Martial Arts News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 2020 calendar is full, but Conor McGregor has the opportunity to fight Dustin Poirier early next year if he wishes to accept the promotion’s offer.

UFC president Dana White told ESPN that he wants to book McGregor vs. Poirier for Jan. 23. However, McGregor recently wrote on Twitter that he wants to fight before the end of the year and would accept dates on Nov. 21, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19.

Hello Dustin! I accepted the @ufc offer to fight you, but told them it must happen in 2020. I’m ready for Nov 21st, given that cards recent injury issues, as well as any of the December dates, the 12th and the 19th. I’ll also still donate the $500k to The Good Fight Foundation https://t.co/23hN4AHtoI

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 8, 2020

"We offered him a fight. We got him his own date," White told ESPN. "We didn't have a date this year. We have everything laid out for this year, with world champions fighti…

Islam Makhachev will not compete at UFC 254.

The Dagestani lightweight was supposed to face Rafael dos Anjos in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24, but dos Anjos withdrew from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. UFC president Dana White revealed to Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that a replacement opponent was not found for Makhachev, and a subsequent release from the promotion regarding the event did not include the Eagles MMA representative. As a result, UFC 254 will move forward with a five-bout main card.

Makhachev is currently on a six-bout winning streak in UFC competition. He went 2-0 in 2019, posting decision triumphs against Davi Ramos and Arman Tsarukyan. A training partner of lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, the 29-year-old is 18-1 since beginning his professional career in 2010.

UFC 254 takes place at the Flash Forum and is headlined by a 155-pound title unification bout between Nurmagomedov and interim champ Justin Gaethje. The main card airs on pay-…

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Petr Yan is expected to make his first bantamweight title defense against Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 256 co-headliner.

Yahoo Sports was first to report the matchup. Contracts have not been signed as of yet, but the promotion is working on finalizing the 135-pound bout. UFC 256 takes place on Dec. 12 and also includes a women’s featherweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson.

Yan takes a 10-bout professional winning streak into his matchup with Sterling. That stretch includes seven straight victories in the Octagon, with notable triumphs over the likes of Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson. “No Mercy” claimed the vacant bantamweight crown with a fifth-round TKO of Jose Aldo at UFC 251 on July 11.

Since suffering a first-round knockout defeat to Marlon Moraes in December 2017, Sterling has reeled off five consecutive wins in UFC competition. Most recently, “The Funk Master…

Hooray for expeditious heavyweight knockouts! Justin Tafa (4-1) detonates Juan Adams in about two minutes to notch his inaugural UFC win. #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/N57vBLERb0

— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) February 9, 2020

A heavyweight showdown pitting Carlos Felipe against Justin Tafa has been added to the lineup for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Jan. 16.

Combate was first to report the booking. A location and venue have not been announced for the event, which is also expected to include a bout between Brian Kelleher and Ricky Simon.

Felipe suffered his first professional defeat in his Octagon debut, dropping a majority decision against Sergey Spivak at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18. The 25-year-old Brazilian rebounded at UFC on ESPN 16, where he outpointed Yorgan De Castro to improve to 9-1 as a professional.

Tafa, meanwhile, rebounded from a first-round KO loss to De Catro in his promotional debut to stop Juan Adams via …

Due to contract issues, Ante Delija has been removed from his heavyweight matchup against Ciryl Gane this Saturday at #UFCFightIsland6 and the bout has been canceled.

More info

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 14, 2020 UFC Fight Night 180 has lost its co-main event after “contract issues” caused Ante Delija to be pulled from a proposed heavyweight matchup with Ciryl Gane.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the news on Wednesday. As a result, a women’s flyweight clash pitting Katlyn Chookagian against Jessica Andrade has been elevated to the evening’s co-main event. Due to the short-notice nature of Delija’s exit, a replacement opponent will not be sought for Gane.

UFC Fight Night 180 takes place at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and is headlined by a featherweight scrap between Brian Ortega and the Korean Zombie. The main card airs on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream immediately prior beginning …

.@LFAfighting brings the Women's #Strawweight Championship to #Kansas at #LFA94!

Champion@Monster_Demovs.Challenger@LoopyGodinez

: https://t.co/28e5sbk4AM

Friday, October 30@HartmanArena#ParkCity, #Kansas#MMA#LFANation@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/OFiHrG9PBE

— LFA (@LFAfighting) October 14, 2020

Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos will defend her strawweight crown against Lupita Godinez in the Legacy Fighting Alliance 94 main event on Oct. 30.

The promotion announced the matchup on Wednesday. LFA 94 takes place at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas, and will have a “limited” number of tickets on sale to attend the event, per a release. LFA 94 airs on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Demopoulos became the promotion’s inaugural strawweight queen with a fourth-round submission of Sam Hughes at LFA 85 on July 17. She attempted to earn a UFC contract on the Contender Series in August but fell to Cory McKenna via unanimous dec…

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The women’s featherweight title bout between Cristiane Justino and Arlene Blencowe will proceed as planned after both competitors made weight on Wednesday.

“Cyborg” tipped the scales at 145 pounds, while Blencowe checked in at 144.5. Bellator 249 takes place on Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and will also see Patricky Freire (155.5) square off against Jaleel Willis (159) in the evening’s co-main event. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network and Dazn at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel and Dazn at 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT.

It wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone on the scales, as Willis missed weight by three pounds for his lightweight showdown with Freire, as did Leandro Higo (139) for a featured bantamweight clash against Ricky Bandejas (136).

A former 145-pound champion with the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta, Justino captured …

Ronaldo Souza will lock horns with Marvin Vettori in a middleweight matchup at UFC 256.

Vettori’s trainer, Emanuele Lochner, announced the news on the The Scramble MMA Show, and the bout was also confirmed by UFC broadcast partner ESPN. Vettori was initially expected to face Omari Akhmedov at UFC 256, but that bout did not come to fruition.

UFC 256 takes place on Dec. 12 and features a women’s featherweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson. A location for the event has not been announced.

Souza was supposed to square off against Uriah Hall at UFC 249 on May, but a positive COVID-19 test forced “Jacare” to withdraw from the card. The 40-year-old Brazilian is coming off a brief foray to light heavyweight, where he dropped a split decision to current 205-pound champ Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 164.

Vettori, meanwhile, has won three consecutive Octagon appearances since dropping a split verdict to reigning middleweight king Israel Ade…

I don’t play fighting I fight so get your soft body to Vegas and I will smoke you on dec 19. You are a real fighter so let’s go @NateDiaz209

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) October 13, 2020

Khamzat Chimaev is on the prowl for a marquee matchup, and he just added Nate Diaz to his list of potential targets.

On Tuesday, Diaz reacted to Conor McGregor’s proposal of a charity exhibition bout between the Irish star and Dustin Poirier this December outside the confines of the Octagon. The UFC has since countered by offering a rematch to the two contenders for an undetermined event.

“Let’s don’t get it twisted I already smoked these [two] now they play fighting,” Diaz wrote on Twitter.

Chimaev responded to Diaz’s post, calling for a December showdown with the Stockton, California, native.

“I don’t play fighting, I fight, so get your soft body to Vegas and I will smoke you on Dec. 19,” Chimaev wrote. “You are a real fighter so let’s go […

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After Magomed Ismailov defeated Aleksander Emelianenko by third-round technical knockout at Absolute Championship Akhmat 107, the promotion has found a new challenge for the 34-year-old Russian known as “Bald Hawk.”

Ismailov (16-2-1) will face Ivan Shtyrkov (17-1-1) in the ACA 115 main event on Dec. 12. A location and venue for the event will be announced at a later date.

The 34-year-old Ismailov will make his debut in the light heavyweight division to participate in this bout. Prior to facing Emelianenko in a heavyweight affair, Ismailov had previously only competed at middleweight. But in order to meet "The Grim Reaper, he gained nearly 29 pounds – and was still outweighed by approximately 44 pounds. Now, Ismailov seems to have found a middle ground in terms of weight.

Ismailov is currently on an 11-fight unbeaten streak, with a draw against Vladimir Mineev the only blemish on his ledger during t…

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Bellator MMA has signed the cousin of UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Sherdog.com confirmed with a promotion official on Tuesday that the California-based organization has signed Gregory Milliard to a multi-fight contract. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news. Milliard is expected to compete in the Bellator cage before the end of the year.

A light heavyweight, Milliard has been victorious in eight of his last nine professional appearances while competing on the regional circuit. “The Arubian Assassin” began his career with a 2-4 record, which included a loss to Francois Ambang at Bellator 68 in May 2012.

Milliard has finished six of his professional triumphs by KO/TKO, one via submission and three by decision. He last fought in April 2019, scoring a second-round TKO victory in the main event of a card staged in Aruba.

The lineup for One Championship “Inside the Matrix” is now complete.

The promotion announced Monday that a lightweight matchup between Eduard Folayang and Antonio Caruso and an atomweight clash pitting Ritu Phogat against Nou Srey Pov will round out the six-bout card on Oct. 30.

One “Inside the Matrix” will be held at Singapore Indoor Stadium behind closed doors with only athletes, officials and production crew at the venue. Four title bouts will top the card: Aung La N Sang vs. Reinier de Ridder at middleweight; Christian Lee vs. Iuri Lapicus at lightweight; Martin Nguyen vs. Thanh Le at featherweight and Jingnan Xiong vs. Tiffany Teo at strawweight.

A three-time one lightweight champion, Folayang has lost three of his last our appearance, including a split-decision setback against Pieter Buist on Jan. 31. Caruso lost for the first time in eight professional outings in his promotional debut, falling to Buist via unanimous decision at One “Dawn of Valor” in October 201…