Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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 Feb. 7-13.
A welterweight matchup between elite strikers Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Mounir Lazzez will take place in April.
A welterweight matchup between elite strikers will take place in April.
[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag](23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC) faces [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event on April 16 that doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA Fighting. The people requested anonymity since UFC officials has yet to make an announcement.
Winner of nine of his past 11, dos Santos is coming off a lopsided win over newcomer Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 267 in October. The win didn’t come without a bit of controversy, though, as the Brazilian put a beatdown on Saint Denis, but referee Vyacheslav Kiselev refused to stop the fight, which left the commentary team irate.
Meanwhile, Lazzez has split his first two UFC appearances. After a big upset win over Abdul Razak Alhassan in his promotional debut in July 2020, the Tunisian fighter was stopped by Warlley Alves at UFC on ESPN 20 in January 2021. Lazzez was scheduled to face Niklas Stolze in July, but visa issues forced him out of the bout.
With the addition, the April 16 event includes:
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Mounir Lazzez won’t get to make his U.S. debut and Jared Gooden is now targeted to face Niklas Stolze at UFC on ESPN 28.
[autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] won’t get to make his U.S. debut just yet.
Lazzez (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has been forced out of UFC on ESPN 28 due to visa issues and [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) is targeted to step in on short notice to face [autotag]Niklas Stolze[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Saturday.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Stolze took to Instagram Tuesday night to vent his frustration at the lack of communication between Lazzez’s camp and the UFC, where he only found out about the withdrawal on fight week.
Lazzez wasn’t happy with Stolze’s initial comments, vowing to make him pay whenever they cross paths.
Germany’s Stolze will be in search of his first UFC win. The 28-year-old saw his four-fight winning streak snapped in his promotional debut when he dropped a unanimous decision to Ramazan Emeev at UFC on ESPN 14 in July.
After dropping back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Alan Jouban and Abubakar Nurmagomedov, Gooden will also be in search of his first UFC win. A Titan FC, LFA, and Island Fights veteran, “Nite Train” has finished 13 of his 17 pro wins.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN 28 card lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
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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 May 17-23.
Welterweights Mounir Lazzez and Niklas Stolze will look to rebound when they square off on July 31.
Welterweights [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] and [autotag]Niklas Stolze[/autotag] will look to rebound when they square off in July.
Lazzez (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on Stolze (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event on July 31, which does not yet have an announced location or venue.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking on Friday but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
After an impressive showing in his UFC debut against Abdul Razak Alhassan in July, Tunisia’s Lazzez was stopped by Warlley Alves at UFC on ESPN 20 in January. The first fighter born and raised in an Arab country to sign with UFC, Lazzez has finished eight of his 10 professional wins.
Stolze fell short in his promotional debut when he dropped a unanimous decision to Ramazan Emeev at UFC on ESPN 14 in July. The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak for the German kickboxer, who will look to get back to the win column when he faces fellow striker Lazzez.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for July 31 includes:
Mike Davis and Victoria Leonardo are facing potential six-month suspensions for injuries sustained in their fights.
[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag] are facing potential six-month medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN 20.
Davis (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who earned the “Fight of the Night” honor in a unanimous decision win over Mason Jones, needs clearance for his left thumb for his hard-fought battle with Jones.
Joining Davis with a potential 180-day term is Leonardo (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who needs clearance for her right forearm after suffering a second-round stoppage loss to Manon Fiorot.
MMA Junkie on Friday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.
The full list of UFC on ESPN 20 medical suspensions includes:
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Returning Brazilian Warlley Alvez bounced back into the octagon with a big win, then issued a big-name callout at UFC on ESPN 20.
After a year spent on the sidelines due to injuries, [autotag]Warlley Alves[/autotag] returned to the octagon with a bang as he demolished [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 20, then issued a direct callout to Nate Diaz.
The pair met in the co-main event at Etihad Arena, and Alves (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) wasted no time getting started, as he quickly closed the distance, slammed a low kick into Lazzez’s leg, and unloaded a salvo of close-range punches before forcing the action up against the cage.
A series of elbows and a spinning backfist followed as the Brazilian continued his high-octane start to the action. Alves then took the action to the mat and began to move toward Lazzez’s back, but the Tunisian had the move well scouted and managed to get back to his feet and connect with a spinning elbow to register his first serious strike of the matchup.
However, Alves refused to give “The Sniper” a moment’s rest and immediately resumed his attack, letting rip with three rapid-fire body kicks that folded up Lazzez (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and forced the stoppage as referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the onslaught at the 2:35 mark.
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The victory meant that Alves bounced back from his November 2019 loss to Randy Brown at UFC Fight Night 164 as the Brazilian confirmed his return to action with an eye-catching display.
“I’m here, I’m back!” Alves told Daniel Cormier before calling out Diaz over his use of marijuana.
“I don’t like marijuana guys. I don’t like that,” he said. “I hate that, because it’s a bad example for the sport. Nate Diaz, fight with me because I’ll prove it. Winners don’t use drugs. You’re a marijuana guy. I’m not like that. Let’s go, Nate Diaz.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 20 results include:
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MMA Junkie senior editor Dave Doyle walks you through five key questions UFC on ESPN 20 should answer.
Can’t stop, won’t stop: Just four days after the first UFC event of the year, the company is right back in action. UFC on ESPN 20 is the middle show in a run of three cards in eight days to kick off the 2021 schedule, and it goes down Wednesday.
An intriguing welterweight main event featuring a pair of hard-working competitors who have labored long to earn this spot takes headlines status, as [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag].
UFC on ESPN 20 takes place Wednesday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The card airs on ESPN.
Without further ado, then, here are five burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN 20.
UFC on ESPN 20’s Mounir Lazzez is looking for a fight – period.
ABU DHABI – [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] is looking to venture out in 2021.
Lazzez (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who made history as the first Arab-born and Arab-raised fighter signed to the UFC, had an impressive promotional debut when he upset Abdul Razak Alhassan in July.
Lazzez is set to make his return to “Fight Island” on Wednesday, when he takes on Warlley Alves at UFC on ESPN 20. But Lazzez isn’t only looking for an impressive showing against Alves (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), the Tunisian striker hopes to remain in Abu Dhabi as a backup for any fight that falls through.
No matter what the weight class is.
“If I finish Alves early in this fight, I will ask Dana to give me a fight after three days,” Lazzez told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Friday ahead of UFC on ESPN 20. “If there’s anyone at lightweight, welterweight or middleweight, for real, I mean it. I can make lightweight now for this fight. I can fight in welterweight. I can fight in middleweight. This is what martial arts is about. I’m not here just (to) give me four months, give me two months to fight. I’m ready anytime, anywhere, and I mean it.”
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Training out of Team Nogueira in Dubai, Lazzez missed out on the opportunity to compete on the UFC’s last “Fight Island” stint, when he was forced to withdraw from his October bout against David Zawada due to a positive COVID-19 test. He will be facing a far more octagon experienced fighter in Alves and is well aware of the dangers that the Brazilian brings to the table.
“He’s a good fighter. He’s a well rounded fighter,” Lazzez said. “He comes to fight on the feet, the ground, as well too. He has a good guillotine. He doesn’t attempt takedowns, but he has good striking, and that’s what makes it interesting.”
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 20 event in Abu Dhabi.
We want your predictions for Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 20 event in Las Vegas.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Monday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN 20 event staff predictions we release Tuesday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN 20 takes place Wednesday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The card airs on ESPN.
Make your picks for the six main card fights below.
