Martial Arts News

The bantamweight clash between Miesha Tate and Ketlen Vieira that was originally slated for UFC Fight Night 195 on Oct. 16 has been postponed.

Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the situation that Tate caught COVID-19, which has resulted in the bout being pushed back to November. It is currently unclear at which event Tate vs. Vieira will take place.

Tate ended a five-year retirement at UFC on ESPN 26, where she returned with a third-round TKO triumph over Marion Reneau on July 17. “Cupcake” is a former UFC and Strikeforce bantamweight queen with notable wins over the likes of Holm, Sara McMann, Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Julie Kedzie and Marloes Coenen, to name a few.

After beginning her promotional tenure with four consecutive victories, Vieira has lost two of her last three UFC appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old Brazilian was outpointed by Yana Kunitskaya at UFC Fight Night 185 on Feb. 20.

Recent Dana White’s Contender Series winner Kleydson Rodrigues will make his Octagon debut against Zarrukh Adashev at a UFC event on Jan. 15.

Sherdog.com learned of the booking from a source close to the situation. The card does not yet have a location or headliner.

A former Jungle Fight flyweight champion, Rodrigues earned a UFC contract on the basis of a lopsided unanimous verdict over Santo Curatolo on Sept. 21. The 25-year-old Brazilian is 7-1 over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2015.

Adashev, meanwhile, halted a two-bout skid with a three-round verdict over Ryan Benoit at UFC on ESPN 28. The Lion Martial Arts Gym representative went 3-0 in Bellator before signing with the Las Vegas-based promotion, where he would fall to Tyson Nam and Su Mudaerji in his first two appearances.

The UFC 266 card has undergone a couple of changes.

A proposed flyweight clash pitting Manon Fiorot against Mayra Bueno Silva has been canceled after Fiorot and her team tested positive for COVID-19. ESPN Deportes was first to report the news. According to MMAjunkie.com, Fiorot vs. Bueno Silva is expected to be rebooked for the UFC’s Oct. 16 event.

Meanwhile, Karl Roberson announced his withdrawal from a middleweight bout against Nick Maximov due to “medical issues.” As a result, Cody Brundage will step in and face Maximov at UFC 266. MMA DNA first brought word of the new pairing. In a video posted on Instagram, Roberson attributed his exit from the card to a difficult weight cut.

“These weight cuts really don’t agree with me any more,” Roberson said. “I’m pretty sure I f—ed my body up from cutting weight wrong early in my career. So for a y’all f—-ers who think this s—t won’t catch up with you, pay attention, because it will.”

Last year, Roberson pulle…

Yoel Romero’s Bellator MMA debut didn’t go as planned, but the former UFC title challenger was nonetheless the highest-paid fighter on Saturday’s card.

Romero earned a disclosed $150,000 salary for his split-decision loss to Phil Davis in the Bellator 266 headliner at the SAP Center in San Jose. Davis, meanwhile, took home $100,000 for his victory in the light heavyweight bout. The California State Athletic Commission recently released salary figures from the event.

Neiman Gracie was the only other six-figure earner from the card, as he garnered $100,000 for a first-round technical knockout of Mark Lemminger ($40,000) in a featured welterweight affair.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded to a fighter by the promotion. Additionally, the reported figures do not reflect any deductions made by the commission for taxes, insurance, etc., and do not include …

Three fighters who have recently competed under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner received fines and suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday.

Heavyweight Chris Barnett was suspended four-and-a-half months and fined $1,036.80 after testing positive for marijuana in relation to a submission loss to Ben Rothwell in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22. Although the NSAC voted in July to no longer sanction fighters who test positive for marijuana, that measure does not exclude fighters like Barnett who faced punishment before the ruling.

Barnett’s suspension is retroactive to the date of his bout and will end on Oct. 6.

Meanwhile, Brazilian heavyweight Rodrigo Nascimento received a six-month sanction and a $1,945.36 fine after testing positive for ritalinic acid, a metabolite of the banned stimulant methylphenidate, in relation to a July 17 bout against Baudot.

Nascimento defeated Baudot via second-round TKO at…

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Last week in an interview with Brazilian outlet Portal do Vale Tudo , former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva advised Paul Costa, his former pupil on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3,” to potentially seek out a new camp.

"I sent him a direct message on Instagram asking him to train with a big team. I really believe that, with the level the sport has reached today, it is really important for a top contender to have a hard time at the gym everyday with different sparring partners,” Silva said. “’Borrachinha’ was my second choice on ‘TUF: Brazil 3’ against [Chael] Sonnen. I know this guy is special. He has a champion’s heart. Imagine a guy with his potential training at Kings MMA, Evolução Thai or CM System.”

After listening to the advice of his idol in the PVT interview, Costa responded with a comment in the timeline of the video.

"Wanderlei is a Brazilian and world legend. I had the privilege of living with …

Veteran official Herb Dean will be the third man in the cage for the UFC 266 headliner on Saturday night.

Dean was selected the oversee the featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega during a Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Michael Bell, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo will serve as judges for the fight.

Keith Peterson will officiate the co-main event, a women’s flyweight championship clash between Valentina Shevchenko and Lauren Murphy, while Dave Hagen, Eric Colon and Chris Lee will score the fight from cageside.

Both Dean and Peterson will earn $2,500 on Saturday night, while all six judges will receive $2,000 apiece for their work.

UFC 266 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Prelims begin on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and continue on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

This Thursday, @GeorgesStPierre is set to take his rightful place amongst the legends in the UFC Hall of Fame.

[ #UFCHOF | Hall of Fame Presented by @ToyoTires | Thursday 7:30pmPT | Live on @UFCFightPass | https://t.co/Omnn5v2rYm ] pic.twitter.com/0Gmpx1qddI

— UFC (@ufc) September 21, 2021 A memorable UFC Hall of Fame class will be enshrined during a ceremony at Park Theater in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

The event, which is hosted by UFC commentator Jon Anik, will stream live on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT. Hall of Fame inductees include former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St. Pierre, UFC Senior Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman and the 2013 light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.

St. Pierre is part of the “Modern Wing” of the UFC Hall of Fame; Ratner will enter the “Con…

Oh no Conor

(via @PitchingNinja)pic.twitter.com/VrHefKzBNV

— br_betting (@br_betting) September 21, 2021 Conor McGregor definitely doesn’t have a future as a pitcher if he seeks an early retirement from combat sports.

The former UFC two-division champion was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Chicago Cubs game against the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field on Monday night. The result was disastrous, to say the least.

Decked out in a suit, McGregor launched the pitch well over the head of Cubs player Patrick Wisdom. The ball hit the backstop just a few inches from a couple of fans seated in the first row.

Some might recall that McGregor wasn’t much better at throwing a football, as he launched an awkward toss while attending a Dallas Cowboys game in 2018:

Conor McGregor tried to throw a football at the Dallas Cowboys game. #ufc #mma #ConorMcgregor pic.twitter.com/6QyD9zB75d

— The…

A.J. Dobson let his actions speak, and they spoke loudly.

The Strong Style Fight Team standout was one of four competitors to land Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts on Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted Hashem Arkhagha with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight feature on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Arkhagha (6-1) conceded defeat 4:21 into Round 1.

Dobson (6-0)—who was cornered by UFC hall of famer Mark Coleman—trusted his hands against the Jordanian, engaged him in a firefight and dropped him with a volley of power punches. After a prolonged ground exchange that had Arkhagha on the brink of being stopped, the two men were back on their feet. Dobson fired away with power punches, moved into a dominant position on the turtled K Dojo Warrior Tribe product and applied his ground-and-pound before snaking his arms in place for the fight-ending choke.

In addition to Dobson, UFC President Dana White awarded contr…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live DWCS 2021 Week 4 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 The lightweights touch glvoes and we’re underway, with Martinez looking to apply pressure. Martinez lands a left hook, prompting Rosales to shoot for a lw single leg, but Martinez defends nicely. Rosales looks to attack the lead leg of his opponent, but Martinez appears to be quicker to the punch in the early going. Rosales grabs a leg and this time gets Martinez to the canvas. Rosales works his way to the back as Martinez attempts to stand up. Rosales maintains a waist lock, and Martinez is warned by Mike Beltran for grabbing the fence as Rosales attempts to drag him back down. They separate and retu…

A bantamweight clash pitting Yadong Song against Julio Arce is on tap for a UFC card on Nov. 13.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight tilt between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

Song has lost just one of his first eight Octagon appearances, falling to Kyler Phillips via unanimous decision at UFC 259. Most recently, the 23-year-old Team Alpha Male representative garnered a split verdict against Casey Kenney at UFC 265 on Aug. 7.

Arce returned for the first time in nearly two years at UFC on ESPN 27, where he defeated Andre Ewell via second-round TKO on July 24. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 4-2 during his promotional tenure, with other wins over Julian Erosa, Daniel Teymur and Dan Ige.