Martial Arts News

Sidney Outlaw has been booted from the Bellator lightweight grand prix after testing positive for three banned substances in an out-of-competition drug test.

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Associate of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports president Mike Mazzulli, who is in charge of regulation for the promotion’s overseas events, informed ESPN on Tuesday that Outlaw on Feb. 4 tested positive for ostarine, cardarine and anastrozole — all of which are prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). As a result, Outlaw has been suspended for six months and removed from a 155-pound tournament matchup against Mansour Barnaoui at Bellator 296 on May 12 in Paris.

Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor module (SARM) known for increasing lean body mass; cardarine is a metabolic modulator believed to boost metabolism and increase fat burning; and anastrozole can reduce the side effects of performance enhancing drugs by reducing the estrogen levels in the body. Outlaw will be req…

Jairzinho Rozenstruik will lock horns with Jailton Almeida in a heavyweight bout at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on May 13.

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Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight scrap pitting Anthony Smith against Johnny Walker. A location and venue for the card have not been confirmed.

Rozenstruik snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he knocked out Chris Daukaus in just 23 seconds at UFC 282 on Dec. 10. “Bigi Boy” is 7-4 during his promotional tenure, with all his victories coming inside the distance. He owns other notable victories over the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem, and Junior dos Santos. Meanwhile, his losses have come to some of the heavyweight division’s best: Alexander Volkov, Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou.

Almeida earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series as a light heavyweigh…

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A bantamweight title bout pitting reigning champ Aljamain Sterling against Henry Cejudo has been targeted for UFC 288 on May 6.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking after Sterling announced it on his podcast. The May 6 date hasn’t been officially announced by the promotion, but it is expected to be a pay-per-view event. Sterling and Cejudo were initially rumored to meet earlier this year, but “The Funkmaster” revealed that he would need more time to heal from a torn bicep, putting that timeline on hold. UFC 288 doesn’t have a location or venue.

“I can’t wait for this matchup, because I think that it’s two guys that won’t back down, and I think the wrestling might cancel each other out – we will see if I’m able to rag-doll him,” Sterling said on Monday. “We’re going to figure it out in the first five minutes, and from there, we’ll figure out if we want to waste a ton of energy grappling, or do we want to put these [our fists] to the test and show…

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Jeff Novitzky is on board with the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia’s statement that there is no evidence of illegal IV use regarding the athletes who competed at UFC 284.

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Shortly after Islam Makhachev defeated Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 284 headliner, Volkanovski’s teammate, Dan Hooker, accused the lightweight champion of illegal IV use on social media. The allegation was later refuted by Makhachev’s manager in a statement, but the controversy continued unitl it was addressed by the Australian commission. In an interview with UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald, Novitzky, the UFC senior vice president of athlete health and performance, revealed that athletic commission’s rules regarding IV use differ from USADA’s. With that in mind, if the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia says there’s no evidence of any wrongdoing, Novitzky is quite confident that Makhachev is in the clear.

“I think the Australian …

Tanner Boser will move to 205 pounds for a matchup with Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night on April 15.

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Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night takes place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Kan., and is headlined by a featherweight scrap pitting Max Holloway against Arnold Allen.

Boser has gone 4-4 in the Octagon as a relatively undersized heavyweight. The 31-year-old Canadian has lost three of his last four outings, including a split-decision defeat to Rodrigo Nascimento in his most recent appearance at UFC Fight Night 210 this past September.

Cutelaba has struggled in recent years, compiling a 1-5-1 mark in the Las Vegas-based promotion since 2020. “The Hulk” is coming off an 0-3 campaign in 2022 in which he was finished by Kennedy Nzechukwu, Johnny Walker and Ryan Spann.

Lina Lansberg is calling it a career after 18 professional fights.

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“The Elbow Queen” announced her decision via social media following a second-round submission defeat to Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Fight Night 219 on Saturday. Lansberg went 10-8 over the course of a career that began in 2012.

“Thank you so much for all the love and support. This has been a hell of a ride and to start fighting is the best thing I’ve ever done,” she wrote. “It has given me so so much. But now it’s time to move on. I’m done.”

Lansberg began her MMA tenure with victories in six of her first seven outings. She debuted in the Octagon with a second-round TKO loss to Cristiane Justino in a 140-pound catchweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 95 main event. The Swede would post a 5-7 record in the Las Vegas-based promotion, earning wins over the likes of Lucie Pudilova, Tonya Evinger and Macy Chiasson. The 40-year-old Redline Training Center product exits the sport on a fo…

William Knight’s performance at UFC Fight Night 219 was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

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The heavily-muscled light heavyweight attempted just 33 significant strikes — landing eight — while being picked apart at range by Marcin Prachnio in a unanimous decision defeat on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. For the majority of the bout, Knight was simply unwilling to engage, and that allowed Prachnio to control the distance, most notably with a steady diet of low kicks.

After the loss, Knight reacted to the fight in a video on his Instagram account. He didn’t offer any excuses for an effort that resulted in his third consecutive UFC defeat.

“At the end of the day, I went out there, froze up, I didn’t do my part, I lost the fight,” Knight said. “Some of y’all want me to win, some of y’all bet on me, I understand. I completely get it. In life, human beings aren’t perfect, but I’m taking ownership of my actions because I didn’t do s—t. I…

Erin Blanchfield made the most of her in-cage interview time following her victory over Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 219.

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It wasn’t something that just happened in the heat of the moment. Instead, her call for the next flyweight title shot was by design.

“I always try to think of what I want to say after a win because it can be very emotional and it can be a little cloudy but I knew beating someone like her, especially if I finished her, that I could deserve that title next,” Blanchfield said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

With that in mind, Blanchfield figures to be an interested observer when Valentina Shevchenko defends her 125-pound belt against Alexa Grasso in the UFC 285 co-main event on March 4. Shevchenko has dominated the flyweight division and, along with Amanda Nunes, has ranked as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound females for the past few years. That makes her the more attractive potential opponent for Blanc…

Erin Blanchfield’s time may have arrived sooner than expected.

The 23-year-old Elmwood Park, N.J., native earned a signature victory, as she submitted former strawweight queen Jessica Andrade (24-10, 15-8 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 219 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Blanchfield (11-1, 5-0 UFC) locked in a rear-naked choke to force the tapout 1:37 into Round 2. “Cold Blooded” has won five straight fights in the UFC at 125 pounds, tying her for the second-longest active winning streak in the division. Now she has her sights set on capturing flyweight gold.

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“Give me the winner of Shevchenko vs. Grasso next,” Blanchfield said. “I’m going to win the title and become UFC champion.”

Blanchfield never appeared out of her depth against Andrade, who replaced original opponent Taila Santos on short notice. The Brazilian blitzed forward with her trademark barrage of power punches, but Blanchfield kept her composure and fired back wit…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 219 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Carpenter (-280), Ronderos (+235)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Fletcher (-255), Gorimbo (+215)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT |…

A cut above Evan Elder's eye results in a TKO victory via Doctor's Stoppage #UFCVegas69 pic.twitter.com/MIK4Ien0Jr

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 19, 2023

An accidental clash of heads propelled Nazim Sadykhov to his first UFC triumph at the expense of Evan Elder.

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The Longo and Weidman MMA representative defeated Elder via doctor stoppage in their preliminary lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 219 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. A cageside physician quickly waved off the contest 38 seconds into Round 3 due to Elder suffering a nasty cut above his right eye. The wound initially appeared to be a result of a knee from Sadykhov (8-1, 1-0 UFC) that landed directly on the eyebrow of his opponent, but the victor later revealed it occurred to due a clash of heads. Prior to the stoppage, Sadykhov and Elder (7-2, 0-2 UFC) engaged in a back-and-forth battle on the feet that saw both men land plenty of damaging offe…