Martial Arts News

Mounir Lazzez will replace Christian Aguilera and face Warlley Alves in a welterweight contest at UFC on ESPN 20.

Alves and Aguilera were initially slated to meet at UFC on ABC 1, but Lazzez vs. Alves has been moved to an event scheduled four days later. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking. UFC on ESPN 20 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 20 and is headlined by a 170-pound clash between Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny. The card will air on both ESPN and ESPN+.

Tunisia’s Lazzez made a strong first impression when he scored a clear-cut decision victory over knockout artist Abdul Razak Alhassan in his debut at UFC on ESPN 13 on July 15. The man known as “Sniper” is 10-1 as a professional, with eight wins coming via KO or TKO.

Alves, who won Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old X-Gym member fell to Randy Brown via second-round submission at UFC Figh…

IN ONE ROUND.@JaredVanderaa opened the night with RELENTLESS finishing shots

[ Tune in on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/UCQSGCS7tY

— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2020 The lineup for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Feb. 20 event continues to grow, as a heavyweight tilt betweeen Sergey Spivak and Jared Vanderaa and a featherweight clash between Michael Trizano and Rafael Alves have been added to the card.

MMAFighting.com was first to report Spivak vs. Vanderaa, which was initially slated for UFC 256 before Vanderaa tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, MMA DNA brought word of the Trizano-Alves matchup. UFC Fight Night takes place at an as yet to be announced location and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis.

Spivak has alternated wins and losses in his first four UFC appearances. Most recently, the 25-year-old Moldovan captured a majority decision against Carlos Felipe at UFC Fight Night 172 o…

Michael Chandler has a golden opportunity at UFC 257.

The former Bellator lightweight champion will make his Octagon debut against Dan Hooker in the evening’s co-main event in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23, one fight before Irish superstar Conor McGregor returns for a rematch with Dustin Poirier in the card’s headliner. Such prominent placement represents a golden opportunity for Chandler, but he must first get past Hooker before making any future plans.

Hooker, who is coming off a memorable decision loss to Poirier in a five-round war at UFC on ESPN 12, has won seven of his last nine promotional appearances while establishing himself as a reliable action fighter in the process.

“He’s the tallest guy in the division, which isn’t that big of a deal for me. Obviously I’m not the tallest guy, I’m about average height. So I fight a lot of guys who are taller than me, and I’ve got numerous knockouts against guys that are taller than me,” Chandler told ESPN. “I have a knack f…

A showdown between heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis has been rescheduled for UFC Fight Night on Feb. 20.

ESPN was first to report the news. Blaydes and Lewis were initially booked to lock horns in the main event of UFC on ESPN 18 on Nov. 28, but the bout was postponed after Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19.

Blaydes vs. Lewis will serve as the headliner for the UFC Fight Night card on Feb. 20, which doesn’t yet have an official location.

Blaydes has won four straight bouts since a 45-second TKO loss to current heavyweight No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou at UFC Fight Night 141 in November 2018. Most recently, Blaydes earned a five-round verdict against Alexander Volkov in the UFC on ESPN 11 headliner on June 20.

Lewis, meanwhile, enters the matchup on a three-fight winning streak. After defeating Blagoy Ivanov via split decision and taking a unanimous verdict over Ilir Latifi, “The Black Beast” scored an emphatic victory at UFC F…

A welterweight title tilt between reigning champion Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns is in the works for UFC 258.

ESPN has reported that both Usman and Burns have verbally agreed to the bout, though contracts have not yet been signed. UFC 258 takes place on Feb. 13 at an as yet to be announced location. Combate initially reported the fight.

Usman vs. Burns has already been scheduled on two previous occasion. A positive COVID-19 test for Burns nixed their bout at UFC 251 in July, and then the rebooking at UFC 256 on Dec. 12 fell through when Usman withdrew to recover from lingering injuries.

Usman enters the matchup on a 16-bout professional winning streak that includes 12 victories within the Las Vegas-based promotion. “The Nigerian Nightmare” claimed 170-pound gold with a dominant five-round verdict over Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 and has since defended the crown with a fifth-round TKO of Colby Covington at UFC 245 and a decision against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251…

A welterweight clash pitting Neil Magny against Michael Chiesa has been elevated to the new UFC on ESPN 20 main event, promotion officials announced Monday.

The Jan. 20 card’s originally scheduled headliner, Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev, was scrapped when Chimaev experienced complications after testing positive for COVID-19 in early December. According to a release, the plan is to reschedule Edwards vs. Chimaev for a third time later this year.

UFC on ESPN 20 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and will also see Carlos Condit face Matt Brown at 170 pounds, while Jimmie Rivera takes on Pedro Munhoz at bantamweight. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT, while the prelims begin on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT.

After not competing at all in 2019, Magny went 3-0 within the Las Vegas-based promotion last year, earning successive decision triumphs against Jingliang Li, Anthony Rocco Martin and Robbie Lawler. The Elevation Fight …

ESPN+ & @ABCNetwork combine to televise #UFCFightNight: Holloway vs Kattar

Live from #UFCFightIsland on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

Saturday, Jan. 16Prelims | Noon ET | Exclusively on ESPN+Main Card | 3p ET | ESPN+ (English/Spanish) & ABC

More: https://t.co/Uw9jqLM4Q0 pic.twitter.com/ZWzQl4uAFp

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 4, 2021

More information has emerged regarding the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s broadcast plans with ABC.

According to a release, the main card of the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for Jan. 16 will be simulcast on both ABC and ESPN+ beginning at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. Immediately prior, the preliminary draw will stream exclusively on ESPN+ at noon ET/9 a.m. PT.

Reports of the UFC’s move to ABC first emerged in late December. Details regarding future broadcast plans with ABC have not been revealed, however.

“We are excited to collaborate with ABC to televise the first UFC event of 2021, an…

A matchup of light heavyweight prospects is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s March 27 event.

According to ESPN, Jimmy Crute and Johnny Walker will square off on the card, which doesn’t yet have an official location or headliner.

Crute, who appeared on Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, has been victorious in four of his first five Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 24-year-old Australian known as “The Brute” knocked out Modestas Bukauskas in the opening round of their encounter at UFC Fight Night 180 on Oct. 17.

A winner on the Brazilian interation of the Contender Series, Walker snapped a two-bout skid with a first-round KO of Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 178 this past September. The 28-year-old Rio de Janeiro native initially rose to prominence with three consecutive first-round knockouts to kick off his UFC tenure.

A pivotal lightweight showdown pitting Michael Chandler against Dan Hooker is official for the UFC 257 co-main event.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking to broadcast partner ESPN following an initial report from The Schmo last week. UFC 257 takes place at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23 and is headlined by a 155-pound clash between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Chandler will make his highly-anticipated UFC debut after a successful stint with Bellator MMA that saw him capture lightweight gold on three different occasions. The former University of Missouri wrestler enters the matchup with Hooker riding the momentum of back-to-back first-round KO victories against Sidney Outlaw and Benson Henderson. Before being paired with Hooker, Chandler made weight to serve as an alternate for the Khabib Nurmagomedov-Justin Gaethje headliner at UFC 254.

Hooker, meanwhile, will return for the first time since a memorable five-round decision defeat at t…

Credit: Joao Baptista/Sherdog.com

An elbow injury has forced Isi Fitikefu out of his Octagon debut at UFC on ESPN 20.

As a result, Markus Perez will step in and face Dalcha Lungiambula on Jan. 20 in Abu Dhabi. Multiple outlets confirmed the new middleweight booking following an initial report from Ag Fight. UFC on ESPN 20 takes place at the Flash Forum and is headlined by a welterweight duel between Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa.

The 30-year-old Perez has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances and is coming off a first-round knockout loss against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC Fight Night 179 on Oct. 10. “Maluko” is 2-4 in the UFC and 12-4 as a professional overall, with nine of his triumphs coming inside the distance.

After winning his promotional debut against Dequan Townsend, Lungiambula had a six-fight pro winning streak halted in a third-round KO loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC Fight Night 163 on Nov. 9. A former Extreme Fighting Championship heavyweig…

Nasty knee here at #LFA89! pic.twitter.com/FWeqsbMwbY

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 29, 2020

A middleweight showdown between Josh Fremd and Bruno Oliveira will top the Legacy Fighting Alliance 98 lineup on Jan. 29.

The promotion recently announced the booking. LFA 98 takes place at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas and streams on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Five other main card bouts were also confirmed: J.J. Okanovich vs. Lucas Clay at lightweight; Richard Palencia vs. Jeimeson Saudino at bantamweight; Kyle Frost vs. Austin Clem at lightweight, Joshua DaSilveira vs. Matthew Paul at light heavyweight and Zac Pauga vs. Ashby Thomas at light heavyweight.

Anchored at Factory X, Fremd has been victorious in six of his first seven professional outings. The 26-year-old enjoyed an impressive 2020 with first-round knockout victories over Lamar Gosey and Antonio Jones under the LFA banner.

Oliveira, 36, is com…

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 first Ultimate Fighting Championship card of 2021 lost a key matchup. On his Instagram page on Friday, Anthony Hernandez (7-2, 1 NC) posted that he contracted COVID-19 and his bout with Rodolfo Vieira (7-0) needed to be rescheduled. The middleweight pairing originally slated for UFC on ABC 1 on Jan. 16 has been pushed to UFC 258 on Feb. 13.

“Happy New Year,” Hernandez wrote. “Good news is that #teamFluffy is safe and gear goes out next week. Bad news is the fight’s delayed – 2020 left me with the COVID. I’m good [though] – and rescheduled for 2/13.”

Hernandez will be looking to bounce back from his first career knockout loss, which Kevin Holland handed to him in 39 seconds in May. “Fluffy” has overcome some adversity leading into and throughout his UFC career, as he began his ascent on Dana White's Contender Series…