Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out what the UFC Fight Night 230 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 230 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 230 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 230 odds between Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo, with MMA picks and predictions.
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In a 3-round women’s flyweight bout on the main card, Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araujo meet Saturday at UFC Fight Night 230 — also known as UFC Vegas 81 — at UFC Apex. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s around the UFC Fight Night 230: Maia vs. Araujo odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.
The prelims can be viewed on ESPN+ starting at 4 p.m. ET with the main card following on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.
Records: Maia (21-9-1) | Araujo (11-5-0)
Maia takes the walk with a pair of unanimous-decision victories in her previous 2 outings. That includes a win over Casey O’Neill last time out at UFC 286. In fact, the Team Chute Boxe fighter has ended up going the distance in 6 consecutive fights, winning 3 and losing 3, including a unanimous-decision setback to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 255 for the women’s flyweight strap.
Araujo has lost the past 2 fights against Alexa Grasso and Amanda Ribas, although those are 2 of the better fighters in the division, so not a lot of shame in that. Since arriving at the UFC with a KO/TKO over Talita Bernardo at UFC 237, Araujo has had 8 consecutive unanimous-decision fights, with 4 wins and 4 losses dating back to July 27, 2019.
Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:11 a.m. ET.
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MAIA (-158) is a decent play as a moderate favorite on the 2-way line. She has been far more consistent, and has fought against a better class of fighters, too.
There is concern, as Maia gives up 4 inches in reach to Araujo (+134), but her experience and stamina is a huge plus. We should see a bout that is upright, with the fighters exchanging blows, trying to wow the judges. I also like MAIA BY POINTS (-110) for a little bit better of a value.
Over 2.5 Rounds (-450) and Yes: Will the fight go the distance? (-380) are both way overpriced. There is just no value laying that kind of money for such a small reward.
AVOID, and focus on the 2-way line and/or the method of victory instead.
Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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Viviane Araujo is no different than most fighters who keep an eye on the champions in their divisions.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] is no different than most fighters who keep an eye on the champions in their divisions.
In Araujo’s case at women’s flyweight, that’s Alexa Grasso, who happens to be Araujo spent 25 minutes with. And it was that unanimous decision win over her that got Grasso a title shot, which led to an upset of Valentina Shevchenko – and another upset in their rematch.
Given Araujo (11-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has lost back-to-back fights heading into her UFC Fight Night 230 co-main event against Jennifer Maia (21-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC), she’s not likely to get another crack at Grasso with just one win. Still, she’ll plan as if that will be the case.
“It was details that lost the fight (for me) over those five rounds, and since then she’s been evolving a lot,” Araujo said through a translator at Wednesday’s media day for UFC Fight Night 230. “That’s why she’s grown so much in the organization. I’m always trying to evolve and paying attention, studying my possible opponents. I’ll be ready for whatever comes my way.”
To that end, Araujo also said she’s been working with a sports psychologist to improve the mental side of her game.
Check out her full UFC Fight Night 230 media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
Jennifer Maia expects to have the advantage over Viviane Araujo.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] expects to have the advantage over [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag].
Maia (21-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) takes on Araujo (11-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) in a flyweight bout in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 230 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
“I’m happy with this fight,” Maia told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “She is a hard opponent, but I think I’m better.”
If Maia can make it three straight wins vs. Araujo, that would mark her longest winning streak in the UFC. The former title challenger hopes she can return to fighting the upper echelon of the division.
“I’m excited for this fight because if I win, I want to fight against the top five,” Maia said.
Maia gave former champion Valentina Shevchenko a tough outing when she challenged her for the title in November 2020. She looks forward to competing for the title again in the near future.
“I’m prepared to fight with the champion soon,” Maia said.
Watch Maia’s full pre-fight interview in the video above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
Before UFC Fight Night 230 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes fighters speak to reporters at media day.
LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 230, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.
Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.
If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 230.
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 Aug. 7-13.
Viviane Araujo will have a change in opponent and venue after Casey O’Neill withdrew from UFC 293.
[autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] will have a change in opponent and venue after [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] withdrew from UFC 293.
Araujo (11-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) was scheduled to meet O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on Sept. 9 in Sydney, but the bout was scrapped after O’Neill was forced out due to an injury. Araujo now meets [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] (21-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on Oct. 14 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people of knowledge of the situation told MMA Junkie of change on Tuesday after an initial report by Sherdog.
O’Neill released a statement saying she’s already underdone surgery for the injury, but did not reveal exactly what happened (via Twitter):
Hurts to say this but unfortunately I am out of my fight in Sydney. Just had surgery on Friday and have already started recovering, looking to get rebooked in December ! Next year I’ll make sure I’m on an Australia card 🇦🇺 ❤️
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) August 8, 2023
Hurts to say this but unfortunately I am out of my fight in Sydney. Just had surgery on Friday and have already started recovering, looking to get rebooked in December ! Next year I’ll make sure I’m on an Australia card 🇦🇺 ❤️
Araujo will look to rebound after coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in her career. The 36-year-old dropped two straight unanimous decisions to current flyweight champion Alexa Grasso, and most recently Amanda Ribas at UFC 285.
Maia has split her past four octagon appearances. She is coming off two straight wins over Maryna Moroz and O’Neill, where she handed the Aussie fighter her first-career loss at UFC 286 in March.
The latest lineup for UFC Fight Night on Oct. 14 now includes:
Casey O’Neill will look to rebound on home soil when the UFC returns to Australia.
[autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] will look to rebound on home soil.
O’Neill takes on [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Friday after an initial report by MMA Fighting.
O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffered her first professional loss to former title challenger Jennifer Maia at UFC 286 in March. The Maia fight marked the Scotland-born Australian’s first competition since recovering from ACL surgery.
After winning five of her first seven octagon bouts – including wins over Montana De La Rosa and Andrea Lee – Araujo (11-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has lost two straight for the first time in her career. The 36-year-old dropped back-to-back unanimous decisions to current flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and most recently Amanda Ribas at UFC 285.
O’Neill vs. Araujo is the first addition to the UFC’s return to Australia.
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa are also expected to compete on the card.
The numbers show Jon Jones stands in rarified air after making it 15-0 in title fights when he claimed heavyweight gold at UFC 285.
The biggest UFC event of 2023 thus far delivered in spades Saturday with UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 14-fight lineup featured eight finishes and two new champions crowned.
In the main event, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) returned from a 37-month layoff and joined an exclusive club of two-division titleholders. The former longtime light heavyweight champion captured heavyweight gold with a first-round submission of [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC).
The co-headliner saw [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) pull off one of the biggest title-fight upsets in recent memory when she dethroned [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) with a fourth-round submission to capture the women’s flyweight title.
For more on the numbers coming out of both championship contests, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 285.
Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane both received an equal $32,000 in UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for their UFC 285 title fight.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 285 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $282,500.
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 285 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
The full UFC 285 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: $32,000
[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]: $42,000
[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Trevin Jones[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $6,000
def.[autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mana Martinez[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/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: $1,440,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $15,959,000
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
