune in out of hope he gets his trademark pre-fight talk flipped on him like we saw Ricky Bandejas do in Gallagher’s only career loss.
Still, though, it’s hard not to feel for Gallagher (10-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) in this scenario. With his fight at Bellator Europe 8 in London postponed, Gallagher vs. [autotag]Cal Ellenor[/autotag] has now been canceled a whopping three times over an eight-month stretch. I don’t believe in curses, but it certainly seems like a higher power doesn’t want these two matched up.
The pair were supposed to fight at Bellator Europe 4 in September, but Ellenor (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) had to pull out at the last minute when his medicals revealed a brain abnormality that required further examination. He overcame the issue and received clearance to return, and the fight was rescheduled for Bellator Europe 7 in February.
Gallagher sustained a back injury during the final stages of his preparation, though, and had to pull out of the main event bout with Ellenor in his native Ireland. He said he was “heartbroken,” but remained determined to make the contest happen.
It seemed the third time was going to be the charm with Bellator Europe 8, but then the coronavirus pandemic derailed the matchup once more.
On paper, the fight is Gallagher’s to lose. He’s been a sizable betting favorite each time he’s been matched up with Ellenor, who feels he has the tools to expose Gallagher. Hopefully the fight can come together one day, though, because both men have put enough time and effort into preparation that they deserve the payoff.
Next page: Dave Doyle on Liz Carmouche’s Bellator debut
Liz Carmouche is ready to embark on the next phase of her career with Bellator.
[autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] is ready to embark on the next phase of her career with Bellator.
On Friday, the promotion announced that Carmouche will headline Bellator 243 against [autotag]Mandy Bohm[/autotag]. The event will take place May 29 at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. – not far from Carmouche’s home in San Diego – and air on Paramount Network/stream on DAZN.
Carmouche, 36, signed with Bellator last December after she was unceremoniously released by the UFC. Carmouche was informed of her release while doing promotional activities at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington D.C. She fought for the UFC for nearly seven years, debuting at UFC 157 against then bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in the promotion’s first women’s fight.
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Carmouche’s most recent fight was last October. At UFC on ESPN+ 14, she lost a unanimous decision to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Prior to that setback, Carmouche (13-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) had won two in a row and four of five bouts overall.
Bohm, who trains under coach John Kavanagh at SBG Ireland, also will be making her Bellator debut. She’s undefeated in six fights, most recently winning by rear-naked choke submission against Jade Masson-Wong last May.
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