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 April 10-16
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 March 6-12.
UFC 288 has an official location and venue as the fight card fills out.
UFC 288 is officially headed to the Garden State.
On Tuesday, UFC officials announced the May 6 pay-per-view event will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., the first time the promotion has held an event at that venue since an August 2019 card headlined by Colby Covington and Robbie Lawler.
The targeted title fight between [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) and [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) was not among the fights including in the UFC’s announcement.
A potential UFC lightweight title eliminator between former champion [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (33-9 MMA, 21-9 UFC) and [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (22-4-1 MMA, 16-4 UFC) was made official.
Two fights included in the announcement had not previously been released.
Jiu-jitsu ace [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) returns from a three-year layoff to take on [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC). Gracie has largely remained off the grid since an October 2019 loss to Cub Swanson. It was the first defeat of his pro MMA career. Jourdain will look to snap a two-fight skid.
Additionally, flyweights [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag] (14-8 MMA, 1-5 UFC) will square off.
The updated UFC 288 lineup includes
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
Neil Magny passing Georges St-Pierre for most welterweight wins was one of many notable feats to come out of UFC Fight Night 214.
UFC Fight Night 214 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and it was an action-filled card with nine of 11 fights ending inside the distance.
The main event saw [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) break through as the next strawweight contender. She scored a standing TKO over fellow Brazilian standout [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] (17-2-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) in the third round of their clash.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 214.
UFC Fight Night 214 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 214 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $126,500.
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 214 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 214 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Darrick Minner[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Shayilan Nuerdanbieke[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Shanna Young[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Benito Lopez[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Johnny Munoz[/autotag]: $4,50
def. [autotag]Liudvik Sholinian[/autotag]: $4,0000
[autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Candelario[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ramona Pascual[/autotag]: $4,000
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 2147 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2141 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $7,222,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,399,500
Tagir Ulanbekov latched onto Nate Maness’ neck and wouldn’t let go until his hand was raised at UFC Fight Night 214.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag] picked up his most impressive octagon victory to date on Saturday when he submitted [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 214.
Ulanbekov (15-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who is a part of American Kickboxing Academy and trains under Khabib Nurmagomedov, wasted no time chasing down the grappling in his flyweight bout with Maness (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at the UFC Apex.
Ulanbekov didn’t wait to get the fight to the ground to go for the submission. He latched on to a standing guillotine choke on Maness’ neck and wrenched his way to the tap at the 2:11 mark of Round 1.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
Standing guillotine for the win!! @Tagir_Ulanbekov gets the 1st round finish in a big way 😤 #UFCVegas64 pic.twitter.com/IX5bhW6Cbp
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2022
Ulanbekov said he was thrilled to get his hand raised when speaking after the fight, but capped off his interview with a clear message to UFC president Dana White.
“Hey Dana, give me my $50,000,” Ulanbekov said in his post-fight interview with his teammate Daniel Cormier.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 214 include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.
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[vertical-gallery id=2594084]
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 214 main card, which features Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Lemos.
| Rodriguez vs. Lemos |
Magny vs. Rodriguez |
Parisian vs. Sherman |
Maness vs. Ulanbekov |
Dawson vs. Madsen |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 173-103 |
 M. Rodriguez (74%) |
 D. Rodriugez (60%) |
 Parisian (60%) |
 Ulanbekov (57%) |
 Dawson (56%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 186-95  2018 Champion |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
 Sherman |
Ulanbekov |
 Madsen |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 179-102 |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Parisian |
Ulanbekov |
Madsen |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 178-103 |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Parisian |
Ulanbekov |
Madsen |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 175-106 |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Sherman |
Ulanbekov |
Madsen |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 173-108 2014 Champion |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Sherman |
Ulanbekov |
Dawson |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 171-110 |
M. Rodriguez |
 Magny |
Parisian |
 Maness |
Madsen |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 171-110 |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Sherman |
Ulanbekov |
Madsen |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 165-116 2017 Champion |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Parisian |
Ulanbekov |
Madsen |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 164-117 |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Sherman |
Ulanbekov |
Madsen |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 157-124 |
M. Rodriguez |
D. Rodriugez |
Sherman |
Maness |
Madsen |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 138-143 |
M. Rodriguez |
Magny |
Sherman |
Ulanbekov |
Madsen |
The UFC stays on its Las Vegas home turf this week with a pair of women’s strawweight contenders at the top of the lineup.
UFC Fight Night 214 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] (16-1-2 MMA, 6-1-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (12-2-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at 115 pounds. Rodriguez is a -240 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Lemos is +180. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are going with Rodriguez unanimously.
In the co-feature, perennial welterweight contender [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] (26-10 MMA, 19-8 UFC) takes on [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC). Magny is a slight favorite at -125, but our staff members are going with Rodriguez at a hefty 9-2 clip.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Chase Sherman[/autotag] (16-10 MMA, 4-9 UFC) in a heavyweight bout. Sherman is a slight favorite at -140, and he has a 7-4 lead in the picks.
[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is more than a 2-1 favorite in his flyweight bout against [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and has a big 9-2 picks lead.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] (18-1-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC) is a -220 favorite in his lightweight bout against the unbeaten [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC). But despite that, our staff pickers are bucking the odds and have Madsen near unanimous at 10-1.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Marina Rodriguez (74 percent), Daniel Rodriguez (60 percent), Parisian (59 percent), Ulanbekov (57 percent) and Dawson (56 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.
Nate Maness makes his debut in the flyweight division against Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC Fight Night 214.
LAS VEGAS – After four fights in the UFC’s bantamweight division, [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] discovered it was time to make a change.
At UFC Fight Night 214, Maness (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will drop down to the flyweight division for the first time in his career, where he will face Tagir Ulanbekov. The event takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+.
Despite winning his first three fights under the UFC banner at bantamweight, Maness believes the switch to a lighter division makes sense because he was arriving at each fight week weighing less and less.
In his last outing, Maness’ four-fight win streak was snapped in a unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov. On Saturday, he will get a chance to rebound against another [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] product in Ulanbekov (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who will also be looking to get back into the win column.
[lawrence-related id=2593509,2593527]
But facing back-to-back fighters under the tutelage of the UFC Hall of Famer isn’t about revenge for Maness.
“All those guys are super nice to me, I wouldn’t say revenge,” Maness told reporters including MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s media day. “But I definitely want to have a better and stronger performance and get some respect back.”
You can watch Maness’ full media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.
[listicle id=2593488]
Umar Nurmagomedov had little problem dominating Nate Maness at UFC on ESPN 38 to go 15-0 in his career.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] had little problem dominating Nate Maness at UFC on ESPN 38 to stay undefeated in his career.
Nurmagomedov (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who is the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, showed the trademark overwhelming grappling pressure that has become synonymous with his family name by making light work of Maness (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision victory by scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-25.
The bantamweight fight was part of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 38 main card, which took place at the UFC Apex.
It took about 90 seconds for Nurmagomedov to get his first takedown after an early feeling-out process between the two sides. Nurmagomedov completely smothered Maness with his top pressure, landing short shots until he passed guard and into the mount. Nurmagomedov threatened with a late submission, but there wasn’t enough time to finish it.
In the second round, Nurmagomedov needed less than 40 seconds to shoot for a takedown and plant Maness on his back. Maness never got up over the course of the round, because Nurmagomedov controlled from on top, from the back, and then landed big shots in the closing moments of a completely one-sided round.
With Maness worn down and out of answers in the final frame, Nurmagomedov started to showcase some of his striking with a hard kick to the face of his opponent and some other solid strikes. He then secured a takedown and battered Maness to the final bell.
THIS KICK FROM UMAR 😳 #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/2hjg0PcUbY
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 26, 2022
After the win, Nurmagomedov said he’s coming for UFC gold, and ready to break into the top 10 at 135 pounds with his next fight.
“I’m going to continue to fight and I’m going to work and I’m going to be the champion,” Nurmagomedov said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC on ESPN 38 include:
Streaking bantamweights Umar Nurmagomedov and Nate Maness will collide in June.
Streaking bantamweights will collide in June.
The UFC is targeting a matchup between [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] for UFC Fight Night on June 25, which is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
A person with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Reporter James Lynch was first to share the news Thursday.
Also unbeaten like his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov, 26-year-old Umar (14-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has notched two submission wins to kick off his octagon tenure, choking out Sergey Morozov and most recently Brian Kelleher at UFC 272 in March.
Maness (14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is on a hot run of his own. The 30-year-old has won his past four in a row, notching two straight “Performance of the Night” bonuses. He’s coming off a come-from-behind finish of Tony Gravely this past September at UFC Fight Night 192.
With the addition, the UFC’s June 25 lineup now includes:
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=none image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
