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 March 6-12.
Hailey Cowan has a UFC debut back on the books after a health scare canceled her first booking weeks ago.
After a health scare left her unsure of her immediate future, budding women’s bantamweight [autotag]Hailey Cowan[/autotag] has a promotional debut back on the books.
At UFC on ESPN 43, Cowan (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will fight [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a late addition to the card. The event takes place March 25 at AT&T Center in San Antonio.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Cowan, 31, was expected to debut at UFC Fight Night 220 on Feb. 25. However, she withdrew from the bout hours prior to weigh-ins. After her scheduled opponent Ailin Perez criticized the withdrawal, Cowan revealed she suffered from an ovarian cyst rupture that landed her in the hospital. Cowan is a “Dana White’s Contender Series” signee with pro wins in Invicta FC and LFA among other promotions.
Vidal, 24, added a big-time highlight to her reel in her promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 214 in November when she scored a flying knee knockout of opponent Ramona Pascual. The victory extended her winning streak to six.
With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 43 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.
Hear from Tamires Vidal following her TKO win in her debut at UFC Fight Night 214 in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] made quite an impression in her UFC debut.
The Brazilian bantamweight stopped Ramona Pascual (6-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC) with a flying knee to the body to open up Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 214. It was a stellar finish by Vidal (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), which caught the attention of many watching.
Vidal is currently on a six-fight winning streak and only has one professional loss on her record, which came against current UFC fighter Karol Rosa in the regional circuit in Brazil.
Learn more about Vidal and the difficulties she encountered in the leadup to her UFC debut in her post fight interview. You can watch the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.
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Neil Magny passing Georges St-Pierre for most welterweight wins was one of many notable feats to come out of UFC Fight Night 214.
UFC Fight Night 214 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and it was an action-filled card with nine of 11 fights ending inside the distance.
The main event saw [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) break through as the next strawweight contender. She scored a standing TKO over fellow Brazilian standout [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] (17-2-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) in the third round of their clash.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 214.
UFC Fight Night 214 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 214 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $126,500.
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 214 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 214 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Darrick Minner[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Shayilan Nuerdanbieke[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Shanna Young[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Benito Lopez[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Johnny Munoz[/autotag]: $4,50
def. [autotag]Liudvik Sholinian[/autotag]: $4,0000
[autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Candelario[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ramona Pascual[/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 2147 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2141 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: $7,222,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,399,500
Tamires Vidal danced her way to the octagon for her debut at UFC Fight Night 214. Once the fight started, though, she showed bad intentions.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] may have joked and danced her way into the octagon for her debut at UFC Fight Night 214. Once the fight started, though, she was all business.
Vidal (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) wasted no time landing hard shots on [autotag]Romona Pascual[/autotag] (6-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC) – who missed weight for the women’s bantamweight contest at the UFC Apex. The Brazilian finished the job in a little more than three minutes, when she went up the middle with a switch knee to the body of her opponent.
Pascual immediately keeled over after taking the shot, and the referee jumped in to wave it off.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
How about THAT for an Octagon debut!?
Tamires Vidal with the first round finish to kick off #UFCVegas64 💥 pic.twitter.com/YmFlyEVvnJ
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2022
Tamires Vidal putting the bantamweight division on notice 👏 #UFCVegas64 pic.twitter.com/BrHJnyOFs7
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2022
The finish marked just the third knockout in women’s UFC history to stem from a knee strike to the body. After the stellar debut, 24-year-old Vidal was thrilled to take the next step in her career.
“It just dawned on me that this happened,” Vidal said through an interpreter during her post-fight interview. “My nickname is ‘Bulldozer’ and I’m always powering forward.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.
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The UFC added 32 fighters to its roster last month. Find out who joined and learn more about them here.
The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.
Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, Dana White’s Contender Series signees, or the increasingly rare straight-up additions. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.
“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.
Scroll below to check out the 32 fighters the promotion inked in August 2022.
Both women seek their first UFC victories.
[autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] is the newest member of the UFC women’s bantamweight division and she already has a fight on the books.
At a UFC Fight Night event Nov. 5, Vidal (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will square off with [autotag]Ramona Pascual[/autotag] (6-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC). The event does not currently have an announced location or venue.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement,
Vidal, 24, enters the UFC on a five-fight winning streak that includes victories over UFC fighter Ailin Perez and 2022 PFL semifinalist Martina Jindrova. Three of Vidal’s six pro victories have come inside the distance. Her only pro loss came against UFC fighter Karol Rosa.
Pascual, 33, still seeks her first UFC victory in what will be her third promotional appearance. Pascual drops down to bantamweight after back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Josiane Nunes and Joselyne Edwards started her UFC tenure.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Nov. 5 includes:
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The event took place in Brazil and showcased dozen’s of rising prospects including new champ Gabriel Bonfim and main event winner Jose Delano.
A previously-vacant title now has a Brazilian owner following LFA 126, which took place Friday at Complexo Ribalta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the featherweight title fight main event, [autotag]Jose Delano[/autotag] (10-2) battled Dana White’s Contender Series alum [autotag]Jonas Bilharinho[/autotag] (9-2-1) but no champion was crowned. Delano won via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 48-47) after five hard-fought rounds.
Delano wasn’t even originally scheduled for the five-round main event. He prepared for a main card opener, which he missed weight for by six pounds Thursday. When originally-scheduled headline fighter Rafael Barbosa was pulled by CABMMMA (sanctioning body), Delano stepped in but was ineligible for a title in a last-second elevation into the headlining bout.
The first two rounds were closely contested as Delano led the dance and bloodied Bilharinho. In Round 3, Delano dragged the fight to the canvas and remained heavy on top.
The fighters entered the championship rounds and Delano continued to make things ugly. He tied up Bilharinho in the clinch, but ate a big head-splitting elbow. Blood poured down from the middle of his forehead as the striking resumed. The final round was perhaps the most violent of the fight as both bloody fighters landed wild spinning strikes in the final seconds. When the dust settled, Delano had a new piece of hardware.
After the fight, Delano vowed to make weight in his next outing, should LFA grant him another opportunity.
The loss stings for Bilharinho, who many fans thought was snubbed on DWCS in 2021. Bilharinho landed a highlight-reel wheel kick knockout on the series, but was not awarded a contract from the UFC president.
What a way to close out a WILD fight#LFA126 pic.twitter.com/jdTICWYdKZ
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 12, 2022
In the co-main event, [autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag] (12-0) made a major statement in a big way. Entering the fight with a hugely lopsided record, Bonfim widened the spread when he pieced up [autotag]Eduardo Garvon[/autotag] (13-4) on the feet before he sunk in a deep D’Arce choke. The tap came shortly thereafter and made Bonfim the seventh welterweight champion in LFA history.
Quickest hands in Brazil??#LFA126 pic.twitter.com/0BNNWcDI5V
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 12, 2022
What a good night to be a Bonfim!!
Give him the belt!!!#LFA126 pic.twitter.com/mzManI87s3
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 12, 2022
Before titles were on the line, other rising Brazilian prospects made the most of their moments under the spotlight of an international stream.
Heavyweight [autotag]Eduardo Neves[/autotag] (5-0) remained undefeated with a violent bonanza of punches that marked the beginning of the end for previously unbeaten [autotag]Andre Vieira[/autotag] (4-1). Neves finished the fight 64 seconds into Round 1.
Bantamweight [autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag] (6-1) showed off her slick submission skills when she snatched a slick, second-round heel hook against [autotag]Queila Braga[/autotag] (5-2).
OVER AND OUT!#LFA126 pic.twitter.com/VInL4EBCF8
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 12, 2022
She sneaks the submission in!#LFA126 pic.twitter.com/9fPU7CNCew
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 12, 2022
In the opening main card bout, [autotag]Rodolfo Vieira[/autotag] (8-1) maintained his winning ways with a buzzer-beating triangle choke against [autotag]Thiago Vieira[/autotag] (11-5).
The event marked the promotion’s second trip to Brazil after two events in one weekend, LFA 111 and LFA 112 in July 2021. The internationally-streamed platform is somewhat unique for the talent in Brazil. Although the country has produced numerous UFC fighters, many enter the promotion with little or no fight tape on the internet.
LFA CEO Ed Soares, a longtime manager of legendary Brazilian fighters Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira among others, has indicated Brazil will regularly be in the promotion’s rotation from here on out. LFA plans to return in May 2022.
The LFA 126 results include:
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