Martial Arts News

Chris Weidman vs. Uriah Hall is being moved. The fight, which was scheduled for UFC 258 on Feb. 13, has been canceled, sources say, after Weidman tested positive for COVID-19 recently. The current plan is for the fight to be moved to UFC 261 on April 24, according to sources.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 29, 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. The co-main event of UFC 258 just fell off the card thanks to the coronavirus. ESPN announced on Friday that Chris Weidman (15-5) vs. Uriah Hall (16-9) 2, a rematch booked for UFC 258, will no longer be happening on that card. Testing positive for COVID-19, Weidman has been removed from the Feb. 13 event and he will not be replaced.

The promotion is currently targeting UFC 261 on April 24 for the relisting of the middleweight match, but the fighters have not signed yet. That card…

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. Two heavy-hitting heavyweights will join an impressive upcoming UFC Fight Night card in March. First reported by Combate on Friday, Ben Rothwell (38-13) will come to blows with Philipe Lins (14-5) at UFC Fight Night 187. The two heavyweights will meet inside the Octagon on March 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rothwell hinted at his upcoming matchup announcement on Wednesday, but he did not go so far as to confirm his opponent or its date.

Wisconsin native Rothwell has fallen on hard times the last few years, with only two wins amidst four decision defeats along with a lengthy suspension from a failed drug test. In his last time out in October, Rothwell dropped a decision to Marcin Tybura to snap a two-fight win streak. Those victories included a foul-marred knockout of Stefan Struve, along with a close split decision over ex-l…

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. Stop us if you’ve heard this one: Ricky Simon is going to face Brian Kelleher soon. On Thursday, Bloody Canvas first reported that Simon (17-3) and Kelleher (22-11) have been matched up against one another again for an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event. Barring another intervening issue, the two bantamweights will finally square off at UFC 258, which is set to go down on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas at the UFC Apex. While taunting his opponent, Simon confirmed the pairing on his Instagram shortly after the report came out.

The two were originally slated to lock horns at UFC Fight Night 176 in September 2020, but the match fell through when one of Simon’s cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. The second attempt to put this fight together came for UFC on ABC 1 in January, but Kelleher himself tested positive for COVID-19…

Mauro Cerilli MASHES the “Dagestan Machine” in Round 2 of our main-event clash! #ONEUnbreakable2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/UNOuN3aBl7

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 29, 2021 If you wanted violence, the pre-recorded second-part of the One Championship: Unbreakable series delivered in spades.

The One: Unbreakable 2 main event saw former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Mauro Cerilli welcome promotional newcomer Abdulbasir Vagabov in a heavyweight clash. The Italian fighter took his time in the early stage, waiting for Vagabov to rush forward carelessly. Vagabov attempted to drag the action on the canvas, but the Italian had no problems stopping his opponent’s attempts. After a brief pause due to an eye-poke from the Russian, Cerilli caught the “Dagestan Machine” with a knee from the clinch before ending the first stanza with a series of punches. At the waning seconds, Cerilli sprang back to his f…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQkJ--X-4Wk&w=640&h=360] Top Polish mixed martial arts promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki will put on its first card of 2021 this Saturday. Sitting atop KSW 58 is a featherweight title clash between champion Salahdine Parnasse and challenger Daniel Torres. Also of note is a light heavyweight bout between Olympic gold medalist weightlifter Poland Szymon Kolecki, who will take on German MMA veteran Martin Zawada. The eight-fight card is now official after the weigh-ins took place and all 16 fighters managed to make weight.

Looking to defend his belt is the undefeated Parnasse (14-0-1). The Frenchmen knocked out Roman Szymanski in April 2019 to claim the promotion's interim belt and was promoted to full champion once Mateusz Gamrot signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Not competing in 2020, Parnasse took a unanimous decision over Ivan Buchinger in his latest bout in December 2019. The titleholder had no issue making weight a…

Now that the #LFA98 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most tomorrow?

: https://t.co/Ssea6rbRua

: https://t.co/tseNkk5ywl@ShellsDotCom@USENDmoney@PsoRite@GLCDirect2000@AthleticCBD@IncaKolaUSA@HartmanArena@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/CFxEm4bwVj — LFA (@LFAfighting) January 29, 2021 The first match of the Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight semifinals is now official.

The LFA returns on Friday for its second card of 2021, and brings with it an event in LFA 98 that commences the middleweight tournament. The headliner is that tourney match, as Josh Fremd takes on Bruno Oliveira to advance. The winner will take on the victor of the Anthony Adams-Gregory Rodrigues semifinal that is set to take place at LFA 100 next month.

Undefeated within the LFA is Fremd (6-1). The 27-year-old is on a four-fight win streak and has notched two first-round knockouts over Antonio Jones and Lamar Gosey. Fremd will look…

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. Chalk up one more opponent change for Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Seung Woo Choi. On Wednesday night, MMA DNA first reported that Collin Anglin (8-1) had been forced to withdraw from his prospective debut against Choi (8-3). In his stead will be a man matched against him in 2020, with Youssef Zalal (10-3) stepping up on short notice. The two were originally scheduled to face off at UFC Fight Night 179, but Choi was forced out for undisclosed reasons. Zalal and Choi will be squaring off at UFC Fight Night 184 on Feb. 6, which will take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Zalal confirmed that he was stepping in on his Instagram late Wednesday.

South Korea’s Choi rebounded from a pair of loses to Movsar Evloev and Gavin Tucker to win a decision against Suman Mokhtarian at the end of 2019. Choi scored three knoc…

Here’s the facts. Please read. pic.twitter.com/XYmSOJ4Zs6

— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) January 28, 2021 Editor's note: This article has been updated at 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 28 to add the official sanction from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

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.

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Raquel Pennington did not want the story coming from anyone but her first.

On Thursday, Pennington announced on social media that she has inadvertently violated anti-doping policy from prescribed medicines to recover from a medical condition. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency subsequently released information regarding her violation, writing that two substances of 7-keto-DHEA and AOD-9064 -- both banned anabolic agents -- were reported by her. First announced by ESPN shortly after she released her statement, Pennington h…

Justin Gaethje finds it ridiculous that Conor McGregor and his team are pushing for a trilogy title bout with Dustin Poirier just after UFC 257.

McGregor did well enough in the opening stanza, but Poirier’s leg kicks took a toll before “The Diamond” won via second-round knockout. McGregor remains a massive draw, but Gaethje doesn’t belive the promotion should cater to the Irish star after they did enough of that leading up to UFC 257.

"For them to come out and say he wants a title shot next, rematch with Poirier, they're f---ing idiots," Gaethje told ESPN. "He's been treated special over and over and he didn't capitalize on this opportunity. That event was for him, it was for him to win. He wants to be ‘Mr. Humble’ now, but you know he would have been an asshole had he won that fight.”

Gaethje himself challenged for lightweight gold at UFC 254 against Khabib Nurmagomedov, losing by second-round triangle choke in the second round in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24. The fo…

While waiting for his next fight after beating Paul Felder in his return to lightweight this past November, former champion Rafael dos Anjos shared his opinion regarding the future of the division following the main bouts of UFC 257.

"Hooker didnt show up to fight, I have no doubt Chandler is a tough guy, but I agree with Poirier when he said he wouldn't fight him for the belt,” dos Anjos told Sherdog.com. “There are a lot of top guys in this division like [Charles Oliveira]and [Justin Gaethje] who worked hard, and had a lot of tough fights to reach the top of the rankings. He should, at least, face one more challenge before fighting for the gold.”

However, dos Anjos would be more than willing to step in if the UFC offered him a matchup against Chandler — or any other top contender with some momentum.

"I´m game all the time. If UFC invites me to face Chandler, I´m ready to go,” he said. “I’d rather face someone coming from a win like Poirier, Chandler or ‘D…

HUGE NEWS"ONE on TNT" kicks off on April 7 with four weeks of STACKED events featuring Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez vs. Iuri Lapicus, Christian Lee vs. Timofey Nastyukhin, Aung La N Sang vs. Vitaly Bigdash III, and more! #ONEonTNT #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/XexgKuEkLR

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 27, 2021

One Championship is expanding its relationship with TNT.

The Singapore-based promotion announced on Wednesday that it will hold a "One on TNT" series for four straight weeks beginning with a previously reported card headlined by a flyweight championship tilt between Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson.

Each week from April 7 to April 28, One Championship will air three main card fights on TNT in the United States at 10 p.m. ET. The preliminary draw can be streamed on the Bleacher Report App and B/R Live from 9 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET.

“We are absolutely thrilled to kick off 2021 with…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPjye2zwpr8&w=560&h=315]

Javier Mendez, who helps to coach Khabib Nurmagomedov at American Kickboxing Academy, believes it would be an ugly night for Conor McGregor if he was granted a rematch with the Dagestani champion.

Given the way things played out at UFC 257, where McGregor suffered a second-round KO defeat to Dustin Poirier in the evening’s main event, it’s not exactly the hottest of takes. However, Mendez has been on record as saying McGregor was . Now, he believes the Irish star has regressed considerably and a second bout with “The Eagle” would not be competitive. Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission in their first meeting at UFC 229 in October 2018.

“[McGregor] would’ve got smashed,” Mendez said in an interview with Submission Radio. “Khabib’s gotten better. He would’ve gotten smashed. He would have gotten smashed, straight up. Khabib’s better. He’s better than he was when they fought two years a…