Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 29-Feb. 4.
Two UFC-ranked middleweights, Caio Borralho and Paul Craig, will square off at an event targeted for Brazil.
Middleweights [autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] will collide at an event expected to be UFC 301.
UFC 301 is targeted for May 4 in Rio de Janeiro, though the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an official announcement. Ag. Fight was first to report the matchup.
Borralho (15-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has not lost in 15 straight appearances. His UFC wins to date include Gadzhi Omargadzhiev, Armen Petrosyan, Makhmud Muradov, Michal Oleksiejczuk and Abus Magomedov.
Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) is 1-1 since he dropped to middleweight in mid-2023. He defeated Andre Muniz by TKO in his divisional debut before he was submitted by Brendan Allen in his most recent appearance.
With the addition, the UFC 301 lineup includes:
Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.
This week, the UFC is idle during Thanksgiving week.
Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Nov. 23-24.
Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 232, including a big night for Brendan Allen supporters.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 232 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Paul Craig’s first middleweight loss was a rough one and now there are questions about his ceiling in the division after UFC Fight Night 232.
(ALSO SEE: Mick Maynard’s Shoes: What’s next for Brendan Allen after UFC Fight Night 232 win?)
[autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] suffered his first defeat since his drop to middleweight when he fell to Brendan Allen in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 232 main event.
After shining in his divisional debut earlier this year with an impressive finish of Andre Muniz, Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) got his first octagon headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It wen’t poorly, however, because he was submitted by Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) with a rear-naked choke in the third round.
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At 35, there now are questions around Craig’s future and whether he will hit the same ceiling that prevented him from breaking through as a top contender during hid light heavyweight run.
What’s next for Craig? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC Fight Night 232.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 232, which saw Brendan Allen put him name in the books with Royce Gracie and Demian Maia.
The UFC closed its November schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 232, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw 10 of 14 fights end in a stoppage.
One of those finishes belonged to main event winner [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who submitted [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their middleweight clash, extending his winning streak to six and putting him in the discussion among the more serious contenders in the weight class.
For more on the numbers behind Allen’s performance, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 232.
UFC Fight Night 232 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 232 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $158,500.
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 232 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 232 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
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[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Payton Talbott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nick Aguirre[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Myktybek Orolbai[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Uros Medic[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jose Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Christian Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Denis Tiuliulin[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jeka Saragih[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucas Alexander[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Lucie Pudilova[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,500
vs. [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Rafael Estevam[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
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 2321 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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $7,464,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,983,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
Brendan Allen made the claim of “best in the world” after finishing Paul Craig in the UFC Fight Night 232 main event, and wants to prove it.
After winning his second UFC main event by stoppage, [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] wants a No. 1 contender fight next time he steps into the octagon.
At the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) faced Paul Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) in a key middleweight bout. The winner of the UFC Fight Night 232 headliner would likely move on to face one of the top names in the division, and Allen made sure he would be the one to be able to call his shot after submitting Craig at 0:38 of Round 3.
The fight started at a methodical pace with both fighters looking to find the range. Allen was more active and accurate with his strikes, and then Craig found an entry to initiate a clinch battle. Allen prevented a takedown and hit a toss of his own, transitioning into full mount. Intense scrambles for submission soon followed as Allen had a rear-naked choke, but Craig countered with a calf slicer. A battle to lock up lower limbs resulted in more changes of position, with Allen setting in back on top.
In an early exchange in the second round, both fighters landed hard punches simultaneously. Both were rocked, but Craig was first to shoot in for the takedown. Allen sprawled well and took top position, where he landed solid short elbows that sliced open a cut over Craig’s right eye while racking up a lot of control time.
Allen got right back to top position early in Round 3. This time, Craig would not get back to his feet.
Allen quickly found his way to Craig’s back and locked in a deep rear-naked choke. Craig defended a number of submissions well before, but this one was too deep and he opted to tap before going unconscious.
He made that one look easy 🤷♂️@BrendanAllenMMA puts an end to this #UFCVegas82 main event with another tapout victory! pic.twitter.com/0FhfyEudVh
— UFC (@ufc) November 19, 2023
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With the win, Allen extends his current winning streak to six. The 27-year-old has won both of his UFC main event appearances with third-round stoppages. His first was against Andre Muniz in February at UFC Fight Night 220, which was an impromptu main event spot after Nikita Krylov became ill before facing Ryan Spann in the scheduled headliner.
During his post-fight interview, Allen made his case for a No. 1 contender fight.
“I think I deserve it, I’ve earned it. I’ve beat everyone they put in front of me, I finished them. Whoever the UFC says that is, I don’t care who. (Robert) Whittaker, (Jared) Cannonier, ‘C*mshot,’ I don’t care,” Allen told Paul Felder. “I’m trying to fight, man. I’m the No. 1 contender. I’m the best in the world, I’m here to prove it. If you say otherwise, come show me, don’t tell me.”
There are a few names on the mind of @BrendanAllenMMA after his #UFCVegas82 performance 👀 pic.twitter.com/8oybJK0HeT
— UFC (@ufc) November 19, 2023
Full UFC Fight Night 232 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
The MMA community reacted to Brendan Allen’s dominant finish of Paul Craig in the UFC Fight Night 232 main event.
[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] took another step forward in his career on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 232 main event.
Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) extended his winning streak to five fights with a third-round submission victory over Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) in their middleweight headliner, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Allen beating Craig at UFC Fight Night 232.
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Watch Paul Craig stop Shogun Rua in their rematch back in 2020.
After fighting to a draw, [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] made sure to leave no doubt in his rematch against Shogun Rua.
At UFC 255 in November 2020, Craig faced Shogun for the second time after the pair fought to a draw in Brazil a couple of years prior. However, this time around, Craig was far more dominant and outgrappled the former UFC champion. Eventually, Craig took Shogun’s back and landed ground-and-pound to get the finish.
You can watch Craig’s win in the video above.
Craig (17-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) returns to the cage this Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 232 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He takes on fellow submission artist Brendan Allen (22-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC). The event streams on ESPN+.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
