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Sherdog's live PFL 2021 5 coverage will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET.

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm4Qb_2d70s&w=560&h=315] Bellator MMA two-division champ Patricio Freire is comfortable with his promotion, although he has plenty of thoughts on those that compete for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Shortly after the announcement of the Bellator featherweight grand prix final atop Bellator 263, Sherdog spoke with Freire (32-4) about his upcoming match with A.J. McKee (17-0). “Pitbull” was positively brimming with confidence about the final in July and guaranteed that his experience would be the key to victory.

“I’ve already started the camp one month ago and we have a great strategy to surprise him,” Freire admitted. “No doubt [that] McKee is dangerous and complete, but he is too clumsy, and I’m very confident that I’ll finish him.”

One of the most frequently asked questions for “Pitbull” in his home country of Brazil is when he will transition to the UFC. Freire has learned to take the question in stride, even when aske…

For the second time thanks to COVID-19, Full Metal Dojo has been forced to push back its Fight Circus 3 event.

The organization announced on Thursday that Fight Circus 3 has been delayed again due to the pandemic. The event was slated to go down on June 19 at the Sea Galleri by Katathani Resort in Phuket, Thailand. Unlike the previous postponement, it was not necessarily from specific local regulations regarding COVID-19 that forced the event to be pushed back, but it did stem from COVID-19 reasons.

Full Metal Dojo created an animated analyst named Brandi Mae, who broke the news that the fight card was off. “Fight Circus 3 postponed again god-damn it…but for now we’ll never know what magic Jon Nutt and CamSoda could have conjured. Our deepest apologies, but just because the monkey is off your back, doesn’t mean that the circus has left town.

“Fight Circus will be back, rebooted and rad as hell,” she concluded.

Once it goes down, Fight Circus 3 will be streamed …

Some two weeks removed from his strange boxing match against a YouTuber, Vitor Belfort will instead be facing a much more dire threat from the boxing world in September.

Earlier in June, Belfort was announced to have joined the Triller Fight Club event on June 19 in Miami, but the entire card was nixed when headliner Teofimo Lopez tested positive for COVID-19. Instead of the match with Michael Holston, a man known as “The Real Tarzann” from his animal-keeping videos, Belfort has a new opponent and a new date. On Sept. 11, Belfort (26-14, 1 NC MMA; 1-0 Box) will throw down in an exhibition against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs Box). The news was first reported by The Athletic on Thursday, and it has since been confirmed by numerous outlets and the promotion itself.

De La Hoya last boxed in 2008, when he fell short to Manny Pacquiao by corner stoppage after eight rounds. Over the years, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame boxer faced most of the best opponents …

: Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione)-Tyrell Fortune (@FortuneOverFam) and Linton Vassell-Marcelo Golm (@MarceloGolm) added to #Bellator262 main card.https://t.co/KwS4GHvtYH

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) June 17, 2021 A pair of heavyweight battles and more are now a part of Bellator MMA’s July 16 card.

According to a press release on Thursday, Bellator 262 has just been beefed up by four new matchups. The organization further confirmed the previously announced Ronny Markes vs. Said Sowma slugfest, while adding two more heavyweight matches, a women’s featherweight tilt and a 145-pound bout between two prospects. The bout that may serve in the co-main event sees top-10 heavyweights Tyrell Fortune (10-1, 1 NC) take on Matt Mitrione (13-8, 1 NC).

Since suffering the first loss in his career – a first-round knockout to upcoming title challenger Timothy Johnson – Fortune has looked nigh-unstoppable. Although he kneed Jack May in the groi…

.@LFAfighting set to go International in July with two events in Brazil!

: https://t.co/gqOUXojn4L#LFA111 on Friday, July 16#LFA112 on Sunday, July 18#UpperArena#RioDeJaneiro, #Brazil#MMA#LFANation@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/rzuspcesTb

— LFA (@LFAfighting) June 16, 2021 The Legacy Fighting Alliance is leaving the United States in search of Order and Progress.

On Wednesday, the organization announced via press release that it would go international for the first time with a pair of shows in Brazil. The Las Vegas-based promotion plants its flag in the Federative Republic of Brazil with LFA 111 and LFA 112, which will both go down at the Upper Arena in Rio de Janeiro. LFA 111 will take place on July 16, while LFA 112 will go on a couple days later on July 18. The promotion has yet to announce any official matchups for the Brazilian cards, but they will be available to watch on UFC Fight Pass starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on their respec…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The current Professional Fighters League heavyweight landscape is virtually unrecognizable when compared to its iteration a few months ago. The PFL sent out a press release on Thursday to announce a series of changes in its upcoming PFL 6 card on June 25 at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The conclusion of the regular season will feature fighters in four weight categories, but it will primarily be stocked with heavyweight and women’s lightweight matchups.

The promotion’s changes to this card start with the loss of 2019 heavyweight champ Ali Isaev, who has not been medically cleared for competition. Adding to the recent removal of Fabricio Werdum from the bracket and a few other shakeups, four men will be joining the heaviest section of the tournament: Chandler Cole, Stuart Austin, Klidson Abreu and Jamelle Jones. …

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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has lost a much-anticipated headliner a month before it was set to go down. ESPN Deportes first announced on Thursday that the UFC on ESPN 26 headliner has fallen through, as Max Holloway (22-6) suffered an injury and has been forced to withdraw from his featherweight contest against Yair Rodriguez (13-2, 1 NC). As a result, Rodriguez has been pulled from the card as well, as the promotion is rebooking the fight on a future date. There is no current replacement announcement for the July 17 main event, and the UFC Apex card in Las Vegas’ highest billed matchup now may be Miesha Tate vs. Marion Reneau at bantamweight.

Holloway snapped a rare losing streak in January by busting up Calvin Kattar in the year’s sure-fire “Beatdown of the Year” candidate, landing more significant strikes in the fight t…

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Credit: Joao Baptista/Sherdog.com “Gorets” had to pull out from his scheduled fight on June 26.

It appears that the upcoming UFC Fight Night 190 card has just lost one of its welterweight clashes. According to a report from MMA Fighting, the bout between Ramazan Emeev and Warlley Alves dropped off the card after Emeev exited. At the moment of publication, the fighter hasn’t disclosed the reason. Alves is currently looking for a new opponent at 170.

Two-time M-1 Global 185-pound kingpin Emeev (20-4, 5-1 UFC) is currently looking for his third-straight victory inside the Octagon. In his previous appearances, the 34-year old Russian upended Niklas Stolze via unanimous decision and edged David Zawada thanks to a narrow split decision at UFC on ESPN 14 and UFC on ABC 1, respectively. The only fighter to top “Gorets” inside the UFC was Anthony Rocco Martin at UFC Fight Night 163, where Martin outpointed Emeev.

Most recently, Alves (14-4, 6-4 UFC) put away Mounir Lazzez wit…

"The Phoenix” will be eligible to fight again in April 2022.

On Wednesday, USADA announced that former Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Erik Koch had accepted his 18-month suspension. "The Phoenix” tested positive for a metabolite of stanozolol called 3′-hydroxy-stanozolol. The test was carried on Oct. 3, 2020, coinciding with the date when his period of ineligibility begins.

Koch (16-6) most recently competed at UFC 240 in July 2019, when he outpointed Kyle Stewart via unanimous decision. That night, the World Extreme Cagefighting vet snapped a two-bout skid in addition to registering his first win since May 29, 2016. Previously, he dropped back-to-back decisions to Clay Guida and Bobby Green.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

On Dec. 23, 2020, the news broke out that “The Phoenix” was laid off by the UFC. Th…

Per sources, Khalil Rountree will take on Modestas Bukauskas in a 205lbs clash in an upcoming UFC Fight Night card on Sept. 4. Sources couldn't confirm the location, but previous reports indicated the UFC is targeting London, England, for the event. More coming on @sherdogdotcom.

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) June 16, 2021

Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights will collide in the Octagon soon. According to Sherdog sources, Khalil Rountree will face Modestas Bukauskas in a 205-pound showdown in an upcoming UFC Fight Night card, which will go down on Sept. 4. Sources couldn't confirm the location of the fight.

Rountree (8-5, 4-5 UFC) dropped a decision to Marcin Prachnio during their tilt on the preliminary UFC 257 preliminary card in his last action. Previously, the 31-year old fighter was stopped with elbows by Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 160. The latest victory of “The War Horse” dates back to April 2019, when he upende…