Martial Arts News

UFC on ESPN 26 is down to 10 fights after Miles Johns vs. Anderson dos Santos was scrapped due to a positive COVID-19 test in dos Santos’ camp.

Johns initially announced the cancellation on social media and it has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

“It’s with great regret that I have to inform you all that I will not be fighting this evening. My opponent/camp tested positive for COVID so the fight is off,” Johns wrote on Instagram. “I want to wish him a speedy recovery, want to thank the UFC for the opportunity but mainly want apologize to everyone who was looking forward to watching me fight today.”

UFC on ESPN 26 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a lightweight tilt between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises. The main airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Johns has been victorious in two of his three Octagon appearances. The Dana White’s Contender S…

Challenger Denise Kielholtz may have competed for pride and for glory, but Bellator MMA flyweight queen Juliana Velasquez fought for family; as we have been reminded lately, nothing is stronger than family.

Bellator took three weeks off to recharge its batteries and replenish its stock, before returning inside its favored venue of the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. With Bellator 262 came 10 fights from its lightest division of women’s flyweight all the way up to the largest at heavyweight. The headlining attraction saw a 125-pound championship tilt as Velasquez (12-0, 7-0 BMMA) topped impressive challenger Kielholtz (6-3, 6-2 BMMA) in a five-round striking match. When the dust settled, the Dutchwoman gave Velasquez everything she could handle; the champion still emerged victorious by split decision, with two 48-47 calls going in her direction and one 48-47 score for her opponent.

Bolstered by her walkout of “In the End” by Linkin Park, and sending her love to he…

Sherdog's live Bellator 262 coverage kicks off Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Kicking off the card, lightweight prospect Charlie Campbell (3-1), nicknamed "The Cannibal", is a healthy favorite against Nick Giulietti (2-1). Referee Kerry Hatley will look on. Giulietti tries to touch gloves to begin, but Campbell wants nothing of it. Giulietti starts out throwing side-kicks and front-kicks, but Campbell is out of range on all occasions. Capmbell goes for a jumping knee, but it's unsuccessful, and Giulietti takes an opportunity to clinch up. He cranks an underhook nicely and forces Campbell to the canvas. Giulietti is making his more hyped opponent pay for his disrespect! Giulietti is pressing from the top and briefly gets a scarfhold, a position where it's very possible to escape out of the side. However, Campbell is unable to take advantage and Giulietti soon goes back to side co…

NOBODY BEATS THE IS!!

Ismael Bonfim takes home the #LFA111 main event! We will see you again Sunday night! pic.twitter.com/qkSEsfqNm0

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 17, 2021 The Legacy Fighting Alliance's first card on Brazilian soil led to an exciting night of fights. Headlining the LFA 111 card was a lightweight fight between prospects Rangel Ribeiro de Sa and Ismael Bonfim. The well-matched fight was tightly contested with both fighters having their moments in the opening rounds. Bonfim (15-3) would land a nice knee to the head of de Sa (10-2) in Round 3, which showed he was the superior fighter. Bonfim would take a unanimous decision win with scores of 28-27, 28-27 and 29-27.

The co-main event saw bantamweight Marcos Breno make his mark against Ary Farias. Breno (14-2) landed a walk-off knockout early in Round 1 with a huge overhand right that left Farias (10-3) out cold. The fight was called off after just 56 seconds.

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Both have something to prove

Don’t miss @MakhachevMMA vs @ThiagoMoisesMMA tomorrow!

[ #UFCVegas31 | July 17 on @ESPN & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/F57j9ebOnK — UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2021 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. There was no drama ahead of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to the UFC Apex for UFC on ESPN 26, as all 11 fights are now official.

Every fighters made weight for the ESPN-aired event, which will be headlined by an intriguing lightweight battle between Thiago Moises and Islam Makhachev as they battle up the ranks. Makhachev (19-1) finds himself on an impressive seven-fight win streak. The surging Russian submitted Drew Dober in his last bout, and has also defeated respected veterans including Nik Lentz and Gleison Tibau on his way up. Makhachev officially weighed 155.5 pounds for his first main…

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. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos is confident that he would have crushed Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 264. Booked as a reserve fighter for the main event of UFC 264, dos Anjos (30-13) was not able to step in the Octagon last Saturday because both Dustin Poirier and McGregor were cleared to compete. The longtime MMA veteran dos Anjos spoke to Sherdog on Thursday, while on a camping trip with his family, about the headliner of UFC 264 that he watched intently. He had strong thoughts on how he would have performed had he been tapped as the alternate.

“I saw McGregor [at the] weigh-ins and he looked sloppy, skinny like a little boy,” dos Anjos remarked. “I was sure Dustin would win again. But Conor was lucky it was not me. My game is much worse for him than Dustin’s. I have no doubt I…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ng3p--7bJo&w=560&h=315] No belts are up for grabs at the latest KSW event, but that did not stop every fighter on the card from remaining professional and properly making weight.

The latest KSW offering comes in the form of a nine-fight event of KSW 62, where an Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting caps off the card. Szymon Kolecki (9-1) will aim to make it four in a row inside the KSW cage when he takes on fellow bodybuilder and Polsat’s “Dancing with the Stars” competitor Akop Szostak (4-3). The light heavyweights combine for 11 knockouts in their 13 career victories, and neither has ever landed nor suffered a submission. Kolecki, who once fought at heavyweight and topped Mariusz Pudzianowski, hit the scales at 206 pounds. The Belarussian out of Poland came back far lighter, well below the limit at 202 pounds.

The co-featured fight comes in the welterweight division, when the man known as “Double Champ” Andrzej Grzebyk (170…

Now that the #LFA111 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most?

: https://t.co/uZ05OZtNhm

: https://t.co/3srj9Wnzhz@ShellsDotCom@Drink9mm@KoiCBD@SheathUnderwear@GLCDirect2000@HowlerHead@TeamSmartStop@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/nbQ2kIpKEt — LFA (@LFAfighting) July 16, 2021 The Legacy Fighting Alliance is fully international as it heads to Brazil for its first event not on North America soil.

Headlining LFA 111 is a bout between Brazilian lightweight prospects Rangel Ribeiro de Sa and Ismael Bonfim. De Sa (10-1) has won his last six bouts, and looks to make a statement in his LFA debut. "Anaconda" officially weighed 155.4 for the main event bout. Meanwhile, Bonfim (14-3) brings an eight-fight win streak into his promotional debut, and he hit the scales at 155.8 pounds.

LFA 111's prelims will air live on the promotion's Facebook page, while the main card will stream on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYKvCTxJcGA&w=560&h=315] A few Bellator MMA fighters may have needed the full additional hour, but every competitor for this Friday’s card made weight.

After three weeks away, Bellator is back with Bellator 262 inside the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a flyweight title fight and a high-stakes heavyweight scrap on tap. The event will be capped off by Juliana Velasquez’ first defense of her 125-pound throne, when she takes on kickboxing convert Denise Kielholtz (6-2) at night’s end. All 10 fights on the card are official, as every fighter made weight, even though two prelim fighters needed an extra hour to hit their marks.

Velasquez (11-0) comes into this battle with a flawless record, seven months removed from wresting the title from Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in December. The Brazilian champ has stormed her way through the Bellator cage, rattling off six wins since her organizational debut in 2017 over names like Na Lian…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC 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. Count Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Michel Pereira among those that believe his battle with Niko Price should have earned “Fight of the Night.” Both Pereira (26-11, 2 NC) and Price (14-5, 2 NC) brawled for three hard-fought rounds on the prelims of UFC 264, with Pereira getting his hand raised at the end. Much to their chagrin, the main card offering, Sean O'Malley’s one-sided beating of newcomer Kris Moutinho, earned the $75k prize instead. The win was Pereira’s third in a row inside the Octagon, and the victorious Brazilian spoke to Sherdog shortly after his victory to give his thoughts on the whole ordeal.

“They should consider the level of the opponent's when choosing the bonus,” Pereira said. “O’Malley got an [easy opponent], that was no…

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 recently defeated Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor has made some claims about a possible preexisting injury that may merit some additional questioning. On Thursday, McGregor posted a video on his Instagram while riding a motorized scooter as an update to his fans about his condition and recovery. In this video, the Irishman explained that he may have come into UFC 264, and his rubber match against Dustin Poirier, with injuries to his leg. In that third bout with Poirier, McGregor’s tibia snapped towards the end of the first round, with many speculating it could have broken on a checked leg kick, an elbow block from Poirier or simply from throwing it so hard. Even though it did not go his way, McGregor appeared upbeat about the situation, getting out of surgery on his birthday on Wednesday.

“Keep a positiv…

A middleweight clash pitting Phil Hawes against Deron Winn has been rescheduled for a UFC event on Oct. 9.

The bout was originally slated for UFC on ESPN 26 this Saturday, but according to ESPN the contest was moved three months down the road after Winn suffered a rib injury. The UFC card will likely take place the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a strawweight tilt between Marina Rodriguez and Mackenzie Dern.

Hawes enters the matchup with Winn having won his last seven professional outings — including three straight in UFC competition. The two-time Dana White’s Contender Series veteran has thus far scored successive triumphs over Jacob Malkoun, Nassourdine Imavov and Kyle Daukus within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Winn, meanwhile, snapped a two-bout skid at UFC Fight Night 183, where he captured a unanimous verdict against Antonio Arroyo on Dec. 19. The 32-year-old American Kickboxing Academy representative is 7-2 as a pro with other notable wins ag…