Martial Arts News

Bellator 261 weigh-in results: Tim Johnson (@tbeartim) - 260 lbs. pic.twitter.com/tgs8jRxaED

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) June 24, 2021 After 21 months of inactivity in the division, Bellator MMA is ready to open Ryan Bader's heavyweight strap up for dispute.

On Friday, Bellator MMA will crown a new interim heavyweight champion at Bellator 261. Timothy Johnson and Valentin Moldavsky will fight for the interim belt since titleholder Bader is currently busy competing in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix. All fighters made their contracted weights for the event.

The bigger main in the main event will be Johnson (15-6), who is arguably on the best winning streak of his career. In his last three outings, Johnson rattled off upset wins over Tyrell Fortune, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo. Now he'll look to win his first belt, and he weighed in at 260 ready pounds.

In his way is Moldavsky, a 10-1 Russian prospect. The FedorT…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A main card tilt on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming pay-per-view event will have to wait a little longer to go down. Per Sean Brady (14-0) on his Instagram on Thursday, his opponent Kevin Lee (18-6) has been forced out of their UFC 264 meeting on July 10. According to Brady and Ariel Helwani, Lee suffered a rib injury in training, and that the fight has been pulled altogether from the event. Instead of Brady facing a new opponent on short notice, he and his team are looking to schedule the fight with Lee at an event in August, possibly for UFC 265 on Aug. 7.

Unbeaten as a pro, Brady has surged while in the UFC, with four wins over names like Court McGee and Jake Matthews. The Renzo Gracie Philly standout most recently submitted Matthews with an arm-triangle choke in March, and before then, he put Christian Aguil…

A lightweight clash between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises will serve as the new main event for UFC on ESPN 26.

The matchup is a replacement for a previously scheduled featherweight showdown pitting Max Holloway against Yair Rodriguez, which was postponed to an as yet to be announced date after Holloway suffered an injury. MMAjunkie.com was first to confirm Makhachev vs. Moises as the new five-round headliner.

UFC on ESPN 26 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on July 17 and also includes Miesha Tate’s return from retirement, as she squares off against Marion Reneau at bantamweight.

A teammate of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is currently on a seven-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 29-year-old Dagestani submitted Drew Dober with an arm triangle in the third round of their UFC 259 clash on March 6.

Moises, meanwhile, is on a three-bout winning streak in the Octagon. After subm…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

More details have emerged surrounding the arrest of UFC veteran Luis Pena last weekend.

According to an affadavit from the Boca Raton Police Department, Pena was charged with robbery by sudden snatching, battery and criminal mischief following a fight with his girlfriend on June 14. The fighter known as “Violent Bob Ross” is currently in Broward County Detention Center, where he awaits transport to Palm Beach County. ESPN was first to report the new details in the case.

Pena allegedly smashed the woman’s phone on the ground after accusing her of looking at other men on Instagram. Pena’s girlfriend told police that a fight then ensued in which she ended up with a laceration on her lip along with scratches and redness on her knuckles.

Boca Raton Police received an anonymous tip that night that Pena was suicidal, in possession of a gun and knife and was planning to return to his girlfriend’s home to kill her. Pena refused to p…

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If all goes as planned, Bethe Correia’s farewell bout will take place this fall.

The former bantamweight challenger is expected to meet Karol Rosa at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Oct. 2. Combate was first to report the booking. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight scrap between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker.

Correia was originally slated to have her retirement bout against Yanan Wu at UFC on ABC 1 on Jan. 16 before an appendicitis forced her to withdraw from the event. Correia last appeared at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25, when she lost a unanimous decision to Pannie Kianzad. The 38-year-old Brazilian has been victorious in just two of her last eight UFC bouts dating back to August 2015.

Rosa is currently on a five-bout winning streak, with three victories coming within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Thus far, the 26-year-old Brazilian has gone the distance in victories over Lara Procopio , Vane…

Considered to be a natural light heavyweight, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza was not among the favorites to make the Professional Fighters League playoffs, but after a 46-second knockout of Ante Delija, the underdog Brazilian is first in the heavyweight standings.

Even in the event of a loss to Muhammed DeReese at PFL 6 on Friday, Cappelozza has a great chance to be among the final four heavyweights in the playoff bracket come October. The 32-year-old Corinthians MMA product revealed to Sherdog.com what it was like to return to active competition after a nearly three-year absence.

“It was certainly the most difficult time of my career,” he said. “I went through a very hard time with a long series of injuries and surgeries, but God blessed me with that invitation to the PFL.”

Cappelozza is confident heading into his matchup with DeReese, who is coming off a first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Denis Goltsov at PFL 3 on May 6.

“My record shows how aggressive I am. All…

Tremendous ratings, youngest audience in MMA and global growth. @combateglobal is the top-ranked contender for the MMA world championship. https://t.co/s4ZlLWXo4Y

— Campbell McLaren (@campbellcombate) June 22, 2021

Combate Global has a new home for the English-language broadcasts of its events.

The promotion announced Tuesday that it has signed a multi-year broadcast agreement with CBS Sports and Paramount+. Combate Global will debut on June 25 on CBS Sports Network before transitioning to Paramount+ on July 9 through the remainder of the year.

Paramount+ is expected to air 30 live Combate Global events annually in 2022 and 2023, while CBS Sports Network will complement that coverage with a one-hour recap show following each event. Additionally, CBS Sports Network will feature re-airs of past Combate events, while the promotion’s entire fight library will be available on Paramount+.

"The addition of Combate Global’s exciting MMA acti…

A strawweight clash pitting Karolina Kowalkiewicz against Jessica Penne has been booked for UFC 265.

Promotion officials announced the pairing on Tuesday. UFC 265 takes place on Aug. 7 at an as yet to be announced location and features a women’s bantamweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.

A former 115-pound title challenger, Kowalkiewicz is currently mired in a four-bout losing streak. After suffering a first-round knockout loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 228, the Lodz, Poland, native dropped three successive decisions to Michelle Waterson, Alexa Grasso and Xiaonan Yan. Kowalkiewicz hasn’t tasted victory since taking a split verdict over Felice Herrig at UFC 223 in April 2018.

Penne, meanwhile, returned from a four-year hiatus to snap a three-bout skid at UFC on ESPN 22, where she garnered a split-decision triumph against Lupita Godinez on April 17. The former Invicta FC atomweight title holder is 3-4 during her tenure with the Las Vegas-based…

Chan Sung Jung needs doctor clearance to return to action after his left shoulder popped in and out during a victory over Dan Ige in the UFC on ESPN 25 headliner this past Saturday.

“The Korean Zombie” must have a left shoulder MRI and, if positive, doctor clearance or he will be sidelined until Dec. 17. At a minimum, Jung is suspended until July 20 with no contact until July 11 due to a left eyebrow laceration.

The Nevada Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC on ESPN 25 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Jung take a five-round verdict over Ige in the main event. Ige is suspended until July 20 with no contact until July 11 due to a lip laceration.

Six other athletes from UFC on ESPN 25 are facing six-month terms if they don’t receive doctor clearance: Davey Grant (nasal bone fracture), Dhiego Lima (right knee), Kanako Murata (left elbow), Matthew Semelsberger (nose), Josh Parisian (nasa…

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Jeremiah Wells will replace Ramazan Emeev and lock horns with Warlley Alves at UFC Fight Night 190 on Saturday.

The bout was updated on broadcast partner ESPN's event page. UFC Fight Night 190 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Alexander Volkov and Ciryl Gane.

A former CES MMA and Cage Fury Fighting Championships welterweight title holder, Wells makes his Octagon debut with an 8-2-1 career mark. He won his last two bouts under the CFFC banner, including a second-round submission of Marco Smallman in September 2019 to claim the vacant 170-pound belt.

Alves has been victorious in two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 30-year-old Brazilian defeated Mounir Lazzez via first-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20.

Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was the top earner at UFC 263, as he took home a disclosed payday of $500,000 for title defense in the evening’s main event.

The Arizona Department of Gaming recently released salaries from the card, which took place on June 12 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. While win bonuses were initially redacted by the commission, those figures were later released.

Adesanya’s opponent, Marvin Vettori, garnered the second-highest payday on the card with a $350,000 disclosed salary. Adesanya took a five-round verdict over “The Italian Dream” in a rematch of a April 2018 bout, which the Nigerian-born Kiwi won via split decision.

Elsewhere, fan favorite Nate Diaz received $250,000 for a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards ($220,000) in a five-round, non-title welterweight affair. Diaz is one of the promotion’s biggest draws and was making his first appearance since a loss to Jorge Masvidal for the “BMF” title in November 2019…