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An atomweight clash with rankings implications is set for Rizin Fighting Federation 32, as Rena Kubota will lock horns with Miyuu Yamamoto on Nov. 20.

Promotion officials recently announced the full lineup for the card, which will take place at Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan. Kubota and Yamamoto initially squared off at Rizin 2 in September 2016, with Kubota winning via first-round submission.

The card includes eight other MMA bouts: Mitsuhisa Sunabe vs. Yoshiro Maeda; Tomohiro Adaniya vs. Yuichi Miyagi; Bobby Ologun vs. Katsuya Kitamura; Daryl Lokuku vs. Noah Bey; Juri Ohara vs. Kohei Tokeshi; Haruo Ochi vs. Tatsuya So; Mizuki Oshiro vs. Aira Koga and Shinya Kumazawa vs. Tanner Lourenco.

“We are planning to put on monthly events for the rest of the year while following the guidelines given from the government,” Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara said at a press conference. “I am proud to announce that we will be holding an event in Okinawa for the first time in Nov…

Legacy Fighting Alliance featherweight champ Bruno Souza will step in on short notice to face Melsik Baghdasaryan at UFC 268 on Saturday.

Souza is a replacement for T.J. Laramie, who recently announced his withdrawal from the event due to an MRSA infection. MMA DNA was first to report the new pairing. UFC 268 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a welterweight title rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

A protégé of former UFC title holder Lyoto Machida, Souza has been victorious in 10 of his first 11 professional outings. The 25-year-old known as “The Tiger” captured featherweight gold with a unanimous verdict against Javier Garcia at LFA 114 on Aug. 27. He also owns notable wins over UFC talent Kamuela Kirk and Bellator veteran Mike Hamel.

Anchored at Glendale Fighting Club, Baghdasaryan is a former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series. Though he didn’t initially earn a contract with his win over Dennis Buzuk…

It was smooth sailing on the scales for Week 10 of Dana White's Contender Series, as all 10 athletes slated to compete on Tuesday’s card hit their contracted marks.

The Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night and airs via ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The featured bout on this week’s lineup is a lightweight showdown pitting Achilles Estremadura (156 pounds) against Maheshate Maheshate (156).

A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Estremadura has compiled a 7-0 record while competing exclusively under the Battlefield Fight League banner. Most recently, he scored a first-round KO of Curtis Demarce at BFL 66 on March 19.

China’s Maheshate has won five straight contests after dropping his professional debut. His current streak includes three KO victories inside of two rounds while competing for the Wu Lin Feng organization.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Achilles Estremadura (156) vs. Maheshate Maheshate (156)Yohan…

Benoit Saint Denis showcasing some true toughness, my goodness!

[ #UFC267 | The prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/ZOPjxmD5mD

— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021 While Vyacheslav Kiselev has taken the majority of the blame for the amount of punishment Benoit St. Denis endured at UFC 267, the French welterweight’s corner has come under scrutiny as well.

St. Denis was on the wrong side of a lopsided second round in his preliminary matchup with Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, and the Octagon newcomer appeared to be on the verge of being stopped on multiple occasions. The UFC commentary team criticized Kiselev for not stepping in to halt the bout, as did a large portion of the MMA community on social media. However, St. Denis survived the second round and ultimately made it to the final horn – even after informing Kiselev he couldn’t see out of one eye due to an eye poke later in the bout.

Read more about Benoit St. Denis’ Coach Defends Decision Not to Throw in Towel at UFC 267

Cory Sandhagen was all class following his closely-contested loss to Petr Yan in the UFC 267 co-main event.

Though Sandhagen outlanded Yan by a 169-to-149 count in significant strikes, his Russian opponent connected with the more damaging blows over the course of five rounds – including the bout’s only knockdown. Sandhagen did his best work in Round 1, but couldn’t duplicate that effort consistently enough to get the nod from the cageside judges.

In the immediate aftermath, Sandhagen had no issues with the final verdict.

“He’s a hell of a fighter, man,” Sandhagen said in a post-fight interview in the Octagon. “You’re a great fighter. He was better tonight, man. I don’t really have much else to say. I always ask. I always want to fight the best in the world. I know that’s what’s going to make me the best martial artist I can be. I’m grateful I got to do it tonight. I’ll take from it and I’ll learn from it and next time I face him, I’ll get the win.”

After w…

Jan Blachowicz was pretty succinct in summing up his performance against Glover Teixeira in the UFC 267 headliner.

The Polish veteran struggled to remain upright to showcase his knockout power, as Teixera took him down with ease in the opening stanza of their light heayweight tilte bout. Blachowicz didn’t panic despite being on his back for much of Round 1. However, it wasn’t long before he was grounded again in the second frame after being stunned by a Teixeira left hook. This time, the Brazilian advanced position with ease, transitioned to the back and flattened Blachowicz out for a rear-naked choke submission win.

“Everything was okay,” Blachowicz said. “The first round I think that he would take me down, but anyway I don’t feel bad in this position. I say okay, this round is for him now, the second round I’ll start working, I’ll do my job.

“But he don’t let me do this. He take me down again and submit me. What can I say more? I feel like s— and that’s it.”<…

Islam Makhachev knows there will always be naysayers, but he believes he has done enough to be in serious consideration for the next lightweight title shot.

The Dagestani earned his ninth consecutive triumph at UFC 267, as he rolled past Dan Hooker for a submission victory at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. Makhachev used a kimura to force a tapout from “The Hangman” at the 2:25 mark of the opening stanza. It was Hooker’s first submission defeat since 2012.

“I feel good because I show my level – I don’t know how many minutes (it took),” Makhachev said at the UFC 267 post-fight press conference. “Now everybody going to talk like Hooker is an easy opponent, he don’t have grappling or wrestling. Hooker is tough. He beat a lot of wrestling, grappling guy too. He beat Gilbert Burns, many, many guys. I think I deserve now.

“When ]Michael] Chandler beat Hooker they give him title fight. Why not [me]? I am ready, too. I’m here not to beat 15 people and fig…

After Petr Yan claimed the interim bantamweight crown with a memorable triumph over Cory Sandhagen in the UFC 267 co-main event, there was some question as to what might be next for the Russian known as “No Mercy.”

After all, a clash between Yan and ex-champ T.J. Dillashaw could be appealing if Aljamain Sterling is slow to recover from neck surgery. UFC president Dana White put that notion to rest, alluding to the unfinished business between Yan and Sterling. Sterling claimed the bantamweight crown when he was unable to continue after Yan landed an illegal knee in the fourth round of their clash at UFC 259 this past March, resulting in a disqualification victory for the Serra-Longo Fight Team member.

“Those two [Yan and Sandhagen] went to absolute war tonight,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Petr Yan is a savage. I mean this guy is unbelievable, he’s unstoppable, he just keeps moving forward. And here we are.

“If you look at the way that…

For Glover Teixeira, winning the UFC light heavyweight title was a goal that was 20 years in the making.

After one unsuccessful championship bid in 2014, Teixeira was stuck in a contender’s purgatory for approximately four years, going 5-5 in UFC competition. At that point, it looked like Teixeira’s time to become a champion had passed, particularly after a lopsided loss to Corey Anderson at UFC Fight Night 134 in July 2018.

Teixeira has since rattled off six consecutive triumphs, culminating in Saturday’s second-round submission of Jan Blachowicz in the UFC 267 headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. With the win, Teixeira became the 14th light heavyweight champion in promotion history

“It feels so amazing,” Teixeira said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “[I’m] so happy. This is what I dreamed for 20 years. Twenty years on the road, ups and downs, I wanted to get this belt. I wanted to be a champion. There was a time there that I thought I would never…

Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen engaged in a high-level championship matchup at UFC 267, and the bantamweights were compensated appropriately for their efforts.

Yan and Sandhagen earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their co-main event bout at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. After five competitive rounds, Yan claimed the interim 135-pound belt with a unanimous decision triumph, setting up a title unification rematch with Aljamain Sterling at a future event.

Elsewhere, Glover Teixeira received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his dominant win over Jan Blachowicz in the evening’s light heavyweight championship headliner. The 42-year-old Brazilian grounded his opponent in both the first and second rounds before eventually securing a rear-naked choke submission at the 3:02 mark of Round 2 for his sixth consecutive Octagon triumph.

Finally, welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of th…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 267 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Glover Teixeira almost unbelievably stands atop the mountain—7,085 days after his mixed martial arts journey began. Some 48 hours after he celebrated his 42nd birthday, the ageless Brazilian submitted Jan Blachowicz with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their UFC 267 headliner and walked away with the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Blachowicz (28-9, 11-6 UFC) tapped out 3:02 into Round 2, as he bowed in defeat for the first time in more than three years.

UNDISPUTED CHAMP AT 42 YEARS OLD!!!!

[ #UFC267 | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/yyxWjAqexp

— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021 Teixeira (33-7, 16-5 UFC) set the table in the first round, where he took down the WCA…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 267 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC 267 coverage will begin Saturday at 10:30 a.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:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:…

Back in the win column!

@AmandaRibasUFC closes the prelims in style! #UFC267 pic.twitter.com/3SKEJxBqYn

— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 267 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. American Top Team standout Amanda Ribas reasserted herself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division and showed no lingering effects from her Jan. 23 stoppage loss to Marina Rodriguez, as she captured a unanimous decision over Virna Jandiroba in the featured UFC 267 prelim on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Ribas was awarded 29-28 marks by all three judges.

Jandiroba (17-3, 3-3 UFC) executed a takedown and sat down the onetime Jungle Fight champion with an overhand right in the first round. From there, Ribas seized command. She tore into the former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder with multi…

UFC has pulled referee Vyacheslav Kiselev from his other #UFC267 assignments due to his performance during the Zaleski dos Santos-Saint Denis fight. pic.twitter.com/lt04N8b6ax

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 30, 2021

Vyacheslav Kiselev was originally scheduled to referee two bouts at UFC 267, but his negligence in his first assignment resulted in a shorter-than-expected night.

Kiselev was the third man in the cage for the preliminary welterweight bout between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Benoit St. Denis. During a brutally lopsided second round, it appeared that St. Denis was out on his feet, and the UFC commentary team was in utter disbelief as Kiselev allowed the the Octagon newcomer to continue. Later, St. Denis informed Kiselev that he couldn’t see after an eye poke, but the referee restarted the bout without calling in a cageside physician to examine the Frenchman.

To his credit, St. Denis continued to fight back and ultimately made …

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Kyle Daukaus is lined up to face a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 197, as Roman Dolidze has agreed to take the middleweight bout on short notice.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking. Daukaus was originally scheduled for a rematch against Kevin Holland before Holland withdrew due to injury. Meanwhile, Dolidze was slated for a matchup with Eryk Anders at the same event before that fight fell through.

UFC Fight Night 197 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Nov. 13 and is headlined by a featherweight tilt between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

Dolidze has kicked off his promotional tenure with victories in three of his first four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 33-year-old Georgian outpointed Laureano Staropoli at UFC Fight Night 189 on June 5.

Daukaus, meanwhile, had a submission win against Holland overturned when it was determined the fight was altered due to an accidental clash of head…

Championship weight of 205 for @JanBlachowicz

[ #UFC267 | Tomorrow || LIVE on ESPN+ | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/KrlSOcvaO4

— UFC (@ufc) October 29, 2021 Two Ultimate Fighting Championship title fights are cleared for UFC 267. The main event will see Jan Blachowicz looking to defend his light heavyweight gold against Glover Teixeira. Meanwhile, Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen will fight for the interim bantamweight title while Aljamain Sterling recovers from surgery. While all four fighters vying for championships made weight, Damir Ismagulov unprofessionally came in 7.5 pounds over the lightweight limit for his bout against Magomed Mustafaev and Khamzat Chimaev initially weighed-in .5 pounds over the welterweight limit but hit 171 pounds on his second attempt.

Blachowicz (28-8) is currently on a five-fight win streak and is coming off a successful defense of his 205-pound title against middleweight king …

Pucker up Timmy, it’s time to kiss ur last name and ur family’s boxing legacy goodbye. DEC 18th Im changing this wankers name to Tommy Fumbles and celebrating with Tom Brady. Tickets on sale November 10th!#PaulFury One Will Fall. @MostVpromotions @showtimeboxing @amaliearena pic.twitter.com/IFStMpJul5

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) October 29, 2021 Jake Paul has his next challenge, in the form of the younger half-brother of the heavyweight champion, Tommy Fury.

Showtime announced on Friday that Paul (4-0, 3 KOs) and Fury (7-0, 4 KOs) will cross swords on Dec. 18. Officially a 192-pound catchweight contest, Paul and Fury will battle for eight rounds in the main event of this pay-per-view card on Showtime. The two challenged one another after competing on the same card in August, when Fury won a decision over Anthony Taylor on the undercard to Paul vs. Tyron Woodley. The fight will go down in the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

“I started my professiona…

The atomweight grand prix promoted by One Championship saw two alternates step to the stage after Itsuki Hirata and Seo Hee Ham pulled out recently.

Friday’s “One: NextGen” card was headlined Stamp Fairtex (7-1, 7-1 One) taking on Julie Mezabarba (9-3-1, 1-1 One), a substitute for Ham. Stamp, a former One atomweight kickboxing and muay Thai champ, took her time early, mainly attacking with leg kicks. The Brazilian intercepted a few of those shots and worked her way to bring the battle to closer quarters. Her attempts to transform the fight into a hand-to-hand contest fell short after her wrestling maneuvers were blocked by Stamp, who displayed a remarkable improvement in her grappling skills.

In the second frame, the 24-year-old Thai kept her opponent at bay with flashy kicks. Mezabarba really dug in her heels to score a takedown that eventually shifted the action to the floor. Much to the Brazilian’s surprise, Stamp swept her way to full mount position shortly after bei…

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

Kayla Harrison’s second Professional Fighters League run for gold went even smoother than her first.

Taking on Taylor Guardado (3-2, 3-1 PFL) for the women’s lightweight throne in PFL, Harrison’s victory was never in much doubt. A massive -4000 favorite coming into the PFL Championship main event, Harrison (12-0, 11-0 PFL) still managed to impress by handling Guardado on the ground en route to a textbook armbar. The second attempt proved to be the one to elicit the tap, with Guardado surrendering at 4:00 of the second round to crown the 2021 PFL season queen.

Guardado started aggressively, hoping to throw Harrison off-balance by striking first. A few quick punches forced Harrison to reconsider her approach and clinch up in the center of the cage, and the clinch turned into a trip takedown in rapid succession. Guardado held on and defended herself from damage and submission attempts, which came early an…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live Professional Fighters League 2021 Season Championships coverage will begin at 4:30 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 PFL 2021 Season Lightweight Championship:Loik Radzhabov (155) vs. Raush Manfio (155) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result PFL 2021 Season Featherweight Championship:Movlid Khaybulaev (145) vs. Chris Wade (145) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 R…

Kevin Holland has suffered an undisclosed injury, putting his rematch against Kyle Daukaus on hold.

Multiple outlets confirmed Holland’s withdrawal after Daukaus revealed the news on Twitter. The middleweights were slated to meet at UFC Fight Night 197 on Nov. 13. Daukaus is expected to remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

“Hey Kevin Holland, sorry to hear about the injury,” Daukaus wrote. “Heal up. I’ll see you in February, but first I’m gonna handle some business.”

Hey @Trailblaze2top Sorry to hear about the injury. Heal up. I’ll see you in February, but first I’m gonna handle some business. #Relentless #UFC

— Kyle Daukaus (@KyleDaukaus) October 27, 2021

Holland and Daukaus initially squared off at UFC Fight Night 193, when an accidental headbutt altered the course of their bout. Holland was dazed after the collision, which allowed Daukaus to secure a rear-naked choke for the tapout. However, the sequence was review…

Thiago Santos is the only man to knock out Jan Blachowicz in his 16-bout UFC career, so he knows a little something about what it takes to beat the reigning light heavyweight champion.

Santos, who suffered a submission loss to Glover Teixeira last November, spoke to Sherdog.com about the light heavyweight title bout between Blachowicz and Teixeira at UFC 267.

“I´ve already faced both,” Santos said. “Blachowicz evolved a lot after our fight in 2019, and the champion is always the favorite. If I had to bet, I would say it´s 60/40 in favor of Jan. But if Glover repeats the game plan he used against myself, mixing striking and takedowns, he will confound Blachowicz and take his belt.

Santos believes Teixeira’s wrestling and grappling could be the difference in the title fight for the Brazilian veteran.

“The fight starts standing, and Blachowicz is a superior striker, but Glover is way superior on takedowns and also in the ground game,” Santos said. “If he takes Jan d…

Valerie Loureda and Cody Law are among those who will be in action on the Bellator 271 preliminary card.

The California-based promotion on Wednesday announced the following five bouts for the prelims: Loureda vs. Taylor Turner at flyweight; Law vs. Colton Hamm at featherweight; Bruna Ellen vs. Desiree Yanez at flyweight; Roman Faraldo vs. Robert Turnquest at welterweight and Jordan Newman vs. Shane O'Shea at middleweight.

Bellator 271 takes place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 12 and is headlined by a women’s featherweight title tilt between Cristiane Justino and Sinead Kavanagh. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV.

A taekwondo black belt who trains at American Top Team, Loureda began her professional MMA career with three straight triumphs under the Bellator banner. In her la…

There's no love lost between @MarvinVettori and @BorrachinhaMMA, but there was a post-fight fist bump #UFCVegas41 pic.twitter.com/5sKXFdjaXF

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 23, 2021

Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa could both be out for a while following their five-round headliner at UFC Fight Night 196 this past Saturday.

Vettori defeated Costa via unanimous decision in a light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The fight, which was originally slated to be contested at middleweight, was moved to 205 pounds when Costa revealed that he would be unable to make weight.

Vettori must have X-rays on both forearms and an MRI on his right knee. If positive he must receive doctor clearance or he will be sidelined until April 22. At a minimum, “The Italian Dream” is suspended until Dec. 8 with no contact until Nov. 23. Costa, meanwhile, needs an X-ray and clearance on his right foot or he will also be out until April 22. “Borrachinha” is a…