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While reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov finishes his suspension, Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier will vie for the interim 155-pound belt at UFC 236. That wasn’t the promotion’s first choice, however.

UFC President Dana White told ESPN that former interim champion Tony Ferguson was offered the fight against Holloway but refused, opening the door for Poirier to take his place. It’s unclear why Ferguson didn’t accept the fight, but “El Cucuy” has since claimed that “I can make 145 [pounds].”

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov had some choice words for Ferguson in a post on his Instagram account. “The Eagle” seems to think that Ferguson should have taken the opportunity presented to him.

“Tony you had your chance and you missed it, and that’s your fault only,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “You know that I’m disqualified and can’t fight, but it’s not fair to strip me off the title, I fought 3 times in 9 months. I won and defended my belt.

“As a fighter you deserve a…

Dirrell is out for BLOOD. pic.twitter.com/MD8nsFhNsr

— PBC (@premierboxing) February 24, 2019

It had been a long four years for Anthony Dirrell, but after everything he’s endured outside of the ring, the Flint, Michigan, native can finally call himself world champion again.

Dirrell (33-1-1, 24 KOs) outslugged Turkey’s Avni Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs) in a hard-fought scrap for nearly 10 rounds in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card on FS1 Saturday night to win the WBC super middleweight title. The two combatants fought in a virtual phone booth for the vast majority of the contest, both landing clean punches to the head and body in scattered bursts of action inside the Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis.

Dirrell suffered a nasty laceration above his left eye late in the 9th Round after the two accidentally clashed heads [Dirrell was already cut around that same eye earlier in the contest]. Sensing the fight was in jeopardy fr…

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The Octagon will touch down in the Czech Republic for the first time in Ultimate Fighting Championship history when UFC Fight Night 145 takes place. The main event will feature a battle of two top-10 light heavyweights in which Jan Blachowicz takes on knockout artist, Thiago Santos.

The prelims start at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) while the six-fight main card kicks off at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT). The entire card will be shown on ESPN+, and for Canadians the entire card will be exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Tr…

"This is what I've been working towards for my entire career" @chriseubankjr following his decision victory over @jamesdegale1 #DeGaleEubankJr pic.twitter.com/U11jFe7YtV

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 23, 2019

Tempers flared multiple times leading up to their fight, but Chris Eubank Jr. was the one who had the final say against James DeGale on Saturday.

Eubank Jr. (28-2, 21 KOs) dropped his rival in the second round and essentially dominated DeGale (25-3-1, 15 KOs) the rest of the way. Eubank Jr., the son of former two-division world champion Chris Eubank, scored another knockdown in the 10th, and then had a point taken away in the next frame for tossing “Chunky” to the canvas.

Even with the infraction, Eubank Jr. was too far ahead on the scorecards for it matter and he won a unanimous decision. The official tallies of the super middleweight encounter were 114-112, 115-112 and 117-109 for the Brit, souring the moods of …

Thiago Santos has been on the UFC’s roster for nearly six years, and now he feels it’s time for a title shot.

The Brazilian melted Jan Blachowicz in the main event of UFC Fight Night 145 on Saturday, his fourth consecutive win and eighth in nine fights overall. Santos flattened his foe via technical knockout 39 seconds into the third, which was also his third consecutive knockout win at 205 pounds.

To say Santos is on a torrid streak would be an understatement, and he attributes his latest string of success to his experience and a strong team behind him.

“I keep on improving and gaining new experience,” Santos said. “In the last fight [against Jimi Manuwa], I knew I could explode. This fight, I had to take it easier and use my experience. We studied the details and I have a great team with me. When you have a great team, this is the result you get.”

Since losing via first-round knockout to David Branch last April, “Marreta” has been all-destroying at middle…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixezuSLo3I&w=560&h=315]

After beginning his career with eight consecutive triumphs, Russian prospect Roman Kopylov has signed with the UFC.

A 27-year-old middleweight, Kopylov is part the Rati team — also known as “Рать" — a management company based in Yekaterinburg, Russia that represents approximately 29 fighters throughout the country.

Nicknamed “The Novel,” Kopylov will reportedly make his Octagon debut at the UFC’s April 20 card in St. Petersburg, Russia. An opponent has not been named.

Before beginning his MMA career, Kopylov won multiple championships in combat sambo in Russia and Europe and was also a five-time world hand-to-hand champion. He has finished seven of his eight career MMA triumphs by knockout or technical knockout while competing for organizations such as Fight Nights Global and Absolute Championship Berkut.

Kopylov claimed the Fight Nights Global 185-pound title with a fourth-round TKO of Abduls…

Not all mixed martial arts news is bad news, as this morning Mackenzie Dern gave everyone something to smile about, posting that she will be having a baby with her boyfriend, Wesley Santos.

On her Instagram Friday morning, the 25 year-old posted the good news: “God makes everything so perfect! I am so happy to be able to share this news! I’m going to be a Mom! I love so much our family and now I have one more HUGE motivation for inside and outside the ring!! Thank you God for this blessing @santoswesley.”

She did stress that her fighting career was not over, saying, “I also want to thank all my fans and sponsors for the support during all the life phases and I can’t wait to be back in the ring!”

Undefeated at 7-0 as a professional, Dern last competed at UFC 224 in May 2018, where she submitted Amanda Bobby Cooper in the first round with a rear-naked choke. Making her MMA debut in July 2016, this current layoff is already the longest of her short career,…

Russia, get ready!

The Octagon makes its debut at #UFCStPetersburg April 20!

pic.twitter.com/cvwQOEV7G9— UFC (@ufc) February 22, 2019

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading back to Russia in 2019, taking a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, with an event headlined by Alexander Volkov and Alistair Overeem.

In their official press release, the organization confirmed that they would be heading to St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 20 at the Yubileyny Sports Complex. The event, UFC Fight Night 149, or UFC on ESPN+ 7, will broadcast in its entirety on ESPN+, and tickets are set to go on sale on March 1. Headlining the card will be a heavyweight slugfest between Russian Alexander Volkov (30-7) and former title challenger Alistair Overeem (44-17, 1 NC).

…

Anderson Silva will get his wish to compete in front of home country fans once again, as he is slated to meet Jared Cannonier at UFC 237 this May.

According to ESPN via Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White late on Wednesday, former middleweight king Silva (34-8, 1 NC) will compete in his native country of Brazil against former heavyweight-turned-middleweight Jared Cannonier (11-4). They will lock horns at UFC 237 this May at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Silva last competed at UFC 234, where on fight day he was upgraded to headliner status, and dropped a competitive decision to upcoming title challenger Israel Adesanya. Although he once maintained a UFC-high win streak of 16 consecutive victories stretching from 2006 to 2012, since losing his middleweight crown he has only won once in his last seven bouts -- a contentious decision win against Derek Brunson at UFC 208. This appearance in Brazil will be his first since final victory on the aforementio…

I’m announcing my retirement from the UFC and mixed martial arts competition. I intend to keep training and practicing martial arts for as long as I live, but now is the time that I chose to end my career as a professional MMA athlete. Read my official statement in the images. pic.twitter.com/uMP0LE5XeF

— Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) February 21, 2019

The era of Georges St. Pierre has officially come to a close.

At a press conference in Montreal, Quebec on Thursday morning, St. Pierre sat down in front of cameras with two Ultimate Fighting Championship belts flanking him at his table. Without any notes or written statements other than the contents of his cell phone, St. Pierre stated that he did not want to have to keep referring to a piece of paper because it could get “boring.”

Starting the press conference purely in French, St. Pierre (26-2) went on to apologize for having to do this in multiple languages, and then translated hi…

Anthony Smith has was surprised by the amount of hostile feedback he received when his light heavyweight title shot was announced, but he claims much of that negative energy has reversed itself.

Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight contender Smith was a recent guest on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour” and said he was he was the target of a large number of toxic messages on social media after the announcement, but more and more of them seem to be hoping he can pull off the huge upset and beat “Bones” when they meet next month:

“When it first happened, it was a little bit shocking when I first started,” Smith said. “But honestly, at this point I’ve kinda gotten used to it, and as the fight gets closer and closer, I do see that it’s changing a little bit. I don’t see as many ‘Jon Jones is going to beat your ass, you p---y’ comments as much anymore. I see a lot of guys hoping. I don’t see a whole lot of believers, but I see a lot of people that really, re…

Patricio and Patricky Freire will continue to showcase their talents in Bellator MMA for the foreseeable future.

Both “Pitbull” brothers have signed multi-fight, multi-year extensions to remain with Bellator, the California-based promotion. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

“When I think about the talent on the Bellator roster, the Pitbull brothers are two of the fighters that immediately come to mind,” said Bellator President Scott Coker in a release. “They started early on in their careers here, have climbed to the top of their respective divisions and have come to represent what this promotion is all about. I’m thrilled that we’ll continue to see them compete inside the Bellator cage for our fans around the world for many years to come.”

Patricio Freire, 31, is scheduled to move up to 155 pounds to face reigning lightweight champion Michael Chandler on May 11 in Chicago. The featherweight king is currently on a three-fight winning streak that in…

The UFC 236 lineup is beginning to take shape, as a pair of contests were added to the lineup for the April 13 card.

Paige VanZant will make a quick turnaround to face Poliana Botelho at flyweight, while Wilson Reis will lock horns with Alexandre Pantoja in a 125-pound clash. Combate was first to report the bookings. UFC 236 doesn’t have a location or venue yet but is also expected to feature an interim middleweight title clash between Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya.

VanZant halted a two-bout skid at UFC Brooklyn, where she submitted Rachael Ostovich with an armbar in the second round on Jan. 19. Botelho was victorious in her first two promotional appearances before being choked out by Cynthia Calvillo in her last outing at UFC Fight Night 140.

Reis, a former flyweight title challenger, snapped a three-fight losing streak with a three-round verdict against Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night 142 on Dec. 1. Pantoja has won four of his five Octagon appearances, incl…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut on ESPN Network appears to be a success.

According to ShowBuzz Daily, the UFC on ESPN 1 main averaged 1.463 million viewers on Sunday night, making it the highest rated Fight Night card on cable television since UFC Fight Night 81 averaged 2.288 million viewers for an event headlined by a bantamweight title bout between T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz in January 2016.

UFC on ESPN 1 took place at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix and was headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Francis Ngannou and former champion Cain Velasquez. Ngannou. Ngannou spoiled Velasquez’s return, winning via technical knockout in just 26 seconds.

The card, which saw Paul Felder defeat James Vick via unanimous decision in the co-main event, drew an 0.86 share in the 18-to-49 demographic and was above average in all demographics.

Meanwhile, the UFC on ESPN 1 prelims averaged 988,000 viewers on ESPN. That portion of the card was headl…

Cat Zingano’s technical knockout loss to Megan Anderson at UFC 232 will stand.

The California State Athletic Commission upheld Anderson’s win in the Dec. 29 featherweight bout by a 6-1 vote on Tuesday. MMAFighting.com was first to report the ruling.

Anderson won the fight in 61 seconds after her toe injured Zingano’s eye during a kick. Zingano’s team contended that a toe to the eye should be viewed as a foul just the same as a finger to the eye. However, a strike to the eyes from a punch or kick is not regarded as a foul according to the unified rules of MMA.

Zingano said after the fight that the kick left her with a “damaged iris, damaged retina, hemorrhage in the back of my eye, increased globe pressure and of course the laceration.” The former bantamweight title challenger revealed more recently that the eye is still giving her issues, including fatigue and a loss of depth perception and dexterity. She is expected to have a follow-up appointment with an eye do…

Japanese veteran Yushin Okami has signed with Singapore-based promotion One Championship.

One CEO Chatri Sityodtong revealed the news via Twitter on Tuesday. A date for Okami’s promotional debut was not announced.

Please join me in welcoming Japanese MMA legend Yushin Okami to ONE Championship!

— Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) February 20, 2019

Okami last appeared at UFC Fight Night 142 on Dec. 1, when he lost a unanimous decision to Alexy Kunchenko in Adelaide, Australia. “Thunder” went 14-7 over two separate UFC stints, coming up short in a middleweight title bid against Anderson Silva in August 2011.

The 37-year-old owns a 35-12 career mark that also includes bouts in World Series of Fighting, Pancrase, Deep and Pride. Okami has earned wins over the likes of Nate Marquardt, Mark Munoz, Evan Tanner, Mike Swick, Hector Lombard and Alan Belcher, among others.

Robert Whittaker is still recovering from the hernia surgery that led to his last-minute withdrawal from UFC 234, so Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya will vie for the interim middleweight strap at UFC 236.

UFC President Dana White confirmed the booking to ESPN.com on Tuesday. UFC 236 takes place on April 13 and airs on pay-per-view. The location and venue for the event have yet to be announced. It is unclear if Gastelum vs. Adesanya will serve as the card’s headliner.

Gastelum was supposed to face Whittaker in the UFC 234 main event before the champion was forced to withdraw. “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner began his promotional tenure at welterweight but has found more success at 185 pounds. Gastelum is coming off back-to-back wins over Ronaldo Souza and Michael Bisping.

Adesanya has established himself as one of the sport’s rising stars with victories in his first 16 appearances. That includes a 5-0 mark in the UFC, where “The Last Stylebender” has earned n…

Francis Ngannou believes he’s ready for a title shot following his 26-second finish of Cain Velasquez at UFC on ESPN 1, but Dana White has other ideas.

White appeared on Sunday’s post-fight show on ESPN+, where he acknowledged that Ngannou’s team was already angling for an opportunity to face reigning heavyweight king Daniel Cormier.

“Cormier has a date set right now with somebody else right now,” White said. “He’s injured, so we’re waiting for him to heal up and get him his fight that he’s looking for. We’ll see what’s next for Francis.”

When asked if he could reveal Cormier’s opponent, White declined due to the champion’s uncertain status at the moment.

“Nothing can be released until he’s healthy and we know he’s ready to go,” White said. “Until he gives me the call that he’s ready to fight again…no.”

Cormier recently confirmed that he will fight on past his 40th birthday, which was his original target date for retirement. “DC” is still recovering f…

With its welterweight tournament currently underway and its heavyweight bracket in the books, Bellator MMA is planning an event bigger grand prix — albeit in a smaller weight class — this fall.

During an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Bellator President Scott Coker revealed that the California-based promotion will hold a 16-man featherweight tournament beginning in October. Coker said that he is interested in doing the entire opening round in one night or during back-to-back shows on the same weekend.

Bellator’s reigning featherweight champion, Patricio Freire, will move up to challenge reigning lightweight king Michael Chandler in his next bout in May. The 145-pound division features numerous other interesting names including A.J. McKee, Henry Corrales, Aaron Pico, Darrion Caldwell, Emmanuel Sanchez, Leandro Higo and Sam Sicilia, to name a few.

The heavyweight grand prix recently concluded, with Ryan Bader claiming the vacant strap by virtue o…

The brief glimmer of hope that Nick Diaz would compete in the Octagon in 2019 seems to be growing more faint by the day.

Not long ago, Dana White revealed that the promotion was close to finalizing a fight between Diaz and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 235 before eventually announcing that the bout was off. More recently, training partner Gilbert Melendez had this to say about Diaz’s status: “I would love to see him come back, but last time I checked, he’s retired.”

On Sunday, Diaz himself squashed the notion of a potential comeback at this point in time. Of course, everything would change if the right offer was presented to the Stockton, Calif., native, but at this point it remains a mystery as to what it would take to get the former Strikeforce champion back into the Octagon.

“I’m no role model, I’m 35 years old,” Diaz wrote on Instagram, “but I definitely wouldn’t advise anybody to take a fight for less than their worth or fight for free. Which is practically what I w…

If his fights weren’t proof enough, no there is now even more evidence that Paul Felder is as tough as they come.

According to a statement released by Felder’s management, Sucker Punch Entertainment, “The Irish Dragon” suffered a “small collapse” to his lung during his win over James Vick at UFC on ESPN 1 on Sunday night. According to a report from ESPN, the injury was sustained when Felder took a blow to the ribs late in the third round of the lightweight fight at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.

The fighter is being held at an area hospital an extra day for observation. As a result of his injury, Felder has been removed from commentary duties at the upcoming UFC Prague event on Saturday. The man himself seems to be taking everything in stride:

I got two lungs... I just want a beer for shitsake

— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) February 18, 2019

The Philadelphia native scored a unanimous verdict over Vick in Sunday’s co-main event for…

There may have been several more bouts remaining when Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberena concluded their wild welterweight duel, but it was clear that one post-fight award was already secured.

Luque and Barberena received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their featured clash at UFC on ESPN 1 in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday, and when all is said and done, it may be a contender for “Fight of the Year” as well. The combatants traded punches liberally, combining to land a whopping 332 significant strikes before Luque ended the contest with knees and punches at the 4:54 mark of the third round.

Elsewhere, Kron Gracie garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round submission of Alex Caceres in a featured featherweight tilt. Gracie didn’t wait long to get Caceres down, move to his foe’s back and sink in a rear-naked choke, forcing a tapout 2:06 into the period.

Finally, Luke Sanders captured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performanc…

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 1 kicks off Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the ro…

On the attack!@FunkMaster_UFC is applying the pressure! #UFCPhoenix pic.twitter.com/owzq46ssYd

— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2019

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Aljamain Sterling could not have fought smarter.

The Serra-Longo Fight Team star on Sunday made his latest move in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division, as he cruised to a unanimous decision over Jimmie Rivera in the featured UFC on ESPN 1 prelim at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. All three cageside judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Sterling (17-3, 9-3 UFC).

Rivera (22-3, 6-2 UFC) never got in gear. Sterling kept the former King of the Cage champion off-balance with a hyperactive kicking game -- he fired at the legs, body and head -- while luring him in to clinch and takedown range, at which point he pre…