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Bellator Champ Johnny Eblen: ‘I’m the Best Middleweight in the World’

Johnny Eblen wasn’t completely flawless in his first Bellator middleweight title defense — but he was pretty close.

“The Human Cheat Code” relied on takedowns, ground-and-pound and some timely striking to capture a unanimous decision triumph against Anatoly Tokov in the Bellator 290 co-main event at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night. Eblen received scorecards of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 from the cageside judges to end his opponent’s seven-fight winning streak within the promotion. After the opening stanza, Eblen gradually took control, punctuating his victory with a spectacular belly-to-back suplex in Round 5.

“First round was tough,” Eblen said at the post-fight press conference. “After that, I just did what I wanted to do with him, started pulling away. He’s the first guy to beat me in a round because two judges gave him the first round.”

Despite a relatively clear-cut victory, Eblen still found some flaws in his performance, t…

Sergey Spivak Vows to Show Even More Skills in Future Following Dominant Victory

While Sergey Spivak’s overwhelming victory over Derrick Lewis may have been surprising to many observers, it wasn’t to the man himself.

“The Polar Bear” dominated Lewis in the UFC Fight Night 218 headliner, tossing his opponent all over the Octagon before locking in an arm-triangle choke at the 3:05 mark of Round 1. It was a significant statement against a two-time heavyweight title challenger.

“We were ready for everything,” Spivak said at the post-fight press conference “Today, I showed you guys my judo style, my sambo style, my boxing style, and in the future, I’ll show you guys more.”

Spivak transitioned seamlessly to the fight-ending choke, and that wasn’t by accident.

“I trained a lot for this moment,” he said. “My friend Misha Cirkunov showed me this triangle choke and we worked a lot for this moment. I saw Derrick Lewis doesn’t have good balance and grappling. I took the moment.”

Spivak has won six of his last seven UFC appearan…

Fedor Emelianenko Content with Retirement: ‘That’s How It Has to Happen’

Fedor Emelianenko lays down his gloves surrounded by legends!

Tune in to @CBS and @paramountplus NOW. #Bellator290 #Bellator #MMA @BellatorMMA @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/DgXYmEfskx

— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) February 5, 2023

When it comes to combat sports, legends rarely get a happy ending.

   That was again the case in the Bellator 290 headliner, when Ryan Bader defeated Fedor Emelianenko via first-round technical knockout in the Russian’s farewell fight at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night. While there was some hope coming into the bout that “The Last Emperor” could turn back the clock one more time, Bader dispelled that notion in short order, as he floored his opponent with a right behind the ear before sealing his victory with a series of unanswered punches on the canvas.

   While the ending was bittersweet, Emelianenko was content with his decision to retire. Ultimately, Father Time is a r…

UFC Fight Night 218 Bonuses: Spivak Gets $50K for Dominant Victory

Sergey Spivak was absolutely dominant in the UFC Fight Night 218 headliner, and he was compensated accordingly.

Spivak received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” payment for his quick submission of Derrick Lewis on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “The Polar Bear” tossed his opponent to the canvas repeatedly before locking in an arm-triangle choke to force the tapout 3:05 into the opneing stanza of their heavyweight clash.

Meanwhile, Anshul Jubli garnered a $50,000 “Peformance of the Night” award thanks to a stoppage of Jeka Asparido Saragih at lightweight. A barrage of punches and elbows from top position led to a technical knockout victory for Jubli at the 3:44 mark of the second stanza.

Rinya Nakamura earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check thanks to an emphatic knockout of Toshiomi Kazama in a preliminary bantamweight affair. Nakamura floored his foe with a counter left hand before sealing his victory with one fo…

Ryan Bader Obliterates Retiring Fedor Emelianenko in Bellator 290 Main Event

Ryan Bader made certain a true all-time great walked off into the sunset empty-handed.

The two-time NCAA All-American successfully defended his undisputed Bellator MMA heavyweight championship, as he stopped the retiring Fedor Emelianenko with punches in the first round of their Bellator 290 headliner on Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, California. In the final appearance of his incredible career, Emelianenko (40-7, 4-3 Bellator) succumbed to blows 2:30 into Round 1.

Bader (31-7, 9-2 Bellator) wisely steered clear of the Russian’s fabled overhand right and picked his spots. He backed up Emelianenko with punches, then floored him with a glancing right behind the ear. Bader set up shop in top position, cut loose with ground-and-pound and eventually trapped the former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder’s arm behind him before closing it out with unanswered punches to the face.

In the co-main event, Johnny Eblen kept his perfect professional …

Bellator 290 ‘Bader vs. Fedor 2’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Sherdog's live Bellator 290 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Round 1 Bellator is back after a two-month break, and it is bringing out the big guns and plopping them down on CBS for the first time. An overstuffed preliminary portion, with 11 fights set to go down in the span of three hours, will begin the proceedings at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The promotion is bring a name right out of the gate to start off the night, as former champ Caldwell (15-6, 12-5 BMMA) will look to get things back on track against Russian youngster and FedorTeam stablemate Mikhailov (8-2, 2-1 BMMA). The first assignment of the night goes to referee Raphael Davis, and the bantamweights touch em’ up to start the evening’s festivities. Mikhailov strikes first with a loud low kick, and Caldwell tries to give him it back but it is swatted away. Mikhailov crashes forward to throw hands, and his momentum makes him topple over. An awkward scramble leads to Caldwell hitting his back momen…

Sergey Spivak Mauls Derrick Lewis in UFC Fight Night 218 Headliner

SERGHEI SPIVAC SUBMITS LEWIS IN ROUND 1 🗜 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/qSlnn4mnBv

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023

Sergey Spivak was completely dominant in his first UFC main event.

The Moldovan ragdolled former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis all over the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 218 before locking in an arm-triangle choke for a submission victory at the 3:05 mark of the opening stanza. Spivak (16-3, 7-3 UFC) has won three straight fights and six of his last seven UFC appearances overall. Lewis (26-11, 1 NC, 17-9 UFC) never had a chance to get going. Spivak executed a hip toss within the bout’s first 30 seconds, and the rout was on from there. “The Polar Bear” slammed a helpless Lewis to the mat repeatedly while punishing his foe with ground-and-pound from mount. Finally, after slamming Lewis to the canvas one last time, Spivak deftly transitioned to the fight-ending maneuver to mercifully bring an e…

UFC Fight Night 218 ‘Lewis vs. Spivak’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 218 coverage will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Taira (-1200), Aguilar (+800)Round 1 Taira and Aguilar kick off the evening, with veteran referee Chris Tognoni assigned to keep things clean. Both men set up in orthodox stance, and Aguilar wastes no time in throwing a low kick that nearly takes Taira off his feet. Aguilar swarms and, in the ensuing collision, grabs a guillotine and falls to his back. Taira is in Aguilar’s half guard, on the far side. The angle isn’t great for the submission, but the choke is well under the chin and Aguilar is going for it. Taira remains calm, inching his way to the side. A minute and a half in, they’re still in the same position against the fence. Taira works on the hands, and halfway through the round he pops his head out and goes to work. Taira works to isolate the far arm while trying to pass guard. With 90 seconds left, Taira advances to full mount, trapping Aguilar…

Miami Announced as Location for UFC 287 on April 8

For the first time in two decades, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading to Miami.

Dana White announced on Saturday that UFC 287 on April 8 will be held at Miami-Dade arena in the Sunshine State. The Las Vegas-based promotion hasn’t been to Miami since Matt Hughes defended his welterweight crown with a five-round decision against Sean Sherk in the UFC 42 headliner on April 25, 2003.

“I’m always talking about big destination fights, and we are going back to Miami,” White said.

UFC 287 is headlined by a middleweight championship rematch between reigning champion Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. Perhaps even more notable in this case is the co-main event, which sees Miami native Jorge Masvidal return for the first time in more than a year against Gilbert Burns.

Other bouts slated for UFC 287 include Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio at welterweight; Rob Fant vs. Adrian Yanez at bantamweight; Michael Chiesa vs. Jingliang Li at…

Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler to Serve as Coaches on ‘TUF 31’

“The Ultimate Fighter 31” figures to be one of the more intriguing seasons in recent memory.

UFC president Dana White on Saturday announced that Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will serve as coaches on “TUF 31” before squaring off in the Octagon later this year. The series will premiere on May 30 via ESPN/ESPN+ and runs through Aug. 15. A date and venue for McGregor vs. Chandler was not confirmed.

McGregor will be making his second appearance on the long-running reality show after serving as a coach opposite Urijah Faber on “TUF 22” in 2015. The Dublin native hasn’t competed since July 10, 2021, when he broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor has lost three of his last four promotional appearances dating back to October 2018.

Chandler, who has openly campaigned for a fight against McGregor, is coming off a 1-1 campaign in 2022. After scoring a highlight-reel front kick knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274, the ex-Be…

Mandy Bohm Suffers Illness, UFC Fight Night 218 Bout vs. Ji Yeon Kim Canceled

With just a few hours left before the event, UFC Fight Night 218 is down to 11 bouts.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Saturday that Mandy Bohm has been forced to withdraw from a proposed flyweight clash against Ji Yeon Kim due to illness. As a result, the contest has been removed from the card.

UFC Fight Night 218 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Derrick Lewis against Sergey Spivak. Bohm vs. Kim was slated for the preliminary portion of the card.

Germany’s Bohm is 0-2 in the Octagon, with decision losses to Ariane Lipski and Victoria Leonardo in her first two promotional appearances. The 33-year-old known as “Monster” was unbeaten in eight professional outings before signing with the UFC.

Kim, meanwhile, was looking to halt a four-bout skid in UFC competition. Most recently, the South Korean dropped a split verdict to Joselyne Edwards at UFC 277 this past July.

Amanda Leve Lands Professional Fighters League Contract on PFL Challenger Series 2

Philadelphia-based Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Amanda Leve nailed down a Professional Fighters League contract on Week 2 of the PFL Challenger Series, as she outstruck onetime Olympian Naranjargal Tsendayush to a unanimous decision on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 29-28 for Leve (2-0, 2-0 PFL).

Tsendayush (2-1, 0-1 PFL), an accomplished judoka who represented Mongolia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, delivered a head-and-arm throw in the first round but failed to consolidate those efforts with meaningful damage or control. Leve snuck around to the back, secured her position with a body triangle and went about altering the narrative. For the next 10 minutes, she let fly with punches, countered effectively and connected with the occasional head kick. Tsendayush backed up a hearty chin and unfettered aggression with clubbing hooks from both hands, only to fall short on the scor…

PFL Challenger Series 2 Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Sherdog's live PFL Challenger Series 2 coverage kicks off Friday at 9 p.m. ET. The action will be broadcast live and free on fuboTV. Round 1 Kicking off the card, Michelle Montague (2-0) faces Shaquita Woods, who is making her pro debut. Montague is by far the biggest favorite of the card at a whopping -500, which is a lot of faith for a fighter with only two bouts. Woods starts off with a few kicks, including a sidekick to the head, but Montague avoids them. Motangue scores with a leg kick of her own. They're cautious now, standing at range. Woods overextends on a front kick that Montague easily dodges. Neither fighter has really thrown a punch yet, just kicks. Woods touches Montague's leg with a kick and throws a punch that is about a foot short of the target. Woods misses another front kick to the body. Woods barely taps Montague with another leg kick and misses another punch that isn't remotely close. Montague finally opens up with a flurry of punches out of nowhere and …

UFC Fight Night 218 Weigh-in Results: Road to UFC Tourney Finals Official

THE BEAST IS OFFICIAL 😤

[ @TheBeast_UFC | Tomorrow | 10pmPT Main Card on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/1Y8Z8a74TA

— UFC (@ufc) February 3, 2023 Originally set for Seoul, South Korea, UFC Fight Night 218 will now emanate from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and feature a heavyweight main event between Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak.

All fighters successfully made weight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's first card of February. However, there will be a bit of a weight difference in the main event, as Lewis (26-10, 1 NC) will be the heftier man inside the cage. "The Black Beast" weighed a full 265 pounds, coming in 9.5 pounds heavier than the 255.5-pounder Spivak (15-3).

Lewis enters his 10th UFC main event in dire need of a win. The 37-year-old has fallen short in his last two bouts, which includes getting flattened by Sergei Pavlovich in just 55 seconds. Meanwhile, "The Polar Bear" has prevailed in five of his last si…

Bellator 290 Weigh-in Results: Bader vs. Fedor 2 Cleared; 1 Prelim Fighter Heavy

main event were the first to weigh-in today at @bellatormma pic.twitter.com/4TAWPWFzrm

— esther lin (@allelbows) February 3, 2023 The storied career of Fedor Emelianenko will come to an end with one final shot at championship glory in the main event of Bellator 290.

The three-fight main card on the CBS airwaves will feature two title fights and a sure-fire welterweight banger. Both heavyweight headliners easily came in under the 265-pound limit, as champion Ryan Bader weighed 234.4 pounds, while Emelianenko (40-6, 1 NC) came in slightly heavier at 236.2 pounds. Middleweight titleholder Johnny Eblen also made weight at 184 pounds on the dot, ahead of his first defense against Anatoly Tokov (184.8). The only fighter to miss weight was prelim participant Diana Avsaragova, who checked in at 128.8 pounds for her flyweight match against Alejandra Lara (125.8). Avsaragova will be fined a percentage of her purse as a result, but the contest will other…

Michael Chiesa-Jingliang Li Added to UFC 287 Lineup on April 8

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not quite done building its stacked April pay-per-view.

Per Michael Chiesa (16-6) on ESPN’s “UFC Fight Night Pre-Show” on Friday, he will be competing on April 8. This will be his first in-cage outing since 2021, and he will be taking on Jingliang Li (19-8) with potential top-10 stakes in the welterweight division. The event, UFC 287, still does not currently have a location on the books, although locales of Brooklyn, New York, and Miami are reportedly the frontrunners.

This will be Chiesa’s first fight in over 16 months, and he will be attempting to dispel a two-fight losing streak when he sets foot in the Octagon again. “Maverick” first succumbed to a brabo choke from Vicente Luque in August 2021, and came back three-plus months later to drop a decision to then-undefeated Sean Brady. Before then, Chiesa had rattled off four straight victories in his return to welterweight. All four wins came over noteworthy foe…

Trevin Jones Replaces Julio Arce Against Cody Garbrandt at UFC 285

A former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder has found a suitable replacement for his March appearance.

News of Julio Arce’s withdrawal from UFC 285 broke on Monday, as a knee injury forced him out of his expected pairing with Cody Garbrandt (12-5). Stepping up on about a month’s notice, Trevin Jones (13-9, 1 NC) has been tapped as the new opponent opposite Garbrandt. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN first brought this to light on Friday.

The ex-bantamweight king, Garbrandt has fallen on hard times the last several years. Since claiming the throne from Dominick Cruz in 2016, Garbrandt has fought just six times, and prevailed only once against Raphael Assuncao in 2020. Averaging about a fight a year – although Garbrandt did not set foot in the cage in 2020 – “No Love” will come into this crucial contest on a two-fight skid. His 2021 campaign did not go his way, as a five-round headliner against Rob Font ended up with Font getting his hand rai…

Fabricio Werdum Considers Fedor Emelianenko the GOAT, Expects Fedor Fights Again

Even though he has achieved much in the sport, ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Fabricio Werdum still holds one former foe in much higher regard than himself.

Werdum stands as the only man on the planet to ever submit Fedor Emelianenko in MMA competition, doing so atop a Strikeforce card in 2010 to shock the world. Following the news that Brazilian channel Combate will carry events through Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League even though its UFC arrangement has ended, Werdum has drawn the assignment as a color commentator for Bellator 290. Speaking to Sherdog on Wednesday about the event, Werdum spoke at length about his former foe, his plans for the future and much more.

“Nobody ever did what [Emelianenko] did in heavyweight division,” Werdum explained. “Ten years undefeated, no doubt he must be considered the GOAT. The other four, I would put [Mirko Filipovic] ‘Cro Cop,’ [Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira] ‘Minotauro,’ Cain Velasquez and mys…

Taila Santos vs. Erin Blanchfield Elevated to Main Event of UFC Fight Night 219

Two top Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight contenders will get their names on the marquee unexpectedly.

On Thursday night, news broke that Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen had been shifted to UFC on ESPN 43 in March, leaving UFC Fight Night 219 with no headliner. The anticipated co-main event of Taila Santos (19-2) vs. Erin Blanchfield (10-1) for that Feb. 18 event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas has been elevated to the headliner slot, with this announcement coming via the UFC on Friday. The two flyweights will now be fighting across five rounds instead of three atop the billing.

Santos suffered her first defeat in a few years when she came up just short against champ Valentina Shevchenko in June 2022 – in a fight that several media scorers scored the fight for Santos. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak, where she topped Molly McCann, Gillian Robertson, Roxanne Modafferi and Joanne Wood in the span of about 16 months. The Brazilian made her…

UFC Heavyweight Hamdy Abdelwahab Suspended 2 Years for Methenolone

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A promising young Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight has just hit a huge snag in his career.

On Friday, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced that Hamdy Abdelwahab failed a post-fight drug test on July 30, 2022, for methenolone, an anabolic steroid. Additionally, before USADA notified him of his failure, they tested him again on August 27 of that year, and once more he had methenolone in his system. Due to the lack of notification on USADA’s end, the two failed tests will be considered one violation, and he will receive a two-year suspension effective the July test date.

Abdelwahab made his debut on short notice at UFC 277 on July 30, and he defeated Don'Tale Mayes by split decision in a thriller. The agency requires that fighters entering the testing pool disclose any substances they have taken in the last year, so that they can sit out until testing clean without suffering a penalty. If fighters do not disclose a substa…

PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 2 Weigh-in Results: 1 Fighter Heavy

⚖️ Evelyn Martins comes in at 146.8 lbs

The bout will go forward at 147 lbs and she will be penalized 20% of her show purse.

Fights are 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 & 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 on @fubosports

[ #PFLonFubo | Women's Featherweights | Fri, Feb 3rd | 9pm ET] pic.twitter.com/P5CiS14res

— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 2, 2023 The latest Professional Fighters League Challenger Series show will feature eight fighters in the women's featherweight division.

Main event fighters Amanda Leve and Naranjargal Tsendayush had no issue making weight, as did most of the members on the four-fight card. The lone miss came from Evelyn Martins, who checked in at 146.8 pounds. Due to being .8 pounds over the limit, Martins' bout against Jeslen Mishelle will now be held at a 147-pound catchweight, and she has been fined 20% of her show purse.

Philadelphia's Leve (1-0) came in at 144.8 pounds, while her Mongolian opponent weighed 146 pounds. Both will look to st…

PFL Announces Headliners, Co-Main Events for First Three Regular Season Cards

The first three Professional Fighters League regular season events will feature some high-profile pairings.

The league on Thursday announced the headliners and co-main events for cards scheduled for April 1, April 7 and April 14. All three events will take place at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas and air live on ESPN and ESPN+.

PFL 1 on April 1 will feature a featherweight showdown between 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane and former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes. In the co-main event, defending light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson will welcome 24-time UFC veteran Thiago Santos to the organization.

The following week, PFL 2 will be topped by a clash between 2022 heavyweight winner Ante Delija and Yorgan De Castro, a former UFC competitor who is coming off a victory over Junior dos Santos under the Eagle FC banner. In the co-feature, defending lightweight queen Larissa Pacheco will attempt to build on the momentum of her up…

UFC Shifts Vera vs. Sandhagen Headliner to UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio

The Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to have listened to the fans.

On Thursday night, Sports Illustrated first broke the news that Marlon Vera (20-7-1) vs. Cory Sandhagen (15-4) will no longer be taking place atop UFC Fight Night 219. That event booked at the UFC Apex will not keep Vera-Sandhagen on its billing anymore, as the five-round bantamweight bonanza has been moved to UFC on ESPN 43. This March 25 fight card will go down at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, rather than the confines of the Apex. It has not yet been determined which bout will serve as the headliner of the Feb. 18 show, but news of this shift has been confirmed by multiple outlets.

After Vera vs. Sandhagen was announced, fan and media sentiment reflected that a large audience should be treated to the potential violence that is their five-rounder. The specific reason for its relocation was not announced, but neither fighter appear to have suffered an injury that would …

Ryan Bader Aware He’ll Be ‘Bad Guy’ Against Fedor in Bellator 290 Headliner

Ryan Bader admittedly wasn’t initially excited about the prospects of a rematch with Fedor Emelianenko.

It didn’t take him too long to come around.

“At first I kind of felt that way, and then I started thinking about it,” Bader said at a press conference on Wednesday. “Being on CBS was a big factor. Anytime you’re in a Fedor fight it’s a huge fight. I’m proud to be a part of his legacy and for him to be a part of mine.

“It’s hard to turn down a Fedor fight. I didn’t necessarily know it was going to be his last one. It’s one of those things where I got more excited about it and when I finally put pen to paper, I was all in.”

Bader initially faced Emelianenko in the finals of the heavyweight grand prix at Bellator 214, where he claimed the belt with a 35-second technical knockout victory. The Power MMA Team stalwart isn’t taking away much from that first meeting — in large part because of the abbreviated nature of the fight. He expects the rema…

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