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Updated fight card for Bellator 266: Davis vs. Romero - Saturday, Sept. 18 - @SAPCenter in San Jose. pic.twitter.com/uFXOfVc1H5

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 26, 2021 The next Bellator MMA event in September is beginning to shape up nicely.

Per MMA Fighting on Thursday, the promotion has added several matches to its upcoming Bellator 266 show. The event, which will take place inside the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., has gained Neiman Gracie (10-2) vs. Mark Lemminger (12-3) at welterweight as its co-headliner. A Bellator official has since confirmed this booking and a few others to Sherdog.

Gracie will be looking to rebound from a contentious decision loss to Jason Jackson in April, which marked the first non-title tilt he had ever lost. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu prodigy has largely excelled in the Bellator cage, racking up seven submissions in eight victories, including tapouts of Ed Ruth and Jon Fitch over the years…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQdhYLH4nA0&w=640&h=360] A duo of title fights are now official as Invicta Fighting Championships returns to pay-per-view with Invicta FC 44: A New Era.

A duo of title fights for vacant championships headline the card. The bantamweight title bout will main event as Emily Ducote faces Danielle Taylor, while the co-main event sees strawweight Lisa Verzosa square off against Taneisha Tennant. All fighters made weight except for Liz Tracy, who was 1.2 pounds over the strawweight limit for her bout against Jodie Esquibel. She's been fined 25 percent of her purse as a result.

This is the second vacant title fight for Ducote (9-6), who rebounded from a split decision loss to Kanako Murata by winning a decision against Juliana Lima. Taylor (11-5) hasn't shown much "Dynamite" as late, as her last eight bouts have all gone to the scorecards. She has won two of her last three since being cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both made…

2nd fight contract signed in less than a week. Anyone anywhere anytime.pic.twitter.com/tU8eig2vIa

— Jack 'Tank' Shore (@jackshoremma) August 25, 2021 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. A competitor on the most recent season of “The Ultimate Fighter” will be getting a shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on short notice. MMA DNA and MMA Fighting were the first to report the news that Zviad Lazishvili has suffered an ankle injury and has been forced out of his bantamweight match against Jack Shore (14-0). In his stead at UFC Fight Night 191 will be Liudvik Sholinian (9-1-1), who is in turn the second replacement for Said Nurmagomedov. The portion of the report that claimed that Lazishvili has been released from the promotion altogether has been disputed, while the news of this booking itself has been subsequently confirmed by the …

Stipe Miocic is a little bit upset that he wasn’t part of the conversation when the UFC decided to book an interim heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis earlier this month.

After all, Miocic is the owner of the longest heavyweight championship reign in promotion history and is coming off a loss to Francis Ngannou in a title bout at UFC 260 on March 27.

"It does bother me, because I just wish they would have at least came to me," Miocic told ESPN. "Even if I wasn't able do it, I would have just loved to be given the opportunity. I think I deserved it. But I'm not gonna bitch and moan about it.”

Miocic’s next move is to fly to Las Vegas for a meeting with UFC president Dana White, where he will express his disappointment at being excluded from the heavyweight title picture.

"I just have to sit down and have a conversation with him," Miocic said. "And everything will fall into place.”

Gane defeated Lewis via third-round technical…

Two of the big winners from UFC on ESPN 29 could be facing potentially lenghty medical suspensions.

Jared Cannonier, who captured a unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, must have a right foot X-ray after his latest middleweight triumph. If the result is positive, he needs orthopedic clearance or he will be sidelined until Feb. 18. Gastelum, meanwhile, is suspended until Sept. 21 with no contact until Sept. 12.

Meanwhile, Alexandre Pantoja is also facing a six-month term following a submission victory over Brandon Royval in a battle of flyweight contenders. Pantoja must have a left knee MRI and receive doctor clearance or he too will be out of action until Feb. 18. At a minimum, the Brazilian is sidelined until Sept. 21. Royval is also facing a six-month suspension pending the result of an orbital catscan and doctor clearance.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medica…

After an exciting back and forth first round, Mohamad Said Maalem lands a beautiful counter follow up with devastating GnP to finish Fakhreddine and become the BRAVE CF Light Heavyweight World Championship pic.twitter.com/iUBK05hV0b

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) August 1, 2021

Brave Combat Federation’s first foray into Italy wasn’t without controversy.

In the Brave CF 52 headliner, Mohamed Said Maalem locked horns with Mohammad Fakhreddine with the vacant 205-pound championship on the line. The clash ended after “L’Ambiance” stopped Fakhreddine with ground-and-pound punches in the opening stanza. However, the Algerian fighter landed multiple punches behind his Lebanese opponent’s head, changing the fate of the fight. Considering that referee Declan Larkin didn’t warn Maalem nor interrupted the action, Fakhreddine filed a formal complaint to the Italian Federation of Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts (Federazione Italiana Gr…

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!

What a debut from Terrance McKinney! #UFC263 pic.twitter.com/dJrXCD8pCg

— UFC (@ufc) June 12, 2021 Terrance McKinney will face Fares Ziam in a lightweight contest at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Nov. 20.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMA DNA. The event does not yet have an official location or headliner.

McKinney is coming off a spectacular Octagon debut, where he knocked out Matt Frevola in seven seconds at UFC 263 on June 12. The Sikjitsu representative is currently on a four-fight winning streak in which he has finished all four of his opponents by knockout or technical knockout inside of a round.

After falling to Don Madge in his Octagon debut, Ziam has rebounded to post consecutive decision victories over Jamie Mullarkey and Luigi Vendramini. The 24-year-old Frenchman has won seven of his last eight professional outings.

Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

A potential all-action welterweight scrap between Niko Price and Alex Oliveira will go down at UFC Fight Night 193.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the fight. UFC Fight Night 192 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 2 and is headlined by a light heavyweight bout pitting Thiago Santos against Johnny Walker.

Price will attempt to halt a three-bout winless streak when he steps into the Octagon with Oliveira. In his last appearance, “The Hybrid” dropped a three-round verdict to Michel Pereira at UFC 264 on July 10. Price is 6-5 with two no contests during his promotional tenure and has earned finishes over the likes of James Vick, Tim Means, Randy Brown, George Sullivan, Alan Jouban and Brandon Thatch.

Oliveira has struggled of late as well, losing five of his last seven UFC fights — including back-to-back submission losses …

Despite being the higher seed in his featherweight semifinal matchup with Bubba Jenkins, Chris Wade enters the Professional Fighters League playoffs as an underdog, both according to oddsmakers and popular opinion.

“I can’t lie. I’m extremely motivated by the fact that people find him to be a clear-cut, in their mind, favorite in this bout,” Wade said during a virtual media day. “I think that at best, if you really know what you’re talking about in fighting, you could give him a coin flip situation…But to be calling him a clear-cut favorite is absurd.

“He doesn’t really do anything that stylistically poses a huge threat to people other than hold on to them in wrestling situations, which I’m very familiar with being a wrestler myself. I’m struggling to see where the real threat is in this bout, let alone how he’s gonna survive it.”

Wade, a veteran with two PFL playoff appearances already under his belt, went 2-0 during the 2021 season with victories over Anthony …

Credit: Getty/UFC

Kris Moutinho will get a second opportunity in the UFC after giving a valiant short-notice effort in his Octagon debut.

Moutinho will meet Aaron Phillips in a bantamweight contest at UFC Fight Night on Oct. 23. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. The card is headlined by a middleweight tilt pitting Paulo Costa against Marvin Vettori.

Moutinho stepped up to face Sean O’Malley at UFC 264, losing via third-round TKO in what will likely end up as a “Beatdown of the Year” candidate. Still, Moutinho absorbed most of what O’Malley had to offer right up until the stoppage near the end of the fight. The CES MMA veteran is 9-5 over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2016.

Phillips, meanwhile, had a five-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he was submitted by Jack Shore in the second round at UFC on ESPN 13. The Louisiana native is still looking for his first Octagon triumph after going 0-2 in UFC competition d…

Once upon a time, Antonio Carlos Jr. put together a five-bout winning streak in the UFC’s middleweight division.

Despite that success, he didn’t feel like he was close to a title shot, and he wasn’t quite sure what it would take him to get to that point. There is no such confusion for Carlos Jr. in Professional Fighters League. Carlos Jr. will meet Emiliano Sordi in the a light heavyweight semifinal bout in the PFL playoffs on Friday at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Should he win, Carlos Jr. will get a shot to compete for a 205-pound championship and a $1 million prize.

That clarity has definitely made a different in Carlos Jr.’s mindset.

“When you feel you’re close to the belt, you feel more motivated. You’re always thinking about the title,” Carlos Jr. said during a PFL virtual media day. “That’s what I want to reach in my career.

“I never could fight for the belt in the UFC. They see things a little different. Some time ago, I w…

It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is parting ways with Demian Maia and Jimmie Rivera.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Maia, Rivera and Christian Aguilera are no longer under contract with the UFC. While Maia fought the last fight on his existing deal, it is unclear if Rivera and Aguilera completed their contracts or were released.

A title challenger at both middleweight and welterweight, Maia exits the organization on a two-bout losing streak. In his last outing, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace dropped a three-round verdict to Belal Muhammad at UFC 263. Maia went 22-11 during his UFC tenure, falling to Anderson Silva in a middleweight title bid at UFC 112 in April 2010 and losing to Tyron Woodley in a welterweight title bout at UFC 214 in July 2017. After his latest defeat, UFC president Dana White said that Maia had probably competed in the Octagon for the last time.

Rivera, meanwhile, leaves the UFC having lost four of his last six a…

A strawweight bout pitting Cheyanne Buys against Konklak Suphisara is in the works for a Nov. 20 Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

MMA journalist John Hyon Ko first brought word of the fight on Twitter. The UFC event doesn’t yet have an official location or headliner but is expected to include a flyweight showdown between Joanne Calderwood and Alexa Grasso.

Buys earned her first promotional triumph at UFC on ESPN 28, when she defeated Gloria de Paula via first-round technical knockout. In her Octagon debut, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum was outpointed by Montserrat Ruiz at UFC on ESPN 21.

Suphisara, who is more commonly known as “Loma Lookboonmee,” has been victorious in three of her first four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Tiger Muay Thai product captured a unanimous verdict over Sam Hughes at UFC on ESPN 23. She also owns wins over Jinh Yu Frey and Aleksandra Albu in UFC competition.

Peter Queally will square off against Patricky Freire in a lightweight rematch at Bellator 270.

The promotion announced the booking on Monday while also confirming a previously reported bantamweight headliner pitting James Gallagher against Patrick Mix. Bellator 270 takes place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Nov. 5. The main card airs on Showtime in the United States at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT.

Queally and Freire initially fought at Bellator 258 on May 7. Queally opened a cut on his opponent’s head with a slashing elbow from the bottom position, which prompted the cageside physician to wave off the bout prior to Round 3. Anchored at SBG Ireland, the 32-year-old Queally has been victorious in three of his last four professional outings.

Freire has now lost two straight fights including a decision defeat to Tofiq Musayev in the…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A light heavyweight showdown pitting Volkan Oezdemir against Magomed Ankalaev is on tap for UFC 267.

MMA DNA was first to report the bout, which was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night 191 on Sept. 4. UFC 267 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 30 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship scrap between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

A former light heavyweight title challenger, Oezdemir is coming off a second-round KO loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 251 last July. Prior to that, “No Time” scored back-to-back triumphs over Ilir Latifi and Aleksandar Rakic in the Octagon.

Ankaleav, 29, is currently riding the momentum of a six-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. That stretch includes a pair of stoppage wins over Ion Cutelaba as well as a three-round verdict against Nikita Krylov in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 27.

With Cory McKenna out, Hannah Goldy will step in and lock horns with Emily Whitmire at UFC Fight Night 192.

The new bout was initially reported by David Van Auken. The matchup, which was originally scheduled for strawweight, will now be contested at 125 pounds. UFC Fight Night 192 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 18 and features a light heavyweight duel between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm speculation about my scheduled fight on Sept. 18,” McKenna wote on Instagram. “I have been dealing with some health issues over the past 5-6 weeks that have not allowed me to train at a standard required to compete/at all and I have to prioritise health. I want to thank the [UFC Performance Institute] for all their continued help, as well as my sponsors and team for their constant support; I hope to return to the octagon soon. Just another bump in the road.”

After appearing on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Seri…

Friday’s Invicta FC 44 card has undergone a couple of changes following the withdrawal of Mara Romero Borella and Monique Adriane from their respective bouts.

The promotion announced Monday that both Borella and Adriane were forced out of the event due to “travel restrictions and visa issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.” More specific details regarding each fighter were not given.

As a result, Brogan Walker-Sanchez will step in for Borella and face Emilee King at flyweight, while Marisa Messer-Belenchia replaces Adriane and meets Katie Saull at atomweight. Walker-Sanchez vs. King is slated for the main card, while Saull vs. Messer-Belenchia will take place on the preliminary draw.

Invicta FC 44 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., and is headlined by a strawweight title tilt between Emily Ducote and Danielle Taylor. In the co-main event, Lisa Verzosa will lock horns with Taneisa Tennant for bantamweight gold. The main card airs at 10 p.m. ET/7…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9buqNAv4R9g&w=560&h=315]

Alistair Overeem will make a big splash in his Glory Kickboxing debut.

The promotion announced Monday that Overeem and Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven will lock horns on Oct. 23 in the Netherlands as part of the Glory “Collision 3” card. Sherdog.com previously reported that Glory will return to the GelreDome with a large-scale event that just gained some additional star power.

Known as “The Prince of Kickboxing,” Verhoeven has been near perfect in Glory with a 23-1 mark. His resume includes victories over the likes of Badr Hari, Jamal Ben Saddik, Antonio Silva, Anderson “Braddock” Silva, Benjamin Adegbuyi, Gokhan Saki and many, many more. Most recently, Verhoeven scored dominant wins over Hesdy Gerges and Tarik Khbabez to win the Glory 77 four-man heavyweight tournament in January.

Overeem recently signed with Glory after being released by the UFC. The former Strikeforce, DREAM, and K-1…

MMA veteran Anthony Taylor has found himself a lucrative gig training with social-medi- personality-turned-boxer Jake Paul.

The 32-year-old Alameda, Calif., native has compiled a 7-5 record in the cage while competing for organizations such as Bellator MMA, Combate Americas and the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts. His last bout came in January 2020, when he captured a majority decision against Chris Avila at Bellator 238. Since then, however, “Pretty Boy” turned down a chance to fight in order to train with Paul.

"I had the opportunity to fight in Cage Warriors but I couldn't pass up the money Jake was offering,” Taylor told Betway Insider US. “I’m getting paid more money as Jake's training partner in two months than I made in my whole entire MMA career in six years. I swear to God, I made more money with Jake in two months than my whole MMA career.

“That’s disturbing when you think about it, because I fought for Bellator. I’ve fought two top five con…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW5TlJjhVlg&w=560&h=315]

Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight champ Zviad Lazishvili will get his chance to make a mark in the UFC.

Lazishvili will replace Said Nurmagomedov and square off against Jack Shore in a 135-pound contest at UFC Fight Night 191. Adjara Sport was first to report the new booking. UFC Fight Night 191 takes place on Sept. 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Darren Till and Derek Brunson.

Lazishvili claimed bantamweight gold with a first-round submission of Ricky Steele at LFA 90 in September 2020. The 29-year-old Republic of Georgia native is 8-0 as a professional, a run that includes two victories in LFA and five triumphs via tapout.

A former Cage Warriors bantamweight king, Shore has kicked off his promotional tenure with wins against Nohelin Hernandez, Aaron Phillips and Hunter Azure. The 26-year-old Welshman is 14-0 since beginning his pro career in…

There’s already some history between Alexandre Pantoja and reigining flyweight champion Brandon Moreno — with most of that tilted in favor of the Brazilian contender.

First, Pantoja submitted Moreno in an exhibition bout on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and then “The Cannibal” outpointed the Mexican star at UFC Fight Night 129 in May 2018. Perhaps that’s why Pantoja delivered the most polite callout ever — with Moreno in attendance — in his post-fight interview following a victory over Brandon Royval at UFC on ESPN 29 on Saturday night.

While both flyweights seem to have a certain level of respect for each other, Pantoja was a little less diplomatic in a scrum conducted after the bout.

“He knows my game. I beat him two times. I think he’s maybe a little scared because he lost to me via submission, and then when he had the possibility to get revenge against me, I destroyed him. I made it 30-26. I proved I’m better,” Pantoja said.

“When he came to the…

Before he lost to Robert Whittaker at UFC 254 last October, Jared Cannonier appeared to be Israel Adesanya’s choice for No. 1 contender at middleweight.

That setback knocked “The Killa Gorilla” down the contender’s queue, but Cannonier rebounded to post a five-round verdict over Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC on ESPN 29 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“Any win is good,” Cannonier said at the post-fight press conference. “I feel good after that win. Took a little bit of damage but I’m not broken so I can go home and hug my kids and be able to play with them come Monday and stuff like that. So I’m happy.”

In his post-fight interview in the Octagon, Cannonier said that he was “broke,” so it was important for him to earn a victory in his first bout since that aforementioned loss to Whittaker. It was a competitive fight throughout, but Cannonier scored the only knockdown of the fight and appeared to get stronger as the matchup progressed.

Read more about ‘It’s Either Title or Contender’ for Jared Cannonier After UFC on ESPN 29 Win

IGNACIO BAHAMONDES ENDS IT IN THE LAST 10 SECONDS!! #UFCVegas34 pic.twitter.com/5wxlKMJvVT

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 22, 2021

In one fell swoop, Ignacio Bahamondes earned his first UFC triumph while submitting a strong entry for “Knockout of the Year.”

The 23-year-old Valle Flow Striking product received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a spectacular finish of Roosevelt Roberts in a preliminary lightweight affair at UFC on ESPN 29 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After picking his opponent apart with strikes to all levels for the better part of three rounds, “La Jaula” abruptly ended the contest with a highlight-reel spinning wheel kick at the 4:55 mark of Round 3.

Meanwhile, Alexandre Pantoja garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a second-round submission of Brandon Royval in a pivotal flyweight matchup. Following a competitive opening frame, the Brazilian took his adversary’s bac…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Jared Cannonier at the very least kept his name in the conversation. The MMA Lab standout maintained his position in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight pecking order with a unanimous decision over Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC on ESPN 29 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges scored it the same: 48-47 for Cannonier (14-5, 7-5 UFC), who rebounded from his Oct. 24 loss to Robert Whittaker.

Both men fought well in spurts. A short-notice substitution for Paulo Costa, Gastelum (16-8, 11-8 UFC) kept a brisk pace and tried to push his opponent’s buttons with leg kicks, lunging left hands and sneaky one-twos. Cannonier was masterful from a defensive standpoint and for the most part managed to steer clear of danger. He floored Gastelum with a clean right hook in t…