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Marvin Vettori fought Israel Adesanya before “The Last Stylebender” was truly a superstar, and the Italian middleweight almost came away with a victory on the scorecards.

The 27-year-old Kings MMA product dropped a split decision to Adesanya at UFC on Fox 29 in April 2018 in what was the current middleweight champion’s second Octagon appearance. Since then the City Kickboxing star has racked up seven more victories within the Las Vegas-based promotion — including a pair of title defenses — and now has enough clout to be on the verge of pursuing two-division dominance.

Meanwhile, Vettori appears to be just now coming into his own at 185 pounds following an impressive five-round verdict over Jack Hermansson in the UFC on ESPN 29 headliner at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. “The Italian Dream” has won four straight fights and is gradually climbing toward the top of the division. Vettori remembers Adesanya’s recent dismissive comments toward him, and now he believes his o…

When it comes to UFC roster reduction, Yoel Romero could be just the beginning.

The former middleweight title challenger was surprisingly released from his contract late last week despite reportedly having three fights remaining on his existing deal. The 43-year-old American Top Team standout is currently on a three-fight losing streak, but his last appearance was a decision loss to Israel Adesanya in a title bout at UFC 248 in March — and that matchup came at the request of the reigning champion.

At Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 19 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White indicated that Romero won’t be the only high-profile release in the coming weeks.

“It’s not just Yoel,” White said. “We’re going to go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. We’re probably going to have 60 cuts before the first of the year. Yoel has lost four of his last five. He’s 44 years old.

“Our roster is very inflated right now. We’re going to have some big c…

HE KNOCKED HIM OUT WITH THE SLAM @jojo_monkeyking #UFCVegas16 pic.twitter.com/JSDgYRaJkH

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 6, 2020

Slam knockouts are an infrequent occurence in UFC competition.

So infrequent, in fact, that there have been just 12 in the history of the Las Vegas-based promotion after Jordan Leavitt knocked Matt Wiman unconscious with a slam just 22 seconds into the opening round of their lightweight clash at UFC on ESPN 19. It was certainly a memorable way to make an Octagon debut for the recent Dana White’s Contender Series competitor.

“It’s crazy. I’ve never removed anybody from their consciousness before in a fight, that’s my first time,” Leavitt said. “Honestly it’s a little bit anticlimactic. I’ve been waiting for this for 10 years and then it’s over very quickly, but definitely really happy.”

Leavitt’s finish was beautifully executed. The Syndicate MMA product changed levels for a double-leg takedown, lifted his …

Marvin Vettori wasn’t originally expected to be in the UFC on ESPN 19 headliner, but his presence was profitable for both himself and Jack Hermansson.

Vettori and Hermansson received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for an entertaining five-round middleweight affair at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Vettori very nearly ended the fight in Round 1 after dropping Hermansson, but the “Joker” recovered to make the remaining 20 minutes interesting. Ultimately, “The Italian Dream” emerged with a unanimous decision triumph.

Elsewhere, Gabriel Benitez garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” paycheck thanks to a first-round stoppage of Justin Jaynes in a featured lightweight encounter. Benitez sent Jaynes to the canvas with a powerful step-in knee and finished the contest with follow-up strikes 4:06 into Round 1.

Finally, Jordan Leavitt earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a memorable Octagon debut against Matt Wiman. Ea…

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. While some fighters shrink in the spotlight, others thrive in it. It seems clear that Marvin Vettori falls in the latter category. Laser-guided left hands, stellar takedown defense and a willingness to go to the end of his rope carried the ascendant Rafael Cordeiro protégé to a unanimous decision over Jack Hermansson in the UFC on ESPN 19 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A short-notice substitution for Kevin Holland, Vettori (16-4-1, 6-2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 49-46, 49-46 and 49-45 marks from the judges.

DROPPED HIM

@MarvinVettori has Hermansson reeling early! #UFCVegas16 pic.twitter.com/ltfBLyq1Jd

— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020 Hermansson (21-6, 8-4 UFC) ran into early difficulty, as Vettori dropped him with a left hand in the first round and pursued a finish on the…

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. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 19 coverage will begin Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfi…

No judges needed!

@LastSamuraiUFC makes it straight wins with a finish. #UFCVegas16 pic.twitter.com/jNC999zgy9

— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020 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. Early adversity did nothing to divert Louis Smolka from his objective.

The Team Oyama export overcame an inauspicious start and continued to establish himself as a viable player in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division, as he put away “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” finalist Jose Alberto Quinonez with punches in the second round of their featured UFC on ESPN 19 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smolka (17-7, 8-7 UFC) drew the curtain 2:15 into Round 2.

Quinonez (8-5, 5-4 UFC) pestered the Hawaiian with low leg kicks for much of the first round, mixed in a few overhand rights and benefitted from an inadvert…

UFC Fight Night 183 has taken another hit.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced that a proposed light heavyweight bout between Misha Cirkunov and Ryan Spann has been postponed due to an undisclosed injury suffered by Cirkunov. The fight is expected to be rebooked at an undetermined future event

Additionally, the UFC confirmed a previous report that a flyweight clash pitting Alexandre Pantoja against Manel Kape at the Dec. 19 event has also been scrapped due to a positive COVID-19 test for Pantoja.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight duel between Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+.

Cirkunov last appeared at UFC Fight Night 158, where he submitted Jimmy Crute in the opening stanza to improve to 6-3 in his Octagon tenure. Spann, meanwhile, was victorious in his first four promotional appearances before suffering a first-round KO loss against Johnn…

Demetrious Johnson will get his chance to capture a title belt in another major promotion when he faces reigning champ Adriano Moraes in a flyweight title clash at a One Championship event on Feb. 24.

The Singapore-based promotion recently announced the announced the pairing in a release. Johnson and Moraes were initially scheduled to square off on April 10 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the bout. A location and venue for the event were not confirmed.

After besting Yuya Wakamatsu in his promotional debut, “Mighty Mouse” outpointed Tatsumitsu Wada and Danny Kingad to win the One Championship flyweight grand prix and secure a title shot. During his UFC tenure, Johnson was regarded as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound talents thanks to a 14-bout unbeaten run from 2012 to 2017 and 11 consecutive title defenses. He was “traded” to One for Ben Askren following a split-decision loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227.

Moraes, meanwhile, reclaimed …

Heckuva fight day here in Las Vegas thus far. Hope to see you all at 8PM ET on ESPN2. #Hermansson #Vettori

— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) December 5, 2020

UFC on ESPN 19 is down to eight bouts after a positive COVID-19 tests resulted in the cancellation Taila Santos vs. Montana De La Rosa and Nate Landwehr vs. Movsar Evloev. Meanwhile, Jimmy Flick vs. Cody Durden was a late scratch for reasons unrelated to COVID-19.

According to MMAFighting.com, a member of De La Rosa’s corner tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile MagicM MMA was first to report the cancellation of Landwehr vs. Evloev and Flick vs. Durden. Evoloev tested positive for COVID-19, while Flick vs. Durden was scrapped for undisclosed reasons. The promotion is targeting Dec. 19 to rebook Flick vs. Durden, per Best Fight Picks.

The UFC later confirmed all three cancellations in a statement.

UFC on ESPN 19 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined b…

Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will attempt to return to the win column against Casey Kenney at UFC 259.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and also includes a light heavyweight clash pitting Thiago Santos against Aleksandar Rakic. A location and venue for the card have yet to be officially confirmed.

Cruz returned to the Octagon after a three-and-a-half-year absence at UFC 249, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Henry Cejudo on May 9. Prior to that, the two-time former 135-pound relinquished his belt to Cody Garbrandt in a five-round decision loss at UFC 207 in December 2016.

A former interim bantamweight and flyweight title holder with Legacy Fighting Alliance, Kenney has been victorious in five of his six UFC appearances. Kenney’s run includes a pair of victories this past October, as he earned decisions over Heili Alateng at UFC on ESPN 16 and against Nathaniel Wood at UFC 254.

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. Multiple-time Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Yoel Romero has been unexpectedly released by the promotion. On Friday night, ESPN reported that Romero (13-5) is no longer part of the UFC roster. According to ESPN, Romero had three fights left on his contract, but the 43-year-old is moving on. Romero is already speaking with other promoters to negotiate potential contracts, per his management team.

“While we didn’t expect Romero’s time in the UFC to end like this,” Romero’s manager Malki Kawa said to ESPN, “we are grateful for the opportunities Dana White, Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard gave him over the years. He’s ready to move on now and resume his career, and we are already talking to other promotions as we speak.”

Romero leaves the promotion on a three-fight skid, with a trio of decision defeats to Rob…

No quit in either of these two! #LFA96 pic.twitter.com/8XnWtPmx6L

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 5, 2020 The Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new welterweight champion during its final event of 2020. In the end, it was the hand of Maycon Mendonca that was raised after the main event of LFA 96. The title win came after a hard-fought battle with Batsumberel Dagvadorj that delivered plenty of fireworks.

The action started early as Mendonca (11-4) rocked Dagvadorj (7-1) shortly after the fight began and followed-up with huge knees that visibly hurt the Mongolian. Mendonca kept up the pressure, but that wound up backfiring as Dagvadorj landed a big right hand that floored the Brazilian. Mendonca would bounce back in a big way in Round 2 as he bloodied up "The Mongolian Falcon" and end the round with a flying knee. Dagvadorj continued getting tagged in the third frame, yet walked forward like a zombie and managed to snag a few takedow…

Independent Arbitrator Imposes Four-Year Sanction on Chi Lewis-Parry for UFC Anti-Doping Policy Violations https://t.co/Yj5PAUFJiN

— USADA (@usantidoping) December 4, 2020 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 massive heavyweight and one-time prospective Ultimate Fighting Championship signee has been issued a lengthy suspension after an arbitration process. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced on Friday that Chi Lewis-Parry (9-0-2, 2 NC) has been suspended for four years for failing multiple out-of-competition tests as well as providing false evidence to the agency. Due to his numerous violations, an independent arbitration body ruled that Lewis-Parry should be suspended for four years from competition. Lewis-Parry was briefly part of the USADA pool under the UFC, and he was released from the promotion following his failed tests on Se…

Finally a game opponent!!! February 13 #ufc258The Cuban Missile Crisis vsCoconut bombsAn explosive match up to spark off a PPV event @ufc @Coconut_bombz #ufc258 pic.twitter.com/nHQeOCb666

— Julian marquez (@JMarquezMMA) December 4, 2020 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 fun brawl between excellently nicknamed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweights has been added to the February pay-per-view card. MMA Junkie first announced on Friday that Julian Marquez (7-2) would be taking on Maki Pitolo (13-7) at UFC 258 on Feb. 13. According to Marquez, who confirmed the pairing on Twitter shortly after the news broke, the battle will take place on the main card opener. The two will meet presumably on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, although that destination has not yet been confirmed by the promotion.

Marquez is chompin…

iKon Fighting Federation is going all-in on Bella Mir, giving the 17-year-old her first headlining spot in her second career match.

iKon FF 4 will take place on Dec. 11 at the Marinaterra Hotel Spa in San Carlos, Mexico, where it will air on UFC Fight Pass. Per a press release sent out on Friday, the event will be capped off by what should be a featherweight tilt between Mir (1-0) and MMA debutant Amanda Quesia Braqae Silva (0-0) – although the organization released conflicting information on its Instagram page the same day. The iKon Instagram account claims that Mir will be facing Alma Cespedes Flores (0-2) instead of Silva.

“We will close out the year with, by far, our best iKon Fighting Federation card,” said the promotion’s president Keith Veltre. “Bella is the future face of women’s MMA. She’s only 17 but already an incredible athlete and a rising MMA star. The co-feature could be the main event on just about any other card, and the rest of this card is stacke…

Another title fight

@AntunRacic (24-8-1) defends his KSW bantamweight title against Bruno 'Garanhoto' Santos (9-1) #KSW57 pic.twitter.com/TVrRGtEmfQ

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 4, 2020 KSW is ending the year in style with a trio of title fights on tap at KSW 57. The organization sent out a press release on Friday morning announcing the full eight-fight lineup of KSW 57 on Dec. 19. The event will in Lodz, Poland, likely at the Wytwornia Club, with COVID-19 regulations in place. The two championship bouts already announced include a heavyweight headliner of divisional kingpin Philip De Fries vs. Michal Kita, and a vacant lightweight title tilt between Marian Ziolkowski and Roman Szymanski. The third fight for gold is a bantamweight scrap between champ Antun Racic (24-8-1) and KSW newcomer Bruno Augusto dos Santos (9-1).

Racic has yet to taste defeat in the KSW cage, winning five consecutive decisions including a unanimous verdict over Damia…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EGQUyCbBb4&w=585&h=329] A lot can change in one year. When boxing fans last saw Errol Spence Jr. in action, he had defeated Shawn Porter in a "Fight of the Year" nominee in September 2019. However, a nasty car crash and the coronavirus pandemic kept the pound-for-pound talent out of the ring for over 365 days. He’ll return to pay-per-view on Saturday night as he looks to defend his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight belts against Danny Garcia.

Perfect in his professional career, Spence (26-0) has established himself alongside Terence Crawford as the best boxer at 147 pounds. Spence faced some adversity in his last outing as an aggressive Porter took one judge’s scorecard in their memorable bout. Before that, Spence had little issue defeating the likes of Mikey Garcia, Kell Brook and Chris Algieri. Spence looked great on the scales and came in at 146.5 pounds.

Looking to dethrone Spence is form…

Marat Grigorian avoids a monumental upset, coming back in Round 2 to KO Ivan Kondratev! @MaratGrigorian #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/grbNp2N9po

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 4, 2020 One Championship returned to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for its final live event of the year titled “Big Bang.”

In the main event of this massively restructured card, Marat Grigorian locked horns with Ivan Kondratev in a kickboxing contest at featherweight. The fight was close to being a major shocker as Kondratev dropped Grigorian with a nasty left hook in the opening frame. Grigorian gathered himself, and found the key to open Kondratev’s defense, landing a vicious liver punch in the next round that folded his opponent in half. The official stoppage time indicated 1:52 into the second stanza.

Has Garry Tonon earned a shot at Thanh Le? @Garry_Tonon @ThanhLeMMA #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEC…

Your main event is OFFICIAL

@JackTheJokerMMA hits the scales at 185.5 for #UFCVegas16

[ Tomorrow | LIVE on #ESPNPlus and ESPN2 ] pic.twitter.com/8MKyYUFDMz — UFC (@ufc) December 4, 2020 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 Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its stretch of Las Vegas events with UFC on ESPN 19. The card is headlined by middleweight contenders Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori, who will both be looking to enter the title picture with a statement win. All 11 fights on the card are now official, although Ovince St. Preux missed weight for the first time in his career by coming in 1.5 pounds over the light heavyweight limit.

The pride of Sweden, Hermansson (21-5) looked impressive in his last bout by submitting Kelvin Gastelum with a heel hook in less than 90 seconds. Besides TKO defeats to Jared Cannonie…

Now that the #LFA96 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most tonight?

https://t.co/szGPn6bN87

https://t.co/EWxu0lmf4M@ShellsDotCom@USENDmoney@Krushmatized@PsoRite@GLCDirect2000@AthleticCBD@IncaKolaUSA@HartmanArena@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/MJKqAZuXaG — LFA (@LFAfighting) December 4, 2020 The final Legacy Fighting Alliance event of the year is upon us. Maycon Mendonca will face Batsumberel Dagvadorj for the promotion's vacant welterweight title in the main event of LFA 96. The seven-fight card is now official after the weigh-ins took place and there wasn't much drama as only Mitzi Merry missed weight.

Brazil's Mendonca sports a 10-4 record and struggled early on in his LFA career. Despite suffering three straight defeats, including knockouts to Christian Aguilera and Matthew Frincu, Mendonca never lost his fighting spirit. His full potential is finally coming out as he's bounced back with a four-fight…

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 highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight matchup is on ice for the time being. First reported by MMA Fighting on Thursday, Alexandre Pantoja (22-5) will no longer be competing at UFC Fight Night 183 against Manel Kape (15-4). The reason for Pantoja’s withdrawal is currently undisclosed, but the promotion is looking to re-book the pair in February if possible. It is unclear if Kape will remain on this card with a fresh opponent and make a short turnaround for the Pantoja re-booking, or simply wait a few months longer to make his UFC debut.

Pantoja was looking to rebound from a decision loss to the unbeaten Askar Askarov in July. With alternating wins and losses in his last four, “The Cannibal” has dropped decisions to Askarov and current champ Deiveson Figueiredo, while knocking out Wilson Reis and Matt Schn…

let's go baby!!

— Lerone Murphy (@LeroneMurphy) December 3, 2020 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 Ultimate Fighting Championship is now starting the new year off with three events in a week. The news first broke from MMA Fighting on Wednesday night that the promotion is adding an event to its early 2021 calendar. The Jan. 20 Fight Night event is expected to take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, between the card headlined by Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar and UFC 257 topped by Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2. Three bouts have been reported, with two confirmed by other outlets, including a flyweight encounter initially reported by Combate between newly signed Francisco Figueiredo (11-3-1, 1 NC) and Jerome Rivera (10-3).

Figueiredo, brother of flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo, will make his way do…

Yair Rodriguez Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/ClyCcmIgdP

— USADA (@usantidoping) December 3, 2020 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 prominent Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight contender will be out of action until early 2021. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced on Thursday that Yair Rodriguez (13-2, 1 NC) has been suspended for six months after three Whereabouts violations. USADA requires that every fighter on the UFC roster notify them when they relocate or travel, and should the agency come to test a fighter only to find no one there, they get a Whereabouts failure marked. Three Whereabouts failures within one year flags the fighter as if they tested positive, and USADA responds accordingly.

USADA claimed that none of his violations were “suspicious” or that he was trying to de…