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Getting some serious Cool Hand Luke vibes in the final minute.#LFA100 pic.twitter.com/jm6Id89hHt

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 20, 2021 The Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new flyweight champion at LFA 100. Only one-half of the main event was fighting for the belt due to late-replacement Nate Smith missing weight, but Victor Altamirano made sure the belt didn't stay vacant.

Altamirano (9-1) opened the fight by landing damaging leg kicks and showcased a clear advantage on the feet. While Smith (6-2) proved he was the better wrestler by taking down "El Magnifico" several times, Altamirano was able to minimize damage and get back to his feet. Neither man came close to finishing the other over five rounds, and ultimately, the judges saw the fight in favor of Altamirano with marks of 50-45, 49-46 and 50-44.

The co-main event saw flyweight prospects Karlee Pangilinan and Charles Johnson clash. Both men came out throwing on the fee…

Brad Riddell finally has confirmation of his next bout.

He meets No15 lightweight Gregor Gillespie the Brunson x Holland card on March 22 (NZT) pic.twitter.com/h7LLx425oS

— Christopher Reive (@ChrisReive) February 19, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Gregor Gillespie is coming back after a long time away following his first career loss.

The NZ Herald first reported on Friday that Gillespie (13-1) would be making his long-awaited comeback against Brad Riddell (9-1) on March 20. The UFC Fight Night event on that date is not yet numbered, and could take place on ABC or ESPN as well as ESPN+, but it will be held in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The news has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Gillespie will be competing for the first time since late 2019, when Kevin Lee ki…

Now that the #LFA100 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most?

: https://t.co/rnK8WCvlYq

: https://t.co/AWK56nmShK@ShellsDotCom@USENDmoney@PsoRite@GLCDirect2000@AthleticCBD@IncaKolaUSA@SheathUnderwear@HartmanArena@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/Ag8bkqSoui — LFA (@LFAfighting) February 19, 2021 A one-way title fight will now cap off the Legacy Fighting Alliance's 100th numbered event.

The LFA is back for a second straight week, this time with another belt on the line. Headlining LFA 100 is a flyweight title bout between Victor Altamirano and Nate Smith for the vacant championship that was last held by Jimmy Flick. However, the title fight comes with a significant asterisk, as only Altamirano is eligible for the belt after Smith weighed 2.6 pounds over the flyweight limit.

Both flyweights are coming into the bout with plenty of hype. Altamirano (8-1) holds the record for most wins in LFA history as he …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZD_3FCcbiI?start=212&w=560&h=315] A fighter has come clean amid concerns that he threw a fight in Afghanistan last Thursday.

On Feb. 11 at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan, the 11th event of Truly Grand Fighting Championship titled “Champions Fight Night” took place, with a seven-fight card that brought finishes in its last six bouts. In the main event, local Ahmed Wali Hotak took on the well-traveled Brazilian Leonardo Barbosa Paes Barreto at a 73kg (160-pound) catchweight. The two engaged in a tense stand-up affair, even though Barreto had notched all but one of his career stoppage wins by submission.

Midway through the second round, after a prolonged clinch exchange, Hotak struck his opponent with a knee to the chest, and the impact of the strike made Barreto fall back in an unusual way that instantly drew ire from the MMA community. Referee Yousuf Momand leapt in to stop the match after less than three hammerfists h…

Just announced!! TWO Canadian bouts are official for March 13th!

@MishaC911 vs @Superman_Spann@MeanMachine505 vs @JourdainAir pic.twitter.com/XHtwUKf69n

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) February 18, 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. An intriguing Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight battle has been rebooked for an upcoming March event.

At UFC Fight Night 183 in December, Misha Cirkunov (15-5) and Ryan Spann (18-6) were slated to square off against one another, only for the match to fall through when Cirkunov suffered an injury. The promotion promised the pairing would be maintained for a future event, and on Thursday, the UFC announced that Cirkunov vs. Spann has been placed on UFC Fight Night 187. The two will meet at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 13.

Latvian-Canadian finisher Cirkunov has alternated firs…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXMvUv3rwaA?start=6&w=560&h=315] 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. Two top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights looking to separate themselves from the pack will come to blows in May. Combate first reported the story that Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-5) will take on Augusto Sakai (15-2-1) at the UFC Fight Night event on May 1. This event is expected to take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas but its location has not been formalized.

Abdurakhimov will be competing for the first time since September 2019, with a pair of scrapped 2020 matchups against Ciryl Gane nixed for various reasons. The Dagestan native’s last appearance came against Curtis Blaydes, and he was pounded out by ferocious ground-and-pound to snap a three-fight win streak. Prior to getting clobbered by Blaydes, Abdurakhimov rattled off a trio of wins on…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB4lXDV70TA&w=560&h=315]

Fifteen votes will determine the new rankings for Bellator MMA in every weight category.

The organization officially released its fighter rankings panel on Thursday via press release, which will allow for 15 MMA media members to select the top-10 fighters in each Bellator division: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, women's featherweight and women's flyweight. Beyond selecting fighters from seven men’s categories and two for women, the voters will be picking pound-for-pound fighters for both men and women. Bellator will be using a third-party firm called Combat Registry to count the votes and prepare the lists, which will come from votes following every Bellator event. Sherdog.com was asked to join the panel, but opted not to participate in the process.

Twenty percent of the panel will be constituted of MMA Junkie staff members, with Geo…

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. For the first time in nearly three years, Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Johnny Eduardo will be back in action. Per a report initially from MMA Junkie on Thursday, Eduardo (28-12) will be squaring off with Anthony Birchak (16-7) on the March 20 UFC event. The Fight Night card, which does not currently have a designation as it could air on ESPN or the ESPN+ streaming service, is slated to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pairing has since been confirmed by Birchak on his social media.

Eduardo will take his first trip to the Octagon since an unsuccessful outing against Nathaniel Wood at UFC Fight Night 131 in June 2018. Since then, the Brazilian has not been booked in any UFC match, nor has he publicly suffered from any illnesses or injuries to keep him out of the cage for this long. Although he inten…

No guts no glory MAIN EVENT MUHAMMAD pic.twitter.com/gqZbHiOzTN

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 18, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Belal Muhammad is striking while the iron is hot. Courtesy of an ESPN announcement on Thursday, Muhammad (18-3) will be stepping in on short notice to take on Leon Edwards (18-3) atop UFC Fight Night 187. The two 170-pounders will come to blows at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 13, with Muhammad replacing the COVID-afflicted Khamzat Chimaev. Muhammad quickly confirmed this booking on his social media.

The bout will be a very quick turnaround for the man known as “Remember the Name,” who bested Dhiego Lima across three rounds on Feb. 13. The win lifted Muhammad to a four-fight win streak that has seem him defeat Lyman Good, Takashi Sato and Cu…

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

Even with money tight internationally, the Professional Fighters League has added a significant investment to its already sizeable war chest.

On Thursday, the promotion sent out a press release announcing that a new investment from Ares Capital, Elysian Park Ventures and Knighthead Capital totaling $65 has been added to the PFL’s budget. This addition to the PFL’s funding that already combined for $110 million now totals a whopping $175 million. Per broadcast partner ESPN, a significant amount of this figure will be spent on free agent acquisitions.

The tournament-centric league, which took off the whole of 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic, has bolstered its ranks in its extended offseason. In addition to retaining the services of its previous champions like Lance Palmer, Ray Cooper III and Kayla Harrison, it has al…

Anthony Hernandez soumet l’invaincu (7-0 en MMA jusque là, 100% de finish) quadruple champion du monde de JJB, champion de l’ADCC en 2015, Rodolfo Vieira #UFC258pic.twitter.com/TT7gWaJoX3

— La Sueur (@lasueur_off) February 14, 2021

The UFC 258 preliminary card attracted 794,000 viewers to ESPN on Saturday night, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

The two-hour prelims aired on ESPN from 8 p.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET and saw Anthony Hernandez submit Rodolfo Vieira in the featured matchup on that portion of the card. The prelims also aired on ESPN+, but viewership figures aren’t available for the streaming platform.

UFC 258 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Kamaru Usman retain his welterweight crown with a third-round stoppage of Gilbert Burns in the evening’s headliner. Outside of the main event, the card didn’t have the usual star power of a pay-per-view offering.

As expected, the ratings for the UFC 258 prelims came in below thos…

Dana White’s recent revelation that Jon Jones would get to face the winner of the Stipe Miocic-Francis Ngannou bout didn’t come as a surprise to Curtis Blaydes.

Miocic and Ngannou will square off in the UFC 260 headliner on March 27, and if all goes as planned Jones will get a chance to vie for heavyweight gold against the winner sometime in the summer. That leaves a contender like Blaydes, who will be gunning for his fifth consecutive triumph in the UFC Fight Night 185 main event agianst Derrick Lewis, on the outside looking in.

“I expected it. It’s Jon Jones. He's a money fight," Blaydes told ESPN. "If he wants to fight for the belt, yeah, he gets to fight for the belt. I'm not shocked. Do I think it's the most fair thing? No, but that's not what this business is about. It’s not about fair and who’s earned what.”

Jones, who is widely regarded as the greatest light heavyweight of all-time, vacated his belt last year in anticipation of a move to heavyweight. I…

A pivotal women’s flyweight showdown between Katlyn Chookagian and Viviane Araujo is in the works for a UFC event on May 15.

ESPN was first to report the matchup, which is close to being finalized by the Las Vegas-based promotion. A location and headliner for the card have not been confirmed.

A former title challenger at 125 pounds, Chookagian has been victorious in four of six Octagon appearances since 2019. Most recently, “Blonde Fighter” outpointed Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 255 on Nov. 21. The Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu representative’s resume also features wins over the likes of Jennifer Maia, Joanne Calderwood, Irene Aldana and Lauren Murphy.

Araujo, meanwhile, has earned victories in four of five promotional outings. The 34-year-old Brazilian enters the matchup with Chookagian on the strength of back-to-back decision triumphs over Montana De La Rosa and Roxanne Modafferi. Her lone defeat in the Octagon came against Jessica Eye at UFC 245.

UFC veteran Bryan Caraway is facing multiple charges after allegedly stealing an ATV from ex-girlfriend Miesha Tate and filing fraudulent insurance claims on the vehicle.

According to a report from the Tri-Cities Herald, Caraway is expected to enter a plea on March 11 forgery, making a false statement on a vehicle application certificate of title, false claims of proof in excess of $1,500 and first-degree attempted theft.

Caraway allegedly forged the title for a 2015 Polaris RZR and reported the vehicle stolen from his home in December 2018. Per court documents, Caraway bought the insurance policy just days before filing the claim. In the claim, Caraway valued the vehicle and its contents at $18,500.

After missing a Feb. 4 court hearing, Caraway appeared on the Washington state Officer of the Insurance Commissioner’s “Most Wanted” list. Caraway was removed from the list when he contacted the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office to schedule a new arraignment date on his c…

The last time Curtis Blaydes was in the Octagon, he landed a whopping 14 takedowns en route to a five-round verdict over Alexander Volkov in the UFC on ESPN 11 headliner this past June.

Considering Volkov’s most recent performance against Alistair Overeem, the victory looks even more impressive in hindsight. However, UFC president Dana White didn't seem to appreciate the means by which Blaydes had his hand raised, especially since the heavyweight contender fatigued somewhat down the stretch.

“He won. He talked a lot of s—t coming in this week,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I don’t think you can talk the s—t that he talked this week and come in and perform like that. Talking about ragdolling people and not getting paid. Yada yada. He should be getting a title shot. He gassed out at the end of the third round, made it to the fifth and won the fight. Yeah, he won.”

As he heads into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 185 main event against Derrick Lewis…

A light heavyweight showdown pitting Ion Cutelaba against Devin Clark is set for UFC Fight Night on May 1.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. The card takes place at an as yet to be determined location and is headlined by a 205-pound tilt between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka.

Cutelaba is looking to bounce back from consecutive first-round KO/TKO defeats at the hands of Magomed Ankalaev in 2020. The 27-year-old Moldovan is 4-5 during his promotional tenure and 15-6 with one no contest as a professional overall. He’s finished 12 of his wins by knockout or technical knockout.

Clark, meanwhile, had a two-bout winning streak snapped in a first-round submission loss against Anthony Smith in his most recent outing at UFC on ESPN 18 this past November. “Brown Bear” is 6-5 within the Las Vegas-based promotion and 12-5 over the course of his MMA career.

Kamaru Usman could be looking at six months on the sidelines following his latest title defense at UFC 258.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” must have his right foot X-rayed and cleared by a doctor or he will be suspended until Aug. 13. At a minimum, Usman is suspended until March 16 with no contact until March 7. A full list of medical suspensions from this past Saturday’s event were released to mixedmartialarts.com.

UFC 258 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Usman retain his welterweight crown with a third-round technical knockout of Gilbert Burns in the evening’s headliner. Burns is suspended until March 31 due to lacerations on his right eyebrow and left orbital.

Seven other fighters from UFC 258 are facing possible six-month sits pending doctor clearance: Alexa Grasso (right knee), Maycee Barber (right shoulder), Anthony Hernandez (right hand), Dhiego Lima (nose), Mallory Martin (right elbow), Chris Gutierrez (nose) and Phil Rowe (left knee).

UFC 258 Me…

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Khamzat Chimaev will continue his battle against the lingering health issues from COVID-19 in the United States.

According to a report from ESPN, the UFC is flying the welterweight prospect into Las Vegas to receive additional medical care. Chimaev was forced to withdraw from a March 13 headlining clash with Leon Edwards due to onging symptoms from the coronavirus. The goal is for Chimaev to fight in June, but his longterm health will be the primary concern.

Last week, in a video released on Frontkick.online's YouTube channel, manager Majdi Shammas revealed that Chimaev “thought he was going to die” after one recent training session.

“He was really bad. He didn’t even do two rounds straight. He did one round and then rested,” Shammas said. “He started coughing, started feeling ill again, and we had to cancel the training. He even went in an ambulance to the hospital.”

Chimaev was a breakout s…

A potential welterweight slugfest between Mike Perry and Daniel Rodriguez is in the works for UFC Fight Night on April 10.

The matchup was initially reported by Fighter Path. UFC Fight Night is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Darren Till and Marvin Vettori.

Perry split a pair of bouts in 2020, outpointing Mickey Gall at UFC on ESPN 12 before dropping a unanimous verdict against Tim Means at UFC 256. “Platinum” is 7-7 over the course of his promotional tenure and owns other notable wins against the likes of Paul Felder, Alex Oliveira and Jake Ellenberger.

Rodriguez kicked off his UFC career with wins over Means, Gabriel Green and Dwight Grant before losing a unanimous decision to Nicolas Dalby in his fourth Octagon appearance of 2020. The 34-year-old owns a 13-2 career mark, with 11 of his victories coming inside the distance.

Kamaru Usman is a sizeable favorite to best Jorge Masvidal for a second time should the two welterweights square off again in the near future.

According to oddsmaker BetOnline, Usman opened as a -300 favorite, while Masvidal was listed at +250. As of this writing, Usman was listed at -310 and Masvidal at +260. The rematch must happen sometime in 2021 for any betting action to be valid.

Those odds are comparable to those released prior to UFC 251, when Usman opened as a -313 favorite and Masvidal was a +263 underdog. After original foe Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19, Masvidal stepped in on less than one week’s notice and lost a five-round verdict to the reigning welterweight king on July 11. The card, which featured two other title bouts, drew an estimated 1.3 million pay-per-view buys.

After besting Burns at UFC 258 this past weekend, Usman turned his attention to a return date with Masvidal.

“Like I said, you’ve got this fake Jesus wannabe r…

The UFC is hoping the third time will be the charm for Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz.

The promotion has rescheduled the bantamweight clash for UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 27 after two previous cancellations. Munhoz and Rivera were initially slated to meet at UFC on ESPN 20 on Jan. 20 before being relocated to UFC 258 on Feb. 13 for undisclosed reasons. However, that second booking fell through due to a positive COVID-19 test related to the bout. MMAjunkie.com confirmed the new date after it was initially mentioned by MMAFighting.com.

UFC Fight Night 186 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane. The card is expected to stream in its entirety on ESPN+.

Rivera and Munhoz initially squared off more than five years ago at UFC Fight Night 77, with Rivera claiming a split-decision triumph. That was part of a 20-bout professional winning streak for Rivera, who is just 2-3 in the Oct…

Leon Edwards still needs an opponent if he is to remain on the UFC Fight Night 187 card, but it doesn’t appear that Colby Covington is a willing dance partner.

Last week, UFC president Dana White revealed that the promotion was working on booking a title eliminator between Covington and Edwards, potentially as early as March 13. Edwards was supposed to face Khamzat Chimaev at the event before Chimaev withdrew to ongoing COVID-19 issues.

In an interview with Submission Radio, Covington rejected the possibility of a matchup with Edwards.

“‘Leon Scott’ hasn’t earned anything,” Covington said. “I’m in the Colby Covington Incorporated championship business. I’m not in the Leon Scott charity business. This isn’t charity hour, man. I’m fighting at the top of the mountain. I’m fighting the best in the world …

“I’m not doing charity business no more. It’s not my fault this kid hasn’t fought in two years. It’s not my fault this kid – there’s people from England fi…

Former UFC competitor Paul Kelly is calling it a career at age 36.

The Englishman announced his decision via social media on Monday. Kelly last competed in March 2020, earning a technical knockout victory against Simone Bottino at a regional event in his home country. It was his first fight since 2013 after serving a prison sentence for drug trafficking.

“I had my time! and I would never change my path,” Kelly wrote. “MMA give me a life I would never have dreamed of, met people I would never have met. No drug can compare to the feeling of getting your hand raised after walking out for a straighter with 20k watching.

“At some point we have to let go, I was full committed to trying one more time with the gaffer @teamkaobon to win a British title. Covid has taken another year so am calling it a day.

“My life is on a different path now, one that means I can’t commit my life to fighting anymore like my opponent will be. Winning is winning and for me now winnin…

Ayaka Hamasaki will face Kanna Asakura for a second time with the atomweight championship on the line at Rizin Fighting Federation 27.

The Japanese promotion recently announced the pairing, which will headline its first event of 2021. Rizin 27 takes place on March 21 at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan. According to a release, 5,000 spectators will be allowed to attend.

Nine other bouts were also confirmed for the event: Roberto de Souza vs. Kazuki Tokudome at lightweight; Tsuyoshi Sudario vs. Kazushi Miyamoto at heavyweight; Kleber Koike Erbst vs. Kazumasa Majima at featherweight; Koji Takeda vs. Takasuke Kume at lightweight; Tetsuya Seki vs. Yoshinori Horie at featherweight; Shooto Watanabe vs. Takumi Tamaru at bantamweight; Kazuma Sone vs. Hiroki Yamashita at bantamweight; Yutaro Muramoto vs. Seigo Yamamoto at flyweight and Kohei Sugiyama vs. Yuki Ito at flyweight.

Hamasaki and Asakura initially squared off for the vacant atomweight belt at Rizin 14, with …