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 Feb. 26-March 3.
An injury has forced Ramiz Brahimaj out of his upcoming bout against Carlston Harris at UFC Fight Night 219.
The upcoming UFC Fight Night event on February 18 has lost a scheduled matchup.
It is unclear how long Brahimaj (10-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will be sidelined with the neck injury he described as “severe,” but he is unable to compete on Feb. 18.
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Brahimaj was set to fight for the first time since last year. In February 2022, he submitted Michael Gillmore in the first round at UFC Fight Night 202. Brahimaj also holds a first-round stoppage over Sasha Palatnikov, which came in August 2021.
According to Harris (17-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC), the promotion looked for a replacement opponent, but nothing materialized. As a result, he will be removed from the event. Harris’ last appearance was also last February, a knockout loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC Fight Night 200. Prior to that setback, he picked up stoppages over Impa Kasanganay and Christian Aguilera.
With the removal, the UFC Fight Night 219 lineup includes:
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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 Jan. 9-15.
Less than two weeks away, the UFC 277 prelims are falling apart, and the promotion continues to patch things up.
UFC 277 is less than two weeks away, and the promotion continues to work through numerous fighter injuries and visa-related withdrawals.
While luckily the main card remains intact, a handful of preliminary card fighter pullouts have resulted in new bouts and a couple of yet-to-be-filled openings.
The event takes place July 30 at American Airlines Center in Dallas with the main card streaming on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
See below to check out the UFC 277 changes from the past week.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 32, which saw history made on the promotion’s first event of 2022.
The first UFC event of the year took place Saturday with UFC on ESPN 32 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
A 10-fight card that was ravaged by lineup changes ultimately concluded with a strong performance from [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who returned from a career-long layoff to battle [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision in the matchup of featherweight contenders.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 32.
UFC on ESPN 32 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 32 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $132,000.
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 32 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN 32 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chase Sherman[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Rogerio Bontorin[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dakota Bush[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joseph Holmes[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Court McGee[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Croom[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]TJ Brown[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]: $11,000
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 $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-32 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $132,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $6,299,500
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Check out the list of medical suspensions from UFC on ESPN 29 in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] exited UFC on ESPN 29 on a wave of momentum after their wins – but they didn’t do so unscathed.
Both Cannonier and Pantoja were handed 180-day suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC), according to a list MMA Junkie acquired Wednesday from MixedMartialArts.com, the ABC’s official database.
In his main event win over [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag], Cannonier suffered a right foot injury. As for Pantoja, a win in a potential title eliminator battle with [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] resulted in a left knee injury. Depending on the severity of the fighters’ injuries, they could be ineligible to compete until February.
Also receiving 180-day suspensions were the aforementioned Royval, [autotag]Luis Saldana[/autotag], [autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag], and [autotag]Josiane Nunes[/autotag].
It’s important to note fighters’ suspensions may terminate sooner than the date listed if their injury is cleared by a medical doctor.
The UFC on ESPN 29 medical suspensions include:
Ramiz Brahimaj picked up his first UFC win by putting his opponent to sleep in the first round.
[autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag] picked up his first UFC victory in spectacular fashion at UFC on ESPN 29.
Brahimaj (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) didn’t waste much time getting to business on Saturday, as the high-level grappler looked to engage in the clinch just 15 seconds into the fight against Sasha Palatnikov.
From there, Brahimaj was in his world, as he calmly transitioned from half guard, eventually ending up on the back of his opponent where he quickly slapped on a rear-naked choke attempt.
Put him to sleep 😴@170Ramiz kicks off #UFCVegas34 with a first-round submission. pic.twitter.com/2LCfqe6uZu
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2021
There was no tap, as Palatnikov went completely out from the choke, giving Brahimaj the victory by technical submission at 2:33 in the first round.
Secures his first UFC win 🙌@170Ramiz making a statement in his sophomore showing.
[ #UFCVegas34 | Prelims are LIVE on ESPN2 & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/brj60hg3aU
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2021
The Fortis MMA product improves to 9-3 in his professional career with all wins by submission, eight of which occurred in the first round.
Follow along with live and official results of UFC on ESPN 29:
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Ramiz Brahima is ready to compete for the first time since his ear was nearly severed in his last fight.
A welterweight matchup is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night on Aug. 21.
[autotag]Ramiz Brahimaj[/autotag] (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Sasha Palatnikov[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at an event that does not yet have an announced location or venue.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking on Monday but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make it official.
Brahimaj, an LFA veteran, suffered a third-round TKO loss to Max Griffin in his UFC debut in November, when his ear was nearly severed in a gruesome injury. Prior to that, the Fortis MMA fighter had won two of his past three, with both wins coming via submission.
Palatnikov, Hong Kong’s first UFC fighter, scored a big upset win in his promotional debut when he stopped Louis Cosce in the third round at UFC 255. Looking to build off of his momentum, Palatnikov then drew Impa Kasanganay at UFC on ABC 2 in April but was submitted in the second round.
The latest lineup for UFC Fight Night on Aug. 21 includes:
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UFC welterweight Max “Pain” Griffin chats to MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George Garcia and Brian “Goze” Garcia as he looks back at his injury TKO win over Ramiz Brahimaj at UFC on ESPN+ 40.
UFC welterweight Max “Pain” Griffin chats to MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George Garcia and Brian “Goze” Garcia as he looks back at his injury TKO win over Ramiz Brahimaj at UFC on ESPN+ 40.
