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 or officially announced by the promotions from Aug. 28-Sept. 3.
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 April 10-16
Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 288, which saw Usman Nurmagomedov move to 16-0 while claiming gold.
The penultimate Bellator event of 2022 went down Saturday with Bellator 288 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
With two title fights on the card, one champ defended while another belt changed hands.
[autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) earned a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) to defend light heavyweight gold in the main event, while [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) outpointed [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on the scorecards to claim the lightweight strap.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 288.
Roman Faraldo is confident, but he’s trying not to be arrogant heading into Bellator 288.
CHICAGO – [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] acknowledges that [autotag]Levan Chokheli[/autotag] is a step up in competition but expects to have no issues.
Faraldo (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) meets Chokheli (10-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) in Friday’s Bellator 288 main card opener at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
The unbeaten knockout artist has produced some viral moments throughout his career, and training at famed American Top Team gives him confidence that he will deliver once again.
“I think the experts still got it wrong saying that the odds are even,” Faraldo told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I think I’m way better than this guy in every facet of the game, and that confidence comes from my training partners and who I’m working with consistently and how I feel and what I’m doing and what I’m capable of.”
Although Faraldo’s early finishes wind up on highlight reels, he knows he still has some work to do. But he expects a win over Chokheli to advance his career.
“So I think it’ll be another great performance on my end, but title contention – I haven’t fought anybody from the top 10,” Faraldo said. “Levan isn’t ranked in the top 10, so for me to press that I think is a little arrogant. But we’ll get through him, we’ll beat a couple of top-10 guys, and then the belt should be – we’ll at least be in contention.”
He continued, “I’m asking for it more than anything and if I continue to produce, why wouldn’t you? Especially people want to see me, I put on great fights. Yeah, end of 2023, definitely in title contention for sure.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 288.
Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 288 main card in Chicago, which features light heavyweight and lightweight title fights.
| Nemkov vs. Anderson |
Freire vs. Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev vs. Weichel |
Fortune vs. James |
Chokheli vs. Faraldo |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 180-106 |
 Anderson (57%) |
 Nurmagomedov (87%) |
 Khizriev (75%) |
 Fortune (91%) |
 Faraldo (90%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 190-101  2018 Champion |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 182-109 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
 Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 182-109 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 179-112 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 178-113 2014 Champion |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 176-115 |
Anderson |
 Freire |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 175-116 |
Anderson |
Freire |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 170-121 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 169-122 2017 Champion |
Anderson |
Freire |
Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 157-134 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 142-149 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
Bellator makes its return to Chicago this week with a pair of title fights leading the card in the “Windy City.”
Bellator 288 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. 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, light heavyweight champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) puts his title on the line against [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA). The fight is a rematch from an April title fight that ended in a no contest after an accidental clash of heads left Nemkov with too deep of a cut to continue. The fight also is the $1 million final of Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament. Anderson was the underdog in the first fight, but now is a -230 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Nemkov is +175. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Anderson as one of three unanimous picks at 11-0.
In the co-feature, lightweight champion [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) puts his belt up for the first time when he takes on the unbeaten [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). Usman is the biggest favorite on the main card at a whopping -750, but he’s not a unanimous pick. Three of our staff members are taking “Pitbull” Freire in what would be a major upset.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Timur Khizriev[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (42-13 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) in a featherweight bout. Khizriev is a big -320 favorite at the betting window, but he has just a 7-4 picks lead.
[autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) is one of our three unanimous picks in his heavyweight bout against Chicago native [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Fortune is a 3-1 favorite in the fight.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is our third unanimous pick at 11-0 in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Levan Chokheli[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) – even though he’s the smallest main card favorite at about 2-1.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Anderson (57 percent), Nurmagomedov (87 percent), Khizriev (75 percent), Fortune (91 percent) and Faraldo (90 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 288.
Check out the numbers behind Bellator 288, where all four title competitors are fighting for history.
Bellator returns on Friday for its penultimate event of 2022 with Bellator 288, which takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
A championship doubleheader serves at the top of the card. In the main event, [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (14-2 MMMA, 7-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will try for a second time to determine the Bellator light heavyweight and grand prix champion when they meet in a rematch of their April fight that ended in a no contest due to a head butt.
The co-headliner, meanwhile, will see lightweight gold up for grabs as [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) looks to kick off his reign with a defense against the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov pupil [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).
For more on the title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 288.
Thirteen bouts including two title fights are set for Bellator’s return to Chicago.
Bellator’s long-awaited return to Chicago this fall now has 13 official fights on the docket.
Bellator 288 is set for Nov. 18 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with the main card airing on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The card is headlined by two title fights including the light heavyweight grand prix final rematch between champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).
Their first meeting at Bellator 277 in April ended in a “no contest” after an unintentional clash of heads on the ground caused a fight-ending laceration on Nemkov’s face.
In the co-main event, lightweight champion [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) will attempt to defend the title for the first time against undefeated challenger [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).
Rounding out the main card is [autotag]Akhmed Magomedov[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (42-13 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) at featherweight, [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at heavyweight and [autotag]Levan Chokheli[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA).
With the addition, the Bellator 288 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 Sept. 26-Oct. 2.
Check out which fighters are facing indefinite suspensions as a result of Friday’s fights in Tacoma, Wash.
Belaltor 283 took place Friday at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash. and featured 12 bouts of MMA action.
Atop the card, [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] defeated former welterweight champion [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] by unanimous decision. Also, RIZIN tournament champion [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] defeated [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] by first-round knockout, and [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] quickly tapped [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] with a first-round guillotine choke.
As a result of injuries sustained in the bout, each fighter on the card received a medical suspension from the Washington State Department of Licensing. MMA Junkie acquired the list from the commissioning body Tuesday. The list included suspension durations but not medical specifics.
Two fighters received indefinite suspensions, including [autotag]Mukhamed Berkhamov[/autotag], who fought in a no contest against [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag]. The fight was waved off after Larkin unintentionally struck Berkhamov in the back of the head. While Berkhamov said he was dizzy and that’s ultimately why the bout was called, Larkin claimed after the fight his opponent was in the doctor’s room with a knee injury.
[autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag], who knocked out [autotag]Luis Iniguez[/autotag], also was handed an indefinite suspension. Faraldo told reporters post-fight he broke his hand on the knockout blow.
Scroll below to see the medical suspensions handed out to each fighter. It’s important to note fighters can return to competition sooner than the allotted suspension if they are cleared by a doctor.
Four fighters walked away with six-figure paydays as a result of Friday’s card in Tacoma, Wash.
Bellator 283 took place Friday at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash. and featured 12 bouts including two potential title eliminator fights.
Atop the card, [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] defeated [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] in a dominant, five-round unanimous decision. The two main event participants were two of four fighters who pocketed six-figure disclosed purses from the event, according to a list MMA Junkie acquired Tuesday from the Washington State Department of Licensing, the commissioning body that oversaw the card.
Jackson pocketed a total of $191,000 for his win over former champion Lima, who took home a flat payout of $100,000. [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] ($100,000) and [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] ($125,000) were the other two fighters to hit the six-figure mark.
Scroll below to see the rest of the Bellator 283 salaries below. It’s important to note these figures do not include any potential locker room bonuses, sponsor payouts, or streaming points.
