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 the promotions from Sept. 11-17.
Nathaniel Wood will look to make it four wins in a row at UFC 294.
[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] has his next UFC assignment.
Wood (19-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will look to push his winning streak to four when he meets [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a featherweight bout Oct. 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Saturday but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC hasn’t made an announcement.
Wood, 30, a former Cage Warriors champion, is coming off a unanimous decision win against Andre Fili in a brawl this past July. Prior to that, Wood also won decisions against Charles Jourdain and Charles Rosa.
Naimov, 29, is on a four-fight winning streak, which includes most recently a second-round submission of Jamie Mullarkey in his UFC debut this past June.
With the addition, the UFC 294 lineup includes:
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
Muhammad Naimov credits Cory Sandhagen for encouraging him toward his UFC goal.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] credits [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] for encouraging him toward his UFC goal.
Naimov (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who fell short in Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, admits he was starting to lose faith that the UFC will ever become a reality for him. But his Elevation Fight Team training partner and current bantamweight contender Sandhagen urged him to keep his dream alive, and Naimov thanks him for that.
“To be honest, no. I didn’t have the confidence,” Naimov told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “Myy confidence it break when I won my Titan FC title, they give to another guy. Then I said to myself, ‘Hey Muhammad, that’s done.’ I’m really tired. And Cory Sandhagen he was my corner, he is my coach right now, he’s my friend.
“He told me, ‘He, Muhammad, you are very talented. You’re a really good athlete. I promise you’ll be in the UFC one day. I just promise. Just work hard and wait for your time.’ I want to thank Cory right now. Hey, Cory, you did a lot for me. I love you my brother.”
That all changed this past Saturday when Naimov got the short-notice call to replace Guram Kutateladze against Jamie Mullarkey in a lightweight bout at UFC on ESPN 45. The biggest underdog on the card, Naimov rallied to knock out Mullarkey in Round 2, which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
Following his win, the Tajikistan-born fighter had a message for the entire 145-pound division, which he plans on dropping back down to.
“I want to fight featherweight. I want to go back to featherweight,” Naimov said. “That’s my division. All my pro fights I had at are at featherweight.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
Check out the facts and stats to come out of UFC on ESPN 45, where Jim Miller continued to stack historic figures on his resume.
The UFC opened a non-stop schedule of summer events on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 45, which took place at the promotion’s home base of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The main event saw [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) remain undefeated inside the octagon and take the next step as a flyweight contender when he edged [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) by split decision.
There were a number of other noteworthy results on the card. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 45.
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UFC on ESPN 45 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 on ESPN 45 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $199,500.
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 on ESPN 45 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 45 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Jesse Butler[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Johnny Munoz[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Luan Lacerda[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maxim Grishin[/autotag]: $4,500
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 $45,000 while title challengers get $45,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-45 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $3,414,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,003,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
Check out what the UFC on ESPN 45 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.
LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 45 took place Saturday with 13 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 224 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
Muhammad Naimov was the biggest underdog on the card at UFC on ESPN 45, but he overcame the odds with a TKO of Jamie Mullarkey.
[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] took his octagon debut on just days’ notice at UFC on ESPN 45 and was pegged by oddsmakers as the biggest underdog on the card against [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag].
Naimov (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) had other plans, however, as in the second round of Saturday’s lightweight bout at the UFC Apex, he caught Mullarkey (16-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC) with a brilliant counter right hand that led to the TKO.
Mullarkey controlled the opening round of the matchup and took momentum into the second frame. Naimov didn’t get discouraged, though, and waited for his moment to connect with a fight-changing shot that ended the bout at the 2:59 mark of Round 2.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
THAT RIGHT HOOK SENT HIM DOWN 😳😳😳 #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/KzTrwu3JLc
— UFC (@ufc) June 3, 2023
With the win, Naimov became the second fighter in UFC history from Tajikistan to earn a victory inside the octagon. He had a massive crowd at home watching the fight just shy of 5 a.m. local time in his home country.
Naimov was emotional in the aftermath of the fight but was bold in calling for what the future holds.
“I’m not surprised to beat this guy,” Naimov said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I can beat any lightweight, any featherweight. I can beat anyone.
“Nobody believed I could beat this lightweight, but I swear, put me with welterweight next week, I’m ready. Featherweight, you guys have problem. You guys have big problem. 145, I’m here. You guys have new king. That short guy, Max Holloway, forget about them. I’m here. I’m here.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
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Tajikistan has another fighter on the UFC roster.
Tajikistan has another fighter on the UFC roster.
Shortly after the addition of Muin Gafurov, the UFC has signed Tajikistan-born [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag], who will replace [autotag]Guram Kutateladze[/autotag] to face [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 45. Kutateladze was unable to obtain his U.S. visa in time, forcing him to withdraw from the bout.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA Mania.
Naimov (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is 3-1 since he fell short on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2020. The 28-year-old is on a three-fight winning streak and most recently scored a 34-second head kick knockout in March.
Since he dropped his first two octagon bouts, Mullarkey (16-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has won four of his past five. The Australian fighter is coming off back-to-back wins over Michael Johnson and, most recently, Francisco Prado at UFC 284 in February.
UFC on ESPN 45 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN 45 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
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A pair of title fights closed the show at Titan FC 68 on Friday with one champ defending and another being crowned.
[autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] was levels above [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag] on the ground at Titan FC 67 on Friday, and it led to a one-sided main event.
Sabatello (10-1) put his grappling to use over and over throughout the course of five rounds, and Blackshear (8-4) had no answer. As a result, Sabatello left the cage with a unanimous decision victory, as he successfully defended his Titan FC bantamweight title for the first time. The scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 at the InterContinental Miami in Miami, Fla.
Sabatello’s strategy was no secret from the outset. He attacked with takedowns and established a presence from top position in the first round. It was a route from there on out, with Sabatello controlling Blackshear in the grappling positions, chipping away with ground-and-pound and going for submissions.
The semi-conservative approach from Sabatello garnered come displeasure from the small crowd in attendance as well as the commentary team. Nevertheless, he got his hand raised in his first fight since not receiving a UFC contract for his dominant win at Dana White’s Contender Series 35 in November.
He didn’t care, though, and shared his thoughts to anyone who took issue with his style.
“If you (expletive) (expletives) want to boo me, that’s fine,” Sabatello said in his post-fight interview. “But this is mixed martial arts. You don’t like? Come (expletive) beat me. If it’s not exciting, I don’t give a (expletive). Come beat me. You won’t.”
Blackshear, who, according to the broadcast experienced a travel crisis en route to the event, missed the 145-pound championship limit by three pounds, and would have been ineligible to leave as champion.
Sabatello would have still kept the title had he lost, but it didn’t matter in the end, because he delivered a dominant victory.
Prior to Sabatello’s triumph in the main event, [autotag]Olivier Murad[/autotag] (5-0) claimed the vacant Titan FC featherweight belt in the event co-headliner in a competitive unanimous decision win over [autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag] (5-2).
Complete Titan FC 67 result included:
