Pat Sabatini expects ‘ferocious’ fight vs. Diego Lopes at UFC 295, but confident on winning

Pat Sabatini previews his fight against Diego Lopes at UFC 295.

NEW YORK – [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag] expects a barn-burner in his return to the octagon, but that doesn’t mean he’s doubting his chances of winning.

The UFC featherweight takes on Brazil’s Diego Lopes in the opening bout of the UFC 295 pay-per-view main card, which goes down this Saturday at Madison Square Garden. This fight has been pit by many as one of the more exciting bouts of the card. Sabatini (18-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) seems to agree.

“My hand is getting raised, and it’s going to be a ferocious one,” Sabatini told reporters at the UFC 295 media day on Wednesday.

Sabatini respects Lopes (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), but he just feels he’s a better fighter everywhere.

“He’s well-rounded, but I just feel like I’m better on the feet and better on the ground,” Sabatini said.

He later added,

“He’s a great fighter, very well-rounded. It’s going to be a fun one on Saturday. I’m very, very excited for it.”

You can watch Sabatini’s full interview in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

UFC 295 pre-event facts: Alex Pereira’s two-division title bid comes with historic twist

Check out the facts behind UFC 295, where Alex Pereira can join the two-division titleholder club in a way that differs from everyone else.

The UFC makes its annual stop in New York on Saturday with UFC 295, which takes place at Madison Square Garden with a pair of title fights that top the pay-per-view main card following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

In the main event, [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (29-3-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will return to competition from a significant injury to face [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant light heavyweight belt. The co-headliner will see [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) clash with [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in an interim heavyweight championship contest.

For more on the numbers behind the title-fight doubleheader, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 295.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 11-17)

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.

Diego Lopes returns at UFC 295 vs. Pat Sabatini

The UFC 295 lineup for Madison Square Garden continues to fill out.

Rising fan-favorite featherweight [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] has his third UFC assignment.

Lopes (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will battle [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Nov. 11 at UFC 295, the promotion’s return to Madison Square Garden in New York. Both fighters recently confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report by ESPN Deportes.

Lopes, 28, burst into the international spotlight when he took a short notice bout vs. ranked Movsar Evloev at UFC 288 in May. Not only did Lopes go all three rounds with one of the promotion’s top featherweights, he put Evolev in several dangerous positions in the grappling department. Lopes lost the bout by unanimous decision, but stormed back in his second UFC outing when he quickly clubbed and subbed Gavin Tucker in 98 seconds.

Sabatini, 32, has quietly dominated his UFC tenure outside of a quick TKO loss to Damon Jackson in September 2022. His wins in the promotion include Tristan Connelly, Jamall Emmers, Tucker Lutz, T.J. Laramie and, in his most recent outing, Lucas Almeida.

With the addition, the UFC 295 lineup includes:

  • Champ Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Mackenzie Dern
  • Kevin Borjas vs. Joshua Van
  • Stephen Erceg vs. Matt Schnell
  • Jared Gordon vs. Mark Madsen
  • Diego Lopes vs. Pat Sabatini
  • Nurullo Aliev vs. Mateusz Rebecki
  • Dennis Buzukja vs. Jamall Emmers

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for June: Karine Silva’s savage kneebar

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from June 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from June 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for June.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

After battling self-doubt, Pat Sabatini aims to ‘keep the ball rolling’ after UFC on ESPN 46 win

Pat Sabatini rebounded in emphatic fashion at UFC on ESPN 46.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag] rebounded in emphatic fashion at UFC on ESPN 46.

Sabatini (18-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) scored a Round 2 submission of Lucas Almeida this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The NCAA Division I wrestler lived up to his promise of showing Almeida that his grappling his levels above.

Sabatini returned to the win column after suffering a quick TKO loss to Damon Jackson last September, and admitted that doubt started creeping in after the setback.

“There’s a feeling coming over adversity, just with anything in life,” Sabatini told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN 46. “Coming off the last loss to this, you battle self-doubt, you battle your own inner demons, and when you come out on top, that’s a feeling that you can’t even describe.”

The loss to Jackson snapped Sabatini’s six-fight winning streak. It took him seven days to return to the gym, and now that he’s back to winning ways, he hopes to carry that momentum through to the top.

“I always found setbacks and losses my biggest motivator,” Sabatini said. “Anytime I’ve ever lost or felt that feeling, I’ve come back twice as hard. I’ve just got to keep that energy after this win, keep the ball rolling.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.

UFC on ESPN 46 post-event facts: Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori set striking records in main event

The UFC on ESPN 46 main event between Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori set a new bar for strikes landed in a middleweight bout.

UFC on ESPN 46 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas proved to be a historic night.

The main event saw [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) emerge from a key matchup of former middleweight title challengers with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) in which he set a new single-fight record for most significant strikes landed in a divisional contest.

The Fight of the Night delivered, but for more numbers on the entire card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 46.

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UFC on ESPN 46 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Marvin Vettori’s $16,000 tops card

UFC on ESPN 46 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 46 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $140,000.

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 46 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 46 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Armen Petrosyan[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,000
def [autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tereza Bleda[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriella Fernandes[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Dan Argueta[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Ronnie Lawrence[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Zac Pauga[/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 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 $46,000 while title challengers get $46,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-46 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,790,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,379,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.

UFC on ESPN 46 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 46 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 46 took place Saturday with 12 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 on ESPN 46 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 46.

UFC on ESPN 46’s Pat Sabatini warns Lucas Almeida ‘there’s levels’ to their grappling games

Pat Sabatini thinks Lucas Almeida is bluffing about the potential of a grappling-heavy fight on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 46.

[autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag] thinks Lucas Almeida is bluffing about the potential of a grappling-heavy fight on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 46.

Almeida (14-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) said in an interview prior to this weekend’s featherweight bout, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+, that while he prefers to strike in the octagon, he also has a black belt in jiu-jitsu and would feel comfortable on the ground with Sabatini (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC).

That’s music to Sabatini’s ears, although he’s cautious about whether it’s truthful. If it is, he would be more than happy to tangle on the mat.

“I think he’s going to try to keep the fight standing,” Sabatini told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 46 media day. “We both are black belts, but there’s levels to this.”

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After starting his UFC career with four consecutive wins, Sabatini, 32, experienced his first octagon blemish in September when he suffered a 69-second TKO loss to Damon Jackson at UFC Fight Night 210. He took some hard lessons from the loss, he said, and not Sabatini is ready to make a charge up the 145-pound rankings.

“This is going to set me up to have a number next to my name by the end of this year or beginning of next year,” Sabatini said.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.