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Fedor Emelianenko vs Frank Mir #Bellator198 pic.twitter.com/86MEQNjBqp

— Fancy Combat (@FancyCombat) April 29, 2018

Even in a diminished state, Fedor Emelianenko remains a formidable weapon.

“The Last Emperor” put away Frank Mir with first-round punches in the 2018 Bellator MMA heavyweight grand prix quarterfinals at Bellator 198 on Saturday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. In his first appearance since March 19, 2016, Mir (18-12, 0-1 Bellator) succumbed to blows 48 seconds into Round 1, as the fading former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder was saddled with his third straight defeat.

Emelianenko (37-5, 1-1 Bellator) navigated some choppy waters, drew Mir into a firefight and uncorked a short but devastating left uppercut that put the Las Vegas native on all fours. The Russian great pounced with follow-up punches -- a volley of left hands did the trick -- to force referee Mike Beltran to intervene on Mir’s behalf…

Sherdog's Bellator 198 coverage kicks off Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

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

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Family will take priority over fighting for Ray Borg for the next few weeks.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Borg has withdrawn from a proposed flyweight clash with Brandon Moreno at UFC Fight Night 129 in Santiago, Chile, on May 19 to care for his newborn son after surgery. Borg’s infant child, Anthony, recently underwent a pair of surgeries for Hydrocephalus, a brain condition.

Borg has detailed his son’s condition via several social media posts.

Unfortunately Anthony needs to go back into surgery. The shunt was placed in a spot of his brain that just doesn’t quite work for him. Due to the high possibility of failure of the shunt the doctor ordered to have him back in the operating room for replacement of the shunt. pic.twitter.com/JgqYtJLoWD

— Ray Borg (@tazmexufc) April 26, 2018

Borg and Moreno have now been booked to fight on three separate occasions. The first meeting, at UFC Fight Night in Austin, was scrapped afte…

Merab Dvalishvili’s appeal of a controversial loss at UFC Fight Night 128 has been denied by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

NJSACB Commissioner Larry Hazzard Sr. explained the decision in a letter on Friday. Dvalishvili lost to Ricky Simon via technical submission at the 5:00 mark of the third round on April 21 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Dvalishvili was on his way to winning a unanimous decision when he was trapped in a mounted guillotine with approximately one minute remaining.

“The established written protocol for me to overturn a referee’s call; is, if in my discretion; the referee committed a self-evident and palpable error,” Hazzard wrote.

“Many have referred to the apparent submission as a mounted guillotine choke, but to cageside lead ringside physician for the event, Dr. Michael Kelly, and also referee John McCarthy, it was more akin to a neck crank or a one sided choke. This would cause only one side of Dvalishvili’s nec…

Jeff Hughes knows how to win ugly.

The Strong Style Fight Team standout retained the Legacy Fighting Alliance heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision over Maurice Greene in the LFA 38 headliner on Friday at The Armory in Minneapolis. Scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 48-47 for Hughes (9-1), who finds himself on a run of three straight wins.

Greene (4-2) had his moments in a fight that was much closer than the scorecards indicated. He was particularly effective with his elbows, in the clinch and off his back. However, he could not match Hughes’ output over the long haul. The champion executed takedowns in the first, second and fifth rounds, as he slowly bled Greene’s gas tank dry. Hughes was also the aggressor on the feet, stringing together multi-punch volleys with both hands -- his right uppercuts were his best weapons -- while incorporating occasional knees and even a few spinning backfists. Greene tired down the stretch and did not have the juice he needed to p…

Just a man with an idea ..

Entering the Contributor Wing of the #UFCHoF July 5 - @ArtDavie! pic.twitter.com/QV0zAhsadx

— UFC (@ufc) April 27, 2018

The UFC hall of fame just got a new addition.

The promotion has announced that Art Davie will be inducted into its “Contributor Wing” on July 5 as part of the UFC’s annual International Fight Week, which will be headlined by UFC 226.

“Art’s contributions to UFC helped lay the foundation for the sport that fans around the world see today,” UFC President Dana White said. “It’s an honor to induct Art into the UFC Hall of Fame class of 2018 and we look forward to celebrating his career at our ceremony in July.”

Without Art Davie there might not be an Ultimate Fighting Championship. After being inspired by the famed “Gracie in Action” videos of the late 1980s, Davie approached Rorion Gracie with the idea to air a style vs. style tournament on pay-per-view. After finding a PPV compan…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVliaI6Qbaw&w=560&h=315]

The third bout of the Bellator MMA 2018 Heavyweight Grand Prix is official for Saturday night at Allstate Arena near Chicago.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship ace Frank Mir (261.5) looked relatively lean and in-shape for his comeback fight against all-time great Fedor Emelianenko (240). Saturday’s winner will face Chael Sonnen, who is the tournament’s lightest participant.

Bellator 198 airs on the Paramount Network Saturday night live from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.

Bellator 198 Weigh-in Results: Fedor Emelianenko (240) vs. Frank Mir (261.5)Emmanuel Sanchez (145) vs. Sam Sicilia (146)Rafael Lovato Jr. (186.5) vs. Gerald Harris (188)Neiman Gracie (171) vs. Javier Torres (169)Dillon Danis (175) vs. Kyle Walker (174)R’Mandel Cameron (170) vs. P.J. Cajigas (169.5)Daniel Stittgen (170.5) vs. Mark Stoddard (170.5)Eric Wisely (150) vs. Morgan Sickinger (147.5)Joey Diehl (126) vs. Na…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on July 28. Six years after UFC 149, the event will play host to a currently unnumbered UFC on Fox card. UFC official David Shaw confirmed the news to CalgarySun.com’s Danny Austin Friday morning.

The UFC has not confirmed a headliner for the bill, but the co-main event will pit former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo against knockout artist Jeremy Stephens. Aldo (26-4) is coming consecutive loses against the new king of the UFC featherweight division, Max Holloway. Stephens (28-14), on the other hand, is riding a three-fight winning streak.

A number of other contests have been booked for the Calgary event, including women’s flyweights Katlyn Chookagian vs. Alexis Davis, strawweights Nina Ansaroff vs. Randa Markos and light heavyweights Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Ion Cutelaba.

OFFICIAL: The UFC is returning to Calgary on July 28 for a UFC on FOX show at the Saddled…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced Thursday that UFC Fight Night 129 has a new main event, as Demian Maia and Kamaru Usman have been slated to compete in a welterweight scrap on May 19 at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.

Maia (25-8) is looking to halt a two-fight skid after dropping consecutive contests to Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington. Usman (12-1) will put his eleven-fight winning streak on the line. The Brazilian steps in for Santiago Ponzinibbio, who was originally booked to duel “The Nigerian Nightmare” but had to pull out due to an injured left hand that will require surgery.

The card’s initial main event was a light heavyweight bout between former 205-pound champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Volkan Oezdemir. The matchup was pulled from the UFC’s May 19 trip to Chile due to ongoing legal issues for Oezdemir, who is facing a third-degree felony battery charge for allegedly knocking a man unconscious outside a Florida bar.

Read more about Demian Maia-Kamaru Usman Welterweight Tilt Headlines UFC’s First Trip to Chile

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Fighters participating in the 2018 heavyweight world grand prix tournament now have more reasons to tune in to Bellator 200, as Bellator MMA President Scott Coker announced Thursday that the winner of the Roy Nelson-Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic bout will serve as an alternate.

Nelson has already taken part in the tournament, but lost a majority decision to Matt Mitrione in the quarterfinals. “Cro Cop,” on the other hand, is new to the field and has plenty of tournament experience, winning a Pride Fighting Championships open-weight bracket in 2006. He will enter the fight against Nelson riding an eight-fight winning streak.

Saturday's Bellator 198 will host the clash between Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Mir, with the winner advancing to the semifinals.

#Bellator198 presser live now https://t.co/YIOtdz1OiX pic.twitter.com/VjA1YoduIH

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 26, 2018

Now that's a fight!! @Nasrat_MMA vs. @Marc_Diakiese is official for #UFCHamburg!

Get your tix with pre-sale code UFCSOCIAL https://t.co/Phhbze1T6O pic.twitter.com/pWpvvkDTFi

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 26, 2018

The Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced Thursday that Marc Diakiese will make his Octagon return at UFC Fight Night 134 on July 22 in Hamburg, Germany, against Nasrat Haqparast.

Diakiese will get the chance to turn around a two-fight skid against the Kings MMA representative, who has fully recovered from his eye condition which forced him out of his last scheduled fight against Nad Narimani at UFC Fight Night 127.

Diakiese (12-2-0) has gone 3-2 inside the Octagon. He made a promising debut, which brought the English fighter three wins over Lukasz Sajewski, Frankie Perez and Teemu Packalen and a Performance of the Night bonus. After that, Drakkar Klose and Dan Hooker overcame “The Bonecrusher.”

G…

Congenital amputee Nick Newell will get his chance to earn a long-awaited UFC deal when he competes on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series this summer.

ESPN.com first reported the news. The Contender Series debuted last summer with eight-five bout cards streaming on UFC Fight Pass. Those with the most impressive performances on the card received UFC contracts.

An exact date for Newell’s Contender Series appearance was not revealed.

Newell was born without the lower portion of his left arm, but that hasn’t prevented the 32-year-old from compiling a 14-1 professional mark over the course of a career that began in 2009. Newell’s tenure included a five-bout stint in World Series of Fighting in which he suffered his only defeat, a second-round TKO at the hands of Justin Gaethje. He has finished 11 of his triumphs inside the distance.

“I want to thank Dana White, Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard for believing in me and giving me a shot,” Newell told MMA…

David Branch turned the tables on Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 128 last weekend, winning via knockout 2:30 into the opening round.

It was an eye-opening performance for the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product, who was facing an opponent with four consecutive KO/TKO victories in the Octagon under his belt. Branch rebounded nicely from a second-round stoppage loss to Luke Rockhold last September and has now won 12 of his last 13 fights overall.

The 36-year-old went 2-2 during a brief stint in the Las Vegas-based promotion from 2010 to 2011, but he didn’t truly blossom until a 10-bout undefeated run in World Series of Fighting saw him capture titles at both middleweight and light heavyweight.

Don’t expect Branch to try and duplicate that feat in the UFC, however. During an appearance on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, he made it emphatically clear that he’s staying put at 185 pounds.

“Hell no, I’m not going up there with them big mother---ers,” Branch said. “…

The UFC 224 lineup appears to be nearly complete, as the promotion recently confirmed the addition of a middleweight contest pitting Markus Perez against James Bochnovic to the card.

UFC 224 takes place on May 12 at Juenesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and is headlined by a women’s bantamweight title clash between Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on Fox Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

A native of Sao Paulo, Perez suffered his first defeat in 10 professional outing in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 123, where he dropped a unanimous verdict against Eryk Anders. The 27-year-old’s resume includes notable triumphs on the regional circuit against Ildemar Alcantara and Paulo Thiago.

Bochnovic, meanwhile, saw an eight-bout winning streak come to an end at UFC 213, as he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Trevin Giles. The Rothwell MMA product has finished all but one of his eight career triumphs by way …

The UFC Fight Night 128 main card attracted an average audience of 956,000 viewers to Fox Sports 1, according to Showbuzz Daily.

That figure represents the second-highest rating for a UFC Fight Night card thus far in 2018. The card also drew a 0.55 rating in the 18-to-49 demographic.

UFC Fight Night 128 took place at Atlantic City, N.J., this past Saturday night and was headlined by a lightweight clash between Kevin Lee and Edson Barboza, which Lee won via fifth-round doctor stoppage. In the co-main event, Frankie Edgar took a unanimous verdict over Cub Swanson in a rematch of a 2014 contest.

Meanwhile, the UFC Fight Night 128 prelims averaged 284,000 viewers on FS1. That featured bout for that portion of the card saw Ryan LaFlare garner a unanimous verdict over Alex Garcia. The prelims drew a 0.35 rating in the 18-to-49 demographic.

Former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko will lock horns with Bruno Silva in the M-1 Challenge 93 headliner on June 1. Promotion officials recently revealed the pairing. M-1 Challenge takes place in Chelyabinsk, Russia and will also see Artem Frolov square off with Joe Riggs for the 185-pound title in the co-main event.

Shlemenko had a five-fight winning streak come to an end at Bellator 185, when he dropped a narrow decision to Gegard Mousasi this past October. The 33-year-old Russian owns a 56-10 career mark that includes 31 victories by knockout or technical knockout.

Silva, meanwhile, will be making his M-1 debut after compiling a 17-6 record while competing for numerous organizations since his debut in 2010. The 28-year-old Evolucao Thai representative has earned 14 of his career triumphs via KO or TKO.

Additionally, M-1 Global announced that M-1 Challenge 92 will take place on May 24 in St. Petersburg, Russia and will feature a heavyw…

Leslie Smith is planning to take legal action against the UFC after she believes the promotion bought out her contract in retaliation for her leading an effort to unionize fighters.

Smith, a seven-time Octagon veteran, was scheduled to face Aspen Ladd at UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City, N.J., this past weekend. The contest was canceled when Ladd missed weight for the 135-pound contest by 1.8 pounds. As a result, the UFC paid Smith $62,000 for the final fight on her contract and informed her that they would not be giving her a new deal.

Smith claims that decision is directly related to her role as founder of Project Spearhead, an organization with the goal of unionizing fighters under the UFC banner. In order to help with her legal fees, Smith has started a GoFundMe page.

“I attempted to extend my contract with the UFC after my opponent missed weight. However, the UFC, in perceived retaliation against my legally protected right to unionize, declined to …

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Two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison will make her mixed martial arts debut this summer.

During an appearance on ”The MMA Hour,” Harrison revealed that she will compete at Professional Fighters League 2 in Chicago on June 21. Harrison initially signed with World Series of Fighting as a commentator last year.

WSOF recently rebranded as the PFL, which will hold a regular season followed by a postseason that will award $1 million payouts to the champions in six weight classes. No women’s divisions are currently listed on the promotion’s website.

“I’ve been waiting for a long time to fight,” Harrison said . “First, it was just me, I wanted to get my feet wet, get in there, see if I liked getting punched in the face and now that I’ve established that I do, we’ve sort of been waiting for the PFL to get their stuff together. Their stuff is together.”

Harrison did not name her opp…

Marcin Wrzosek and Kleber Koike Erbst will rematch for the vacant Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki featherweight crown at KSW 44 on June 9.

The Polish promotion announced the pairing on Monday. KSW 44 takes place at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland and also features a heavyweight showdown between Mariusz Pudzianowski and Karol Bedorf.

Wrzosek and Erbst initially squared off at KSW 39, where Erbst claimed the 145-pound belt with a decision win. However, Erbst missed weight ahead of his next bout and was forced to vacate the title. Nonetheless, the 28-year-old still earned a third-round submission of Artur Sowinski at KSW 41 for his fifth consecutive triumph.

A cast member on Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Wrzosek signed with KSW after falling to Julian Erosa at the “TUF 22” finale. He has won three of his first four appearances with the promotion, including a decision win over Roman Szymanski at KSW 41.

Former Bellator MMA and World Series of Fighting competitor Alexis Vila was recently arrested for murder.

According to Miami-Dade County police records, Vila was arrested on April 17 in Miami for second-degree murder involving conspiracy and a weapon. Vila, a Cuba native who defected to the United States in 1997, has a hold on his case for immigration. The 47-year-old is being held at Turner Guilford Correctional Center without bond.

Vila was previously arrested in 2004 for crashing his Lincoln Navigator into a terminal at Fort Lauderdale International Airport. He spent three years in prison and then began his MMA career in 2007.

Vila compiled a 15-7 record in MMA that included notable wins over Marcos Galvao, Joe Warren and Ben Nguyen. He last competed at Titan FC 40 on Aug. 5, 2016, when he took a decision win over Jorge Calvo Martin.

Vila won the bronze medal in freestyle wrestling for Cuba in 1996.

There seems to be no shortage of contenders for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s first lightweight title defense. While “The Eagle” doesn’t have a preference in opponent, he does have a general timeframe in mind for his Octagon return.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, the Nurmagomedov mentioned Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, Kevin Lee and Eddie Alvarez as possible matchups. The Dagestani grappler would be willing to face any of the above at the end of 2018.

“Lightweight division is the most competitive division in UFC,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “At this moment, atmosphere is very heated: there is Conor and Tony, Poirier, Lee and Alvarez, all of them are good. Fight with any of these guys would be very interesting and competitive.

“I never choose opponent, fought with any fighter who was offered me to fight, and I’m not going to change that. I’m coming back November/December to defend my belt. Whoever UFC decide to fight me with, I’ll sign.”

Nurmagomedo…

Chan Sung Jung isn’t one for elaborate callouts, but he gets his point across nonetheless.

Using the screen of a UFC video game with his desired matchup as the background, “The Korean Zombie” angled for a showdown with Frankie Edgar following the former lightweight champion’s unanimous verdict over Cub Swanson in the UFC Fight Night 128 co-main event in Atlantic City, N.J., on Saturday night.

[Frankie Edgar] I want to fight with you,” Jung wrote.

The 31-year-old South Korean returned from his mandatory military service at UFC Fight Night 104, where he earned a first-round knockout of Dennis Bermudez in February 2017. Unfortunately, Jung was forced to withdraw from a scheduled UFC 214 clash with Ricardo Lamas in July after suffering a knee injury. The resulting surgery was expected to keep “The Korean Zombie” out for up to six months.

Edgar has twice challenged for featherweight titles since moving down from 155 pounds. He was supposed to receive a t…

Kevin Lee wanted to display all aspects of his mixed martial arts talent against Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night 128.

While “The Motown Phenom” largely did that, he almost paid dearly for it in the third round against his ultra-tough Brazilian foe. After Lee spent the first two frames dominating Barboza with takedowns and brutal ground-and-pound, he found himself in danger early in round three when the action remained on the feet. It was then that Barboza briefly seized momentum with a spinning heel kick to the temple that put Lee on wobbly legs. Lee went into desperation mode and eventually got his opponent to the mat, which helped him to survive the round.

“In that, I did take a good shot. That man is explosive, I’ll give it to him. But that goes along with showing a complete game,’ Lee said on Fox Sports1 “I showed that I can get hurt and keep pushing forward. I never took my eyes off of him. I ain’t going to lie, [my legs] was a little shaken up. That’s just…

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Edson Barboza and Kevin Lee both had a little something to prove Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 128. Both were coming off losses. Both had to regain the thrust that their careers lost. Both needed to prove they could beat a legitimate contender.

Lee accomplished his mission.

He manhandled Barboza, and with the exception of a scary moment in the third round, dominating most of the scheduled five-round lightweight showdown before 9,541 ($923,720 gate) in Atlantic City’s fabled Boardwalk Hall, which was the first time that the UFC had been there since UFC 53 on Feb. 4, 2005.

Lee (17-3) had Barboza on his back almost 80-percent of the time, and opened a severe gash over his right eye in the fifth, which forced referee Keith Peterson to stop it at the advice of the ringside doctor at 2:18 of the round.

“I said before this fight, mental strength was going to be the key,” Lee said. “I wanted to go all five rounds and show my complete game.…