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An illness has forced Anthony Johnson to withdraw from his Bellator light heavyweight grand prix semifinal bout against Vadim Nemkov on Oct. 16.

Johnson will not remain in the tournament going forward. Nemkov vs. Johnson was slated to headline Bellator 268 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., with the Russian’s 205-pound belt on the line. Nemkov is expected to remain on the card against an alternate opponent. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news of Johnson’s withdrawal from the card.

Johnson later released a statement regarding his health issues.

“Really wish I could go into detail about how ill I truly am,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “Just know I need as many prayers as I can get and I’ll see you in 2022 God willing... Never been this afraid of anything in my life but I’ve remained strong with the support of friends and family.”

“Rumble” returned to the cage following a four-year retirement at Bellator 258, where he defeated Jose Augusto Az…

THE MAIN EVENT IS OFFICIAL.@kai_1031_ and @AYamaniha both make weight to complete the card for tomorrow night.

Expect fireworks

Order the PPV here https://t.co/687STKynws#RIZIN #RIZIN30 #MMA #格闘技 #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/nIugpXmWl5 — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 18, 2021

The Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight grand prix will proceed as planned, as all eight competitors in the bracket made weight without issue ahead of their bouts at Rizin 30.

The matchups for 135-pound quarterfinals are as follows: Kai Asakura (134.2) vs. Alan Yamaniha (133.9); Naoki Inoue (134.1) vs. Yuto Hokamura (134.3); Hiromasa Ougikubo (134.1) vs. Takafumi Otsuka (134.3) and Yuki Motoya (134.2) vs. Kenta Takizawa (134.3).

The winner of the grand prix will presumably get a date with Rizin bantamweight king Kyoji Horiguchi, who recently signed with Bellator MMA but will be allowed to keep the 135-pound belt he won with the Japanese …

Tomorrow's main event is official, as Lionheart is in at 205.5 @LionheartASmith

[ #UFCVegas37 | Tomorrow | | Live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/pQOGTOdwDN

— UFC (@ufc) September 17, 2021 After a successful weigh-in this morning, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to return after a rare week off with UFC Fight Night 192. Headlining the 14-fight card is a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann. Most of the card made weight without issue, although lightweight Zhu Rong came in two pounds overweight.

This is the seventh UFC main event for Smith (35-16). The former title challenger has won two straight bouts after dispatching of both Devin Clark and Jimmy Crute in just one round. "Lionheart" will look to get back into contention here, and weighed in officially at 205.5 pounds.

This stands as the biggest fight in the career of Spann (19-6), who just turned 30 last month. "Superman" has won five of his six bo…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBtI3-6Lok0&w=640&h=360]

Editor's note: The article has been updated at 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 17 to reflect additional information of a catchweight bout.

Bellator 266 is officially set after the weigh-ins took place earlier today and there was some drama on the scale.

The main event will see Yoel Romero's Bellator MMA debut as he faces former champion Phil Davis. Romero (13-5) exited the Ultimate Fighting Championship on a three-fight losing streak, although his losses came to Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya. The 44-year-old nicknamed "Soldier of God" will look to win his first bout since 2018 as he steps into the Bellator cage for the first time. Romero hit the scales at 205.4 pounds, with no issue reaching the light heavyweight limit as he competed at middleweight from 2013 to 2020.

Welcoming Romero to the league is another former UFC standout in Davis (22-6, 1 NC). "Mr. Wonderful" most recently came up…

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 place among the top 15 at bantamweight may be the prize for this exciting November matchup. Adrian Yanez (14-3) has the first fight of his new contract scheduled already, and he is to face Davey Grant (13-5), according to ESPN Deportes on Friday. The 135-pounders will square off at the upcoming UFC Fight Night card on Nov. 20 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Yanez is surging into this bout with the Brit, as the winner of his last seven appearances including four in a row by knockout. A veteran of Legacy Fighting Alliance and Fury Fighting Championship, the Texan made his way towards a spot on the 2020 season of Dana White's Contender Series with several solid knockouts on his way up. A 39-second drubbing of Brady Huang served as the springboard to his UFC debut, which came against Victor Rodriguez in October 2020. Yanez fl…

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. In a post-Joe Silva style of matchmaking this December, a man on a three-fight skid will be going up against an opponent riding a three-fight win streak. MMA DNA was the first to announce on Friday that Raphael Assuncao (27-8) will square off against Ricky Simon (18-3) at the UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 18. This UFC Apex card in Las Vegas does not currently have a headliner, although this and Amanda Lemos vs. Nina Nunes at strawweight are the highest ranked bouts on the card so far. The matchup has since been confirmed by multiple outlets, as well as Simon himself on his Instagram.

Assuncao will be looking to pick up his first victory in over three years when he steps in the cage against Simon. A quick guillotine choke defeat after a pair of brutal right hands from Marlon Moraes put him on this current downslide he is on. A …

Updates to #UFCVegas37 https://t.co/SYlSFJoeJ4

— UFC News (@UFCNews) September 16, 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. The upcoming UFC Fight Night 192 event will no longer be tying the record for the most bouts in company history. The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced on Thursday night that the lightweight matchup between Nikolas Motta (12-3) and Cameron VanCamp (15-5-1, 1 NC) has been canceled due to an undisclosed injury to one of the fighters. The two were paired together on Saturday, with VanCamp announcing on Twitter that he was a member of the UFC. Their Sept. 18 meeting inside the UFC Apex will have to wait, although it has not been determined if the matchup will be preserved.

Motta, who was previously linked to a battle with Jim Miller, went from potentially facing the most experienced fighter on the roster to a…

The retirement bug is biting several notable names this week.

On Thursday, MMA Fighting reported that the former interim Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champ Carlos Condit (32-14) is hanging up his gloves. Condit competed twice in 2021, winning a decision over Matt Brown and then losing on the scorecards to Max Griffin for what could be his final bout. The 37-year-old fan-favorite leaves the sport with a stellar career finish rate of 87 percent. News of the legend's retirement has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Condit captured the aforementioned interim belt by topping Nick Diaz on the scorecards at UFC 143 in 2012. An attempted unification with Georges St. Pierre did not go in his favor, although he had the champ hurt due to a head kick in the third frame. After the loss to “GSP,” Condit fell on hard times, losing eight of 12 matches, including a razor-close championship defeat to Robbie Lawler that most scored in favor of the New Mexico native. …

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. In the famed LL Cool J song, he explains that his mama said to knock his opponent out, and Deiveson Figueiredo has taken that to heart. On Wednesday, the news broke that Figueiredo (20-2-1) would be meeting Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) for the third time for a championship trilogy. The flyweight battle is set to take place at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 at an undetermined location. Shortly after the initial announcement and subsequent confirmation by manager Wallid Ismail, former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Figueiredo wanted to weigh in on this upcoming matchup, and he spoke Sherdog about the booking.

“To tell you the truth, I was already training to face Alex Perez again,” the former champ admitted. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I have to thank [UFC Executive Vice President Hunter Campbell] and my manager Wallid for never …

Shortly after breaking the irons of his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract, “Cool Hand” Luke Sanders has called it a career.

On his Instagram on Wednesday, Sanders waved goodbye to the sport after eight bouts in the UFC and his release in May. Once the Resurrection Fighting Alliance champ at 135 pounds, Sanders climbed aboard the UFC roster in 2016 and won a trio of bouts, most significantly a knockout of former pound-for-pound talent Renan Barao.

Sanders wrote, “Cool Hand! Out! I’m officially retired after 8 UFC [fights] two performance of the night awards multiple records held in my own division. And whipping everybody’s ass that was put in front of me. It’s been a great ride…thank you to all my coaches, friends, Family, and fans All this was for y’all. Many blessing. All the love guys.”

The Tennessee native started his career off at a perfect 11-0, winning and defending the aforementioned RFA bantamweight throne before signing with the company. His de…

A flyweight championship trilogy between Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo is in the works for UFC 269.

ESPN was first to report the matchup, which is expected to be finalized soon. UFC 269 takes place on Dec. 11 at an as yet to be determined location and also includes a women’s bantamweight title tilt pitting Amanda Nunes against Julianna Pena.

According to ESPN, the UFC was intially considering a bout between Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja, but a knee injury won’t allow Pantoja to compete again before the end of the year.

After battling Figueiredo to a majority draw at UFC 256, Moreno claimed flyweight gold with a third-round submission of the Brazilian at UFC 263 in June. The promotion’s first Mexican-born champion is unbeaten in his last seven professional outings.

Figueiredo won five consecutive UFC appearances from July 2019 to November 2020, claiming the title with a first-round submission of Joseph Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 172 before defend…

Perennial flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez is retiring from mixed martial arts at 37 years old.

Multiple outlets confirmed that Benavidez has elected to remove himself from the USADA drug testing pool. Benavidez exits the sport with a 28-8 career mark that included four attempts at flyweight gold in the UFC and a failed bid at the 135-pound belt in World Extreme Cagefighting. MMAjunkie.com first brought word of Benavidez’s retirement.

“I’ve known for a while,” Benavidez told MMAFighting.com. “I’ve always fought to be the best and also because it was fun. I probably knew my last title shot was my last shot ever so that was kind of not going to happen for me.

“I still knew I could compete in the top five. I could beat guys in the top five, top 10 easy but one of the main things is a lot of these guys that are coming up that are killers or I see them, it’s their UFC debut and they take pictures with me in the back and say, ‘I’ve looked up to you for so …

Demetrious Johnson will be branching out in his next One Championship appearance.

The former UFC flyweight king will face muay Thai flyweight title holder Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a special rules match on Dec. 5, One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced during an appearance on the “MMA Hour” Wednesday.

Johnson vs. Jituangnon will consist of four, three-minute rounds, with the ruleset alternating between muay Thai and MMA in each frame. Four-ounce gloves will be worn for the contest.

Johnson began his promotional tenure with three consecutive triumphs to win the One flyweight grand prix. “Mighty Mouse” came up short in his bid for the title, when he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Adriano Moraes at One on TNT 1 on April 7.

Jituangnon is widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound muay Thai fighter in the world and owns a career mark of 267-42-10 in that realm. The 24-year-old is currently on a 10-bout winning streak under the One banner. Read more about One Event on Dec. 5 Features Demetrious Johnson in Special Rules Match, Two Title Bouts

SWITCH KNEE KO TO START THE NIGHT!Brandon Jenkins takes home the 1st W!

2021 #PFLPlayoffsLIVE NOW ESPN+https://t.co/WfOt9XBfzk pic.twitter.com/q6CHOdCUWN

— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 27, 2021 Dakota Bush is out of a proposed lightweight clash against Zhu Rong at UFC Fight Night 192 after testing positive for COVID-19.

As a result, Brandon Jenkins will replace Bush and face Rong on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the change. UFC Fight Night 192 is headlined by a light heavweight clash between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann. The card will stream in its entirety on ESPN+.

Jenkins is coming off a flying knee knockout of Jacob Kilburn at a Professional Fighters League playoff event on Aug. 27. The 29-year-old Prior Lake, Minn., native has compiled a 14-6 career record while also competing for organizations such as Legacy Fighting Alliance and King of the Cage.

China’s Rong, meanwhile, saw a 1…

UFC president Dana White is no fan of the boxing event held by Triller over the weekend, but he did have some very positive things to say about former middleweight king Anderson Silva.

Silva knocked out Tito Ortiz 81 seconds into the first round of their matchup, which was supposed to be contested at 195 pounds. That fight, along with the rest of the card — which included Vitor Belfort’s first-round TKO of Evander Holyfield in the main event — were ultimately deemed to be exhibitions by the Florida commission after initially being promoted by Triller as professional bouts.

While speaking to assembled media following Week 3 of the Contender Series, White briefly discussed the Triller-promoted event, along with Silva’s performance and standing in combat sports.

“Guys, let me put it to you this way: anybody who is f—-ing dumb enough and willing to pay and watch these f—-ing fights, Anderson Silva boxed Tito Ortiz,” White said. “[He] boxed Tito Ortiz. Tito Ortiz ha…

Anatoly Tokov will return to action for the first time since October 2019 when he squares off against Sharaf Davlatmurodov in a middleweight bout at Bellator 269.

Promotion officials on Wednesday announced the pairing, which is set for the evening’s main draw on Oct. 23. Bellator 269 takes place at VTB Arena in Moscow and is headlined by a heavyweight duel pitting Fedor Emelianenko against Timothy Johnson. The card will air on Showtime, with broadcast details to be announced soon.

Additionally, four contests were confirmed for the Bellator 269 preliminary card: Vladimir Tokov vs. Aymard Guih at lightweight; Aiden Lee vs. Alexander Osetrov at featherweight; Gadzi Rabadanov vs. Alexander Belikh at featherweight and Darina Mazdyuk vs. Katarzyna Sadura at flyweight.

The 31-year-old Tokov has been victorious in his first five appearances since signing with the California-based promotion, posting notable wins over ex-middleweight champ Alexander Shlemenko and UFC vet…

Jailton Almeida never bought into the hype.

The LG System representative was one of five competitors to land Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts on Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted the previously unbeaten Nasrudin Nasrudinov in the second round of their light heavyweight attraction on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Almeida (14-2) drew the curtain 1:49 into Round 2, extending his winning streak to nine fights.

“Malhadinho” pressured Nasrudinov (9-1) until he broke. The Russian sambo practitioner conceded a takedown to Almeida in the first round but managed to return to his feet and connect with a few standing-to-ground punches. He was not as fortunate in the second. Almeida executed another takedown, advanced to the back and flattened out the Akhmat Fight Club export. From there, he hunted the choke, tightened his squeeze and prompted the tapout. In addition to Almeida, UFC President Dana White signed Albert Duraev, Jack Della Maddal…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live DWCS 2021 Week 3 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Jasudavicius takes the center of the cage and pumps out a couple jabs, looking to utilize her height and reach advantage. Jasudavicius secures the clinch and trips Polastri down near the fence. Jasudavicius works to free her left leg and pass to full mount. Jasudavicius postures up and then stands, landing some ground-and-pound from above. Jasudavicius drops back into half guard and drops an elbow. Jasudavicius remains heavy on top as we approach the 2:00 mark of the period. Polastri is limiting ground-and-pound offense, but she isn’t threatening to scramble back up. Jasudavicius increase the intensit…

The boxing match pitting social media personality Jake Paul against Tyron Woodley proved to be a solid draw for Showtime on pay-per-view.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, the card drew approximately 500,000 pay-per-view buys. Digital sales via Showtime have been tallied, but figures from other providers that offered the fight have not been determined. Still, those totals are not expected to alter the final numbers significantly.

Paul vs. Woodley took place on Aug. 29 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, and saw Paul earn a split-decision triumph in the evening’s main event. Paul improved to 4-0 as a professional boxer in the victory, while Woodley dropped his pro debut.

Jake Paul wasn’t able to outsell his brother, Logan Paul, whose exhibition matchup with Floyd Mayweather on June 6 sold nearly 1 million pay-per-view buys. While Woodley pushed for a rematch in the immediately aftermath of the bout, Paul has claimed to have moved on f…

Conor McGregor is probably a long way off from being fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered at UFC 264 this past July, but the Irish star seems to at least be in an optimistic state of mind.

The former UFC two-division champion, who was in New York to attend the MTV Video Music Awards, provided an update on his condition in an interview with journalist Adam Glyn.

“I feel like I could kick right now,” McGregor said. “I honestly feel like I could kick right now, but I’ve just got to listen to the doctors, listen to the people that are guiding me. That’s what I’ve done so far, I’ve committed myself to the work and I’m back on the feet. It’s so good to be back on the feet.”

“Notorious” suffered fractures to his tibia and fibula in a first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier on July 10 that required surgery, a procedure that required the insertion of a rod, plate and screws. McGregor admitted that the injury took a toll on him mentally. Despite the fact the he’s feeli…

A middleweight clash pitting Brendan Allen against Brad Tavares is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 4.

Allen initially announced the bout on social media. The card is likely to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas but does not have a main event at this time. Other reported matchups for the card include Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill and Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion, Allen has been victorious in five of his first six promotional appearances, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Sean Strickland. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is 2-0 thus far in 2021, with a submission win over Karl Roberson and a decision triumph against Punahele Soriano to his credit.

After suffering back-to-back losses to Israel Adesanya and Edmen Shahbazyan from 2018 to 2019, Tavares has returned to post a 2-0 mark this year. The 33-year-old Hawaiian took a unanimous verdict over Antonio Carlos Jr. at UFC 25…

It appears that both Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley were fighting clean during their boxing match last month.

Paul and Woodley submitted urine samples prior to the Aug. 29 event in Cleveland and the results came back negative, according to the Ohio State Athletic Commission. Initial reports stated that Paul and Woodley would not be tested in relation to their bout before it was confirmed that the fighters would have to submit urine samples to the commission. Prior to the event, Woodley hinted that he believed Paul was on performance-enhancing drugs.

Paul defeated Woodley via split decision in their matchup at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to improve to 4-0 as a professional. Woodley, a former UFC champion, was making his pro boxing debut. Both men earned a disclosed $2 million payday for their efforts.

Four other fighters — Amanda Serrano, Yamileth Mercado, Charles Conwell and Juan Carlos Rubio — from the event were also tested, and their results were negative a…

According to TMZ Conor McGregor and Machine Gun Kelly got into an altercation after Conor asked MGK for a pic, but he declined.

MGK then pushed Conor which led to him spilling his drink. Conor then threw his drink at MGK and Megan Fox. #VMAs pic.twitter.com/3uMw3EDRmq

— Hip Hop Ties (@HipHopTiesMedia) September 13, 2021 New details have emerged regarding the confrontation between Conor McGregor and Machine Gun Kelly that occurred at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

According to a report from ”Extra," the incident occurred because McGregor allegedly messaged Kelly’s girlfriend, movie star Megan Fox. Initial reports stated that MGK shoved the former UFC champion after he asked for a picture, and McGregor responded by throwing a drink at the singer/rapper.

Videos and photos show security separating the two men as McGregor lunged and shouted at Kelly. Both men attended the VMAs, with Kelly performing onstage. In an interview with …

From my #HolyfieldBelfort column. Subscribe: https://t.co/IYwgR1vv4M pic.twitter.com/sKd5fVTZYd

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) September 12, 2021

The boxing victories earned by Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva at a Triller Fight Club event this past Saturday will not count on either fighter’s professional record.

The Florida State Boxing Commission revealed on Monday that all bouts held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., will be regarded as exhibitions. That notably includes Belfort’s stoppage of Evander Holyfield and Silva’s knockout of Tito Ortiz. Boxing journalist Dan Rafael was first to report on the status of the Triller bouts.

A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Belfort defeated 58-year-old Holyfield via technical knockout 1:49 into the opening round of their heavyweight clash. Belfort was originally supposed to meet Oscar De La Hoya before De La Hoya contracted COVID-19. The event was then relocated from Cali…