Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2022.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from March 2022: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for March.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
UFC on ESPN 33 was one of the rare events in the modern climate where disclosed fighter salaries have trickled into the public.
UFC on ESPN 33 was one of the rare events in the modern climate where fighter salaries have trickled into the public.
Curtis Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC), who defeated Chris Daukaus (13-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) by second-round TKO in the main event of the card this past Saturday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, was the highest paid athlete on the card, netting $262,000 in disclosed earnings from the event.
The total salaries from the 12-bout card was $1,434,000, with just four names cracking the six-figure mark with their payouts.
MMAFighting.com received salary information from the Ohio State Athletic Commission on Tuesday.
Check out the full fight purses for UFC on ESPN 33.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel discusses the hottest topics in the world of MMA on this week’s show.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week, our panel Mike Bohn, Matthew Wells, and Danny Segura discuss these five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia:
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.
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Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,246, the fellas discussed the mayhem at the Oscars, results from UFC on ESPN 33 and ONE X. They also discuss Khabib Nurmagomedov wanting Colby Covington blacklisted from MMA, and more. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Bryan Barberena is no longer under UFC contract following his Fight of the Night win over Matt Brown at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 33.
[autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag]’s fighting career has hit a crossroad.
The long-time UFC welterweight revealed he fought out his contract with the company following his most recent win. Barberena (17-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) defeated fellow veteran Matt Brown in a wild split-decision battle on the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 33. The bout won Fight of the Night awards.
Although the 32-year-old is unsure if he’ll get re-signed by the UFC, he’s certain he’s not going to fight elsewhere.
“This is the last fight on my contract,” Barberena told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 33 post-fight press conference. “I haven’t been open about that, but this was the last fight on my contract. The UFC didn’t say anything about re-negotiating. I tried asking about it. Dana White, let’s talk. I’d love to keep fighting, I’d love to keep putting on shows.
“I don’t want to fight anywhere else. If this is it and they don’t want me no more, that’s OK. I’ll hang them up here. I should’ve left the gloves in the cage if that’s the case. But if not, I’d love to keep putting on shows.”
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Barberena is now on a two-fight winning streak and 3-1 in his past four fights. He’s won two $50,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night during that four-fight stretch. Barberena’s good form could be enticing for other promotions looking for talent if the UFC were to chose not to re-sign him. Yet, Barberena has no interest in fighting anywhere else – it’s UFC or bust.
“Yeah, absolutely – I’d be done,” Barberena said. “Me and my wife talk about this a lot. The UFC is where I want to be, that was the goal all the time. I’m excited, I love being here. They treat me well and I love being in front of these fans. It’s the biggest organization out there. It’s the best organization out there as far as I’m concerned. If they don’t want me to come out and put on shows anymore, I’d go hang them up and spend my day at the farm with the family and building that.”
Barberena feels there’s plenty of fight left in him and he believes there are many fan-friendly matchups in the UFC left for him. He hopes to stay with the UFC and deliver them to the fans.
“These are the kind of matchups I want. They excite me and they excite Matt Brown and everyone. … I honestly would love to fight Robbie Lawler. I think that would be an awesome matchup. He’s one of those guys who brings it and I’m a fan of him. That would be an awesome matchup. There’s tons of other matchups out there of guys who come to throw down and bring it.”
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Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 33, which saw Neil Magny tie Georges St-Pierre’s long-held wins records.
The UFC returned in front of crowds for non-PPV events in the U.S. on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 33 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The 12-fight card was capped off by a sensational showing from [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who used his hands and no wrestling to crush [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) into a second-round TKO and remind everyone that he’s still a young and evolving player in the heavyweight division.
Blaydes set some personal records in the win, but there were other bits of UFC history across the card, as well. For more on the numbers, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 33.
Could a title shot be next? Alexa Grasso doesn’t know – but it would be a dream come true, if yes.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It’s been a minute since [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] secured a finish, but she did so against a high-level opponent at UFC on ESPN 33.
In the co-main event, Grasso (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) tapped perennial contender Joanne Wood (15-8 MMA, 7-8 UFC) at the 3:57 mark of Round 1. The victory was her first finish in the UFC – and her first overall since 2014.
“It feels amazing,” Grasso told MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “Finally, three wins (in a row) in the UFC and my first finish – my first submission on my record. … Of course, as a fighter you always want to finish a fight. It took a long time, as you said, but now I feel great. As I’m getting older, too, I feel more mature – my mind, my body, and my fight game.”
The win came on the ground, a place Wood had been finished prior to Saturday. Grasso felt the chance she’d get a finish there was high. It was always part of her plans to take the fight there.
“This is a place that we wanted to explore, also because, as I say, my last fights, I’ve been trying,” Grasso said. “I wanted to show my skills on the ground. I wanted to show I’m also still learning. I’m not just a striker. I want to show everyone I’m also a finisher on the ground. My jiu-jitsu is evolving.”
As for what’s next, Grasso hopes a title shot is next. That’s three wins in a row for her in a division that sequential success is hard to come by.
“I hope so, because I see girls in my division usually have four wins in a row,” she said. “Let’s do this. I’ll be ready for whatever the UFC brings to me because I work so hard. … (A title shot) will be a dream come true. Since I’m not injured right now, I’ll come back to the gym, just to be ready.”
UFC on ESPN 33 took place Saturday at Nationwide Arena. Check out Alexa Grasso’s full post-fight news conference in the video above.
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Check out who earned a $50,000 bonus for their performance at UFC on ESPN 33 in Columbus, Ohio.
The UFC took the show on the road to Columbus, Ohio on Saturday for the first non-pay-per-view event since the global pandemic.
The promotion brought 12 fights to UFC on ESPN 33, headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus. The main event produced a spectacular finish, but it was far from the only fight that met expectations.
Hometown welterweight Matt Brown met Bryan Barberena on the main card in what promised to be an intense battle. Somehow, the fight exceeded the expectations as the two engaged in an intense 15-minute brawl that left everyone in the arena standing and cheering. Although the split decision result didn’t go the way of Brown, he and Barberena both take home $50,000 for Fight of the Night, as a part of four total bonuses handed out by the promotion.
Check out who else took home a bonus for their performances below.
Deiveson Figueiredo wants to forego a fourth fight with Brandon Moreno in favor of a title bout with Kai Kara-France next.
It appears [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] wants to forego a fourth fight with [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] in favor of a title bout with Kai Kara-France next.
Kara-France (24-9 MMA, 7-2 UFC) earned a split decision upset of Askar Askarov’s (13-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 33 clash at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. He’s now on a three-fight winning streak and said afterward that he thinks he deserves the next championship fight in the flyweight division.
“This is the situation I wanted to be in coming off a three-fight win streak, two finishes in the first round and now beating the No. 2 guy in the world,” Kara-France told MMA Junkie at the UFC on ESPN 33 post-fight news conference. “It’s a conversation me, Mick (Maynard) and Dana (White) have to have.”
The UFC is rumored to be targeting a fourth consecutive championship bout between Figueiredo (21-2-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) and Moreno (19-5-2 MMA, 7-2-2 UFC), but after Kara-France’s win, it appears the current titleholder wants something else. Figueiredo took to social media and made it clear he wants Kara-France next (via Twitter):
Congratulations you dirty kiwi @kaikarafrance you just punched your ticket with the God of War. @theassassinbaby you just took the back seat. You are 0- 2 against @Pantojamma if you could beat him I’ll give you the next title shot. 🇧🇷 Vs🇦🇺 let’s make it happen @danawhite pic.twitter.com/mysuGl9Wsa
— Deiveson (@Daico_Deiveson) March 27, 2022
Congratulations you dirty kiwi @kaikarafrance you just punched your ticket with the God of War. @theassassinbaby you just took the back seat. You are 0- 2 against @Pantojamma if you could beat him I’ll give you the next title shot. 🇧🇷 Vs🇦🇺 let’s make it happen @danawhite
It remains to be seen if the champion’s request alters the UFC’s plans. For now, though, Kara-France will revel in the glory of ending Askarov’s winning streak in a fight very few were picking him to win.
“Everyone was counting me out and calling me the underdog,” Kara-France said. “I’ve had a lot of years in this sport and now you’re starting to see that confidence, and now it’s my time.”
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See the top Twitter reactions to Curtis Blaydes’ crushing TKO win over Chris Daukaus in the UFC on ESPN 33 main event.
[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] is back on a winning streak after defeated [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag] on Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 33 main event.
Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 10-4 UFC) kept his spot as one of the top-ranked heavyweight contenders when he earned a second-round TKO victory over Daukaus (12-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in their headlining bout, which took place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Blaydes’ victory over Daukaus at UFC on ESPN 33.
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