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One of the biggest fights in Bellator MMA history now has a date.

On Thursday night, MMA Fighting reported that the featherweight grand prix final will take place on July 31. At the event expected to be named Bellator 263, Patricio Freire (32-4) will come to blows with A.J. McKee (17-0) with the 145-pound throne, the million-dollar prize and significant pound-for-pound consideration on the line. Sherdog.com has since confirmed the date of the event with a source close to the situation.

Current two-division champ Freire – “Pitbull” is the featherweight and lightweight champ concurrently – will put his title up for grabs at 145 pounds and look to extend his promotional record for the most consecutive defenses in one reign. Since suffering a broken leg against Benson Henderson in 2016, Freire has looked nigh-unbeatable as he racked up wins over the likes of Michael Chandler, Daniel Straus and Emmanuel Sanchez twice. “Pitbull” holds or is in contention for most of the to…

A heavyweight matchup between Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik has been targeted for UFC 266.

MMAFighting.com was first to report that both parties have verbally agreed to the booking. UFC 266 takes place at an as yet to be announced location and features a light heavyweight championship tilt between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. A location for the event has not been revealed. MMAFighting.com also reported that the date for UFC 266 has been moved from Sept. 4 to Sept. 25.

Blaydes had a four-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he suffered a second-round KO defeat to Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 185 on Feb. 20. Prior to that, the man known as “Razor” had earned successive triumphs over Alexander Volkov, Junior dos Santos, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Justin Willis.

Rozenstruik is 2-2 in his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Bigi Boy” defeated Augusto Sakai via technical knockout 4:59 into Round 1 of their headlining bout…

A light heavyweight main event clash between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker has been moved back one week.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, the Santos vs. Walker will now take place at a UFC card on Oct. 2. The bout was originally slated for Sept. 25, which is now reportedly the date for the UFC 266 pay-per-view card.

Santos will look to end a three-bout losing streak when he squares off against Walker. After fallling to then champion Jon Jones in a competitive split decision at UFC 239, “Marreta” returned from multiple knee surgeries to drop back-to-back fights against Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. The 37-year-old Brazilian was victorious in eight of nine Octagon appearances from February 2017 to February 2019.

Walker, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round knockout of Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 178 in September 2020. The former Brazilian Contender Series competitor began his promotional tenure with three straight first ro…

A bantamweight showdown pitting Marlon Moraes against Merab Dvalishvili has been targeted for UFC 266.

Dvalishvili’s coach, Ray Longo, first brought word of the matchup on the Anik and Florian podcast. UFC 266 takes place on Sept. 25 at an as yet to be announced location and is headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

A former 135-pound title challenger, Moraes has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the former WSOF champion suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Rob Font at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19.

Dvalishvili has been on a roll, winning six consecutive UFC outings dating back to September 2018. “The Machine” is coming off a three-round verdict against Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN 23 on May 1.

https://t.co/u7LZPJGvJ2 pic.twitter.com/HGFx17Aa69

— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) June 15, 2021

What a fight!

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Brad Riddell does enough to score a unanimous decision victory at #UFC263 pic.twitter.com/sNgxQEU1d6 — UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) June 13, 2021

Brad Riddell showcased his mettle at UFC 263.

After nearly being knocked out by Drew Dober in the first round of their lightweight bout, the City Kickboxing representative took control over the final 10 minutes, repeatedly landing a solid right hand while also forcing his opponent to defend against multiple takedown attempts. The end result was a unanimous decision triumph, Riddell’s fourth consecutive victory within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

“I had to mix up that stand-and-brawl style between the stick and move. I think that’s what won it for me and those random shots and takedowns,” Riddell said. “I think the striking was making him like not too tired. It was the wrestling that made him a little more tired maybe.

“I could feel and hear him …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAldssU886g&w=560&h=315]

If he gets his way, Deiveson Figueiredo will have a third meeting with Brandon Moreno in the near future.

Shortly after his submission loss to Moreno in the UFC 263 co-main event, the former flyweight champion spoke to UFC Brasil.

“I had a terrible time in the weight cut process,” he said. “I was really slow in the fight, but I don’t want to make excuses. Tonight was Moreno´s night. He fought a great fight and deserved the belt. All I want is toreturn home, sit down with my team, correct my mistakes and fight the trilogy with Moreno.”

Figueiredo’s manager, Wallid Ismail, was upset that the translator didn’t pass along Figueiredo’s request for “four months to train to have an immediate rematch with Moreno” during his in-cage interview following the bout. Still, Ismail also gave Moreno his due.

“That´s what fight business is about. Deiveson just didn’t show up Saturday and Moreno had a great fi…

De locos la reacción en el gimnasio Entram de Tijuana al ganar @theassassinbaby #UFC263 pic.twitter.com/Z7hI5VQdnT

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) June 13, 2021

Brandon Moreno’s championship triumph set off a raucous celebration at his home gym in Tijuana, Mexico.

After battling Deiveson Figueiredo to a majority draw at UFC 256 this past December, Moreno claimed flyweight gold with a third-round submission victory in the rematch at UFC 263 this past Saturday. The win made Moreno the first Mexican-born champion in UFC history, and led to a rowdy scene at his home base, Entram Gym. Check out a video of the celebration above.

While virtually any observer who witnessed the UFC 263 headliner would have given the nod to Israel Adesanya without any question, Marvin Vettori has remained in denial about the final verdict.

“The Italian Dream” was seen arguing with Adesanya over the scorecards in the aftermath of their middleweight title bout on Saturday night, and he reiterated that sentiment in an interview with BT Sport following the event. At the end of the night, “The Last Stylebender” received a trio identical 50-45 tallies from the cageside judges.

“I think I did a lot of good things,” Vettori said. “I was having a lot of success with the boxing exchanges. Story of this fight was the leg kick, I guess. I went back and I talked to my coaches, I think the 50-45 was definitely not the right decision but it is what is.”

Vettori’s game plan was to use his wrestling to neutralize the versatile striking arsenal of the reigning champion. Though the Kings MMA product landed four takedowns in t…

A strawweight rematch between Tecia Torres and Angela Hill has been booked for UFC 265.

MMA DNA was first to report the bout. UFC 265 takes place on Aug. 7 at an as yet to be announced location and features women’s bantamweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena. Torres defeated Hill via unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC 188 in June 2015.

Torres and Hill were initially supposed to square off for a second time at UFC 256 this past December before Hill withdrew due to a positive COVID-19 test. Torres instead faced Sam Hughes, winning via corner stoppage TKO after one round. “The Tiny Tornado” has won back-to-back fights in the Octagon after losing four straight appearances from February 2018 to August 2019.

Hill, meanwhile, snapped a two-bout skid with a decision triumph over Ashley Yoder at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13. “Overkill” has won four of her last six promotional outings, with her defeats against Claudia Gadelha and Miche…

Nate Diaz didn’t win at UFC 263, but he nonetheless authored the most talk-about moment of his five-round clash with Leon Edwards on Saturday night.

After being outclassed for the first four rounds, the Stockton, Calif., native put Edwards in retreat mode when he staggered him with a left hand in the final frame. Diaz pursued a finish but was unable to put his opponent away in the waning moments of the bout, as he went on to lose a clear-cut unanimous decision.

“The fight was a wrap,” Diaz said. “In a real fight, in the real world, that fight’s a wrap. He was sleepwalking.”

For most of the bout, Edwards blended a varied striking arsenal with takedowns to keep Diaz off balance and remain unbeaten in his last 10 UFC welterweight appearances. The Cesar Gracie protege didn’t hesitate to credit his adversary, although he did so in the most Diaz way possible.

“At the end of the day I feel like he won or whatever, but I feel like I’m the better fighter still, reg…

A featherweight clash pitting Andre Fili against Daniel Pineda has been added to the UFC Fight Night 190 lineup.

BJPenn.com was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 190 takes place on June 26 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov. The card airs in its entirety on ESPN+ beginning at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Fili has lost two of his last three promotional appearances and is coming off a decision defeat at the hands of Bryce Mitchell at UFC Fight Night 181 last October. The Team Alpha Male product is 9-6 over the course of his promotional tenure and 21-8 as a professional overall.

Pineda returned for a second stint in the Octagon last August, when he stopped Herbert Burns via TKO in the second round of their bout at UFC 252. In his last outing, “The Pit” suffered a second-round KO loss to Cub Swanson at UFC 256.

Demian Maia may have fought his final bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace struggled mightily against Belal Muhammad in a featured welterweight bout at UFC 263, failing on 20 of 21 takedown attempts in a unanimous decision loss at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on Saturday night.

After a three-bout winning streak in 2019, Maia has dropped back-to-back bouts and has lost five of his last eight Octagon appearances dating back to 2017. UFC president Dana White confirmed that Maia probably won’t compete for the Las Vegas-based promotion again at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“I think that was his last fight,” White said. “It was the last fight on his deal. He’s [43 years old]. He’s been so good at getting in there, securing the takedown, getting on top of people and just strangling them or grabbing something and twisting it until you quit, and he couldn’t get it done tonight. He’s [43 years old], he’s a great guy, he’s had…

Leon Edwards was well on his way to an uneventful, lopsided win against Nate Diaz at UFC 263 before the Stockton, Calif., native offered one final salvo in the fifth frame.

After failing to mount much in the way of significant offense for the majority of the fight, Diaz tagged Edwards with a left hand in the waning moments of their non-title affair. The blow sent “Rocky” stumbling across the cage, and Diaz stalked his man in hopes of a finish. While more punches were landed, Diaz couldn’t put Edwards away. It was a rare moment of suspense in a contest that was largely dominated by the well-rounded skills of the 29-year-old Brit.

“Like I said, it was a wild minute… To be dominant in a fight and then get caught with a shot out of the blue, I was like, ‘What the!?’” Edwards said. “There was one minute left, I was up four rounds but Nate is a legend, he’s been around in the sport for a long time and he knows how to ride his shots, he knows how to stay in there and fair pl…

According to Brandon Moreno, there was just something different in the lead-up to his rematch with Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263.

After their first bout ended in a draw at UFC 256 this past December, Moreno felt that he had a mental edge heading into Saturday night. It was something that he noticed during the pre-fight promotion.

“I have so much respect for Deiveson. Obviously, he tried to make it something special, to put more eyes on the fight, pushed me in the press conference. But actually, when he pushed me, I knew I won the fight. I won the fight there,” Moreno said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“My confidence was very high and he looked different. He didn’t want to look me in the eyes, he put his sunglasses on, he just looked different. When the fight started, I started very, very hard, I started with really high pace. That was the game plan at first and that was it.”

While their first meeting was a “Fight of the Year” contender and to…

If it seemed like it was almost too easy for Israel Adesanya at UFC 263, well, that’s because it probably was.

“The Last Stylebender” closed the book on his rivalry with Marvin Vettori in convincing fashion, winning a five-round verdict on Saturday night to retain his middleweight crown at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Outside of a handful of takedowns and a brief moment where he had Adesanya’s back, Vettori did little to test his opponent in their rematch.

“I actually was in cruise control,” Adesanya said. “There was a point my coach had to yell at me, ‘Don’t get bored!’ and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, true, stay focused.’ I don’t even know what round it was, but I had to stay focused. I had fun out there.

“I felt no threat. Even when he had my back, I was not threatened at all. Not even in the slightest.”

In the aftermath of his latest triumph, Adesanya took a moment to reflect on the moment he knew Vettori was a beaten man.

“There was a point when I reve…

サトシおめ

ムサエフが秒殺とは#RIZIN28 pic.twitter.com/dZKE1fbKaK

— ドナルドダックの左ジャブ (@donaldo_darouga) June 13, 2021 Roberto de Souza can now call himself Rizin Fighting Federation’s inaugural lightweight king.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace known as “Satoshi” claimed the vacant 155-pound belt with a quick submission victory against lightweight grand prix winner Tofiq Musayev at Rizin 28 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday. De Souza (12-1, 5-1 Rizin) has finished his last three opponents within the Japanese promotion inside of a round.

The 31-year-old Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu representative wasted little time in attempting to take the action to the mat. Although Musayev (18-4, 5-1 Rizin) denied his opponent’s first takedown attempt, he couldn’t remain upright for long. De Souza was able to ground the Azerbaijan native on his second try and then secured a triangle choke after ending up on bottom position to earn the tapout 72 seco…

Brandon Moreno has championship gold and a little something extra for his bank account.

The newly crowned flyweight champion received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his third-round submission of Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC 263 co-main event at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., on Saturday night. Moreno landed a takedown in Round 3, transitioned to his opponent’s back and locked in a rear-naked choke at the 2:26 mark of the period.

Elsewhere, Paul Craig collected the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award with a first-round stoppage of Jamahal Hill in a featured light heavyweight affair. The Scot initially secured an armbar that badly dislocated his foe’s limb before officially getting the stoppage thanks to landing a barrage of punches and elbows from his back while Hill was trapped in a triangle at the 1:59 mark of Round 1.

Finally, Brad Riddell and Drew Dober garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for the…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Israel Adesanya made sure there would be no dissenting scorecards in his rematch with Marvin Vettori. “The Last Stylebender” was in peak form in the UFC 263 headliner, retaining his middleweight crown with a clear-cut, five-round verdict over Marvin Vettori at Gila Riva Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday night. Adesanya swept the scorecards by identical 50-45 counts to extend his winning streak to 10 at 185 pounds. Included in that run is a split-decision triumph over Vettori at UFC on Fox 29 in April 2018.

A more evolved version of Adesanya (21-1, 10-1 UFC) was rarely threatened by Vettori (17-5-1, 7-3-1 UFC) the second time around. The City Kickboxing standout kept his opponent guessing with confounding movement, punching combinations to the head and kicks to the head and legs, the latter of which made the “The Italian Dr…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 263 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Round 1 Fight fans in Arizona and around the world will be getting quite a treat tonight with UFC 263, which brings a card that has a little something for everyone. We kick things off with the obligatory heavyweight slobberknocker, but instead of it being placed on the main card, it is the event opener. Felipe (10-1, 2-1 UFC) and Collier (12-5, 4-4 UFC) will throw down in a battle of deceptively quick big men, and referee Al Guinee will be on top of the action. The night begins with no glove touch, and away we go! Collier fling…

These guys are THROWING

[ #UFC263 | LIVE now on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus] pic.twitter.com/aJRGOBIWxK

— UFC (@ufc) June 13, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Brad Riddell had to walk through heavy artillery to earn the biggest victory in his Ultimate Fighting Championship career to date.

The City Kickboxing product went toe-to-toe with Drew Dober for three thrilling rounds at UFC 263, earning a unanimous decision triumph in their preliminary lightweight bout at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday night. Riddell rallied to secure a trio of 29-28 scorecards for his fourth consecutive triumph in the Octagon. Dober has dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in his UFC tenure.

Dober (23-11, 1 NC, 9-7, 1 NC UFC) nearly put Riddell (10-1, 4-0 UFC) away early when he buckled his opponent with a left h…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwZxGi4tuAM&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 263 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Crisis averted, as all four involved in the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship title fights have made weight. Both the UFC's middleweight and flyweight belts will be on the line at UFC 263 after both champions and challengers successfully made weight. The 14-fight card is now official after all fighters weighed in. Every fighter made weight except for Steven Peterson, who came in 2.5 pounds over the featherweight limit.

The main event will see Israel Adesanya return to middleweight after failing to capture the light heavyweight crown against Jan Blachowicz. The decision loss was the first career defeat for "The Last Stylebender" in mixed martial arts. Prior to the setback, Adesanya (20-1) successfully defended his belt against Paulo Costa via brutal knockout,…

An emotional @YaroslavAmosov is your new #Bellator world welterweight champ.#MMA #Bellator260 pic.twitter.com/qvSujc6WTc

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 12, 2021

Ukraine has its first major mixed martial arts champion.

Yaroslav Amosov kept his perfect professional record intact and quieted whatever detractors he had left, as he claimed the undisputed Bellator MMA welterweight title with a five-round unanimous decision over Douglas Lima in the Bellator 260 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Amosov (26-0, 7-0 Bellator) swept the scorecards with 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 marks from the judges.

Lima (32-9, 14-5 Bellator) was woefully ineffective, his best weapons neutralized by the three-time combat sambo world champion. Amosov held his own in the standup exchanges and completed takedowns in all five rounds, corralling the Brazilian on the canvas for extended periods of time. While his output was far fr…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJK5cXSpMno&w=560&h=315] Jessica Correa Delboni has earned a shot at the Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight champion Alesha Zappitella after winning the one-night Phoenix Series 4 tournament.

The main event, which was the only three-round professional mixed martial arts bout on the card, saw Delboni go three rounds against Lindsey VanZandt. "LVZ" came out looking to strike from range, but Delboni was able to back her into the cage several times and won the round due to her aggressiveness. The second frame was largely more of the same, but VanZandt took the round on two of the judge's scorecards. Round 3 stayed on the feet with both women landing solid punches. Ultimately, the judges favored the work of Delboni and awarded her a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

In the first one-round semifinal bout, VanZandt cruised to a unanimous decision against Linda Mihalec. "Damsel" picked the match a…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFpckqk1Vak&w=560&h=315]

There were expected miscues and missteps, but three-division boxing champion Claressa Shields made a successful crossover to mixed martial arts under the Professional Fighters League flag.

Operating out of the famed Jackson-Wink MMA camp, Shields weathered significant adversity, stayed composed and turned away Brittney Elkin with punches in the third round of their PFL 4 headliner on Thursday at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Elkin (3-7, 0-2 PFL) succumbed to blows 1:44 into Round 3, as she suffered her fourth straight defeat.

The performance was far from perfect. Elkin largely dominated the first two rounds with well-timed takedowns and positional advances. She achieved full mount in both rounds, but her failure to close the deal proved costly. Near the end of the middle stanza, Shields (1-0, 1-0 PFL) reversed position, cut loose with her hands and started to turn the tide. Sh…