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Bellator MMA talent Dillon Danis has apparently recently encountered some trouble with law enforcement.

A video posted on Instagram shows Danis being taken away by police while wearing a brace on his right knee. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist is lifted off the ground, handcuffed and hauled away by officers outside of an establishment that is reportedly Beachcomber Bar and Grill in Seaside Heights, N.J., according to MMAjunkie.com.

Further details regarding the incident are currently unclear, although what appears to be a mugshot of Danis has also surfaced on Twitter.

Dillon Danis got arrested last night for trying to impersonate an MMA Fighter. pic.twitter.com/5aSbMS0uXF

— MMA Roasted (@MMARoasted) September 19, 2021

Meanwhile, Danis’ has only issued the following statement via Twitter:

you need people like me

— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) September 20, 2021

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt w…

One fighter missed weight ahead of Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series on Monday morning.

Hashem Arkhagha, who is slated to face Athlone Dobson in the card’s featured bout, tipped the scales at 189 pounds for their middleweight matchup. Dobson had no such difficulties, checking in at 184.5 pounds. The other eight fighters slated to compete all hit their contracted marks, as well.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs via ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. 

A native of Jordan, Arkhagha has kicked off his professional tenure with six consecutive triumphs, with four wins coming via KO/TKO and two via submission. “Cavaca” last appeared at UAE Warriors 13, where he knocked out Yuri Fraga 2:27 into the opening round of their September 2020 encounter. 

Dobson, meanwhile, is 5-0 with one no contest thus far in his burgeoning career. The Powell, Ohio, native has four first-round finishes to his credit, including …

Gerald Meerschaert will welcome Abusupiyan Magomedov to the Octagon at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 18.

UFD Sports Management first brought word of the middleweight booking, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. The event does not have an official location and is also expected to include a strawweight clash between Nina Nunes and Amanda Lemos as well as a bantamweight tilt pitting Raphael Assuncao against Ricky Simon.

Meerschaert is 2-0 thus far in 2021 after posting submission wins over Bartosz Fabinski at UFC on ESPN 22 and against Makhmud Muradov at UFC on ESPN 30. The 33-year-old Roufusport product is 8-6 during his promotional tenure and 33-14 as a professional overall. He has finished 25 of his wins by submission.

The 33-year-old Magomedov has compiled a 24-4-1 career mark while competing in organizations such as KSW, Professional Fighters League and Superior Fighting Championship. The Germany-based fighter made the PFL finals i…

The potential UFC return of Kron Gracie remains a mystery, even to his father.

To help promote “Breathe,” a book about his life in Brazil, Rickson Gracie recently gave an interview on the Combate.com podcast "Mundo da Luta” discussing a number of topics — including his son’s next move.

 "He is living in Montana and I'm allowing him to have his own space to grow as a man and athlete,” Rickson said. “I don’t pressure him for information about his career and don’t know if he will return to the UFC.

“By the way, If you guys find out some news about him, please let me know," Rickson quipped.

Kron Gracie last appeared at UFC Fight Night 161 in October 2019, when he suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Cub Swanson. The 33-year-old Brazilian is 5-1 over the course of a professional career that includes a victory over Alex Caceres in UFC competition as well as triumphs against Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hideo Tokoro under the Rizin Fighting Federation banne…

Yoel Romero’s Bellator MMA debut didn’t go as planned, but promotion head Scott Coker is confident that “The Soldier of God” still has plenty left in the tank at 44 years old.

In his first fight since March 2020, Romero dropped a split decision to Phil Davis in the Bellator 266 headliner at the SAP Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday night. The bout wasn’t as close as the scorecards indicated, as Davis gradually imposed his will over the course of the fight — including a dominant third stanza that saw him take down the Olympic silver medalist repeatedly.

Coker was more impressed with Davis, a former Bellator champion, than he was down on Romero’s performance.

“I think that Phil is an amazing fighter, as we all know, and he just delivered another solid performance,” Coker told media the Bellator 266 post-fight press conference. “He fought smart. Yoel is still dangerous. If he hits you, it’s over. I think Phil probably felt that power early on, so he tried to …

Kai Asakura (@kai_1031_) searching for the kill!

Buy the PPVhttps://t.co/1Ky6EkhwcQ#RIZIN #MMA #RIZIN30 #格闘技 #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/v0xIPIxoYc

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 19, 2021 Eight men collided at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Sunday in hopes of eventually earning a shot at Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight titleholder Kyoji Horiguchi’s belt. Now only four of those athletes are one step closer to that goal.

The Rizin 30 main card featured all four quarterfinal bouts of the Japanese promotion’s bantamweight grand grix. In the main event, former 135-pound kingpin Kai Asakura (18-3, 10-2 Rizin) extended his winning streak to two after defeating Alan Yamaniha (18-9-4, 1-1 Rizin) via unanimous decision. Both contenders started strong in the first couple of minutes in Round 1, as the 27-year-old Asakura aimed for “Hiro”’s body with wide right hooks and mixed it up with s…

Shortly after a decision loss to Aleksandar Rakic in the UFC Fight Night 175 main event — his second straight lopsided defeat in the Octagon — last August, Anthony Smith was contemplating a return to 185 pounds.

Since then, “Lionheart” has rattled off three consecutive light heavyweight triumphs to re-establish his place in the division. The most recent of those came on Saturday night in a quick submission triumph over Ryan Spann in the UFC Fight Night 192 headliner, after which Smith called for a rematch with Rakic.

“That’s what I wanted. That’s what I asked for,” Smith said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That’s the fight I’ve been talking about. It’s nothing personal. Me and Rakic have had nothing but positive exchanges with each other both before and after the fight. It’s purely competitive. I want his spot. He took mine, I want to take it back.”

Shortly after Smith’s callout, Rakic seemingly accepted, tagging UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard in a Tw…

A Bellator press release describes it as the “chance of a lifetime” for Julius Anglickas.

Originally an alternate in the promotion’s light heavyweight grand prix, Anglickas will step in for Anthony Johnson against reigning 205-pound champ Vadim Nemkov in the Bellator 268 main event on Oct. 16. Promotion officials announced the new semifinal pairing after Johnson was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an undisclosed illness.

Bellator 268 takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix and will also see Ryan Bader square off against Corey Anderson in the other half of the light heavyweight bracket. Anglickas’ original opponent, Karl Albrektsson, will now square off against Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov on the preliminary card. Two other bouts were also confirmed for the event: Jaylon Bates vs. Raphael Montini de Lima at bantamweight and Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Jaleel Willis at welterweight. The main card will air on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims …

Anthony Smith continues to put the two-fight losing streak of early 2020 further in his rearview mirror.

“Lionheart” earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round submission of Ryan Spann in the UFC Fight Night 192 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Smith dropped Spann twice in the early going, advancing to his opponent’s back on the second occasion and locking in a rear-naked choke to force the tap 3:47 into Round 1 of the light heavyweight bout for his third consecutive victory.

Elsewhere, lightweight prospect Arman Tsarukyan garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by making short work of Christos Giagos in another featured pairing. The American Top Team prospect countered a body kick from Giagos with a left hook that put his foe on his seat near the fence. From there, Tsarukyan unloaded with ground-and-pound until the bout was halted 2:09 into the first frame.

Earlier, Nathan Maness captured a $50,000 “Perf…

Anthony Smith sent a loud-and-clear message to Ryan Spann: Gate closed.

“Lionheart” blocked Spann’s path to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight elite, as he submitted the Fortis MMA export with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 192 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Spann (19-7, 5-2 UFC) conceded defeat 3:47 into Round 1.

Smith (36-16, 11-6 UFC) floored the former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a left hook, jumped into top position and threatened with an armbar before returning to an upright position. Once there, he staggered Spann with another left hook, folded him with a right cross and advanced to the back. Smith then secured his position, flattened out “Superman” and snaked his arms in place for the fight-ending choke.

@LionheartASmith is heated and wants his RESPECT! #UFCVegas37 pic.twitter.com/GHx9MsxIBV

— UFC (@ufc) September 19, 2021 Cutelaba Mauls Overmatch…

In a matchup of strength vs. strength, Phil Davis was too much for Yoel Romero to handle.

“Mr. Wonderful” gradually imposed his will on the Olympic silver medalist en route to a split-decision triumph in the Bellator 266 headliner at the SAP Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday night. Judge Michael Bell had it 30-26 and Ron McCarthy saw it 30-27 — both for Davis — while Jerin Valel submitted a curious 29-28 scorecard in favor of Romero. It was Romero’s first light heavyweight appearance since a knockout loss to Rafael Cavalcant at a Strikeforce event in 2011.

“He’s a monster,” Davis said. “I felt that power more times than I wished I had tonight. He’s an incredibly powerful fighter.”

After a tentative opening round from both fighters in Round 1, the action picked up in the second frame. There, Davis began to find a rhythm connecting with his jab and straight right hand, including a one-two combination that prompted a yell of acknowledgement from Romero. Davis…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 192 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben…

Sherdog's live Bellator 266 coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. ET.

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

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That's @TafonDaDon with the dominant performance. #UFCVegas27 pic.twitter.com/Jemkx7kSvw

— UFC (@ufc) September 18, 2021 The outcome was never in doubt, not even for a second. Team Lloyd Irvin prospect Tafon Nchukwi rebounded from his first professional defeat and made a triumphant return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division, as he was awarded a one-sided unanimous decision over Mike Rodriguez in the featured UFC Fight Night 192 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nchukwi (6-1, 2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks across the board.

Rodriguez (11-7, 2-5 UFC) mostly just survived. Nchukwi backed him to the fence repeatedly and uncorked powerful combinations, tipping his spear with intermittent uppercuts, standing elbows and sweeping hooks from both hands. He incorporated takedowns in the first and third rounds, negating Rodriguez’s visible height and reach advant…

A featherweight tilt pitting Ryan Hall against Darrick Minner is in the works for UFC 269.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 269 takes place on Dec. 11 at an undisclosed location and features a women’s bantamweight title clash between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena along with a flyweight championship trilogy between Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo.

Hall had an eight-bout pro winning streak come to an end at UFC 264, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 264. Prior to that defeat, the 36-year-old known as “The Wizard” kicked off his UFC tenure with successive triumphs over Artem Lobov, Gray Maynard, B.J. Penn and Darren Elkins.

Minner, meanwhile, had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, a second-round TKO defeat to Elkins at UFC on ESPN 27. The Glory MMA & Fitness representative is 26-12 as a professional, with 22 victories coming via tapout.

An illness has forced Anthony Johnson to withdraw from his Bellator light heavyweight grand prix semifinal bout against Vadim Nemkov on Oct. 16.

Johnson will not remain in the tournament going forward. Nemkov vs. Johnson was slated to headline Bellator 268 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., with the Russian’s 205-pound belt on the line. Nemkov is expected to remain on the card against an alternate opponent. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news of Johnson’s withdrawal from the card.

Johnson later released a statement regarding his health issues.

“Really wish I could go into detail about how ill I truly am,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “Just know I need as many prayers as I can get and I’ll see you in 2022 God willing... Never been this afraid of anything in my life but I’ve remained strong with the support of friends and family.”

“Rumble” returned to the cage following a four-year retirement at Bellator 258, where he defeated Jose Augusto Az…

THE MAIN EVENT IS OFFICIAL.@kai_1031_ and @AYamaniha both make weight to complete the card for tomorrow night.

Expect fireworks

Order the PPV here https://t.co/687STKynws#RIZIN #RIZIN30 #MMA #格闘技 #RIZINFF pic.twitter.com/nIugpXmWl5 — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 18, 2021

The Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight grand prix will proceed as planned, as all eight competitors in the bracket made weight without issue ahead of their bouts at Rizin 30.

The matchups for 135-pound quarterfinals are as follows: Kai Asakura (134.2) vs. Alan Yamaniha (133.9); Naoki Inoue (134.1) vs. Yuto Hokamura (134.3); Hiromasa Ougikubo (134.1) vs. Takafumi Otsuka (134.3) and Yuki Motoya (134.2) vs. Kenta Takizawa (134.3).

The winner of the grand prix will presumably get a date with Rizin bantamweight king Kyoji Horiguchi, who recently signed with Bellator MMA but will be allowed to keep the 135-pound belt he won with the Japanese …

Tomorrow's main event is official, as Lionheart is in at 205.5 @LionheartASmith

[ #UFCVegas37 | Tomorrow | | Live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/pQOGTOdwDN

— UFC (@ufc) September 17, 2021 After a successful weigh-in this morning, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to return after a rare week off with UFC Fight Night 192. Headlining the 14-fight card is a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann. Most of the card made weight without issue, although lightweight Zhu Rong came in two pounds overweight.

This is the seventh UFC main event for Smith (35-16). The former title challenger has won two straight bouts after dispatching of both Devin Clark and Jimmy Crute in just one round. "Lionheart" will look to get back into contention here, and weighed in officially at 205.5 pounds.

This stands as the biggest fight in the career of Spann (19-6), who just turned 30 last month. "Superman" has won five of his six bo…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBtI3-6Lok0&w=640&h=360]

Editor's note: The article has been updated at 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 17 to reflect additional information of a catchweight bout.

Bellator 266 is officially set after the weigh-ins took place earlier today and there was some drama on the scale.

The main event will see Yoel Romero's Bellator MMA debut as he faces former champion Phil Davis. Romero (13-5) exited the Ultimate Fighting Championship on a three-fight losing streak, although his losses came to Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya. The 44-year-old nicknamed "Soldier of God" will look to win his first bout since 2018 as he steps into the Bellator cage for the first time. Romero hit the scales at 205.4 pounds, with no issue reaching the light heavyweight limit as he competed at middleweight from 2013 to 2020.

Welcoming Romero to the league is another former UFC standout in Davis (22-6, 1 NC). "Mr. Wonderful" most recently came up…

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 place among the top 15 at bantamweight may be the prize for this exciting November matchup. Adrian Yanez (14-3) has the first fight of his new contract scheduled already, and he is to face Davey Grant (13-5), according to ESPN Deportes on Friday. The 135-pounders will square off at the upcoming UFC Fight Night card on Nov. 20 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Yanez is surging into this bout with the Brit, as the winner of his last seven appearances including four in a row by knockout. A veteran of Legacy Fighting Alliance and Fury Fighting Championship, the Texan made his way towards a spot on the 2020 season of Dana White's Contender Series with several solid knockouts on his way up. A 39-second drubbing of Brady Huang served as the springboard to his UFC debut, which came against Victor Rodriguez in October 2020. Yanez fl…

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. In a post-Joe Silva style of matchmaking this December, a man on a three-fight skid will be going up against an opponent riding a three-fight win streak. MMA DNA was the first to announce on Friday that Raphael Assuncao (27-8) will square off against Ricky Simon (18-3) at the UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 18. This UFC Apex card in Las Vegas does not currently have a headliner, although this and Amanda Lemos vs. Nina Nunes at strawweight are the highest ranked bouts on the card so far. The matchup has since been confirmed by multiple outlets, as well as Simon himself on his Instagram.

Assuncao will be looking to pick up his first victory in over three years when he steps in the cage against Simon. A quick guillotine choke defeat after a pair of brutal right hands from Marlon Moraes put him on this current downslide he is on. A …

Updates to #UFCVegas37 https://t.co/SYlSFJoeJ4

— UFC News (@UFCNews) September 16, 2021 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 upcoming UFC Fight Night 192 event will no longer be tying the record for the most bouts in company history. The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced on Thursday night that the lightweight matchup between Nikolas Motta (12-3) and Cameron VanCamp (15-5-1, 1 NC) has been canceled due to an undisclosed injury to one of the fighters. The two were paired together on Saturday, with VanCamp announcing on Twitter that he was a member of the UFC. Their Sept. 18 meeting inside the UFC Apex will have to wait, although it has not been determined if the matchup will be preserved.

Motta, who was previously linked to a battle with Jim Miller, went from potentially facing the most experienced fighter on the roster to a…

The retirement bug is biting several notable names this week.

On Thursday, MMA Fighting reported that the former interim Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champ Carlos Condit (32-14) is hanging up his gloves. Condit competed twice in 2021, winning a decision over Matt Brown and then losing on the scorecards to Max Griffin for what could be his final bout. The 37-year-old fan-favorite leaves the sport with a stellar career finish rate of 87 percent. News of the legend's retirement has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Condit captured the aforementioned interim belt by topping Nick Diaz on the scorecards at UFC 143 in 2012. An attempted unification with Georges St. Pierre did not go in his favor, although he had the champ hurt due to a head kick in the third frame. After the loss to “GSP,” Condit fell on hard times, losing eight of 12 matches, including a razor-close championship defeat to Robbie Lawler that most scored in favor of the New Mexico native. …

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. In the famed LL Cool J song, he explains that his mama said to knock his opponent out, and Deiveson Figueiredo has taken that to heart. On Wednesday, the news broke that Figueiredo (20-2-1) would be meeting Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) for the third time for a championship trilogy. The flyweight battle is set to take place at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 at an undetermined location. Shortly after the initial announcement and subsequent confirmation by manager Wallid Ismail, former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Figueiredo wanted to weigh in on this upcoming matchup, and he spoke Sherdog about the booking.

“To tell you the truth, I was already training to face Alex Perez again,” the former champ admitted. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I have to thank [UFC Executive Vice President Hunter Campbell] and my manager Wallid for never …