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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVjXuqBRzL4&w=560&h=315] Ultimate Fighting Championship hall of famer Chuck Liddell has decided to come clean about his ailment leading up to his 2018 match with Tito Ortiz.

Liddell spoke to Sherdog.com, where he discussed a major neck injury that resulted in surgery to fuse his vertebrae together. Shortly after facing Ortiz, he had a procedure done.

“The Iceman” returned from over a 10-year layoff to face Ortiz for the third time at Golden Boy MMA: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3. The two met on November 2018, where Ortiz exacted revenge by knocking out the 48-year-old in the opening round. The two previously squared off at UFC 47 in 2004 and UFC 66 in 2006, and Liddell scored knockouts in both bouts. They have since been featured in an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary about their rivalry.

“Right after the fight, I had my neck fused from C3-C4,” he explained. “But I guess…I didn’t really know that I had a problem and I was that pigheaded.”

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a plan in place for its upcoming events, and it has shared some details with fighters.

First reported by MMA Junkie on Thursday night, the promotion put together some changes in standard operating procedure for its fight cards. Three events on May 9, 13 and 16 will all go down at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, starting with UFC 249 on May 9.

In an email sent out to fighters and their camps for these events, the promotion was quick to admit that “things will be different from our typical fight week.” For starters, the only people allowed at the venue will be the fighters, their specifically licensed cornermen, authorized UFC staff members and commission officials.

When arriving to the hotel in Jacksonville, the fighters and their corners will be subject to a battery of medical screenings and tests. The specifics of the tests were not yet provided, and it is unclear whether the fighters will be tested fo…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksfw5gKwWNw&w=560&h=315] Count the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ among those that won’t risk fighting during the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with The Score on Thursday, Stipe Miocic explained that he would not be competing any time soon, and had other issues to attend to including his family and as a firefighter in his home in Cleveland.

“There’s no way,” said Miocic. “I mean, if I can’t get a full camp, there’s no reason to fight.”

When asked about training, he was frank about how the coronavirus has affected life for him, saying, “Nah, I mean honestly I haven’t been [training], the gym’s been closed [and] we don’t have a lot of stuff at our house, so it’s not really I can do a lot.”

He also explained that the condition of his eye has improved, as the champ has been sidelined due to an eye injury sustained when he faced Daniel Cormier. Miocic was poked in the eye multiple times, and required su…

Big news is coming for the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts members.

On Thursday morning, GAMMA has announced via press release that it has added 25 additional member federations. The association now counts a total of 80 member federations.

”During these unprecedented times, where the global health crisis has forced lockdowns in many countries, the cancellation of sporting events, and disruption of athlete training schedules, GAMMA remains focused in its goal of supporting mixed martial arts, particularly the amateur sport, to develop mixed martial arts all across the globe. GAMMA is highly-committed to providing promising mixed martial arts athletes a global platform to showcase their skills and talents,” said GAMMA president Alexander Engelhardt in a press release.

“We are delighted to announce that we now have the full support of 80 member federations who have joined our cause. We continue to invite other great nations and mixed martial arts athletes from all…

Don’t count the Professional Fighters League out quite yet, as the organization is still picking up key free agents.

On Wednesday, featherweight Tyler Diamond (11-1) posted on his Instagram account that he had officially signed with PFL. Although the promotion has currently nixed its 2020 season, Diamond is excited for the opportunity to come in the following year.

He wrote:

“I signed with a promotion back in early March, but never got to announce it due to the Corona Virus. I’m super happy to say I signed with @pflmma. [Unfortunately] because of Covid-19, they had to move back this [year’s] season to begin next spring.

“As disheartening as it is, I’m happy that I’m with a top-notch promotion that recognizes my talent & the exciting style of fighting I bring to the table. I’m going to utilize this time to expand opportunities & continue to get better.”

The Team Alpha Male standout Diamond has lost once in his career, in his Ultimate Fighting Cham…

Three new bouts have been added to the growing UFC Fight Night 172 card on May 16.

First reported by Combate, the fights are as follows: Don’Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira at heavyweight; Cortney Casey vs. Mara Romero Borella at flyweight and Giga Chikadze vs. Mike Davis at featherweight.

UFC Fight Night 172 takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt pitting Alistair Overeem against Walt Harris. The card is expected to air on ESPN and ESPN+.

After earning a promotional contract on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Mayes suffered a third-round submission loss to Ciryl Gane in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 162 last October. Ferreira will enter his first UFC foray with a 7-0 mark that includes a first-round tapout of Michal Martinek on the Contender Series last July.

Casey has lost three of her lost four in the Las Vegas-based promotion, including a unanimous decision setback against Cynthia…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSo2ovzc6A0&w=560&h=315]

Five times the Ultimate Fighting Championship has booked a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, and each time the bout has fallen through.

While a litany of injuries — most notably one that resulted from Ferguson tripping on a television production wire — sabotaged the majority of those proposed bouts, a global pandemic caused the cancellation of their recently scheduled clash at UFC 249. With Nurmagomedov currently stranded in Russia due to travel restrictions designed to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, Ferguson is now slated to square off against Justin Gaethje in the headliner of a revamped UFC 249 card in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 9.

If Ferguson wins, he would conceivably set up a future date with Nurmagomedov, who is currently observing the Muslim holiday Ramadan and has hinted at a September UFC return.

During an “Ask Me Anything” Wednesday on Reddit, UFC president Dana White…

Ray Borg will square off against Ricky Simon in a bantamweight tilt at UFC Fight Night 171.

Borg confirmed the bout on social media following an initial report from The Sports Daily. UFC Fight Night 171 takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 13 and is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira. The card is expected to air on ESPN and ESPN+.

Borg, who was scheduled to face Marlon Vera at UFC 249 before the event was postponed, will return to bantamweight after another failed weight cut to 125 pounds. Paired with Rogerio Bontorin at UFC Fight Night 167, “The Tazmexican Devil tipped the scales at 128 pounds before earning a unanimous decision triumph over his Brazilian foe. It was the third occasion in which Borg has failed to make weight for a flyweight contest.

After rattling off eight consecutive wins — including three in the UFC — from February 2017 to February 2019, Simon suffered a 46…

UFC lightweight competitor Kevin Lee likely won’t be back in the Octagon until late 2020 at best.

“The Motown Phenom” revealed to ESPN that he will undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee on Thursday. Lee is expected to be out a minimum of six months as a result of the injury. The former interim title challenger is taking an optimistic approach to his recovery.

"It used to mean being out a year," Lee told ESPN. "They've gotten better with the technology and the [physical therapy], so it might even be sooner. I don't know.”

Lee last appeared at UFC Fight Night 170, where he was submitted by Charles Oliveira 28 seconds into the third round of the card’s main event. The 27-year-old claims the injury didn’t occur while fighting, though he wouldn’t offer any specifics beyond that.

“[I] was not even doing something that was totally out of the ordinary,” Lee said during a recent appearance on "The Luke Thomas Show” on SiriusXM. “I’m not going to say …

Two more contests have been targeted for UFC Fight Night 172, as Marlon Vera will face Yadong Song at bantamweight, while Kevin Holland will square off against Anthony Hernandez at middleweight.

MMAFighting.com was first to report Vera vs. Song, while MMAjunkie.com initially brought word of Holland vs. Hernandez. UFC Fight Night 173 takes place at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 16 and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris.

Vera enters the matchup with Song on a five-bout winning streak, including a third-round TKO of Andre Ewell in his most recent appearance at UFC Fight Night 161 last October. China’s Song is unbeaten in his last eight professional bouts – including five in the UFC – but is coming off a majority draw against Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN 7 on Dec. 7.

An alum of Dana White’s Contender Series, Holland saw a three-fight winning streak come to an end at UFC on ESPN 6, where he was …

Matt Mitrione was among the first group of fighters to be directly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Ultimate Fighter 10” veteran agreed to replace Josh Barnett on short notice at Bellator 241, where he was scheduled to square off against Ronny Markes in a featured bout on March 13. Mitrione, like everyone else on the card, weighed in one day prior to the event as the promotion planned to proceed with fights in an empty venue at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. However, as the serious nature of the COVID-19 outbreak began to take hold, Bellator elected to cancel the event entirely on the day it was scheduled to take place.

Mitrione believes the organization made the best decision possible in light of difficult circumstances.

“It wasn’t really that complicated. Things happen. We’re adults and we have to deal with them,” Mitrione told Sherdog.com. “There were a lot more questions than answers at that time regarding the pandemic and Wuhan and e…

A middleweight clash pitting Karl Roberson against Marvin Vettori has been added to the UFC Fight Night 171 lineup.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. Roberson and Vettori were originally slated to meet on April 25 before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of that card. UFC Fight Night 171 takes place on May 13 at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, and is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira.

Roberson has been victorious in three of his last four UFC appearances. Most recently, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum submitted Roman Kopylov in the in the third stanza at UFC Fight Night 163 this past November.

Vettori, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back decision triumphs against Cezar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez in 2019. The Italian competitor is 4-2-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion and 14-4-1 as a professional overall.

One Championship will not return until June at the earliest, as the Singapore based promotion has postponed all events through May due to ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

One CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the news in a Facebook post on Monday.

“All May events for One Championship will be postponed until further notice due to the recent COVID-19 developments (border closings and lockdowns) across most countries in Asia,” he wrote. “Our highest priority remains the safety and health of our athletes, officials, staff, fans, and the public during these challenging times. My team and I are working around the clock on multiple options to bring back our events as soon as safely possible. Stay tuned for news.”

The organization had events scheduled for May 1, 8 and 29. The May 29 card, entitled “Infinity” was expected to feature a 135-pound championship clash between Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson.

One Championship previously postponed p…

Prior to UFC 249, Justin Gaethje was not an advocate for accepting short-notice fights.

However, his philosophy changed when given an opportunity to win a UFC belt, and now, “The Highlight” will square off against Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight crown on May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida.

“I have conversations with my athletes and I follow their purpose. I’m the co-pilot, they’re the driver,” Gaethje’s coach, Trevor Wittman, told ESPN. “His goal was never to take a short-notice fight. But he’s purposeful, and he wanted a world title, he’s been training for a world title, and that’s his purpose now.

“He used to want to be the most exciting fighter in the world, but three fights ago he told me he wants to be a champion. He thinks he’s ready to be a champion. He wants to go through the processes.”

Gaethje originally agreed to face Ferguson on April 18 when reigning 155-pound king Khabib Nurmagomedov was stranded in Russia due to travel restrictions impo…

UFC bantamweight Nathaniel Wood has done his best to stay fit during the coronavirus pandemic, but he doesn’t have the luxury of training at a gym like some of his counterparts.

Instead, “The Prospect” has been the beneficiary of donations of workout equipment so his sessions at home can be more productive. The 26-year-old London native currently lives with his parents and his fiance.

“At the moment I’ve got a nice little gym set up in the garden,” Wood told Metro.co.uk. “I’ve had a lot of friends that have donated me some of their gym equipment, such as punch bags and weight equipment. I’m still able to get my two sessions a day which is nice. I’ve been going out for my road runs and I’ve got my push bike out, even though that’s on its last legs.

“Other than that, not a lot. I’ve been trying to read a lot more and I’ve been trying to teach myself Spanish. I can’t stand not doing something. If I watch TV for an hour I’m already feeling guilty. I need to do some…

UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich could be making his return to the combat sports realm in the near future.

During an appearance ”IT'S TIME!!! with Bruce Buffer," longtime promoter and manager Monte Cox revealed that he is working on putting together a kickboxing bout between Miletich and professional boxer Michael Nunn. The matchup had been in the works for April, but the coronavirus pandemic put those talks on hold.

“[There’s] one big show I’m working on,” Cox said. “You’ve probably heard rumors of this, but Pat Miletich is going to fight again. He’s fighting Michael Nunn, a great boxer. It’s an incredible [fight]. This thing will draw. We could draw 7,000-plus in the Quad Cities. They are the two greatest professional athletes or fighters out of that area.”

A former UFC welterweight champion, Miletich went 8-2 in the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Miletich Martial Arts founder compiled a 29-7-2 record in MMA over the course of a career that began in 1995. He last…

Legacy Fighting Alliance has signed five-time UFC veteran Michinori Tanaka to a multi-fight contract.

A promotion official confirmed the deal with Sherdog.com on Saturday. Tanaka is expected to compete in LFA’s bantamweight division. LFA has postponed its schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic, so a date for Tanaka’s debut is unknown.

Tanaka, 29, has compiled a 13-3 record since beginning his professional tenure in 2010. The Team Alpha Male Japan representative began his career in Shooto before capturing the bantamweight championship in the Pacific Xtreme Combat organization.

The Yokohama, Japan, native debut in the Octagon in June 2014 and went 2-3 in UFC competition, posting victories against Roland Delorme and Joe Soto. He was released from the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2017 following back-to-back losses to Rani Yahya and Ricardo Ramos. Tanaka has won two bouts in a row since then, including a submission of ranked UFC flyweight Rogerio Bontorin.

A bantamweight clash pitting Cody Garbrandt and Raphael Assuncao is in the works for a UFC card on June 6, according to a report from MMAFighting.com.

Garbrandt and Assuncao were originally slated to meet at UFC on ESPN 8 in Columbus, Ohio, on March 28, but “No Love” was forced to withdraw from the bout due to kidney issues. The coronavirus pandemic would ultimately force the cancellation of the entire card.

The location and venue for the June 6 event are currently unknown. The card could be the promotion’s next pay-per-view following UFC 249 on May 9, but the upcoming schedule is still tentative.

Garbrandt enters the matchup on a three-bout skid in which he was finished by knockout or technical knockout in each appearance. Most recently, the former bantamweight champion was stopped by Pedro Munhoz 4:51 into the opening stanza at UFC 235 in March 2019. “No Love” hasn’t tasted victory since taking a five-round verdict over Dominick Cruz in a title bout at UFC 207.…

After being sidelined for more than three years, Dominick Cruz will get a bantamweight title shot in his Octagon return at UFC 249.

Cruz will square off against reigning 135-pound king Henry Cejudo at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 9. “The Dominator” relinquished the belt in his last promotional appearance, as he fell to then champ Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 on Dec. 30, 2016. Cruz was able to step in against Cejudo after original foe Jose Aldo was unable to travel to the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The booking has drawn some criticism because of Cruz’s lengthy layoff, but prior to falling to Garbrandt, the Alliance MMA stalwart had compiled a 13-fight professional winning streak — including five in the UFC — dating back to 2008.

UFC president Dana White defended the pairing, as he expects Cruz to recapture some of his previous form.

“He’s still one of the best in the world,” White said in an interview with …

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is planning on restoring its headliners from postponed cards to upcoming events.

MMA Junkie initially reported on Friday that the UFC is rescheduling two main events from past cards to the ones announced earlier in the day. The first is at light heavyweight, between former title challengers Anthony Smith (33-14) and Glover Teixeira (30-7), and it will sit atop the May 13 event. The other is a heavyweight rumble between Alistair Overeem (45-18, 1 NC) and Walt Harris (13-7, 1 NC), which will be the marquis attraction on the May 16 event.

Smith rebounded from his unsuccessful jaunt for the light heavyweight strap against Jon Jones in March 2019 by tapping Alexander Gustafsson in June 2019. Since then, he fought to two draws in grappling contests against Gregor Gracie and Gesias Cavalcante at Quintet Ultra in December, and was originally matched up against Teixeira for April in Lincoln, Nebraska. The event fell through due to the coronav…

Ion Cutelaba can’t re-enter the country, I’m told, so one fight that they are looking to add to that new May 13 card is OSP vs Rothwell at heavyweight.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 24, 2020 Not long after Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White announced a series of new events in May, we have our first new matchup in the works.

On Friday, ESPN first announced that a heavyweight battle between Ovince St. Preux (24-13) and Ben Rothwell (37-12) is being planned for the upcoming May 13 Fight Night card. St. Preux was originally booked to face Ion Cutelaba at the previously scheduled April 18 event, but due to travel restrictions Cutelaba will not be able to enter the U.S.

St. Preux will be making his return to heavyweight at this event, with much his career including all of his fights in a major promotion taking place in the light heavyweight division. “OSP” snapped a two-fight skid by tapping Michal Oleksiejc…

Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White is confident saying that the company has it all figured out to put on fights soon.

White spoke with ESPN on Friday on an Instagram Live session, where he explained the upcoming plans for future events. First, he confirmed that the May 9 UFC 249 card is proceeding as scheduled, and announced the lineup which is almost identical to the one discussed on April 15.

Headlining the event is an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. White was ecstatic about this fight, saying, “Ferguson vs. Gaethje is probably one of the most violent fights you could ever make.”

One significant change to the proposed bout order from before is that Amanda Nunes will no longer be facing Felicia Spencer on this event, thereby confirming Nunes’ withdrawal from the event due to the lack of a full training camp. Also, in a few minor positional changes, Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro will open up the pay-per-view po…

MMA star Macfarlane among women suing Punahou, former basketball coach for sex abuse https://t.co/Xtx1V1ljqC #HNN

— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) April 23, 2020 Bellator MMA flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is going public with accusations that her former coach sexually abused her and other students when she was young.

HawaiiNewsNow first reported this on Thursday morning, reporting that the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Macfarlane, her sister and an unnamed student. The lawsuit alleges that her former coach, Dwayne Yuen, sexually abused her when she was on the Punahou basketball team.

“I had an inappropriate relationship with an adult who was in an authoritative position and a position of power, as a 12-year-old,” she said, “and that has 100-percent affected what I think is a healthy relationship.”

The allegations include multiple instances of the coach forcing the children to touch his genitals, paying them for …

The @ufc heavyweight division needs to move on@danawhite https://t.co/PBNrqt0ncC

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) April 22, 2020

Let's make the heavyweight division interesting again! @ufc #UFC249 https://t.co/YmfpvzrY7p

— Jairzinho 'BIGI BOY' Rozenstruik (@JairRozenstruik) April 22, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship has no interest in an interim heavyweight title at this time.

This month, both Francis Ngannou (14-3) and Jairzinho Rozenstruik (10-0), who are scheduled to clash at UFC 249 in May, spoke with MMA Junkie about their meeting being a potential title fight. Rozenstruik first brought up the issue a week before, with the firm belief that the division needs to “move forward.”

“I think the heavyweight division needs that,” Rozenstruik stated. “It’s kind of slowed down with the Stipe and Cormier fight, and we don’t know when the champ is going to return. So for now, put …