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 or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 2-8.
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 Dec. 12-18.
Holly Holm and Yana Kunitskaya will battle to return to UFC title contender this spring.
Former champ [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] and [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] will battle to return to title contender this spring.
Holm (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) will meet Kunitskaya (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight matchup at UFC Fight Night on March 25. The event takes place at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, but broadcast plans have yet to be announced.
MMA Junkie verified the booking with multiple people close to the situation, who spoke on the condition on anonymity. MMA Fighting was first to report.
Holm, 41, is a former 135-pound titleholder. She’s competed just once since October 2020, losing a narrow split decision to Ketlen Vieira in her most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 206 in May.
Kunitskaya, 33, meanwhile, has been out of action since July 2021. The former Invicta FC titleholder took a hiatus from the sport to have a child with her husband, former UFC standard Thiago Santos. She lost to fellow contender Irene Aldana in her most recent contest.
[vertical-gallery id=394058]
UFC women’s bantamweight contender Yana Kunitskaya on Sunday announced that she is pregnant and doesn’t plan on fighting again until 2022.
UFC women’s bantamweight contender [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] on Sunday announced that she is pregnant and doesn’t plan on fighting again until 2022.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSnDCNFJ3Re/
Did I eat to much watermelon 😅?🤰🏻 We wanted to keep it as a secret a little longer but my body can’t lol I will be back in octagon 2022
P.s. @tmarretamma good job lol
Kunitskaya, 31, is engaged to UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago “Marreta” Santos, who commented on the post, as well.
Kunitskaya (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) currently sits at No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s bantamweight rankings. The former Invicta FC bantamweight champion fought most recently at July’s UFC 264, suffering a first-round TKO loss to the No. 5-ranked Irene Aldana, who did miss weight for the contest.
Prior to the setback, Kunitskaya had won four of her five previous appearances, including back-to-back wins over Ketlen Vieira and Julija Stoliarenko.
Kunitskaya debuted for the UFC in 2018 in a failed bid for the women’s featherweight title before making the move down to the bantamweight division.
[vertical-gallery id=527869]
Despite battering Kris Moutinho, it’s Sean O’Malley who’s potentially looking at six months out of action after UFC 264.
Despite battering [autotag]Kris Moutinho[/autotag] for three rounds, it’s [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] who could be looking at six months out of action.
O’Malley needs an X-ray on both hands and both feet after putting on a striking clinic against tough newcomer Moutinho on Saturday at UFC 264. Moutinho, on the other hand, is looking at a two-month suspension for the damage taken in the fight, with no contact for 45 days.
On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of the UFC 264 medical suspensions, which were issued by the Nevada Athletic Commission, from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commission’s official record keeper.
Also facing a 180-day term is [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], who broke his left tibia and fibula in a first-round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. McGregor faces a minimum six months out of action after undergoing surgery on Sunday.
Rounding off the six-month suspension list are [autotag]Ryan Hall[/autotag], who needs clearance for his fractured left hand that he says broke on the first punch landed in his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria; [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag], who fractured his nose in a decision loss to Brad Tavares; [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag], who needs his left orbital bone cleared by a doctor after suffering a first-round knockout to Tai Tuivasa; and [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag], who fractured her nose in a first-round TKO loss to Irene Aldana.
The full list of UFC 264 medical suspensions includes:
The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 264, which saw Dustin Poirier make history with his trilogy-fight win over Conor McGregor.
The biggest MMA event of the year so far went down Saturday when UFC 264 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The highly anticipated lightweight trilogy fight in the main event ended in unexpected fashion when [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 20-5 UFC) defeated [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) by first-round TKO after the former two-division champion suffered a broken tibia.
Regardless of how it happened, it’s a win for “The Diamond,” who further entrenched his legacy in the UFC record books.
For more on the numbers, check below for 50 pre-event facts coming out of UFC 264.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 264 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $218,000.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 264 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $218,000.
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 264 took place at the T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
The full UFC 264 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
* * * *
[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag]: $16,000
[autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Sean O’Malley [/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kris Moutinho[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Condit[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Niko Price[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ryan Hall[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Brad Tavares[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jerome Rivera[/autotag]: $4,500
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 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Year-to-date total: $2,332,500
Program-to-date total: $2,332,500
UFC women’s bantamweight contender Irene Aldana stops Yana Kunitskaya at Saturday’s UFC 264.
[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] is back on the win column.
The UFC women’s bantamweight contender scored a TKO win over [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] at Saturday’s UFC 264 event in Las Vegas. Aldana (13-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) stopped Kunitskaya (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at the 4:35 mark of Round 1.
The women’s bantamweight bout was part of the UFC 264 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
It was a dominant showing by Aldana.
Kunitskaya pressured the Mexican fighter right off the bat, trying to initiate the clinch and smother Aldana against the cage. Aldana did a good job at getting out of close quarters and keeping her space. In an exchange, Aldana connected with a short left hook, dropping Kunitskaya.
Dropped her and 𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗧 𝗢𝗡 😳 @IreneAldana_ #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/fl3n0ybqLC
— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2021
From there, Aldana jumped on a downed Kunitskaya and began to drop ground-and-pound. Kunitskaya did a good job at keeping Aldana off for a few seconds, but eventually, she caved in to the shots.
With this win, Aldana successfully bounced back from a decision loss to Holly Holm back in October. She’s 6-2 in her past eight trips to the octagon.
Back in the win column for @IreneAldana_ 🙌
[ #UFC264 | We're LIVE on E+ PPV: https://t.co/DZxtGSEqWu ] pic.twitter.com/pxYRMi6rPP
— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2021
Aldana did miss weight on Friday morning, coming in 3.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit. Aldana forfeited 30 percent of her purse to Kunitskaya, as a penalty for the weight miss.
Meanwhile, Kunitskaya saw a two-fight winning streak come to an end. She’s now 2-2 in her past four performances.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 264 results include:
[vertical-gallery id=631884]
[listicle id=630784]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01f5k5h8pz3brj4xqb image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC 264 main card with a trilogy rubber match between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.
| Poirier vs. McGregor |
Burns vs. Thompson |
Hardy vs. Tuivasa |
Aldana vs. Kunitskaya |
Moutinho vs. O’Malley |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 86-57 |
 Poirier (58%) |
 Thompson (73%) |
 Tuivasa (67%) |
 Kunitskaya (58%) |
 O’Malley (88%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 97-60  2018 Champion |
Poirier |
 Burns |
 Hardy |
 Aldana |
O’Malley |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 94-63 |
Poirier |
Burns |
Hardy |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 94-63 |
Poirier |
Burns |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 93-64 2014 Champion |
Poirier |
Thompson |
Tuivasa |
Kunitskaya |
O’Malley |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 92-65 2020 Champion |
Poirier |
Thompson |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 92-65 |
 McGregor |
Thompson |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 91-66 |
Poirier |
Thompson |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 91-66 |
Poirier |
Thompson |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 91-66 2017 Champion |
McGregor |
Burns |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 91-66 |
McGregor |
Burns |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 90-67 |
McGregor |
Thompson |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 88-69 |
McGregor |
Thompson |
Tuivasa |
Aldana |
O’Malley |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 22-19 |
Poirier |
Burns |
Tuivasa |
Kunitskaya |
O’Malley |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Poirier -125 |
Thompson -160 |
Tuivasa -145 |
Aldana -120 |
O’Malley -900 |
The UFC is back after a week off with a blockbuster trilogy rubber match in front of fans in Las Vegas.
UFC 264 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
[lawrence-related id=629531,629533,628257]
In the lightweight main event, [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) takes on former lightweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in a trilogy rubber match. Each fighter has a win over the other by knockout. Poirier is a slight -125 betting favorite at BetMGM, and he’s got the lead in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers at 8-5.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) meets [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag] (16-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) at welterweight. Thompson is a -160 favorite, but he has just the smallest possible edge in the picks at 7-6.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a heavyweight bout. Tuivasa is a -145 favorite and has a whopping 11-2 lead in the picks from our staff members.
[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] (12-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) meets [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight bout. Aldana has a slim -120 edge at the betting window, but she’s got a hefty 11-2 lead in the picks. Oddly enough, our readers are siding with Kunitskaya at a 58 percent clip.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is our only unanimous pick in his bantamweight bout against short-notice replacement opponent [autotag]Kris Moutinho[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who is making his UFC debut. O’Malley is the biggest favorite on the entire card at 9-1 and has a 13-0 shutout in the picks from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Poirier (58 percent), Thompson (73 percent), Tuivasa (67 percent), Kunitskaya (58 percent) and O’Malley (88 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
[listicle id=628276]
[listicle id=626179]
[listicle id=559354]
[listicle id=626134]
[vertical-gallery id=427270]
[vertical-gallery id=390041]
[pickup_prop id=”8796″]
Following a relatively slow holiday weekend in the sport, UFC 264 is set to make a major impact on the sport’s landscape.
Following a relatively slow holiday weekend in the sport, UFC 264 is set to make a major impact on the sport’s landscape.
The night’s featured attraction takes place at 155 pounds, with former UFC lightweight interim titleholder [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) taking on former two-division champ [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in a key trilogy fight. Poirier enters the contest ranked No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, while McGregor is just behind at No. 4.
Both reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, as well as top contender justin Gaethje, will certainly be interested in the result of that contest, as well as how the top of the 155-pound ranks will shuffle given the result. But that’s certainly not the only meaningful fight at UFC 264.
In the night’s co-feature, a pair of former UFC welterweight title challengers collide with [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) vs. [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag] (16-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC). Burns currently sits at No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, with Thompson just behind at No. 4.
It seems Colby Covington has the inside track at current UFC champ Kamaru Usman, but the winner of the Burns vs. Thompson matchup will be in an enviable position in the division.
[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] (12-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) vs. [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will also have a real impact in the women’s bantamweight division, as well, so expect quite a bit of resolution from this weekend’s big event, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ahead of that massive card, check out the full rankings across every division using the drop-down menu above.
