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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgM72B2u13g&w=560&h=315] Tempers flared at the weigh-ins, with Badr Hari and his opponent Arkadiusz Wrzosek nearly coming to blows at the official staredown after Hari shoved Wrzosek across the stage.

Glory Kickboxing returns for its second event of 2021 with a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Artem Vakhitov, and the main event will see the return of “Bad Boy” Hari.

Despite being a kickboxing legend, Hari (106-15) is still looking for his first win as Glory fighter. The former K-1 heavyweight champion is winless in his last four bouts, losing to Benjamin Adegbuyi and Rico Verhoeven two times via injury. A decision victory in that stretch over Hesdy Gerges was later overturned to a no contest after both fighters tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. No official weight was listed or announced by the promotion, but with no cap to heavyweight, there was no limit the Dutchman could have exceeded.

Much…

Oscar De La Hoya has tested positive for COVID-19 and will NOT be fighting Vitor Belfort on September 11 ... and Evander Holyfield will be taking his spot. https://t.co/r2ejzw5nOc

— TMZ (@TMZ) September 3, 2021 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 3 to reflect a new location and venue for the match.

If you had Vitor Belfort vs. Evander Holyfield on your 2021 betting slip, cash that ticket now.

Ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Belfort (26-14, 1 NC; 1-0 Box) was slated to take on Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs Box) on Sept. 11. The two were planning to square off inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles in an eight-round, 185-pound professional affair. Per TMZ on Friday, that fight is off as De La Hoya tested positive for COVID-19. In his stead will be long-retired heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield (44-10-2, 1 NC, 29 KOs Box). The dramatic change has since been confirmed by ESPN.

Holyfield, age 58, wil…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDlzcC0n0bA&w=640&h=360] Top Polish mixed martial arts promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki will see its sixth event of 2021 headlined by a welterweight title fight.

The nine-fight KSW 63 card is a go after the official weigh-ins. It was a largely professional affair as every fighter made weight with the exception of Szymon Karolczyk, who was two pounds over the 150-pound limit for his fight against Michal Domin. The welterweight title will be on the line for the first time since 2019 as champion Roberto Soldic looks to make his second defense against Patrik Kincl.

Having won 12 of his last 13 and avenging his lone defeat against Dricus Du Plessis, Soldic (18-3) is on an impressive run. He has stopped four of his last five opponents with punches and has been challenging himself by moving up in weight. Despite the recent middleweight bout, Soldic had no trouble getting to 169 pounds for the title bout.

Kincl (24-9, 1 NC) is on a f…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 269 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. When it comes to his upcoming unconfirmed title fight, Charles Oliveira would like to say, “not so fast, my friend.” Earlier this week, outlets like MMA Fighting reported the news that Oliveira (31-8, 1 NC) would be taking on Dustin Poirier (28-6, 1 NC) for the lightweight throne at UFC 269. The reports stated that the two had not yet signed the contracts yet, but verbal agreements are in place. Oliveira spoke to Sherdog on Thursday about this situation, clarifying that this first title defense is still under negotiation.

“Everybody is publishing that Poirier is going to fight with me,” Oliveira noted. “But until that moment, it’s still under negotiation, I didn’t sign any contract yet.”

Concerning the possible challenge with Poirier, the Chute Boxe representative believes he has weapons to beat the American Top Team stan…

Interesting welterweight fight on tap for Nov. 20, per sources. Sean Brady vs. Michael Chiesa. Chiesa (@MikeMav22) is ranked No. 7 in the UFC rankings, Brady (@seanbradymma) is No. 13. pic.twitter.com/Mybg5CfcP2

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 2, 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 place in the top 10 of the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division is up for grabs in November. On Thursday, the UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN announced that Michael Chiesa (18-5) will square off against Sean Brady (14-0) at welterweight at an upcoming UFC Fight Night card. The currently unnumbered event on Nov. 20 is slated to go down inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. News of this booking has since been confirmed by multiple other outlets.

Chiesa is looking to bounce back from a submission defeat and his first loss at 170 pou…

Jake Paul appears to have started a new trend about fighters offering tattoos for rematches.

At UFC 126 in 2011, Anderson Silva (34-11 MMA, 2-1 Box) defended his middleweight throne against Vitor Belfort (26-14, 1 NC MMA; 1-0 Box) in the main event, with “The Spider” landing a spectacular front kick to put Belfort away in the first round. For years, the combat sports community has pondered a rematch between the Brazilian legends, and now, both men are in the boxing world. Silva, 46, captured a decision victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to prove his jaunt was no game. Belfort has since followed his lead.

Silva’s former foe, the 44-year-old Belfort, will be making his return to the boxing ring on Sept. 11 against Oscar De La Hoya. On the same night, Silva will be squaring off against Tito Ortiz. Both matches will be professional, eight-round bouts, within 10 pounds of the other – Belfort’s at 185 pounds, while Silva’s is a 195-pound contest. Should both get their hand ra…

: Seven incredible fights have been added to #Bellator270 at the @3ArenaDublin, including two top-10 matchups pitting @Relentlessward against @magicnorbi and @the_game_mma vs. @danielweichel.

Full Story: https://t.co/Vdb78uoOyH pic.twitter.com/ePsbkUH4ZI

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) September 2, 2021 Bellator MMA has filled up the lineup for its Irish excursion in November. Via press release on Thursday, the organization announced a slew of new matchups for Bellator 270, including a pair of main card tilts and several preliminary contests. At middleweight, Charlie Ward (9-4) will square off with Norbert Novenyi Jr. (5-0), while featherweights Daniel Weichel (41-12) and Pedro Carvalho (11-5) will toe the line as the main card opener. This event will be held in the 3Arena in Dublin on Nov. 5.

Ward bounced back from a 2019 loss to Pietro Penini by stopping Kyle Kurtz at Bellator 240 three months later. In October 2020, Ward ea…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will officially run it back on Oct. 30.

Promotion officials confirmed that Sterling and Yan will square off with the bantamweight crown on the line in the UFC 267 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The rematch had been rumored but not officially announced prior to Wednesday.

Sterling and Yan initially fought at UFC 259 in March, when “The Funkmaster” became 135-pound champ after his opponent was disqualified for landing an illegal knee at the 4:29 mark of the fourth round. Including that controversial result, Sterling has won his last six Octagon appearances, with other notable triumphs against the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera to his credit.

Yan saw a 10-bout professional winning streak come to an end thanks to the disqualification defeat. The Russian claimed the vacant bantamweight strap with a fifth-round stoppage of Jo…

After Khabib Nurmagomedov retired, Justin Gaethje wasn’t pleased with the direction the UFC took with the lightweight division.

In recent months, the former World Series of Fighting champion has voiced his displeasure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. That frustration reached its peak when Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler were booked to fight for the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 262 this past May. That was in part because Dustin Poirier elected to pursue a lucrative trilogy bout against Conor McGregor, but Gaethje, who was coming off a defeat to Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, was left out of the title picture entirely.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Gaethje says he has mended fences with the UFC after signing a contract extension. The 32-year-old Genesis Training Center product is scheduled to lock horns with Chandler at UFC 268 on Nov. 11, while Poirier seems destined to challenge Oliveira for lightweight gold in the future.

“I was probably more bitter at t…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A women’s flyweight clash pitting Maycee Barber against Montana De La Rosa is in the works for UFC 269.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 269 takes place on Dec. 11 and features a women’s bantaweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena. A location and venue has yet to be announced.

Barber halted a two-bout skid in her last outing, as she captured a split-decision triumph against Miranda Maverick at UFC on ESPN 27 on July 24. The 23-year-old earned a promotional contract on Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series and won her first three Octagon appearances before falling to Roxanne Modafferi and Alexa Grasso in back-to-back fights.

De La Rosa has fought twice thus far in 2021, battling Mayra Bueno Silva to a majority draw at UFC Fight Night 186 before stopping Ariane Lipski via second-round TKO at UFC Fight NIght 189. “The Ultimate Fighter 26” alum is 5-2-…

Azamat Murzakanov made deliberations easy.

The undefeated Russian leveled Matheus Scheffel with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight attraction on Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Murzakanov (10-0) closed the show 3:00 into Round 1. He was one of five competitors—A.J. Fletcher, Joanderson Sa de Brito, Victor Altamirano and Carlos Candelario were the others—who were awarded Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts during Week 1 of the 2021 season.

Operating behind a three-inch reach advantage, the 6-foot-2 Scheffel (14-7) tried and failed to keep his counterpart at bay with body kicks. Murzakanov charged forward, sidestepped return fire and dropped the Brazilian with a right hook, then delivered two standing-to-ground-punches that forced referee Herb Dean to act.

An undefeated Gladiators Academy prospect, Fletcher cut down Leonardo Damiani with a flying knee in the first round of their welterweight confrontation.…

Touted by American Kickboxing Academy training partners Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier as the future king of UFC lightweight division, Islam Makhachev has only one loss among his 21 professional fights.

Adriano Martins, the man who defeated Makhachev via TKO at UFC 192 some six years ago, recently accepted an invitation from Chute Boxe leader Diego Lima to join the camp of lightweight champ Charles Oliveira after two years training at American Top Team. Makhachev sees Rafael dos Anjos as an opponent who is capable of derailing the Makhachev hype train when they square off at UFC 267.

"I fought  [Rustam] Khabilov and Makhachev in consecutive fights,” said Martins, who defeated Khabilov by split decision at UFC Fight Night 81. “My camps were based on not allowing them to corner me and, if it happened, using my striking and judo to not let them be comfortable. I believe dos Anjos is a very smart guy who has weapons to neutralize Islam. Pressure and judo…

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 1 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 The welterweights touch gloves and Season 5 of the Contender Series is underway. Damiani lands a counter right during an early exchange. Fletcher attacks the lead leg with a low kick. Fletcher is utilizing back-and-forth movement as he lands another leg kick. Damiani pressures with heavy punches, allowing Fletcher to time a level change and land a takedown. Damiani works his way back up against the cage and eventually gets separation. Damiani lands a low kick of his own and then denies a Fletcher takedown attempt. Fletcher lands a spinning back kick to the body then resets. Moments later, the American…

Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley were compensated handsomely for their Showtime boxing match on Sunday night.

According to disclosed salary figures released by the Ohio State Athletic Commission, both Paul and Woodley received $2 million for their 190-pound bout. Paul defeated the former UFC welterweight champion via split-decision after eight rounds at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

It is likely one of the biggest paydays ever earned by Woodley. In his last bout in which salary figures were released, “The Chosen One” garnered a $200,000 check for a loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC on ESPN 9 in May 2020. In his last appearance as welterweight champion, Woodley received $500,000 for a loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded to a fighter by the promotion. Additionally, the reported figures do not reflect any deduc…

Daniel Rodriguez spoiled Kevin Lee’s welterweight debut at UFC on ESPN 30, but it was a potentially costly victory.

Rodriguez must have an X-ray on his left hand and if positive, will need doctor clearance to avoid being sidelined until Feb. 25. At a miniumum, “D-Rod” is suspended until Sept. 28 with no contact until Sept. 19. Lee, meanwhile, is suspended until Oct. 13 with no contact until Sept. 28 due to a cut above his right eye. Rodriguez defeated Lee via unanimous decision in a featured 170-pound matchup.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC on ESPN 30 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night and saw Giga Chikadze defeat Edson Barboza via third-round TKO in the evening’s headliner. Chikadze is suspended until Sept. 28 with no contact until Sept. 19, while Barboza is out until Oct. 13 with no contact until Sept. 28.

Five other fighters from UFC on ESPN 3…

Undefeated lightweight prospect Usman Nurmagomedov will return to action in October when he meets Patrik Pietila at Bellator 269.

The promotion announced the booking on Tuesday. Additionally, ex-heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov, who was initally slated to lock horns with Tyrell Fortune, will instead face Said Sowma on the card. An undisclosed injury knocked Fortune out of the matchup.

Bellator 269 takes place at the VTB Arena in Moscow on Oct. 23 and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Fedor Emelianenko and Timothy Johnson. The event marks the California-based promotion’s debut in Russia, and the main card airs on Showtime, with specific broadcast details to be revealed soon.

The 23-year-old Nurmagomedov, who is the cousin of retired former UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, has kicked off his professional career with 13 straight victories. After stints with Gorilla Fighting Championships, UAE Warriors and Brave FC, the American Kickboxing Academ…

Kyle Reyes, a 22-fight veteran who has competed in several regional MMA promotions over the course of his career, has died at the age of 30.

Multiple coaches and fighters mourned Reyes’ passing on social media Monday. According to a GoFundMe account, Reyes recently had reconstructive surgery for a torn biceps in his left arm, and one day later, he was found unresponsive in his room.

“The doctors had found out he had an infection in his lung, pneumonia causing his right lung to collapse, oxygen levels at 50 which caused his brain to swell. He also had a temperature of 102 degrees,” the post read.

One week after surgery, Reyes was still on a ventilator, according to the GoFundMe account post, and doctors were concerned the fighter had suffered brain damage due to the swelling in his brain. At the time, however, Reyes was in stable condition and it was hoped that he could be taken off the ventilator.

“I’m telling you, my homeboy was good,” UFC fighter Trevin…

Even though he is just 28 years old, Kevin Lee appears to have reached a crossroads in his mixed martial arts career.

“The Motown Phenom” lost for the fourth time in five outings at UFC on ESPN 30, dropping a unanimous decision to Daniel Rodriguez in his 170-pound debut on Saturday. Earlier in his promotional tenure, Lee looked like a star on the rise as he won nine of his first 11 appearances before falling to Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title bout at UFC 216 in October 2017. The loss to Rodriguez was Lee’s first bout since March 2020 after undergoing surgery on both of his knees.

“Didn't have a good performance this last time out but honestly after 500 days away and multiple surgeries, I'm proud of what I was able to do,” Lee wrote on Instagram. “I tried climbing a very tall mountain and this was just another speed-bump on the way. My best performances are ahead of me and I know that. I don't care if I have to bump my head to get there I won't stop until…

Liliya Shakirova Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/df2xPjTUUj

— USADA (@usantidoping) August 30, 2021

One-time UFC competitor Liliya Shakirova has accepted a two-year suspension for a violation of the promotion’s anti-doping policy, USADA announced Monday.

Shakirova tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition sample collected on Dec. 5 in her home country of Uzbekistan. Meldonium is used to treat heart conditions, among other issues, but in terms of performance enhancing benefits, it is believed to enhance the body’s capacity to carry oxygen. It is listed in the category of hormone and metabolic modulators on the UFC banned substance list.

Shakirova would have avoid a violation had she declared her use of Meldonium prior to entering the USADA drug-testing pool, but she did not make such an admission. As a result, her two-year sanction is retroactive to Dec. 5, 2020.

The 29-year-old made …

Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts with a 29-0 mark as the UFC lightweight champion, but at least one training partner believes “The Eagle” could reach similar heights in the competitive grappling world.

Two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championship gold medalist Yuri Simoes, who trains with Nurmagomedov at American Kickboxing Academy, told Ag.Fight that the Dagestani’s skill set would translate well to the ADCC arena.

“I’ve already trained with many top jiu-jitsu players who like to be on top, pressuring to pass the guard, but his game is different. It´s too much pressure,” said Simoes, who fell to Fan Rong via unanimous decision in his MMA debut under the One Championship banner last October. “Unlike the jiu-jitsu guys, his goal is not to pass the guard or mount to get points. He tries the transitions to punish and cause pain to the opponent.”

Simoes said it’s up to Nurmagomedov to decide how far he wants to go in…

After a brief delay, the bantamweight championship clash between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena has been rebooked for UFC 269.

Promotion officials confirmed the bout on Monday. UFC 269 takes place on Dec. 11 at an as yet to be announced location and is also expected to include a flyweight showdown pitting Cody Garbrandt against Kai Kara France. Nunes and Pena were initially slated to meet at UFC 265 on Aug. 7 before Nunes tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was postponed.

The UFC’s reigning champion at both bantamweight and featherweight, Nunes enters the matchup with Pena on a 12-fight winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The No. 1 pound-for-pound female in the sport last appeared at UFC 259 in March, when she defended her 145-pound belt with a first-round submission of Megan Anderson.

After more than a two-year hiatus following the birth of her first child,, Pena has been victorious in two of her last three UFC bouts upon her return. “Th…

There were no issues for the athletes who stepped on the scales for their matchups on the Season 5 opener of Dana White’s Contender Series, but one bout didn’t make it that far.

A proposed heavyweight clash pitting Dylan Potter against Lukasz Brzeski was canceled due to COVID-19 protocol. UFC officials hope to rebook the fight at a later Contender Series event, according to MMAjunkie.com. As a result, Week 1 of the Contender Series will move forward with four fights.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m PT. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt pitting Azamat Murzakanov (205.5 pounds) against Matheus Scheffel (205.5).

Russia’s Murzakanov has been victorious in his first nine professional bouts while competing for organizations such as Brave Combat Federation, Absolute Championship Berkut and Ring of Combat. Most recently, he knocked out Mohammed Fakhreddine in the first round at Brav…

"CLEVELAND WHAT'S GOOD!"@jakepaul put on for the land #PaulWoodley pic.twitter.com/B9Hma4K3EN

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 30, 2021

For the first time in his burgeoning boxing career, Jake Paul found himself in a real fight. He proved to be more than up to the task.

The social-media-personality-turned-boxer went eight rounds with a former UFC champion, capturing a split decision triumph against Tyron Woodley in the main event of a Showtime Sports card at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Sunday night. Judge Jaime Garayua had it 77-75 and Dana DePaolo saw it 78-74 — both in favor of Paul — while Phil Rogers submitted a 77-75 tally in favor of Woodley.

“He’s a tough opponent. He’s been boxing, fighting, striking — whatever you want to call it — for 20-something years,” Paul said of Woodley. “I’ve been doing this for three years as of a couple days ago. This was a tougher fight than I expected. My legs felt weird since…

Giga Chikadze believes his time has arrived in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight division.

“Ninja” earned his seventh straight Octagon triumph in the UFC on ESPN 30 headliner, stopping respected striker Edson Barboza via third-round technical knockout on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Now, Chikadze has his sights set on the top of the division.

“I’m not interested in anything else,” Chikadze said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Like why? Everybody before this said no to me. I’ve been told that I’m going to fight a top-five guy and then the title. The top-five guy didn’t agree. Nobody agreed, and that’s why I fought Edson, who is a bigger name than top five. So I want to see myself on a top-five next week ranking, top-three actually.”

In his post-fight interview, the Kings MMA product suggested that he serve as an alternate for the upcoming featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega at UFC 266 on Sept. 25…