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 Aug. 14-20.
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 Aug. 7-13.
Could 2024 be Montel Jackson’s big breakthrough year as a UFC bantamweight contender?
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] is taking it step by step.
With no fight on the books at the moment, Jackson (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) isn’t sure what the future holds in terms of opponents, locations, or dates for his next outing. However, he’s confident the next 18 months will be a period in which he solidifies himself as a UFC bantamweight contender.
“It’s just one step at a time, like everything else,” Jackson recently told MMA Junkie Radio on UFC X Radio Row. “We can worry about what’s in front of us right now. What’s in front of us right now is just making it to the top 15, finishing out the year in the top 15, and going undefeated the rest of this year. 2024, we’re going to start a march toward the title and hopefully work our way down.”
For Jackson, he’s had way more ups than downs in the UFC, in terms of fight results. Each of his losses he’s bounced back stronger from, racking up win streaks directly thereafter.
“It’s just not being complacent and not being satisfied,” Jackson said. “You’ve always got to have the mentality, like, ‘I don’t deserve this.’ If you have that mentality of, ‘You don’t deserve this,’ you’re going to always be humble in your approach and you’ll work hard.”
In the immediate future, Jackson will sit back and wait for a phone call from his manager Jason House. Whoever’s name is pitched, he’ll accept.
“They could give me anybody, man – whoever is willing to step up or whoever is up next for the fight,” Jackson said. “I just throw my name out there.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]
Montel Jackson says he enjoys his dark horse status in UFC bantamweight division following a KO win at UFC Fight Night 222 in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] is cool with not getting the attention from fans and media, despite being one of the most interesting rising contenders at 135 pounds.
Jackson (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) picked up his fourth consecutive win this Saturday, becoming the first man to knockout Rani Yahya in the UFC. Jackson put away the highly-touted grappler in the first round of their bantamweight contest on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 222, which went down at the UFC Apex.
Jackson doesn’t care if he gets a top-15 fighter or not, and frankly enjoys laying low and not causing too much buzz.
“We just got to see, we got to see, you know?” Jackson said when asked if he should get a top-15 fighter next. “I don’t mind flying under the radar. It makes life a little bit more easier for me. I can go most places and not be so recognizable. I can enjoy dinner. I can move about incognito, so it’s good, it’s good. I’ll deal with it when it comes.”
[lawrence-related id=2636635]
Yahya (28-11-1 MMA, 13-5-1 UFC), who’s one of the best grapplers to ever compete in the UFC, was able to get Jackson to the ground by pulling guard. Yahya attempted to tie up Jackson, but he was able to avoid any submissions and return to fighting on the feet.
Jackson said he never felt in danger at any point in the fight.
“Very confident,” Jackson said regarding his comfort level grappling with Yahya. “I grapple with some of the best grapplers in the world. Even in the midwest, we have a lot of tough grapplers.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 222.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]
Sergei Pavlovich is firmly in the UFC record books after extending his first-round KO streak against Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 222.
The octagon was back in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 222, and a new heavyweight contender emerged from the main event.
[autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) made history when he recorded a modern company record sixth consecutive first-round knockout, this time against his most decorated opponent to date in fellow contender [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC).
Pavlovich has put his mark on the record books of the promotion, and for more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 222.
UFC Fight Night 222 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 222 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $181,500.
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 222 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 222 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
vs. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Iasmin Lucindo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brogan Walker[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jeremiah Wells[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Christos Giagos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rani Yahya[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]William Gomis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Francis Marshall[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Danaa Batgerel[/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 2221 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: $2,411,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,000,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 222.
Check out which four fighters took home an extra $50,000 for their performance at UFC Fight Night 222 in Las Vegas.
The UFC handed out four Performance of the Night bonuses after Saturday’s card, rewarding fighters for their finishing efforts as no Fight of the Night was selected.
After UFC Fight Night 222, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the winners below.
Montel Jackson made quick work of Rani Yahya at UFC Fight Night 222 in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] was patient at first, but the finishing sequence of his UFC Fight Night 222 bantamweight bout lived up to his nickname.
In the penultimate preliminary bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas which aired on ESPN+, “Quik” Jackson (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) showed off his speedy hands in a fast counter sequence to finish Rani Yahya in the first round. The official time of the knockout stoppage was 3:42.
Yahya (28-11-1 MMA, 13-5-1 UFC) lunged forward with a right hand, and Jackson executed a well-timed pull counter with a crisp left hand to drop his opponent. Jackson then quickly swarmed with follow-up punches to end the fight.
Watch video of the finish below (via Twitter):
Those @Montello135 hands are QUICK 👊 #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/2JA3im5cXI
— UFC (@ufc) April 22, 2023
Jackson, 30, has now won his last four outings. He entered Saturday’s contests with consecutive wins over Jesse Strader, JP Buys, and Julio Arce. The Dana White’s Contender Series veteran is now 7-2 in his UFC run.
Yahya, 38, sees his two-fight winning streak come to an end. The Brazilian entered with back-to-back wins over Ray Rodriguez and Kyung Ho Kang.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 222 include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 222.
Check out what the UFC Fight Night 222 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 222 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 222 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
[lawrence-related id=2636595,2636635]
Montel Jackson wasn’t overly thrilled with his decision win over Julio Arce at UFC 281 – but confirmed the crazy size of his hands.
NEW YORK – [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] beat Julio Arce with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Take a look inside the fight with Jackson, who won for the third straight time.
