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 Dec. 19-25.
Neiman Gracie will attempt to get back on the winning track when he meets Michael Lombardo on the first Bellator card of 2023.
[autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] will attempt to get back on the winning track when he meets [autotag]Michael Lombardo[/autotag] on the first Bellator card of 2023.
Gracie (11-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA), a perennial welterweight contenders and former title challenger, is set to clash with Lombardo (13-3 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) at the Bellator 290 event on Feb. 4, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif,. with a main card that airs on CBS following prelims on MMA Junkie.
MMA Junkie verified the booking with a Bellator official on Thursday following an initial report from MMAFighting.com.
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After starting his career with nine straight wins, Gracie, 34, has struggled to find consistency at the top level in recent years. He’s 2-4 since he challenged then-champ Rory MacDonald for the title in June 2019, and was knocked out for the first time in his career against Goiti Yamauchi in his most recent outing at Bellator 284 in August.
The Brazilian will attempt to change his fortunes against Lombardo, who will make a quick turnaround from his first-round knockout of Mark Lemminger at Bellator 289 this month. The 32-year-old is a veteran of Bellator, PFL and Dana White’s Contender Series.
The latest Bellator 290 lineup now includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.
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Check out these photos from the Bellator 284 main event between Goiti Yamauchi and Neiman Gracie.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag]’s knockout victory over Neiman Gracie in the main event of Bellator 284 in Sioux Falls, S. D. (Photos courtesy of Bellator MMA)
Neiman Gracie had never been knocked out – prior to Bellator 284 and his fight vs. Goiti Yamauchi.
[autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] has long been a member of the Bellator roster, but perhaps never closer to a title opportunity than now.
At Bellator 284, Yamauchi (28-5 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) stopped [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) with punches at 3:58 of Round 2. The bout headlined the event Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The knockout topped off a dominant performance for Yamauchi, who stunned Gracie early in Round 1 before he resorted to his grappling. In Round 2, Yamauchi appeared a step ahead as well. He threatened both striking and grappling, a two-pronged attack Gracie struggled to figure out.
The knockout sequence began with a hard uppercut. As Gracie toppled to the canvas, a few follow-up shots rained down from Yamauchi, though the damage was done.
𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 🤯@GoitiOfficial may have the most submissions in Bellator history, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hang on the feet!
A spectacular finish to #Bellator284 live on @SHOsports. pic.twitter.com/b7I5AxY3PL
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 13, 2022
Yamauchi, who made his promotional debut at Bellator 99 in September 2013, becomes the first to stop Neiman Gracie. He extends his winning streak to three and has won back-to-back fights at welterweight. Meanwhile, Gracie has lost back-to-back fights and three of his most recent four outings.
The up-to-the-minute Bellator 284 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 284.
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Check out these photos of the fighters on the scale and the final faceoffs at the Bellator 284 ceremonial weigh-ins in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Check out these photos of the main card fighters on the scale and the final pre-fight faceoffs at the Bellator 284 ceremonial weigh-ins in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Photos courtesy of Bellator MMA)
Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 284 main card in Sioux Falls, S.D.
| Gracie vs. Yamauchi |
Moldavsky vs. Mowry |
Ellen vs. Macfarlane |
Saricam vs. Sowma |
Jeffery vs. Vanderford |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 131-79 |
 Yamauchi (58%) |
 Mowry (61%) |
 Macfarlane (79%) |
 Saricam (62%) |
 Vanderford (68%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 143-72  2018 Champion |
 Gracie |
Mowry |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 139-76 |
Gracie |
 Moldavsky |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 137-78 2014 Champion |
Gracie |
Moldavsky |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 135-80 |
Gracie |
Mowry |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 132-83 |
Gracie |
Mowry |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 131-84 |
Gracie |
Mowry |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 130-85 |
Gracie |
Moldavsky |
Macfarlane |
 Sowma |
Vanderford |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 127-88 |
Gracie |
Moldavsky |
 Ellen |
Sowma |
Vanderford |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 126-89 2017 Champion |
Gracie |
Moldavsky |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 117-98 |
Gracie |
Mowry |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 104-111 |
Gracie |
Moldavsky |
Macfarlane |
Saricam |
Vanderford |
Bellator returns to South Dakota this week with a welterweight bout atop the card, plus two former champions and a recent title challenger on the bill.
Bellator 284 takes place Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) takes on first-time Bellator headliner [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) at welterweight. Gracie is a -200 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Yamauchi is +150. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Gracie as one of two unanimous picks on the main card – but in a rarity, our readers disagree and are backing Yamauchi at a big 58 percent clip.
In the co-feature, former interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) takes on unbeaten up-and-comer [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA). Moldavsky is more than a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, but he has the narrowest possible edge over Mowry in the picks at 6-5.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) takes on former women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 10-2 BMMA), who is fighting outside her native Hawaii or homebase of California for just the second time in nearly five years. Macfarlane is a slight favorite at -135, but is a near-unanimous pick with our staff members at 10-1. (It should be noted Macfarlane missed weight for for the first time in her MMA career. She came in at 129 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-ins.)
[autotag]Gokhan Saricam[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) is a 2-1 favorite in his heavyweight bout against [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), and he’s got a blowout from our pickers at 9-2.
And to open the main card, our second unanimous pick is recent middleweight title challenger [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA), who is a -200 favorite against late replacement opponent [autotag]Aaron Jeffery[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Vanderford has an 11-0 shutout from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Yamauchi (58 percent), Mowry (61 percent), Macfarlane (79 percent), Saricam (62 percent) and Vanderford (68 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 284.
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Real recognizes real.
[autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag]’s upcoming opponent might be new to the weight class, but he’s been on his radar for a long time.
Gracie (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) takes on Goiti Yamauchi in the main event of Friday’s Bellator 285 in South Dakota. It’s a matchup pitting two of the best grapplers on the company’s roster. Yamauchi (27-5 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) doesn’t have the same family prestige or the sport jiu-jitsu accolades as Gracie, but that doesn’t mean Gracie doesn’t have high regard for his ground game.
“I used to watch him a lot because he has such a good submission game,” Gracie told MMA Junkie. “I followed him a lot and his fights.”
He later added,
“I’ve watched him for years. He’s really, really good. (His jiu-jitsu) is very, very high. The guy has over 20 submissions (on his record). I think it’s very, very high. If I’m able to finish him with a submission, I think that puts me at the top.”
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Yamauchi emphasized at Wednesday’s Bellator 284 media day that he’s honored to be fighting a Gracie family member. Gracie very much respects Yamauchi’s approach.
“It’s great,” Gracie said. “He’s a gentleman, I’m a gentleman. It’s going to be a gentlemen fight, and it’s just business at the end of the day. I think it’s nice. I’ve fought guys who’ve had the same mentality before, and it’s really nice.
“I like this way better. I feel like sometimes people do trash talk that is fake, and it brings a bad energy to the fight. I like this way better.”
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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 June 13-19.
The Bellator 284 lineup also includes a heavyweight contender bout in the co-main event.
Major promotional MMA heads back to South Dakota this summer.
Bellator 284 is set to take place Aug. 12 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, the promotion officially announced Wednesday. Atop the card is a five-round welterweight matchup between [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) and [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 13-4 BMMA).
Gracie, 33, most recently competed in a five-round war against Logan Storely in February. The battle was back-and-forth until the final horn, shortly after which Storley was named winner by split decision. The loss moved Gracie to 2-3 in his past five appearances.
Yamauchi, 29, has won back-to-back fights entering Bellator 284. His most recent performance, a quick submission win against Levan Chokheli, marked his divisional debut at welterweight.
In the co-main event, top heavyweight contenders collide as [autotag]Valentin Moldavksy[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) looks to rebound from a title shot loss when he battles undefeated rising star [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA).
Also on the card, former Bellator women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA). Macfarlane will look to snap a two-fight losing skid, including a title defeat to Juliana Velasquez and a unanimous decision to Justine Kish.
Meanwhile, Ellen has won two of her most recent three bouts.
The current Bellator 284 lineup includes:
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MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the main event for Bellator 274.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for Bellator 274 between Neiman Gracie and Logan Storley.
