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. 26-March 3.
UFC lightweights Viacheslav Borshchev and Chase Hooper will battle – but not at the UFC Apex.
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] has been added to the UFC docket.
The three-round lightweight showdown is expected to take place at a UFC Fight Night event on May 11. The frontrunner location for the event is St. Louis.
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.
Hooper (13-3-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) went undefeated in 2023 at 2-0 with a unanimous decision win over Nick Fiore and a first-round submission of Jordan Leavitt.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for May 11 includes:
[lawrence-related id=2697888,2644219]
Nazim Sadykhov and Viacheslav Borshchev turned in an instant classic Nov. 11 in New York, but don’t expect them to run it back any time soon.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Nazim Sadykhov[/autotag] and [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] turned in an instant classic Nov. 11 at UFC 295 in New York, but don’t expect them to run it back any time soon.
The two fighters engaged in a back-and-forth brawl that ended in a draw – and a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. However, both fighters seem to want fresh matchups, at least in the immediate.
“I don’t have an exclusive thing where I have to get this one back,” Sadykhov recently told MMA Junkie on the red carpet before the 15th Annual World MMA Awards at Sahara Theater. “He’s that good that he’s probably going to be in the top 10. And inshallah, I’m going to be in the top 10 as well. Maybe down the road (we’ll fight again), but right now I just want to keep fighting, keep going, and see where my road takes me.
“I’m not dying for a rematch. … Not right now. But both of those fights, including this one right here with ‘Slava Claus’, it’s possible in the future. But right now, we just keep moving forward and take other fights.”
[lawrence-related id=2705101,2705558]
Sadykhov isn’t salty about the draw. Why? Because he went back and watched, and thought the judges got it right. There’s room for improvement for sure. Sadykhov is optimistic necessary changes will be made ahead of his next fight.
“I got a couple of bumps and bruises from the fight, but I’m just so happy the MMA world reacted the way that they did. I’m happy that the fans enjoyed the fight and that’s it. That’s what I’m here for: the big fights, the good fights, the exciting fights, the Fight of the Month, the Fight of the Year, the Fight of the Night. That’s what Nazim Sadykhov is here for.
“… We’re already working on (my next fight). As long as I’m healthy, I’m going to be fighting. As long as I’m fighting, there’s going to be excitement. I’m looking for a March-April return. Perhaps UFC 300. Perhaps a Fight Night or something in March. But we’re targeting March and April right now.”
Viacheslav Borshchev won’t complain about the result of his UFC 295 Fight of the Night with Nazim Sadykhov after he was nearly finished.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag] won’t complain about the result of his UFC 295 Fight of the Night with Nazim Sadykhov.
Borshchev (7-3-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) and Sadykhov (9-1-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC) put on a lightweight triller at Madison Square Garden in New York that ended in a majority draw. Both men took some hard knocks in the fight, and in the end, the judges could not decide a winner.
The majority of the damage taken was on Borshchev’s side. He was badly hurt and nearly stopped with strikes in the second round, but managed to survive and come back and claim the final frame to conclude MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for November.
[lawrence-related id=2699610,2694886]
“I felt great after the fight was over,” Borshchev told MMA Junkie. “I felt like I was winning and would’ve had the scores, but I was almost killed in the second round. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to being finished. That’s why I was happy with the draw.”
Despite the lack of a winner in the fight, Borshchev admits he’s not keen to find resolution with Sadykhov. He would be open to a rematch down the line, but thinks plenty of other opponents at 155 pounds make sense, too.
“There’s no reason for this (rematch). We’re here because we want to make money. There’s no way I’m going to fight this monster again. You’d have to pay really well to fight this guy. It has to be something like a title fight or a main event. There’s no reason (for a rematch). We both have to get higher.”
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Nineteen indefinite suspensions were handed out after UFC 295, per the New York State Athletic Commission.
UFC 295 took place Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York and featured 13 fights.
On Monday, MMA Junkie acquired a list of athlete medical suspensions from the New York State Athletic Commission, the sanctioning body that oversaw the event. Most injury specifics were not disclosed.
Nineteen of the 26 combatants were given indefinite suspensions and will need to be cleared by a doctor before they return. That’s a high number of indefinite suspensions compared to the average UFC event, although the NYSAC may have different safety protocols compared to other regulatory bodies. All 26 fighters were also given mandatory suspensions, which vary from seven days to 90 days.
Check out the full list of medical suspensions from UFC 295 below.
The best facts from UFC 295, which saw Alex Pereira join the two-division title club in less fights than the eight names before him.
The UFC’s penultimate numbered event of the year, UFC 295 from Madison Square Garden in New York, proved to be arguably the best of the bunch.
Two new champions were crowned to close out a lineup that saw eight stoppages in 13 fights. In the main event, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) picked up the vacant light heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] (29-4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), while [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) claimed the interim heavyweight strap in the co-main event with a 69-second knockout of [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 295.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 295 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $272,500.
NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 295 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $272,500.
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 295 took place at Madison Square Garden. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 295 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Matt Frevola[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Pat Sabatini[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mateusz Rebecki[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Roosevelt Roberts[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Nazim Sadykhov[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Jamall Emmers[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Dennis Buzukja[/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 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $7,305,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $21,824,500
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
Check out the best photos from Viacheslav Borshchev’s majority draw with Nazim Sadykhov at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]’s majority draw with [autotag]Nazim Sadykhov[/autotag] at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photos by Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY Sports)
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 Sept. 25-Oct. 1.
