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. 5-11.
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 a promotion from May 22-28.
Sinead Kavanagh is ready and eager to run things back with Bellator champ Cris Cyborg.
DUBLIN – [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] is ready to rematch Bellator women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag].
Kavanagh (9-5 MMA, 6-5 BMMA) fell short in her title pursuit when she was knocked out by Cyborg in the first round at Bellator 271 in November 2021. Since then, the Dublin native has rebounded with back-to-back wins over Leah McCourt, followed up by Janay Harding this past Saturday at Bellator 291 at 3Arena.
“That’s two great f*cking wins,” Kavanagh told MMA Junkie and other reporters following Bellator 291. “I put on a show both times, fought on one leg. … I’m ready. I want Cyborg in Dublin. That’s what I want. That’s what I want for the fans, as well.”
She continued, “Fight the best in Ireland, Sinead Kavanagh.”
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McCourt’s Bellator 293 showdown with Cat Zingano on March 31 is being viewed as a potential No. 1 contender bout, but Kavanagh thinks she’s earned the right for the next shot.
However, with Kavanagh wanting to run things back with Cyborg in Dublin, it could be a long wait, and she’s willing to fight one more time before that.
“I done a good 15 minutes there, good strikes, my power was there,” Kavanagh said. “I do want Cyborg, I do want her in Dublin, but that’s in September. That’s too long of a wait. I want to fight, then her in September.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.
The longest active winning streak in MMA still belongs to Yaroslav Amosov after a dominant win to defend gold at Bellator 291.
Bellator returned to 3Arena in Dublin on Saturday with Bellator 291, and with 18 fights on the docket, it played out as one of the longest events in company history.
The card closed on a high note, however, when Ukraine welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov (27-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) retuned to competition with a dominant unanimous decision win over Logan Storley (14-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) to move to 2-0 in their head-to-head series.
Amosov is proving to be one of the best in the world at 170 pounds, and his flawless record is there to back up that notion. For more on the numbers behind his fight, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 291.
Just like her Saturday opponent, Sinead Kavanagh has her sights set on a title shot with Cris Cyborg. For her, it would be a rematch.
DUBLIN – Just like her Saturday opponent, [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] has her sights set on a title shot.
But for Kavanagh (8-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA), there’s one big difference heading into her women’s featherweight bout against Janay Harding (6-6 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) at Bellator 291: Kavanagh already knows what it’s like to go after champ Cris Cyborg.
It didn’t go well for Kavanagh at Bellator 271 16 months ago. Cyborg took her out with a 92-second knockout. But Kavanagh wants to get back in the mix with a win over Harding – and thinks she has the perfect spot for a rematch with Cyborg for the belt.
Check out Kavanagh’s full pre-fight media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.
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Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 291 main card in Dublin, featuring Yaroslav Amosov vs. Logan Storley.
| Amosov vs. Storley |
Carvalho vs. Kennedy |
Logan vs. Queally |
Harding vs. Kavanagh |
Clarke vs. Sinis |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 15-11 |
 Amosov (73%) |
 Kennedy (80%) |
 Queally (83%) |
 Kavanagh (77%) |
 Clarke (90%) |
| Matt Erickson 18-8 |
 Storley |
Kennedy |
Queally |
 Harding |
Clarke |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 17-9 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 17-9 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 16-10  2018, 2022 Champion |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 16-10 |
Amosov |
 Carvalho |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 15-11/em> |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 15-11 2017 Champion |
Storley |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 14-12 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 14-12 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 12-14 |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 12-14 2014 Champion |
Amosov |
Kennedy |
Queally |
Kavanagh |
Clarke |
Bellator 291 predictions: Who’s picking Logan Storley to upset Yaroslav Amosov?
Bellator is in Ireland with one of the most dominant fighters in MMA at the top of the bill.
Bellator 291 takes place Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin. 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, welterweight champion [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) meets interim champ [autotag]Logan Storley[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) in a title unification bout. The two fought in late 2020, when Amosov took a split decision. He won the title his next time out.
Amosov is slight favorite at -165 at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Storley is +130. But our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with Amosov, who has MMA’s longest active winning streak, at a big 9-2 clip.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) at featherweight. Kennedy nearly is a 3-1 favorite, and he’s a near-unanimous pick at 10-1 from our staff members.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] (13-7-1 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) is just a -150 favorite at lightweight in front of his home fans against [autotag]Bryce Logan[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 0-4 BMMA), but Queally is one of our two unanimous picks on the main card at 11-0.
[autotag]Janay Harding[/autotag] (6-6 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) meet in a women’s featherweight fight, and each is hoping a win will lead to a title shot. Kavanagh is more than a 2-1 favorite on her home turf, and she has a near-unanimous edge in the picks at 10-1.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Ciaran Clarke[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) takes on late-notice replacement and promotional newcomer [autotag]Leonardo Sinis[/autotag] (11-5-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at featherweight. Clarke is the biggest favorite on the main card at more than 4-1, and not surprisingly is our other unanimous pick.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Amosov (73 percent), Kennedy (80 percent), Queally (83 percent), Kavanagh (77 percent) and Clarke (90 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.
Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 291, where champ Yaroslav Amosov returns to put his 26-fight winning streak in the line.
The second Bellator offering of the year lands on Saturday with Bellator 291, which takes place at 3Arena in Dublin, with a main card set to air on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.
The promotion’s undisputed welterweight champion will be decided in the main event. Current titleholder [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) will return from a layoff that included fighting in the war for his native Ukraine to take on interim champ [autotag]Logan Storley[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA). The pair fought once before as contenders, with Amosov taking a split decision at Bellator 252 in November 2020.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 291.
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. 7-13.
Just a month after visiting Dublin, Bellator has announced it will return to the Irish capital one more time in 2022.
Just a month after visiting Dublin, Bellator has announced it will return to the Irish capital one more time in 2022.
The promotion will head back to the 3Arena on Sept. 23, with tickets expected to go on sale Friday. Two of Ireland’s most popular fighters in [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] and [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] have been confirmed for the event, but their opponents are yet to be revealed.
🇮🇪 𝑫𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏, 𝒘𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌@sineadkavanagh0 and @peterqueally are confirmed for Bellator MMA's return to the @3ArenaDublin on Friday, September 23rd!
Tickets are on sale Friday, March 25th, with an Exclusive Pre-sale this Thursday. #BellatorDublin pic.twitter.com/6fwTjRGb1b
— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) March 22, 2022
Less than a month ago, Bellator 275, headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Gegard Mousasi and formerly unbeaten Austin Vanderford, took place at 3Arena in Dublin. Mousasi needed just more than a minute to retain his title by TKO.
In the co-main event, Kavanagh (8-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) battled through a knee injury when she snapped Leah McCourt’s six-fight winning streak. Although the broadcast team announced that Kavanagh was next in line for another shot at featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, the promotion ended up booking Cyborg in a rematch against Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279.
Meanwhile, Queally (13-6-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) will look to rebound from his vacant lightweight title fight loss against Patricky Freire at Bellator 270 this past November. The SBG Ireland fighter was scheduled to face Kane Mousah at Bellator 275 but withdrew due to injury.
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Sinead Kavanagh suffered an injury early against Leah McCourt, but found a way to fight through to the end.
[autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] had to fight through an early injury, but managed to get her hand raised on Friday at Bellator 275.
Fighting in front of a home crowd at 3Arena in Dublin, and aiming to rebound from a title challenge loss, Kavanagh (8-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) had plenty of motivation to push through an early knee injury that affected a majority of the co-main event bout against Leah McCourt.
Just over a half-minute into the bout after a couple of strikes were exchanged, McCourt (6-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) went for a takedown and brought the fight to the mat. However, Kavanagh remained calm off her back and grabbed a kimura, causing McCourt to roll over and defend the dangerous-looking submission.
Big submission attempt from @SineadKavanagh0!
LIVE on @SHOSports 🇺🇸 and @BBCThree 🇬🇧 with #Bellator275. pic.twitter.com/J5WRMd1ZxM
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) February 25, 2022
With her arm twisted behind her back at one point, somehow, McCourt did not tap and survived to see the second round.
McCourt went back to the clinch early in the second round, and after jockeying for position along the fence, Kavanagh ended up on top after reversing a takedown attempt.
😳 @SineadKavanagh0 vs. @LeahMcCourtMMA has us on the edge of our seats.
LIVE on @SHOSports 🇺🇸 and @BBCThree 🇬🇧 with #Bellator275. pic.twitter.com/1ChLeYtpyX
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) February 25, 2022
Moments later, Kavanagh landed a few hard punches from the top before being pushed off by McCourt. Kavanagh’s knee, which was giving her trouble after the first round, buckled and she fell to the canvas. Kavanagh would limp to her corner, but continue to the third round.
.@sineadkavanagh0 powering through and giving everything she's got against @LeahMcCourtMMA 🔥 #Bellator275 @bellatormma pic.twitter.com/tyrt2m12df
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) February 25, 2022
McCourt immediately targeted the knee with kicks to begin the final round as Kavanagh struggled to move around. McCourt then secured a takedown and began hunting for submissions. Attacking arm holds initially, McCourt went for a kneebar on the injured leg with just over 30 seconds remaining, but lost the position. The fight concluded with Kavanagh raining down punches from the top.
The judges scored the contest 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 in favor of Kavanagh.
Kavanagh rebounds from her title challenge loss to Cris Cyborg at Bellator 271 with a big win over McCourt on her home soil. After being carried out of the cage, the broadcast team announced Kavanagh’s next contest would be a rematch against Cyborg “very soon.” With no date given, that timeline will depend on the severity of Kavanagh’s knee injury.
For McCourt, the loss marks the first since her professional debut in 2017 and the first under the Bellator banner. She would win her next six bouts, five of which took place in Bellator, before the setback against Kavanagh on Friday.
Up-to-the-minute results of Bellator 275 include:
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