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 Nov. 14-20.
Alexander Gustafsson is out of the UFC’s year-end pay-per-view according to “OSP.”
[autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] has a new opponent.
According to “OSP,” his originally scheduled opponent [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] is off UFC 282 on Dec. 10. Stepping in his place will be [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag], a former PFL champion.
A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie after Saint Preux announced the bout on his OnlyFans page. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
A reason for Gustafsson’s withdrawal was not given.
One of the longest-tenured fighters on the promotion’s roster, Saint Preux (26-16 MMA, 14-11 UFC) is 2-2 in his most recent four outings. Knockout losses to Tanner Boser and Jamahal Hill are sandwiched between a win over Alonzo Menifield and his most recent outing, a lackluster split decision against Mauricio Rua in May.
Lins (15-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) picked up his first UFC victory in April when he defeated Marcin Prachnio via unanimous decision. Prior to that fight, which marked his drop to light heavyweight, Lins lost two heavyweight fights; one to Andrei Arlovski and one to Tanner Boser.
With the change, the UFC 282 lineup includes:
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UFC has paid out $6.5 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay to its athletes this year after UFC Fight Night 211.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $164,500.
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 211 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 211 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Trevin Jones[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Don Shainis[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jesse Ronson[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Chelsea Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Randy Costa[/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 2117 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2111 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: $6,491,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,658,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.
Just hours before they were set to make their walk to the cage, a pair of light heavyweights will have to wait.
Just hours before they were set to make their walk to the cage, a pair of light heavyweights will have to wait.
The fight between [autotag]Maxim Grishin[/autotag] (32-9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has been scratched at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. UFC officials announced the cancellation during the broadcast on ESPN+.
UFC play-by-play voice Jon Anik didn’t say which fighter was unable to fight, though reportedly it was Lins who was not cleared. Anik said the fight was moved from the prelims to the main card earlier Saturday specifically to give the affected fighter additional time to work out his issue. Ultimately, that didn’t happen, and the fight was called off.
The announcement was made four fights into the event, which is taking place under an on-site media blackout – save for broadcast partner ESPN – imposed by the UFC earlier this week. No reason was given for media members allowed to be in attendance at media day and weigh-ins, but not the fights.
It was the second fight to be pulled from the card at the 11th hour. Friday, a women’s strawweight bout between Jessica Penne and Tabatha Ricci was scrapped just before the weigh-ins due to a Penne illness.
Grishin outworked William Knight for a decision win in February. He was set to come back against Jailton Almeida in May, but had to pull out. Lins snapped a two-fight skiid in April with a decision win over Marcin Prachnio, which was his first victory since he won the PFL’s heavyweight season in 2018.
UFC Fight Night 205 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 205 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $149,500.
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 205 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 205 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lando Vannata[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Sergey Khandozhko[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cameron Else[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Evan Elder[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mike Jackson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dean Barry[/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 2057 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2051 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: $2,470,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $8,638,000
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 Nov. 22-28.
This week’s UFC return to Las Vegas has another hole in the lineup.
This week’s UFC return to Las Vegas has another hole in the lineup.
[autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (25-16 MMA, 15-12 UFC) is out of his light heavyweight fight against [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 197 on Saturday. MMA Junkie confirmed his withdrawal from a person with knowledge of the matchup. The promotion made the announcement on the UFC 268 post-fight show.
UFC Fight Night 197 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Saint Preux was looking to snap a two-fight skid of TKO losses to Jamahal Hill and Tanner Boser in his return to 205 pounds. Those setbacks came on the heels of a knockout win over Alonzo Menifield.
It is not yet known if Lins will remain on the card against a short-notice replacement opponent. He has consecutive losses to Boser and Andrei Arlovski, both in 2020 in his first two fights in the promotion. Prior to signing with the UFC, Lins had four straight stoppage wins in the PFL, including a $1 million win in the promotion’s 2018 heavyweight season.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 197 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
Both men most recently competed at heavyweight, but will change divisions for this fight.
The UFC schedule continues to roll out, as it is finalizing another event for the month of November – and a light heavyweight bout to go along with it.
The promotion is currently targeting former PFL heavyweight champion [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] for a drop to 205 pounds when he takes on longtime promotional veteran [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag]. The bout is expected to take place Nov. 13 with verbal agreements in place.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
No other fights, nor a location or venue, have yet been announced for the card at this time.
Lins (14-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has encountered tough luck as of late, with consecutive losses to Tanner Boser and Andrei Arlovski. Prior to his UFC debut, Lins rattled off four wins in a row – all inside the distance under the PFL banner. Lins is one of the few fighters in MMA history to have competed in the UFC, Bellator, and PFL.
Saint Preux (25-16 MMA, 15-12 UFC), too, will look to snap a recent skid in his return to 205 pounds. Following a knockout victory over Dana White’s Contender signee Alonzo Menifield, Saint Preux was stopped with strikes in back-to-back fights against Jamahal Hill and Tanner Boser.
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The featured prelim for UFC on ESPN 24 will no longer take place Saturday.
The featured prelim for UFC on ESPN 24 will no longer take place Saturday.
[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] has fallen ill and was ruled out of his heavyweight matchup with [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] prior to weigh-ins Friday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Rothwell (38-13 MMA, 8-7 UFC) successfully made weight at 264.5 pounds. Lins (14-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) was nowhere to be found, and news later emerged that he was dealing with medical complications and would not be stepping on the scale.
UFC officials subsequently confirmed to MMA Junkie that the fight is off the card.
Rothwell issued a statement on the situation on social media (via Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/p/COlIX5TDdVo
I made the weight , ready to go. UNFORTUNATELY my opponent has gotten ill today , and the fight has been scratched. @phillipelins I hope you are ok and can recover 🙏💪 #godspeed #ufc
UFC on ESPN 24 also lost a flyweight matchup between Ryan Benoit and Zarrukh Adashev due to a botched weight cut, and the event will now proceed with 10 bouts.
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The heavyweight fight was scrapped from this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 187 just days before the event.
[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] is back on the books.
One week after it was initially canceled, the heavyweight fight has been rescheduled for the UFC Fight Night event on May 8. The event doesn’t currently have a location or venue.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Just days before it was supposed to take place, the heavyweight fight was canceled from this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 187 lineup due to an injury to Lins (14-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC).
Lins, 35, will aim to pick up his first UFC victory. Prior to signing with the promotion in 2020, the Brazilian went 4-0 under the PFL banner and won the 2018 heavyweight championship with a fourth-round stoppage of Josh Copeland.
After a TKO win vs. Stefan Struve and a split decision victory over Ovince Saint Preux, Rothwell (38-13 MMA, 8-7 UFC) had his two-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 179 in October.
With the addition, the UFC’s May 8 lineup now includes:
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