Fight booking wire (March 8-14): A familiar name returns to the Bellator cage

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 you covered.

Each week, we’ll compile all the new fight bookings right here – in one spot. Worried you missed a UFC or Bellator matchup, a playoff pairing for the PFL, or a title fight scheduled for ONE or LFA?

Our fight booking wire will keep tabs on it all and will update any time we’ve got new matchups — so you’ll want to come back throughout the week to see the latest.

Here are fight announcements that have been broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie for this week, March 8-14:

Bellator 257: Veta Arteaga vs. Desiree Yanez

At Bellator 257 on April 16, [autotag]Veta Arteaga[/autotag] (5-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Desiree Yanez[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will try this again. The two fighters were scheduled to fight at Bellator 250 in October, but the fight was scrapped hours before the event when Arteaga tested positive for COVID-19.

– First reported by Nolan King, March 8 at 2:45 p.m. ET

UFC 262: Jamie Pickett vs. Jordan Wright

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 22: (L-R) Jordan Wright knees Ike Villanueva in their light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 22, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

At UFC 262 on May 15, [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), two Dana White's Contender Series alumni, will meet inside the cage. Wright is coming off a loss to Joaquin Buckley while Pickett enters the fight having been defeated in his UFC debut against Tafon Nchukwi in December. – First reported by Nolan King and John Morgan, March 8 at 5:10 p.m. ET

UFC 260: Jared Gooden vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov

Cousin of Khabib, [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (15-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to action for the first time since November 2019. He'll take on fellow UFC sophomore [autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag] in a middleweight fight at UFC 260 on March 27. - Fight made official by UFC officials, March 8 at 9:05 p.m. ET

Bellator 255: Chris Gonzalez vs. Roger Huerta

Roger Huerta

A seasoned MMA veteran, [autotag]Roger Huerta[/autotag] (24-12-1 MMA, 1-5 BMMA) hasn't competed since November 2019 when he lost a unanimous decision to Sidney Outlaw. Conversely, Team Alpha Male's [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) has yet to lose in his professional MMA career. - Confirmed by Nolan King, March 8 at 8:46 p.m. ET (first reported by MMA Mania)

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