Martial Arts News

Spencer Fisher will never be the same following a 33-fight MMA career that included 17 bouts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In a heart-wrenching feature on MMAFighting.com, Fisher revealed that he suffered severe brain trauma as a result of fighting and has been battling numerous symptoms that hinder him in daily activities. Fisher, who was forced to retire when diagnosed with brain lesions that signaled the onset of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), has dealt with issues such as memory loss, dizziness, vertigo and depression while struggling to hold a regular job since the conclusion of his UFC tenure.

UFC officials did not comment for the feature on Fisher, but Dana White did address the ex-fighter’s condition when speaking with MMAjunkie.com on Wednesday. White said that the promotion is working to study athlete brain health through its collaborative venture with the Cleveland Clinic, and the UFC also recently donated $1 million to the Lou Ruvo Cen…

Credit: UFC Credit: UFC

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has suspended Bevon Lewis six months for a positive marijuana test stemming from his Nov. 7 bout at UFC on ESPN 17.

Lewis, who was also fined $1,200, will be eligible to return to action on May 7 pending payment of his fine and $145.36 in legal fees. Lewis’ sanction was determined at a monthly NSAC meeting on Wednesday.

Lewis suffered a third-round technical knockout loss to Trevin Giles at UFC on ESPN 17. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum went 1-3 within the Las Vegas-based promotion before reportedly being released late last year.

In addition to Lewis, the NSAC has handed down marijuana-related sanctions to the likes of Jamahal Hill, Tim Elliott, Kevin Croom, Niko Price, Luis Pena and Trevin Jones in 2020.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s March 13 event looks like it will have some pivotal bouts at the top of the card.

The highly-anticipated welterweight clash between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev has been rescheduled for that date after twice falling through due to positive COVID-19 tests. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. Edwards and Chimaev were initially supposed to square off at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19 before the Englishman tested positive for COVID-19, and they were rebooked for UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20, but on that occasion Chimaev fell victim to coronavirus. Edwards vs. Chimaev will serve as the headliner for the event.

Meanwhile, a heavyweight showdown between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane is also in the works for March 13. La Sueur was first to report that verbal agreements were in place for the matchup. The UFC card does not yet have an official venue or location.

Edwards did not compete at all in 2020 due to having p…

A middleweight clash between Omari Akhmedov and Tom Breese has been moved from UFC on ABC 1 on Jan. 16 to UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20.

The promotion announced the rescheduled bout on Tuesday, citing “COVID-related issues.” Further details were not revealed. UFC on ESPN 20 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a welterweight tilt between Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny.

Akhmedov, 33, had a six-bout unbeaten streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Chris Weidman at UFC Fight Night 174 on Aug. 8. The Dagestani known as “Wolverine” is 8-4-1 during his promotional tenure and 20-5-1 as a professional overall.

Breese, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, th 29-year-old Birmingham England native scored a first-round TKO of K.B. Bhullar at UFC Fight Night 179 on Oct. 10. Breese began his UFC career at welterweight, going 3-1 before moving up to 185 pounds.

Pat Miletich’s participation in the protests that turned into a violent coup at the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 might have cost him his job with Legacy Fighting Alliance.

Multiple social media posts showed Miletich with a group of protestors supporting President Donald Trump, who marched from the White House to the Capitol, where hundreds entered the building to interrupt a ceremonial event affirming Joe Biden’s victory in the November election. In the riot that ensued, five people were killed — including a Capitol police officer — and the Senate was forced to evacuate.

Of course Pat Miletich was in DC on Jan 6th. pic.twitter.com/nVp1yayVAp

— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) January 11, 2021

While it doesn’t appear that the UFC Hall of Famer entered the builiding, he announced that he was let go from his commentating position with LFA.

“I just want to let you guys know that I just got a call from the folks at the LFA and they basi…

After finishing 2020 with a five-round war against Brandon Moreno that turned out to be one of the year’s best bouts, flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo is completely focused on his brother Francisco Figueiredo’s debut at UFC on ESPN 20 next week.

“My brother is entering in the biggest promotion in the world to make history,” Deiveson said. “He is really tough. He is the one who pushes me to train more every day [even after a bad session at the gym]. I´m sure he will neutralize Jerome Rivera wherever this fight goes, on the feet or on the ground.”

Deiveson eventually envisions a scenario in which his brother’s success at flyweight will force him to move to the bantamweight division.

“After two or three fights I have no doubt he will be on the top,” Deiveson said. “So I don’t have to fight my brother, I’ll go up to the bantamweight division as I planned.”

Figueiredo is so confident that he will beat Moreno in their rematch, which is tentatively planned …

A bantamweight clash pitting Umar Nurmagomedov against Sergey Morozov will take place three days earlier than expected, as it has been moved from UFC 257 on Jan. 23 to UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20.

MMA journalist Igor Lazorin was first to report the change. UFC on ESPN 20 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a welterweight scrap between Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa.

Nurmagomedov was scheduled to make his Octagon debut on three separate occasions — including against Morozov at UFC 254 — in 2020, but each time the bout was scrapped for various reasons. The Eagles MMA representative is 12-0 as a professional, with stints in the Professional Fighters League and Fight Nights Global promotions on his resume.

Morozov will enter his first promotional foray on a five-bout winning streak. The 31-year-old M-1 Global champion is coming off a title defense against Josh Rettinghouse at M-1 Challenge 105 in October 2019. A native of Kazakhstan, Morozov…

Former One Championship lightweight title holder Shinya Aoki will return to action to face James Nakashima in the co-main event of One “Unbreakable” on Jan. 22.

The Singapore-based promotion announced the booking on Tuesday. One “Unbreakable” takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium and is topped by a showdown for the organization’s bantamweight kickboxing crown between Alaverdi Ramazanov and Capitan Petchyindee Academy. Three other MMA bouts were announced for the event: Zebaztian Kadestam vs. Gadzhimurad Abdulaev at welterweight; Meng Bo vs. Samara Santos Cunha at atomweight and Getu Hexi vs. Lito Adiwang at strawweight.

Aoki, 37, has won six of seven bouts since 2018 and is coming off a decision win against Kimihiro Eto under the Shooto banner in September.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion, Nakashima is unbeeaten in 12 professional appearances — including a three-round verdict over Yushin Okami at One “Dawn of Heroes” in his most recent outing in Aug…

Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com

The Ultimate Fighting Championship may have plans to move its events beyond Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi in 2020.

UFC president Dana White indicated as much when talking about the promotion’s plans for reigning strawweight queen Weili Zhang in an interview with ESPN.

“We’re working on her, too,” White said. “Obviously, the fight everybody wants to see is her and Rose [Namajunas]. Hopefully we can get that done. If not, the next one in line would probably be Carla Esparza. We’re looking to do that fight this year – and in Asia.”

Zhang last appeared at UFC 248, where retained her belt with a split-decision over Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a bout that was selected as Sherdog.com's "Fight of the Year” for 2020. She first claimed the 115-pound title with a first-round stoppage of Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen, China, in August 2019.

The UFC will have fans in a venue for the first time since Zhang vs. Jedrzejczyk…

Dana White and Conor McGregor weren’t on the best of terms for much of last year, but the UFC president and the former two-division champion seem to have repaired their relationship.

In a recent interview with ESPN, White discussed the rift that occurred when McGregor released a series of private messages regarding a fight with longtime UFC veteran Diego Sanchez. At the time, White called it “one of the dirtiest things you can do.”

"We were in a really bad place then, I was really upset," White said. "It wasn't because he put out private messages. We were talking about another fighter. And I like >Diego Sanchez. I have a lot of respect forDiego Sanchez. I care about Diego Sanchez. I talked to Diego face-to-face about it, and being the great human being he is, we're all good.

"I was really upset with Conor, but we fixed that and now we're all good."

McGregor will return to action for the first time in a year when he faces Dustin Poirier in a rematch in the UFC…

A middleweight clash between Trevin Giles and Dricus Du Plessis is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on March 20.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. The card is headlined by a 185-pound tilt pitting Kevin Holland against Derek Brunson. A location for the event has yet to be announced.

Giles entered 2020 on a two-bout skid in the Octagon but turned things around with a split decision triumph over James Krause at UFC 247 and a third-round TKO of Bevon Lewis at UFC on ESPN 17. The 28-year-old is 4-2 during his promotional tenure and 13-2 as a professional overall.

South Africa’s Du Plessis enjoyed a successful promotional debut when he knocked out Markus Perez in the opening stanza at UFC Fight Night 179 on Oct. 10. The former Extreme Fighting Championship and KSW title holder is 15-2 over the course of his career, with all of his victories coming inside the distance.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTv2KoClNsw&w=560&h=315]

After losing to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title bout last September, Paulo Costa has been staying in shape while he awaits word on his next opponent from the UFC.

According to Costa´s manager, Wallid Ismail, Robert Whittaker is the target. 

“No. 1 against No. 2, that's the fight to be made,” Ismail told Sherdog.com. “UFC wants it and we want it. We have a [preliminary] agreement about it.”

Alex Prates, Whittaker’s coach, also mentioned a preliminary agreement with the UFC to Sherdog, but he did not confirm the opponent.

"Robert never chooses opponents,” Prates said. “[It] doesn’t matter if it will be Adesanya, Costa or [Marvin] Vettori. The only thing Whitaker cares about is that UFC promised him a fight for the belt next. If it will be a linear or interim [belt], he doesn’t care. But it has to be for the title.”

In the meantime, Costa is training hard and ad…