Bo Nickal expects to have his way with Tresean Gore at UFC 290

Bo Nickal is uber-confident about how his second UFC fight will play out in his favor.

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] has no doubt that he will take [autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag] to his world at UFC 290.

Nickal (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets Gore (4-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on the pay-per-view main card opener July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Nickal has lived up to his potential so far with two quick submissions on Dana White’s Contender Series, followed by a successful UFC debut against Jamie Pickett. The three-time Division I national wrestling champion expects to have no issues getting Gore to the mat, too.

“He probably obviously hopes to keep it standing, hopes to be able to stay on his feet and kind of play to his strengths,” Nickal said in an interview with Karyn Bryant. “But the way I see it, I don’t really feel like there’s any way he could stop me from taking him down. Even if he defends one, I’m still just gonna keep coming at him. I’m ready to go for 15 minutes. But realistically I think that I’ll get him on the ground, whether I knock him down or whether I take him down.

“Once I get him on the ground once, he’s not getting back up. That’s for certain. I not only can hold these MMA guys down, I can hold the best wrestlers in the world down – guys that have been wrestling their whole life, 20-plus years. That’s what I did in college. That’s what I still can do to this day. So, I don’t know how a guy that’s gonna train wrestling for eight weeks or kind of part-time train wrestling in the MMA sense, I don’t know what he’s going to be able to do to stop me.”

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All four of Nickal’s professional wins have come in the first round, and he sees things going in similar fashion against Gore. A participant on “The Ultimate Fighter 29,” Gore picked up his first octagon win when he submitted Josh Fremd with a guillotine choke last October.

“I don’t like to guess exact predictions for the fight because I’m ready to adjust and change plan and fight however I need to win and get the finish,” Nickal said. “But if I have to do a prediction, I think that I’ll probably get him on the ground first round and either TKO him or sub him.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 3-9)

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 3-9.

Bo Nickal gets next assignment, will face Tresean Gore at UFC 290 in Las Vegas

Bo Nickal’s second appearance of 2023 will take place at UFC 290 in Las Vegas.

Highly-touted prospect [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is set to step into the cage for the second time in 2023.

On July 8, Nickal (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will meet [autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag] at UFC 290. The pay-per-view event takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and features a featherweight title unification bout between champ Alexander Volkanovski and interim champ Yair Rodriguez.

Nickal announced the matchup in a video with betr, and Gore announced on Instagram he signed up for his first pay-per-view bout.

Nickal made his promotional debut at UFC 285, where he defeated Jamie Pickett in the first round with a triangle choke. The win didn’t come without controversy, as Pickett and his team initially sought to appeal the result due to a potential low blow that occurred before the finishing sequence. However, the result of the fight will stand after the appeal fell through.

Nickal has won all four of his professional MMA bouts in the first round.

Gore, who was a participant on “The Ultimate Fighter 29,” will compete for the first time in 2023. In his last appearance, Gore picked up his first UFC win by submitting Josh Fremd in the second round with a guillotine choke.

With the addition, the UFC 290 lineup includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez – for featherweight title
  • Tresean Gore vs. Bo Nickal

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MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for October: Islam Makhachev taps the all-time finish leader

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from October 2022.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from October 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for October.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

Tresean Gore feels like he ‘belongs in the top’ after UFC Fight Night 213 finish

Tresean Gore is feeling confident after notching his first octagon win at UFC Fight Night 213.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag] is feeling confident after notching his first octagon win at UFC Fight Night 213.

Gore (4-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his vicious second-round guillotine choke of Josh Fremd this past Saturday at the UFC Apex.

The Season 29 Ultimate Fighter runner-up didn’t quite live up to his potential since coming off the show, but is now ready to prove that he’s a top-level fighter.

“It feels really good to officially call myself a UFC fighter,” Gore told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 213 post-fight press conference. “Against a tough 9-3 opponent, against a guy that sat down and watched film on me to beat me, but it feels good. It feels really good.”

He continued, “My ground game is solid. People don’t know about it because I just would prefer to knock people out on the feet sometimes. But it doesn’t mean I’m not a well-rounded fighter, and tonight I showed that I was well-rounded.”

Gore spent his training camp at Fortis MMA under the guidance of coach Sayif Saud, and plans on going there again for his next fight.

“I just want to improve,” Gore said. “I feel like I belong in the top. I feel like I’m elite in certain areas, but I just gotta improve. I gotta get better. I feel like Fortis is the place to do that.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 213.

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UFC Fight Night 213 post-event facts: Arnold Allen makes history with 10-0 octagon start

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 213, where Arnold Allen became just the sixth in history to go 10-0 in the octagon.

The UFC closed its October schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 213, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) kept his perfect octagon record intact when he picked up a second-round injury TKO win over [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in their featherweight bout.

For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 213.

UFC Fight Night 213 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2022 total passes $7 million

UFC Fight Night 213 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 213 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $166,500.

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 213 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 213 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jared Vanderaa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joseph Holmes[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Mota[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Joshua Weems[/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 2137 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2131 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: $7,095,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,273,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 213.

UFC Fight Night 213 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 213 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reported live from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 213 event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Calvin Kattar (23-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) took on Arnold Allen (17-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) at featherweight. In the co-feature, Max Griffin (19-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) met Tim Means (32-14-1 MMA, 14-11 UFC) at welterweight.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC Fight Night 213 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway ) on Twitter.

UFC Fight Night 213 video: Tresean Gore puts Josh Fremd to sleep with nasty guillotine choke

Tresean Gore notched his first octagon win in devastating fashion at UFC Fight Night 213.

[autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag] notched his first octagon win in devastating fashion at UFC Fight Night 213.

Gore (4-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) choked [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) out cold at the 0:49 mark of Round 2 in their middleweight bout at the UFC Apex. He used a guillotine choke to get the job done.

Check out the replay of his finish below (via Twitter):

As Fremd was working for a single-leg takedown, Gore latched onto his neck and put on a tight squeeze with a particularly violent-looking finish. With the win, the Season 29 “Ultimate Fighter” alum snapped a two-fight skid.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 213 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 213.

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UFC Fight Night 213 predictions: Who’s picking Calvin Kattar to stop Arnold Allen’s run?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 213 main card, which features Calvin Kattar vs. Arnold Allen in Las Vegas.

Kattar
vs.
Allen
Griffin
vs.
Means
Cortes-Acosta
vs.
Vanderaa
Fremd
vs.
Gore
Jacoby
vs.
Rountree
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
167-100
allen2022
Allen
(56%)
griffin2022
Griffin
(58%)
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
(81%)
fremd2022
Fremd
(66%)
jacoby2022
Jacoby
(66%)
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
179-93
trophy copy 2018 Champion
allen2022
Allen
griffin2022
Griffin
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
fremd2022
Fremd
rountree2022
Rountree
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
172-100
allen2022
Allen
means2022
Means
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
gore2022
Gore
rountree2022
Rountree
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
170-102
allen2022
Allen
griffin2022
Griffin
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
gore2022
Gore
rountree2022
Rountree
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
169-103
kattar2022
Kattar
griffin2022
Griffin
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
gore2022
Gore
jacoby2022
Jacoby
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
169-103
trophy copy 2014 Champion
allen2022
Allen
means2022
Means
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
fremd2022
Fremd
jacoby2022
Jacoby
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
166-106
allen2022
Allen
means2022
Means
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
fremd2022
Fremd
jacoby2022
Jacoby
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
165-107
allen2022
Allen
griffin2022
Griffin
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
fremd2022
Fremd
jacoby2022
Jacoby
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
159-113
trophy copy 2017 Champion
kattar2022
Kattar
griffin2022
Griffin
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
gore2022
Gore
jacoby2022
Jacoby
Nolan King
@mma_kings
159-113
kattar2022
Kattar
griffin2022
Griffin
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
fremd2022
Fremd
jacoby2022
Jacoby
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
152-120
kattar2022
Kattar
means2022
Means
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
gore2022
Gore
jacoby2022
Jacoby
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
133-138
kattar2022
Kattar
griffin2022
Griffin
cortes-acosta2022
Cortes-Acosta
fremd2022
Fremd
jacoby2022
Jacoby

The UFC is back in its Las Vegas home base this week with an intriguing featherweight matchup at the top of the bill.

UFC Fight Night 213 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (23-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) takes on [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) at 145 pounds. The fight is a virtual pick’em at Tipico Sportsbook. Allen is at -115; Kattar is at -110, and our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are split, too. They have Allen with the narrowest possible 6-5 picks lead.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag] (18-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC) meets [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] (32-13-1 MMA, 14-10 UFC) at welterweight. Griffin is a 2-1 betting favorite and has a 7-4 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is our only unanimous pick in his official UFC debut against [autotag]Jared Vanderaa[/autotag] (12-9 MMA, 1-5 UFC), who has dropped four straight. Although Cortes-Acosta only is a 2-1 favorite, he has an 11-0 picks shutout.

[autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag] (3-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout that has Fremd a -170 favorite at the betting window. Our pickers think it’s close, though, and have Fremd with just a slim 6-5 lead.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] (18-5-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) is nearly a 2-1 favorite at light heavyweight against [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC). Three of our pickers are going with Rountree in an upset.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Allen (56 percent), Griffin (58 percent), Cortes-Acosta (81 percent), Fremd (66 percent) and Jacoby (66 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 213.

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