Blog

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 battle for the best Rafael in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is on the books for a five-rounder in February. Twitter user Full Violence posted about Rafael dos Anjos (30-13) vs. Rafael Fiziev (11-1) coming together on Thursday night. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN subsequently confirmed on Friday that this 155-pound encounter would headline the UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 19. The two top-ranked lightweights that had been chirping at one another on social media will come to blows at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Dos Anjos came back to the lightweight division in 2020 after eight bouts at 170 pounds including an interim title fight. His return to the division in which he was champ saw him defeat Paul Felder by a head-scratching split decision in which he likely won all five rounds in the eyes of most observers. The Bra…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVV5c0Jew0Y&w=560&h=315] A talented young Bellator MMA prospect has his next test in front of him this month.

On Friday, Bellator sources confirmed to Sherdog that Lucas Brennan (5-0) would be returning to the Bellator cage on Jan. 29. At Bellator 273, the 21-year-old son of longtime vet Chris Brennan will be facing Ben Lugo (5-4) in the featherweight division. As a pro, every one of Brennan’s fights have come inside the Bellator cage, while Lugo will be making his promotional debut on this fight card.

The man known as “Skywalker” has not missed a step since turning pro in 2019, rattling off four finishes in five victories all for the Bellator promotion. Most recently, Brennan submitted Matt Skibicki with an anaconda choke in June 2021 to continue his win streak. Of note, Brennan’s forearm choke on Jacob Landin at Bellator 233 in 2019 was the first of its kind in organizational history. While the 21-year-old recently told Sherdog…

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 MMA gods giveth, and the MMA gods taketh away. On Wednesday, Ultimate Fighting Championship head Dana White announced that Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) would be facing Max Holloway (23-6) for the third time atop UFC 272. The two were set to throw down on March 5 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but that fight was not meant to be. Per ESPN on Friday, Holloway has aggravated a past injury and can no longer compete on the March 5 card. There is no current word on whether Volkanovski will receive a replacement foe in two months, or if the headliner will shift to Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2.

Since a knockout loss in 2013 to Corey Nelson, Volkanovski has looked nigh-unbeatable in the sport. The Aussie has won an incredible 20 fights in a row, including 10 inside the Octagon. On his way up the division, Volkanovski top…

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. It wouldn’t be an Ultimate Fighting Championship card in Houston these days without the inclusion of the great Derrick Lewis. Lewis (26-8, 1 NC) will be back in action less than two months after his last victory when he takes on fellow heavy-handed brawler Tai Tuivasa (13-3) at UFC 271. The news first came from MMA Junkie on Friday, reporting that the two big men will throw down on Feb. 12 inside the Toyota Center in Houston. Other outlets confirmed this booking shortly after its announcement.

“The Black Beast” came back after an unsuccessful effort to vie for the interim strap against Ciryl Gane by shellacking Chris Daukaus in the first round in December. That knockout for the Houstonian put him on top of the list for the most knockouts in UFC history, breaking a tie held by Vitor Belfort and Matt Brown. Over the years, Lewis …

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 building up its Houston return to include an impressive offering of matchups, with the latest fun one at 155 pounds. MMA reporter Walter Salcido released news on Thursday of the UFC 271 matchup between Bobby Green (28-12-1) and Nasrat Haqparast (13-4). The lightweights will go to battle inside the Toyota Center in Houston on Feb. 12, and their placement on the billing whether on the main card or preliminaries has yet to be determined. Green has since posted about his excitement to return to Houston, and confirmed the pairing itself on his Instagram Stories.

In his last time out in November, Green punched out Al Iaquinta in 2:25 to earn his first stoppage win since 2013. The victory put an end to a two-fight skid that saw him fall short to Rafael Fiziev and Thiago Moises by close decision in …

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 new year is starting off troubling for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which lost a pair of promising Brazilian fighters from the first pay-per-view of 2022. On Thursday morning, MMA Junkie announced that Warlley Alves (14-5) had been forced out of his welterweight clash with the debuting Jack Della Maddalena (10-2) for currently undisclosed reasons. Several hours later, ESPN Deportes broke the story that ranked flyweight Viviane Araujo (10-3) will no longer be facing Alexa Grasso (13-3) due to an injury. The organization is seeking replacements for both Alves and Araujo at UFC 270, which will take place on Jan. 22 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Winner of the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” Alves has struggled as of late to gain any momentum in any direction. The Brazilian has alternated wins and …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klv2upGSWC8&w=560&h=315] Triller Fight Club is moving full steam ahead to put on another spectacle between boxers and MMA fighters.

In December, the organization announced that Triad Combat 2 would be staged in February. Per a press release on Thursday, this show will be held inside the Toyota Center in Houston on Feb. 26. Headlining the mixed-rules event, as previously reported, is a heavyweight clash between Junior dos Santos and Kubrat Pulev.

The ruleset for this fight card, established at Triad Combat 1 in November, mixes boxing and MMA while not allowing elbows, knees or kicks. These shows will pit boxers against MMA fighters, with the boxing team captained by Shannon Briggs and the MMA fighters coached by Quinton Jackson. As a result of the rules in place, these matches are not considered professional boxing or MMA bouts. The round lengths will vary from fight to fight, and the dos Santos-Pulev tilt will take place across…

title fights, 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 night at the @HondaCenter

[ #UFC270 | Jan 22 | @HondaCenter | Tickets https://t.co/0noMO5ApuD ] pic.twitter.com/n5MMFlqzTt

— UFC (@ufc) January 2, 2022 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. For the second year in a row, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will see the price of a pay-per-view rise by an extra $5.

First reported by Newsday Sports on Thursday and subsequently confirmed by Sherdog, the UFC will now be charging $74.99 for a PPV purchased through ESPN+. This follows a price hike from January 2021, where the promotion and its broadcast partner lifted the price from $64.99 to $69.99. The annual subscription fee for ESPN+ is now set at $69.99, which in itself is an increase from the previous year’s $59.99. It is currently unclear whether current yearly subscribers will be allowed to re-up at the previou…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIIkZ9C7EII&w=560&h=315] Bellator MMA lightweight champ Patricky Freire will only step aside for one man: his brother, Patricio Freire.

After capturing the Bellator lightweight belt at Bellator 270 with an impressive second-round knockout of Peter Queally in front of a hostile Irish crowd this past November, Freire has found himself challenged by featherweight champion A.J. McKee constantly on social media. Once his brother Patricio avenged Patricky’s own loss to Michael Chandler, Patricky saw the opportunity as the perfect path to retribution for what his brother did for him then. Patricky spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday about the possible matchup with McKee, and why he can’t take it yet.

“I would love to beat up McKee for [Patricio], but my brother is ‘too hungry’; he told me to stay away from McKee,” Patricky admitted. “That fight is his, and I obeyed.”

According to the lightweight champion, his return is already set up and his…

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 beloved Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight is getting a chance to fight in front of a home crowd for the first time in 2014. The news first broke from MMA Fighting on Thursday, announcing that Matt Brown (23-18) will be squaring off with Bryan Barberena (16-8) at the UFC on ESPN event on March 26. The currently unnumbered fight card on the flagship network of the UFC’s broadcast partner will go down inside of the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The two were previously booked against one another in December, but the pairing fell through when Brown contracted COVID-19.

Brown, who has since confirmed this matchup on his Instagram account, rebounded from a pair of defeats to Miguel Baeza and Carlos Condit by starching Dhiego Lima in June. The 40-year-old Ohioan has seen tough sledding the last several years, winning …

A pair of title bouts featuring familiar foes are on tap for UFC 272.

UFC president Dana White informed broadcast partner ESPN on Wednesday that the Alexander Volkanovski-Max Holloway trilogy will take place at UFC 272 on March 5 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, while Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will square off for a second time at the same event. Contracts have not yet been signed for either bout, but both are expected to be finalized soon.

Volkanovski owns a pair of victories over Holloway. The 33-year-old City Kickoxing standout claimed the featherweight crown with a unanimous decision triumph over Holloway at UFC 245 before defending the belt with a highly-contentious split verdict in their rematch at UFC 251. Most recently, he defended the strap with a decision win over Brian Ortega in a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 266 this past September to run his professional winning streak to 20.

Holloway has earned his spot as the top contender after t…

.@GLORY_WS @EnfusionLIVE

We are excited to announce a series of joint events with Enfusion, kicking off in May. Full details coming shortly.#GLORYRivals pic.twitter.com/zhFwNpdFFQ

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) January 5, 2022 Glory Kickboxing has announced a new series called "Glory Rivals."

The new series aims to form relationships with other top kickboxing promotions around the world to do cross-promotion kickboxing events. In the announcement, Glory revealed that “Glory Rivals” will kick off with a cross promotion with the Eurpoean-based Enfusion organization. Glory also announced a partnership with RISE, which is based in Japan.

Executive vice chairman Scott Rudmann weighed in on the motivation behind the decision to push for cross-promotion events in kickboxing, citing fans and promotions wanting to see the best fight the best. Rudmann believes that Glory has the best kickboxers in the world and is ready to pony up and prove it …

Juliana Velasquez’s next flyweight title defense will likely take place in the spring, according to Bellator president Scott Coker.

Velasquez is targeted to face former UFC 135- and 125-pound title challenger Liz Carmouche at an as yet to be announced Bellator MMA event. The exact date is tentative, but Coker told MMAjunkie.com in a recent interview that the if all goes as planned, Velasquez vs. Carmouche will happen by April.

“I believe that fight will happen in April,” Coker said. “I think that’s when we were told Velasquez would be ready to go so. As soon as she’s ready, we’ll get her back in there, but I think April is the date.

“All of our champions, the launch of the tournament, the finals of our light heavyweight tournament, the [Michael Page] fight, Juliana Velasquez, Cyborg – all these fights will happen let’s say between January and April. It’s kind of what we’re shooting for.”

Velasquez claimed 125-pound gold with a five-round verdict over Ilim…

Drew Dober will square off against Ricky Glenn in a lightweight scrap at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on March 12.

Iridium Sports Agency first brought word of the booking. UFC Fight Night is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev.

After winning six of seven UFC appearances from 2017 to 2020, Dober dropped back-to-back fights to Islam Makhachev and Brad Riddell last year. The 33-year-old Elevation Fight Team product is 9-7 with one no contest over the course of his Octagon tenure and 23-11 as a professional overall.

Glenn’s 2021 campaign included a 37-second knockout win over Joaquim Silva at UFC on ESPN 25 and a majority draw against Grant Dawson at UFC Fight Night 196. The former World Series of Fighting title challenger has gone 4-3-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

#TeamIridium Fight News

Our …

A bantamweight matchup pitting Brett Johns against Khurshed Kakhorov has been booked for Bellator MMA’s upcoming Dublin card.

TJ Sport News was first to report the bout. Bellator Dublin takes place at 3Arena on Feb. 25 and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Gegard Mousasi and Austin Vanderford.

A seven-time UFC veteran, Johns came up short in his debut with the California-based promotion, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Danny Sabatello at Bellator 259 this past May. The former Titan FC and Cage Warriors title holder was coming off back-to-back wins over Montel Jackson and Tony Gravely prior to that defeat.

Kakhorov improved to 8-0 in his promotional debut, as he outpointed Jair Junior at Bellator 267 on Oct. 1. The former German MMA Championship competitor has finished six of his victories by KO/TKO.

HOLY

Danaa Batgerel has thunder in his hands #UFCVegas40 pic.twitter.com/5oLLrrFQ7j

— UFC (@ufc) October 16, 2021 Montel Jackson will lock horns with Danaa Batgerel in a bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night on March 26.

Jackson’s management, Iridium Sports, first announced the booking. UFC Fight Night is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic. The event doesn’t have an official location or venue.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Jackson has won five of his first seven Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Red Schafer MMA product set a bantamweight record with four knockdowns during a unanimous decision victory over J.P. Buys at UFC Fight Night 192 this past September.

Batgerel has been on a roll since dropping his promotional debut to Heili Alateng at UFC Fight Night 157 in August 2019. The Mongolian fighter rebounded to score successive first-round finishes ag…

Tafon Nchukwi will square off against Azamat Murzakanov on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s March 12 card.

Cageside Press was first to report the light heavyweight pairing. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt pitting Thiago Santos against Magomed Ankalaev.

Nchukwi has been victorious in two of three Octagon appearances since earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020. Most recently, the 27-year-old Cameroon native outpointed Mike Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 192 on Sept. 18.

Murzakanov will make his promotional debut after securing a UFC deal with a first-round TKO of Matheus Scheffel on the Contender Series this past August. The 35-year-old Russian is 10-0 as a professional, with other notable wins over UFC competitors Andre Muniz and Guto Inocente.

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

After winning his first four Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts, Khamzat Chimaev has risen to No. 11 in the promotion’s latest welterweight rankings and is just waiting for a call to confirm his Octagon return.

“If it were up to him, I think he would fight every month. I never worked with someone so competitive,” Alan Nascimento, Chimaev’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, told Sherdog.com.

According to Nascimento, Chimaev will sleep in the academy whenever he has a UFC fight announced.

“He just doesn't want to lose time, so he moves into a room inside the academy during the whole camp,” Nascimento said. “And in training, if he loses one round or gets swept by someone, he always asks me to [do it again], and that's the most difficult part of my job with him. He came from a family where his father and brother were also wrestlers, so he always dealt with a lot of pressure. My job is to make him understand that, in the evolving proce…

A welterweight showdown between Neiman Gracie and Logan Storley will headline Bellator 274 on Feb. 19, promotion officials announced Tuesday.

Bellator 274 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and will also see ex-welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov face Mukhamed Berkhamov in the co-main event. The main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel, the Bellator MMA YouTube channel and Pluto TV at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Two other bouts were also confirmed for the evening’s main draw: Keri Melendez vs. Veta Arteaga at flyweight and Davion Franklin vs. Said Sowma at heavyweight.

Additionally, five fights were announced for the preliminary lineup: Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Adam Piccolotti at lightweight; Mandel Nallo vs. Nick Browne at lightweight; Jaylon Bates vs. Chris Disonell at bantamweight; Corey Samuels vs. Justin Montalvo at lightweight and Isaiah Hokit vs. Albert Birckhead at featherw…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first card of 2022 is down one bout, as a proposed middleweight tilt between Abdul Razak Alhassan and Joaquin Buckley is no longer part of the lineup.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the cancellation, which came after Alhassan withdrew from the fight for undisclosed reasons. The promotion is looking to reschedule the bout, but a date has not been finalized. UFC Fight Night 200 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Jan. 15 and is headlined by a featherweight showdown between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze.

Alhassan snapped a three-fight losing streak in his last outing, as he knocked out Alessio Di Chirico with a head kick 17 seconds into their encounter at UFC on ESPN 30 on Aug. 28. The Fortis MMA product has finished all 11 of his professional victories via knockout or technical knockout, including five triumphs in UFC competition.

Buckley, meanwhile, is best known for his viral knockout of Impa Kasanganay at UFC …

A light heavyweight showdown pitting Johnny Walker against Jamahal Hill has been booked for UFC Fight Night on Feb. 19.

MMA Ideas initially brought word of the matchup, and MMAFighting.com later confirmed the date. The UFC Fight Night show takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card does not yet have a headliner.

Walker has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 29-year-old Brazilian suffered a closely-contested unanimous decision defeat to Thiago Santos in the UFC Fight Night 193 headliner on Oct. 2. The Brazilian Contender Series alum began his promotional tenure with three consecutive first-round finishes prior to his current slump.

Also a former Contender Series competitor, Hill is coming off a 48-second knockout victory against Jimmy Crute at UFC on ESPN 31 on Dec. 4. The Black Lion Jiu-Jitsu representative is 3-1 with one no contest within the Las Vegas-based promotion and has lost just one of his 11 professional appear…

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

An intriguing featherweight matchup is in the works for an upcoming UFC Fight Night event, as Alex Caceres is expected to meet Sodiq Yusuff on March 12.

The pairing was initially mentioned during a Caceres interview with The Schmo, and it has since been confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The UFC Fight Night event will likely take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Magomed Ankalaev and Thiago Santos.

A competitor on Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Caceres is currently enjoying the most successful stretch of his 25-bout UFC tenure. “Bruce Leeroy” secured his fifth consecutive Octagon triumph at UFC Fight Night 196, where he submitted Seung Woo Choi in the second round of their bout.

Yusuff, meanwhile, saw a six-bout professional winning streak come to an end at UFC on ABC 2, where he dropped a decision to fellow featherweight contender Arnold …

Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista Credit: Joao Baptista

After the controversy that ensued when he faced Marvin Vettori one division above their contracted agreement at UFC Fight Night 196 last October, Paulo Costa was informed by Dana White that his next promotional appearance would be in the light heavyweight division.

However, according to Costa’s manager, Wallid Ismail, the UFC president has since changed his mind.

 “The UFC is not the biggest fighting company in the world by chance,” Ismail told Sherdog.com. “They know that ‘Borrachinha’ was injured and that's why he had problems with his weight. There is no doubt his next fight will take place in the middleweight division.”

Ismail says Costa is currently waiting for the UFC’s call to decide when the former middleweight title challenger will return.

“We will fight whoever the UFC decides. I keep believing that ‘Borrachinha’ will be the champion,” Ismail said. “He just has to train right…

Yaroslav Amosov is expected to put his Bellator welterweight title on the line in enemy territory early next year.

In a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com , Bellator president Scott Coker revealed that the promotion is targeting a championship clash between Amosov and Michael Page for London. The exact number of the event and its date are currently unknown for the proposed bout.

“We are in the process of putting that fight together now with him and MVP to fight in London at some point early next year,” Coker said.

Amosov improved to 26-0 at Bellator 260, when he claimed the 170-pound title with a five-round verdict against Douglas Lima on June 11. The 28-year-old Ukraine native has bested the likes of Logan Storley, Ed Ruth, David Rickels and Erick Silva during his tenure with the California-based promotion.

Page, meanwhile, avenged the only defeat of his 21-fight MMA career at Bellator 267, as he took a split decision in a rematch with Lima on Oct. 1. “Venom” …