Martial Arts News

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On Tuesday, Bellator MMA announced its long-awaited return with a brand-new light heavyweight tournament that will likely take most of 2021. The new Grand Prix features current 205-pound titleholder Vadim Nemkov (12-2), who will be staking his belt each time he fights, as has been the custom with the promotion’s last several tournaments. He will attempt to navigate a tournament field that includes the last two Bellator light heavyweight champs in Phil Davis and Ryan Bader — who still holds the heavyweight title — as well as former Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound champion Lyoto Machida and two former UFC title challengers in Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero.

Initial odds on some key upcoming Bellator MMA bouts, and the outcome of the newly announced light heavyweight Grand Prix, have been released by BetOnline. Unsurprisingly, Nemkov, who is undefeated in Bellator, riding a seven-fight winning stre…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Cory Sandhagen is afraid his No. 1 contender spot will be usurped based on name, rather than accomplishment.

The past weekend, the “Sandman” (14-2) scored the most crucial victory of his career and secured a possible 135-pound title shot when he knocked out former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar with a flying knee in just 28 seconds. Now, it appears that he has some unsolved business with another former titleholder, two-time bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, who has finished his two-year USADA suspension and is about to make his return. Sandhagen believes that Dillashaw, a onetime training partner, has no interest in fighting him for a spot at the top of the division.

“The guy was supposed to be back in January,” Sandhagen said this week on ESPN. “The time would’ve been perfect for us to fight, and he didn’t, so I don’t know what that’s about. I don’t think he wants the fight. I’m worried that…

“Violent Bob Ross” Will step up for a challenge on 10-day’s notice.

According to a report by MMA Fighting, Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Jai Herbert (10-2) is out of his scheduled fight against Drakkar Klose at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 185 event and Luis Pena will take on his spot in the 155-pound clash.

In his latest Octagon appearance, Klose (11-2-1) was finished for the first time in his career when Beneil Dariush delivered a knockout that put an end to their slugfest that went down at UFC 248. Prior, the 32-year old fighter went on a three-bout winning streak with victories over Lando Vannata, Bobby Green and Christos Giagos.

Pena (8-3) is eager to bounce back after gathering a victory and two defeats in his last three fights. After being edged by Matt Frevola at UFC Fight Night 161, “Violent Bob Ross” upended Steve Garcia at UFC Fight Night 169 back in February 2020. Most recently, Pena was submitted by Khama Worthy at UFC on ESPN 1…

A bantamweight clash between Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera has been removed from the UFC 258 card after someone involved in the bout tested positive for COVID-19.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. The promotion is reportedly targeting Feb. 27 to rebook the matchup. Munhoz vs. Rivera was scheduled to take place on the pay-per-view portion of Saturday’s card. UFC 258 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight championship matchup between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. According to the UFC's event page, Andre Ewell vs. Chris Gutierrez will replace Munhoz-Rivera on the pay-per-view draw.

Rivera and Munhoz initially squared off more than five years ago at UFC Fight Night 77, with Rivera claiming a split-decision triumph. That was part of a 20-bout professional winning streak for Rivera, who is just 2-3 in the Octagon since 2018. Most recently, “El Terror” snapped a two-bout skid with a three-roud verdict against Cody Stamann …

We are saddened by the passing of former Invicta athlete Sarah Patterson. Our thoughts go out to her friends and family. pic.twitter.com/Dd8BBggEtM

— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) February 9, 2021

One-time Invicta FC competitor Sarah Patterson has died at 36 years old.

Fighter Alias, which previously sponsored Patterson, confirmed her passing in a post on Facebook. Details regarding Patterson’s cause of death are currently unknown.

“We are deeply saddened upon learning the passing yesterday of our friend and fighter, Team Fighter Alias’s Sarah Patterson. Sarah had an amazing spirit and was such a kind-hearted person,” the post read. “We were proud and honored to sponsor her at Invicta Fighting Championships 32! R.I.P. Sarah, you will be deeply missed.”

Invicta FC also released a statement of tribute to the deceased fighter.

“We are saddened by the passing of former Invicta athlete Sarah Patterson. Our thoughts go out to her frien…

The Light-Heavyweight Grand Prix kicks off April 9th! #BellatorOnShowtime is bringing you some light heavyweight action in with the #Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix. Who do you think will walk away with that $? #BellatorLHWGP pic.twitter.com/BjMxe5MmAC

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) February 9, 2021

The lineup for the eight-man Bellator light heavyweight grand prix is now official.

The quarterfinals for the bracket will kick off at Bellator 256 on April 9 with a pair of 205-pound matchups: Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida and Corey Anderson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov. Meanwhile, Bellator 257 on April 16 will see reigning champion Vadim Nemkov square off against Phil Davis, while Anthony Johnson will meet Yoel Romero in the other two quarterfinal pairings.

The semifinals of the grand prix are expected to take place sometime in July, and the championship bout is currently slated for October.

Bader and Machida initially fo…

The cage is set. @BellatorMMA is now on @Showtime

#BellatorOnShowtime announcement LIVE: https://t.co/n9RpyBRNuX

Get a 30-day free trial, then just $4.99/mo for the next 6 mos. New subscribers only: https://t.co/eXPmkdCUXh pic.twitter.com/39zYDvDhqX — SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) February 9, 2021

Bellator MMA will begin its 2021 schedule in a new broadcast home.

The California-based promotion announced Tuesday that it will air exclusively on Showtime beginning with a trio of events in April. In conjunction with that partnership, Showtime is offering a 30-day free trial followed by a monthly rate of $4.99/month for six months.

“We’ve been interested in MMA for quite a while. We have a long history in the sport going back 15 years,” Showtime president Stephen Espinoza said. “We’ve been talking to Scott [Coker] off and on since 2014 when he took over as Bellator president. When you look at the trajectory of Bellator, the time jus…

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It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s schedule will continue to roll on in Las Vegas through March.

On Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission approved four UFC events for March 6, March 13, March 20 and March 27. Though it isn’t set it stone, that likely means that the cards will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The March itinerary is a significant one for the Las Vegas-based promotion, with a pair of pay-per-views highlighting the month’s events. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and is headlined by a light heavyweight title tilt between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya. The card also features a women’s featherweight champions…

Charlie Ontiveros has been suspended six months for failing a drug test in relation to his UFC Fight Night 181 loss to Kevin Holland.

The sanction was announced during Tuesday’s Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting. Ontiveros was also fined $1,800 along with $445.36 in legal fees. The welterweight tested positive for DHCMT M3 metabolites at the Oct. 31 bout. The substance is the long-term metabolite for oral Turinabol, a steroid that became prevalent approximately 50 years ago and came to the forefront in MMA when Jon Jones tested positive for trace amounts of the substance in 2018 stemming from a failed drug test one year prior.

Ontiveros must remain in a random drug-testing program and provide results less than 100 picograms in order to be reinstated by April 30. Former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Taylor Moore was also sanctioned on Tuesday for DHCMT M3 metabolites in relation to a loss to Danny Sabatello on Nov. 10.

Ontiveros, who normally c…

A proposed light heavyweight bout between Johnny Walker and Jimmy Crute slated for UFC 260 on March 27 has been scrapped after Walker suffered a torn pectoral in training.

As a result, Anthony Smith has agreed to step in and face Crute at a UFC event on April 24. MMAFighting.com initially reported Walker’s injury, while ESPN brought word of the new 205-pound matchup. The card does not yet have an official location but could be designated UFC 261.

After a pair of lopsided defeats to Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic, Smith bounced back at UFC on ESPN 18, when he submitted Devin Clark with a triangle choke in the opening stanza of the evening’s headliner on Nov. 28. The former light heavyweight title challenger owns other notable wins against the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Volkan Oezdemir, Mauricio Rua and Rashad Evans.

An emerging prospect at 205 pounds, Crute has been victorious in four of his first five Octagon appearances. The 24-year-old Australian ma…

With another meeting with UFC president Dana White looming, Khabib Nurmagomedov has some ideas on how he thinks the lightweight division should unfold.

“[Dustin] Poirier deserves to be champion, that’s my personal opinion,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with Match TV (translation via RT Sport). “Look at who he’s fought. Jim Miller, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway. He’s fought me, Conor. These are all top fighters, maybe fighters who will end up in the UFC Hall of Fame. I think intrigue will appear in the lightweight division as soon as they decide the title fight and eliminator.

“At the moment, it’s held up and not clear what Dana’s thinking. I think it’s going to be on fire in the lightweight division this summer. The lightweight division has always been the most competitive, the most interesting, with big stars. It will take new turns this summer. A new, younger, generation is already coming, plus there’s Chandler, Oliviera, Poirier, Gaethje, a lot …

OFFICIAL: The 2021 PFL Heavyweight & Women's Lightweight divisions are locked in and will compete at #PFL3 on Thursday, May 6th! pic.twitter.com/lZtwzf18Wg

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) February 9, 2021

There will be some new faces in the Professional Fighters League heavyweight and women’s lightweight divisions this season.

The promotion announced the full rosters for both weight classes on Tuesday. Heavyweight is led by defending champion Ali Isaev, who bested Denis Goltsov — who is also returning — in the 2019 final. Notable newcomers include ex-UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum and Mohammed Usman, the brother of UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman. Other new talents such as Justin Willis, Ante Delija, Renan Ferreira, Bruno Cappelozza and Brandon Sayles will also vie for the $1 million prize.

Meanwhile, the PFL’s most recognizable star, Kayla Harrison returns to defend her 155-pound title after defeating Larissa Pacheco in the 201…