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UFC Fight Night 202 will likely have a new main event after Beneil Dariush suffered an injury less than two weeks before his headlining matchup against Islam Makhachev.

According to a report from ESPN, Dariush was forced to withdraw from the lightweight bout when his toe caught in the mat and his ankle twisted during a sparring session. As a result, the promotion is targeting Bobby Green as a replacement opponent for Makhachev. Green has reportedly agreed to the fight, which if finalized, will likely take place at a catchweight. UFC Fight Night 202 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Feb. 26.

Green has won five of his last seven Octagon appearances since 2020. He will be making a quick turnaround after earning a unanimous decision triumph over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271 on Feb. 12. Prior to that, “King” defeated Al Iaquinta via first-round TKO at UFC 268.

Makhachev is one of the promotion’s top lightweight contenders and has won his last five UFC appe…

Mike Swick has been in a fight for his life the past few months.

“The Ultimate Fighter 1” cast member shared via Instagram that he was recently diagnosed with cancer, calling it “the toughest and most aggressive battle I have ever had.” Swick revealed that he underwent chemotherapy and had more than 15 swollen lymph nodes in his neck.

Swick did not specify what type of cancer he was diagnosed with, but he added that he had the disease for seven months without knowing. He initially attributed the swollen lymph nodes to a side effect from the COVID-19 vaccine.

Swick is currently at home and is optimistic about his recovery prospects.

“Now recovering at home and actually feeling amazing mentally!” Swick wrote. “Vitals all still good but still full of Chemo and a little weak and quite skinny. The lowest I got after the fasts and first week was 151lbs. … I will get a scan and update in just over a week but I decided not to hide this. I want everyone to watch as…

Credit: Getty/UFC

The UFC Fight Night 203middleweight clash between former M-1 Global champion Bruno Silva and ex-Glory two-division title holder Alex Pereira has the attention of the Brazilian fanbase, perhaps even more so than the card’s headlining bout between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev.

Silva is coming off three consecutive TKO wins in the UFC, while Pereira impressed with a second-round flying knee stoppage of Andreas Michailidis in his Octagon debut in Madison Square Garden. Daniel Acacio, Silva’s coach, shared his thoughts on the matchup of knockout artists with Sherdog.com.

“It´s natural that after defeating [Israel] Adesanya two times in kickboxing and winning multiple titles in Glory, ‘Poatan’ is expected to be the future champion by most fans,” said Acacio a former Pride Fighting Championships competitor and the head trainer at Evolucao Thai.

“But people need to understand that MMA is not kickboxing and ‘Blindado’ will show him that on March …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igxk7FN3wiw&w=560&h=315]

Undefeated Japanese flyweight prospect Tatsuro Taira will make his UFC debut when he meets Carlos Candelario on April 30.

The matchup was first revealed on UFCStats.com. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A headliner for the card has yet to be announced.

Taira has been victorious in his first 10 professional appearances while competing primarily for the Shoot organization, where he is the flyweight champion. The 22-year-old Okinawa, Japan, native has finished eight of his triumphs inside the distance.

Candelario will make his first promotional forway after splitting a pair of bouts on Dana White’s Contender Series, including a split-decision loss to Victor Altamirano in his most recent appearance this past August. “The Cannon” has compiled an 8-1 career mark that includes six triumphs under the CES MMA banner.

We return to San Jose with a !

AJ McKee vs Pitbull 2Vadim Nemkov vs Corey Anderson

’s go on sale This Friday on Ticketmaster. #Bellator277 pic.twitter.com/vinnSdL7RL — BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) February 16, 2022

Bellator 277 will feature a pair of championships fights at the top of the bill, as A.J. McKee will face Patricio Freire in a featherweight title rematch, while Vadim Nemkov will defend his light heavyweight crown in the finals of the light heavyweight grand prix.

The California-based promotion announced the bouts on Wednesday. Bellator 277 takes place on April 15 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., and the evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

McKee claimed 145-pound gold last July, when he submitted Patricio Freire 1:57 into the opening round of the Bellator 263 headliner in Los Angeles. The 26-year-old known as “Mercenary” is 18-0 as a professional, with all of his triumphs coming within the California-based…

@lyotomachidafw vs. @fabianedwards24 is .#BellatorLondon just gained another all-star bout. The action at the @OVOArena will be one for the history books!

May 13th | @BBCThree | s https://t.co/BSY8ceR5Se pic.twitter.com/a0qdUz0zEM

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) February 16, 2022 Lyoto Machida will lock horns with Fabian Edwards in a middleweight clash at Bellator London on May 13.

Promotion officials confirmed the pairing on Wednesday. Bellator London takes place at the SSE Arena and is headlined by a welterweight championship tilt pitting Yaroslav Amosov against Michael Page. The evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

Machida will be entering the final bout on his Bellator contact, according to a report from MMAFighting.com. The 43-year-old former UFC light heavyweight champion is in the midst of the second-three fight skid of his professional tenure after falling to Gegard Mousasi, Phil Davis and Ryan Bader in successive a…

Breaking: former Cage Warriors flyweight champion Samir Faiddine will take on Hicham Rachid in the co-headliner of the upcoming UAE Warriors 25: Africa event. The card will go down on Friday, Feb. 25. Story coming to @sherdogdotcom #UAEWarriors

— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) February 15, 2022

It appears that the upcoming UAE Warriors 25: Africa event has just added an exciting battle as its co-headliner.

A source close to the situation informed Sherdog that Samir Faiddine is scheduled to face Hicham Rachid. The source asked to stay anonymous as the organization hasn’t officially announced the match-up yet.

Former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 125-pound titleholder Faiddine (11-8, 0-0 UAE Warriors) is eager to bounce back after suffering back-to-back defeats in his latest appearances. After stopping Sam Creasey with punches in the third stanza of their CW 106 encounter and capturing the vacant 125-pound belt, “Silverback” dropped de…

A lightweight clash between Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon has a new date.

After initially being slated for UFC Fight Night on April 30, Cerrone vs. Lauzon will move one week later to UFC 274 on May 7. The change was first reported by MMAjunkie.com. No specific reason was given for the shift, but on a positive note, it will likely allow the two action-friendly veterans to square off in front of a live audience instead of at the sparsely-attended UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Currently mired in a six-bout winless streak, Cerrone will be competing at lightweight for the first time since September 2019, when he suffered a first-round technical knockout loss to Justin Gaethje. Most recently, “Cowboy” suffered a TKO defeat to Alex Morono in the opening round of their 170-pound clash at UFC on ESPN 24.

Lauzon, meanwhile, snapped a three-bout skid in his last outing, when he stopped Jonathan Pearce in the opening stanza at UFC on ESPN 6 in October 2019.

UFC 274 does no…

Heavyweight Lorenzo Hood has been suspended two years by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a failed drug test in relation to his bout on Dana White’s Contender Series last October.

Hood tested positive for methenolone, a banned anabolic steroid. The NSAC voted unanimously to approve the sanction for Hood, who did not respond to the initial complaint regarding the positive test. He will not be eligible to return to active competition until Oct. 12, 2023.

Additionally, Hood must also pay a fine of $1,500 — which amounts to 30 percent of his $5,000 purse — along with $489 of legal fees.

The 32-year-old Chicago native fell to Martin Buday via first-round technical knockout at the Oct. 12 Contender Series event, halting a three-fight winning streak for the Strike MMA representative. Hood is 12-5 as a pro, with all of his wins coming via KO or TKO.

After losing his featherweight belt to A.J. McKee last July, it looks like Patricio Freire will get a chance to step into the cage again with “The Mercenary” later this year.

Last week, reports surfaced that Bellator was targeting a McKee-Freire rematch for April, and Freire told Sherdog.com this week that he has already begun his camp for the bout even though it has not been finalized.

“I sent an email to Bellator right after [the loss] asking for the immediate rematch and the only feedback that I had was, ‘We will try, but it may not happen.’ The information was leaked last week, but I cannot confirm yet, but I truly hope it happens,” Freire said.

Freire added that he has essentially been training since he began his mixed martial arts career.

“I never stop training,” he said. “I don’t see any other MMA fighter more motivated than myself. I’m 34 years old. I started back in 2004 and never stopped training. There are many fighters that started after me an…

Although several reports indicated otherwise, Cat Zingano will not be getting a featherweight title shot against Cristiane Justino in her next Bellator MMA appearance.

Instead, Zingano will lock horns with former Invicta FC title holder Pam Sorenson on the preliminary portion of the Bellator 276 card. Sherdog.com confirmed the pairing with a promotion official following an initial report from The Irish Sun.

Bellator 276 takes place on March 12 at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., and is headlined by a featherweight clash between Adam Borics and Mads Burnell. The evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

The California-based promotion confirmed several other bouts for Bellator 276: John Salter vs. Johnny Eblen at middleweight; Derek Anderson vs. Goiti Yamauchi at welterweight; Cody Law vs. Johnny Soto at featherweight; Roman Faraldo vs. Kelvin Rayford at welterweight; Diana Avsaragova vs. Ashley Deen at flyweight and Romero Cotton vs. Lance Wright at middle…

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“The Black Beast” received a 60-day medical suspension after a standing e…

#InvictaFC46 Fight Card Finalized, Tickets On Sale Now

Full Card: https://t.co/pfPmHu4E8V

Tickets : https://t.co/2DMGwS3Wfx pic.twitter.com/VSI3UBgD10 — Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) February 15, 2022

The Invicta FC 46 card has been finalized with the addition of two new bouts.

The all-female promotion announced the full six-bout lineup for the March 9 card on Tuesday. The event will include the following two additions: Kristina Williams vs. Flore Hani at flyweight and Nadia Vera vs. Fatima Kline at strawweight.

Invicta FC 46 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., and is headlined by a flyweight championship clash between Karina Rodriguez and Ketlen Souza.

Broadcast details for the event will be announced soon, according to a release. Invicta’s last event aired on the promotion’s YouTube page.

Kayla Harrison’s free-agent options might have just gotten a lot more interesting.

The two-time Professional Fighters League lightweight champion told ESPN that she is pondering a transition to 135 pounds, a move that will include hiring a chef and consulting with a nutritionist. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has thus far competed primarily at 155 pounds and once at featherweight. If Harrison were able to make the cut safely, it would open the door for some interesting fights — especially in the UFC.

"I'm considering it," Harrison said of the move to bantamweight. "I heard that Julianna [Pena] said she'd move up to 145 if they paid her enough, so that's good news. That means I don't have to chop off an arm. ... I want to be the best. Everyone is talking about her.”

Recently, it appeared that the PFL was the leading candidate to re-sign Harrison, and one of the promotion’s press releases regarding the 155-pound Challenger Series mentioned the appeal of faci…

In recent months, Derrick Lewis has endured two of the most disappointing losses of his mixed martial arts career in his hometown.

This past August at UFC 265, “The Black Beast” suffered a third-round technical knockout loss to Ciryl Gane in an interim heavyweight title bout at the Toyota Center in Houston. And on Saturday, with a chance for redemption in the same venue, Lewis was knocked out by a devastating Tai Tuivasa elbow in the second-round of their co-headlining encounter at UFC 271.

Despite those setbacks, UFC president Dana White had plenty of praise for Lewis at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

“He doesn’t always come up short. I mean, up until tonight he was the No. 3-ranked guy in the world, which is a big deal. He’s got the most knockouts in heavyweight history,” White said. “He went in against a guy tonight who’s on a five-fight knockout streak. He fought a 29-year-old guy tonight. Derrick Lewis is a bad boy, man. He’s been a lot of fun to h…

Bellator 274 is down one fight following the cancellation of a light heavyweight pairing between Christian Edwards and Kevin Haley.

MMAjunkie.com initially reported that the bout was off due to Edwards testing positive for COVID-19, and the bout was no longer present on an official lineup released by the promotion Monday. As a result, the card will move forward with 13 bouts.

Bellator 274 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Saturday and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Neiman Gracie and Logan Storley. The main card is televised on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. ET, while prelims air on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Edwards suffered the first loss of his professional career at Bellator 266, when he was knocked out by Ben Parrish 38 seconds into the opening round of their encounter last September. The 23-year-old Jackson-Wink MMA product was victorious in…

Heavyweight champion Philip De Fries will defend his crown against Darko Stosic in the main event of KSW 67 on Feb. 26.

The Polish promotion announced the pairing on Monday. KSW 67 takes place in Warsaw, Poland, and will also see Andrzej Grzebyk face Adrian Bartosinski in the welterweight co-main event.Additionally, a light heavyweight clash pitting Ivan Erslan against Hasan Mezhiev was also confirmed for the card.

De Fries in in the middle of an eight-fight winning streak that dates back to October 2017 and include triumphs in KSW, Bellator and M-1 Global. Most recently, the five-time UFC veteran defeated Tomasz Narkun via second-round TKO in a rematch at KSW 60 last April.

Stosic, meanwhile, has won three consecutive bouts since signing with KSW following a 1-3 stint in the UFC. After scoring finishes of Michal Wlodarek and Michael Kita in his first two promotional appearances, Stosic defeated Michal Andryszak via split decision in his most recent outing at KS…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x88cJAx7zV0&w=560&h=315]

Even in defeat, Roxanne Modafferi ended her mixed martial arts career on a positive note.

“The Happy Warrior” called it a career following a split-decision loss to Casey O'Neill at UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston this past Saturday night. Modafferi exits the sport at 39 years old, with a 25-20 record compiled since the beginning of her professional tenure in 2003.

“I’m very honored and very deeply touched by the reception that the fans gave me,” Modafferi told assembled media after the fight. “And I really tried to remember that moment and know that everyone’s proud of me and is cheering for me and that was really cool, so thank you everybody.”

Though it might sound cliche, Modafferi truly did her best to leave it all in the cage against O’Neill. Though she was outlanded by a 229-to-120 count in significant strikes, Modafferi was pleased with her performance overall.

“I threw a lot of…

The championship clash between Bibiano Fernandes and John Lineker has a new date.

Fernandes will defend his 145-pound belt against John Linker at One Championship “Lights Out” on March 11. MMAFighting.com was first to report the new booking. The event takes place at Singapore Indoor Statdium in Kallang, Singapore.

Fernandes and Lineker were supposed to square off at One Championship “Bad Blood” on Feb. 11, but the bout was canceled when Linker tested positive for COVID-19. The two fighters were originally slated to meet at a Once Championship on Dec. 5, but the title fight was postponed once the card was canceled due to restrictions related to pandemic concerns.

The 41-year-old Fernandes was set to make his first appearance since 2019, when he submitted Kevin Belingon in the second round at One Championship “Century Part 2.” “The Flash” has won 16 of his last 17 professional outings dating back to 2011, with his lone defeat coming against Belingon in a title b…

Tai Tuivasa went toe-to-toe with Derrick Lewis and got the better of the UFC’s all-time knockout king.

“Bam Bam” ended a slugfest with Derrick Lewis in emphatic fashion, landing a standing elbow that caused “The Black Beast” to fall face first to the canvas 1:40 into Round 2 of the heavyweight co-main event at UFC 271. In the end, it was the type of effort that could even win over Lewis’ hometown fans in Houston.

“I thought I did well,” Tuivasa said at the post-fight press conference. “Come to Houston, I got a few boos at the start, but turned them into cheers.”

Tuivasa is currently in the midst of five consecutive knockout victories, making him one of just 24 fighters in UFC history to author a streak of that length. He still has a ways to go before he surpasses Lewis’ knockout mark, but the Aussie can envision a day when that record is his.

“He’s had his time and I think this is the passing of the torch,” Tuivasa said. “If I keep up doing what I’m doing,…

Israel Adesanya had to work a little bit harder to dispatch Robert Whittaker in the UFC 271 main event than he did in their first meeting. At the end of the night, “The Last Stylebender” was relatively satisfied with his unanimous decision victory.

“7 out of 10. Not bad,” he said in giving his performance a grade at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Good night in the office, good chess match.”

Adesanya became middleweight champion for the first time at UFC 243, when he knocked out Whittaker in the second round. In the rematch, the City Kickboxing star prevailed in a more technical affair, but Whittaker was able to take some rounds on the judges scorecards, so it wasn’t the dominant win Adesanya and his team had been hoping for leading up to the fight.

“It’s easier said than done,” Adesanya said. “I don’t know people, I feel like they have goldfish memories, but when they’re in there with me, they realize ‘Oh s—t’ it’s not as easy as we thought.’ They just…

While Robert Whittaker disagreed with the scorecards in the UFC 271 main event, he nonetheless vanquished some demons even in losing his rematch with Israel Adesanya.

After relinquishing the middleweight crown to Adesanya in a second-round knockout loss in October 2019. Whittaker offered a much better performance the second time around, attacking behind his left jab and lead left hook while keeping his opponent off balance through takedowns and clinch work. Ultimately it wasn’t enough to offset Adesanya’s versatile striking arsenal, which notably included a knockdown in Round 1 and a steady diet of chopping kicks to the legs.

“I thought I did enough, I thought I did enough. Breaking it down, I think I lost the first round. I put myself together and I beat him to every punch. I got takedowns. I thought I did enough,” Whittaker said at the UFC 273 post-fight press conference.

“But it is what it is. That’s how work goes in the office. I’m going to go back evolve so…