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The gruesome, heartbreaking ordeal of Aniah Blanchard, stepdaughter of former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Walt Harris, is about to come to a close.

Earlier in March, the trial of Ibraheem Yazeed, the man suspected of killing Blanchard in 2019, began. On Thursday afternoon, the jury came back with two verdicts of guilty for the charges of murder and felony murder—that is, the unlawful killing of a person during the commission of a felony like kidnapping or robbery. Both Class A felonies come with sentences no less than 10 years imprisonment with a maximum of life in prison. The verdict of capital murder, which would have made Yazeed eligible for the death penalty in Alabama, was not guilty.

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The sentencing hearing will take place on May 7—Yazeed has six weeks to appeal the verdict—and the prosecutors are seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole. Per local outlet WSFA, Yazeed elected not to testify during the trial, and his …

The first pair of bouts booked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Azerbaijan share a common theme.

Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight broke the news on Thursday about the first two matches set for UFC Baku, which will be held at the Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan’s capital city on June 27. Both fights will be held at 185 pounds, featuring one Brazilian against a Russian adversary. The first will see Michel Pereira (32-14, 2 NC) take on Sharabutdin Magomedov (16-1) in a collision that may have rankings implications at 185 pounds. Pereira confirmed this fight by sharing an AI-generated video of him in pirate captain garb forcing Magomedov to walk the proverbial plank.

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“Demolidor” put a three-fight skid behind him by claiming a split decision in a bloody thriller with Zachary Reese at UFC Houston in February. Before getting his hand raised, the high-flying Brazilian had succumbed to strikes from Anthony Hernandez and Kyle Daukaus that bookend …

At the tender age of 42, “Stitch ‘em Up” Joe Schilling is going to test himself in the confines of the Professional Fighters League in May.

A Middleweight World Title Fight headlines PFL Madrid: Tune in LIVE, Friday, March 20 at 12 p.m. ET.

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After over six years away from the sport of MMA, former Glory kickboxing standout Schilling (4-6) will be coming back to compete in a cage again. The PFL released the news of his next fight on Thursday, which will take place at PFL Brussels on May 23. There, he will square off inside of the ING Arena with fellow former kickboxer Donegi Abena, who will be making his professional debut.

The one-time welterweight will be taking this match in Brussels, Belgium, at 205 pounds, in what will be his first MMA bout since October 2019. At Bellator 229, Schilling saw his lone career win streak come to a crashing halt when Tony Johnson put him away with one punch. This also spelled the end to his time with Bellator MMA, a…