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.
UFC lightweights Drakkar Klose and Mark Madsen won’t settle the score Oct. 29 – or any time in the foreseeable future.
The grudge match between [autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag] and [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag] won’t happen at UFC Fight Night 213 – or any time in the foreseeable future, for that matter.
Previously scheduled for the Oct. 29 event in Las Vegas, the fight no longer will happen. The bout was canceled after Klose (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) suffered a torn ACL in training, two people with knowledge of the injury recently informed MMA Junkie. It is not yet determined whether or not Madsen (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will remain on the card.
Neither Madsen nor Klose have commented publicly since the cancellation.
There was bad blood and hard feelings behind the matchup. Klose called for it after an April win over Brandon Jenkins because of Madsen’s ties to his former coaching staff.
“If they want, we can line up all their coaches against my coaches and we can have a big royal rumble that night,” Klose said.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 213 lineup includes:
[vertical-gallery id=2588804]
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 Sept. 26-Oct. 2.
Drakkar Klose will get his wish when he meets Mark Madsen later this month.
[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag] will get his wish.
Klose (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is set to meet [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on Oct. 29 at UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Both fighters confirmed the news on social media after an initial report by Vegas Insider.
“I can’t wait for this one. I’m gonna treat my hands as cocaine and @marktheolympianmadsen face as if it was his coaches nose” 👊🏽🎱❄️👃#cocaineisahelluvadrug #ufc #Oct29th.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjLobtUJNMi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Following his bonus-winning TKO over Brandon Jenkins at UFC on ESPN 34 in April, Klose called out Madsen. The 34-year-old didn’t immediately get the fight, eventually drawing Rafa Garcia at UFC 277 in July. Klose won that bout by unanimous decision.
Madsen, 38, improved to 4-0 in the octagon when he out-grappled Vinc Pichel for the decision win at UFC 273 in April. The Olympic wrestling silver medalist fired back at Klose, taking aim at him for withdrawing against Jeremy Stephens after he was aggressively shoved and injured during their weigh-ins face-off.
“I finally get a chance to fight the dude who pulled out after he got pushed by a featherweight. I ain’t a featherweight nor your girlfriend. Don’t pull out princess
@drakkarklose.”
I finally get a chance to fight the dude who pulled out after he got pushed by a featherweight. I ain’t a featherweight nor your girlfriend. Don’t pull out princess 👸🏻@drakkarklose @espnmma @MMAFighting @MMAJunkie @BloodyElbow https://t.co/Z9Sc0Hn6Mr
— Mark O. Madsen (@MarkTheOlympian) August 17, 2022
With the addition, the Oct. 29 lineup includes:
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC 272 main card, which features two title fights in Florida.
| Volkanovski vs. Jung |
Sterling vs. Yan |
Burns vs. Chimaev |
Dern vs. Torres |
Madsen vs. Pichel |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 47-19 |
 Volkanovski (76%) |
 Yan (82%) |
 Chimaev (72%) |
 Dern (68%) |
 Madsen (62%) |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 47-25  2014 Champion |
Volkanovski |
Yan |
Chimaev |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 47-25 |
Volkanovski |
Yan |
Chimaev |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 46-26 |
Volkanovski |
Yan |
Chimaev |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 46-26 2018 Champion |
Volkanovski |
Yan |
Chimaev |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 45-27 |
Volkanovski |
 Sterling |
Chimaev |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 45-27 |
Volkanovski |
Yan |
Chimaev |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 45-27 |
Volkanovski |
Sterling |
 Burns |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 42-30 2017 Champion |
Volkanovski |
Yan |
Burns |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 42-30 |
Volkanovski |
Sterling |
Chimaev |
 Torres |
Madsen |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 41-31 |
Volkanovski |
Sterling |
Burns |
Dern |
Madsen |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 31-41 |
Volkanovski |
Yan |
Burns |
Torres |
Madsen |
The UFC is back in Florida this week with two title fights at the top of the card.
UFC 273 takes place Saturday at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) takes on challenger [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC). Volkanovski is a huge -800 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Jung is +470. With Volkanovski the biggest favorite on the main card, it’s no surprise our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have him as one of two unanimous picks at 11-0.
In the co-feature, bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) meets interim champ and former titleholder [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC). Yan lost their first fight by disqualification. He’s a -475 favorite in the rematch and has a 7-4 lead in the picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is a 5-1 favorite to stay unbeaten against former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). Chimaev has a 7-4 picks lead.
[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Tecia Torres[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in a women’s strawweight bout with tight betting odds. Dern is -115, with Torres at -110. But Dern has a heavy 9-2 lead in the picks from our staff members.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is an underdog at lightweight against [autotag]Vinc Pichel[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who is a a-130 favorite. The comeback on Madsen is +105. Yet all 11 of our pickers are going with Madsen as our second unanimous choice.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Volkanovski (76 percent), Yan (82 percent), Chimaev (72 percent), Dern (68 percent) and Madsen (62 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
[vertical-gallery id=2536095]
[listicle id=2535625]
Mark Madsen is excited to shine against Vinc Pichel in the opening bout of the UFC 273 main card.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fight week brought forward a big change for [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag], who now finds himself competing in the opening bout of the UFC 273 main card.
The undefeated Madsen (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) faces Vinc Pichel in a lightweight contest that was originally set to take place on the early prelims of the event. However, after some last-minute changes to the card, Madsen and Pichel (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) were elevated to kick off the pay-per-view, providing an opportunity to shine in front of a larger audience.
“I believe in staying in the moment, enjoying the moment, and really appreciating all the things that are happening as they happen,” Madsen told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I don’t take anything for granted. Not one thing.”
The change is a welcome one for Madsen, who enters just his fourth fight in the UFC. Pichel, a winner of three straight, represents one of the toughest challenges in Madsen’s run with the promotion thus far, but the Olympic wrestler does not seem too concerned with what his opponent will try to do on Saturday.
“We can go to the gym any given day,” Madsen said. “I will out-work him, out-lift him, out-perform him every given day of the week. I’m a three-time Olympian, Olympic medalist, five-time world medalist. Listen, you go anywhere in the world and ask a wrestler if they know Mark O. Madsen, if they know what I do, my strength, they’ll tell you.
“I mean, I know he’s a strong fighter in the UFC division, but you got to keep in mind that I’ve been wrestling with the best in the world in the toughest sport out there, wrestling, my entire life. So, I’m confident about my own strength.”
Check out the full media day interview with Madsen in the video above.
[listicle id=2535613]
[listicle id=2535625]
A former Olympian, Mark Madsen is making some big and exciting life changes in pursuit of title gold.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Undefeated UFC lightweight [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag] is making some big life changes.
Although he keeps his “white belt mentality,” Madsen (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is making some black-belt-level moves. A native of Denmark, the country he medaled for in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Madsen is packing his bags and moving to Arizona with his family.
“The whole last year I was busy with a lot of things,” Madsen told MMA Junkie on Friday. “My wife got diagnosed with MS disease (multiple sclerosis), we had a house that had to be rebuilt, and I’ve been putting everything I could into just getting ready, getting settled. Actually also preparing for a big thing for my family and I, which is we’re actually moving out here to Arizona.
As Madsen pointed out, moving states is one thing – but moving countries? That’s a big lifestyle change for the Madsen crew, but he thinks it’ll be worth it. During his Olympic tenure, Madsen strived for greatness and won a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has similar plans for MMA, but it involves gold.
“We’re doing a two-year title run, so I’m bringing the whole family out here and we’ll be going 100 percent at it,” Madsen said.
Fight Ready MMA & Fitness was instrumental in the change. The home to the likes of former UFC dual-champion Henry Cejudo, UFC flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo, and next UFC featherweight title challenger Chan Sung Jung, Madsen trains with some of the best fighters in the world under coaches Eddie Cha, Santino Defranco, and Eric Albarracin.
“I don’t believe I can get what I’m getting here anywhere else in the world,” Madsen said. “This is truly a world champ camp (and) fight gym.”
Madsen (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) returns to action at UFC 273 on April 9, when he meets Vinc Pichel (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), a veteran who’s put a nice run together since returning from a long layoff in 2017.
“I’m expecting to see a fight and also I’d love to rip that mustache off,” Madsen laughed. I” think it’s a gorgeous mustache, but Jesus, I’m excited. I’ve seen some fights of Vinc, and he’s an exciting fight. He’s a tough guy, and I’m excited to get in there and get the work done and show the world. Let’s give the world a fight.”
As he makes his climb toward title gold, Madsen refuses to stay anything but humble. It’s a mindset that has proven foolproof for him throughout his athletic tenure. What areas could he improve in? Madsen says all of them.
“I’m still undefeated in MMA,” Madsen said. “I’ve been wrestling my entire life. It’s been a short journey in MMA. I’m still undefeated, but I’m keeping a white belt mentality. I want to adjust everything. I want to be better at everything, not only MMA wrestling but jiu-jitsu, stand-up (naturally), kickboxing, boxing, muay thai. I want to be better at everything. That’s why I’m making the commitment to move my family out, move myself out, join the right environment.
“We used to have a saying, ‘Surround yourself with people on the same path.’ To be honest, I really believe that’s what I’m doing right here. I’ve put myself in a position and a path to go where I want to go, and ultimately, I want to be the UFC lightweight champion.”
[vertical-gallery id=497689]
UFC 271’s loss is UFC 273’s gain.
[autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag] and [autotag]Vinc Pichel[/autotag] will need to wait a little longer to fight one another than originally anticipated.
The two lightweight fighters were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 271, which takes place Feb. 12 in Houston. However, as MMA Junkie has learned, the fight will now take place April 9 at UFC 273, which does not yet have an officially-announced location.
Two people with knowledge of the change recently informed MMA Junkie of the switch but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. It was not specified why the matchup shifted.
A former Olympic wrestler, Madsen (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has yet to lose in his mixed martial arts career. Despite his late delve into MMA, the 37-year-old Madsen has continued to rack up wins. Thus far in his UFC tenure, he’s defeated Danilo Belluardo, Austin Hubbard and Clay Guida.
Pichel (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) rides a three-fight winning streak into his April 9 bout, a run that includes consecutive victories over Roosevelt Roberts, Jim Miller, and Austin Hubbard.
With the addition, the UFC 273 lineup includes:
[vertical-gallery id=1950877]
[vertical-gallery id=521509]
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 Nov. 1-7.
Check out the list of medical suspensions from UFC on ESPN 29 in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] exited UFC on ESPN 29 on a wave of momentum after their wins – but they didn’t do so unscathed.
Both Cannonier and Pantoja were handed 180-day suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC), according to a list MMA Junkie acquired Wednesday from MixedMartialArts.com, the ABC’s official database.
In his main event win over [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag], Cannonier suffered a right foot injury. As for Pantoja, a win in a potential title eliminator battle with [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] resulted in a left knee injury. Depending on the severity of the fighters’ injuries, they could be ineligible to compete until February.
Also receiving 180-day suspensions were the aforementioned Royval, [autotag]Luis Saldana[/autotag], [autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag], and [autotag]Josiane Nunes[/autotag].
It’s important to note fighters’ suspensions may terminate sooner than the date listed if their injury is cleared by a medical doctor.
The UFC on ESPN 29 medical suspensions include:
