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Former Bellator MMA heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov will return to action for the first time in more than two years when he faces Tyrell Fortune in the promotion’s Moscow debut on Oct. 23.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official after Bellator president Scott Coker announced the bout via Russian news outlet Tass. The card takes place at the VTB Arena and will also see Fedor Emelianenko square off against an as yet to be announced opponent.

Minakov hasn’t competed since a first-round knockout victory over Timothy Johnson at Bellator 225 on Aug. 24, 2019. Prior to that, he suffered his first career defeat in a decision loss to Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216. The 36-year-old Russian claimed Bellator heavyweight gold with a first-round stoppage of Alexander Volkov in November 2013 before defending the crown in a five-round verdict over Kongo. He was stripped of the belt due to inactivity and enjoyed a 7-0 stint with Fight Nights Global before returni…

Things didn’t go as planned for Uriah Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner.

“The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist was outstruck by Sean Strickland for the better part of five rounds at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night en route to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat. Strickland set a UFC middleweight record in the process, outlanding “Primetime” by a 186-to-107 count in significant strikes.

Hall didn’t appear at the post-fight press conference, but he did release a brief statement via Instagram.

“Tough one last night,” Hall wrote. “Congratulations to [Sean Strickland]. I was prepared he was just the better man last night. This one hurts, but I’ll be back. Thank you for all the messages and love. It means more then you know.”

Prior to Saturday, the 37-year-old Fortis MMA product was on a four-bout winning streak that included triumphs over Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva, Antonio Carlos Jr. and Bevon Lewis.

A middleweight tilt pitting Julian Marquez against Jordan Wright is slated for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Oct. 16.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing. The card does not have an official location or headliner but also includes a women’s featherweight clash between Holly Holm and Norma Dumont.

A competitor on Season 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Marquez has been victorious in three of his four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” submitted Sam Alvey in the second round of their bout at UFC on ABC 2 on April 10.

Wright, who fought Season 2 of the Contender Series, is also 3-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. In his last outing, “The Beverly Hills Ninja” stopped Jamie Pickett in 64 seconds at UFC 262 on May 15.

After an exciting back and forth first round, Mohamad Said Maalem lands a beautiful counter follow up with devastating GnP to finish Fakhreddine and become the BRAVE CF Light Heavyweight World Championship pic.twitter.com/iUBK05hV0b

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) August 1, 2021

It was a night of finishes at Brave Combat Federation 52, as all the fights on the card ended inside the first two rounds.

The main event of Brave CF 52 saw Mohamed Said Maalem (12-3) taking on Mohammad Fakhreddine (14-5) with the vacant light heavyweight championship on the line. Fakhreddine, who is also the current 185-pound kingpin, stepped into the cage on a mission to become the first two-division champion in the promotional history. Both contenders exchanged a few shots in the first seconds before the action moved near the fence, where Maalem imposed his larger frame to keep his opponent pinned with his back against the wire. During the grappling exchan…

Sean Strickland doesn’t hesitate when it comes to making off-color comments, whether it’s critiquing his own performance, owning up to his love for adult films or sharing some of his darker aspirations in the cage.

Strickland earned his fifth consecutive win in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner, taking a clear-cut decision over Uriah Hall at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. In the process, Strickland set a middleweight record with 186 significant strikes landed. It’s a milestone that doesn’t impress the 30-year-old Team Quest member.

“I need to learn how to hit harder,” Strickland said at the post-fight press conference. “I kind of hit like a pansy. I kind of sucked. They’re like, ‘You know you won the middleweight striking record.’ I’m like, ‘What does that mean? That means I can’t hit that hard.'”

Despite his recent run of success, Strickland isn’t dwelling on thoughts of climbing to the top of the middleweight division. He’s more interested in the financial r…

After a disappointing loss to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 headliner, Patricio Freire was already looking forward to next his professional appearance.

“I am always motivated. My debut was in 2004, and now I have a lot of years fighting and dedicating myself to this game, and I am hungry every time,” Freire said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com).

“I spent a lot of years without being defeated, and today is a new day for me. It’s a different kind of feeling, and I want to rest a little bit, enjoy my son, my wife. But I will come back stronger. I know that. Everyone says that when they get a defeat, but I am different.”

Freire was rocked by a head kick and then dropped by punches near the fence before McKee locked in the fight-ending guillotine choke 1:57 into the first round to capture the featherweight crown. “Pitbull” had no issue giving credit to the new champion.

“On this night, he was great,” Freire said. “He kicke…

After a disappointing loss to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 headliner, Patricio Freire was already looking forward to next his professional appearance.

“I am always motivated. My debut was in 2004, and now I have a lot of years fighting and dedicating myself to this game, and I am hungry every time,” Freire said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com).

“I spent a lot of years without being defeated, and today is a new day for me. It’s a different kind of feeling, and I want to rest a little bit, enjoy my son, my wife. But I will come back stronger. I know that. Everyone says that when they get a defeat, but I am different.”

Freire was rocked by a head kick and then dropped by punches near the fence before McKee locked in the fight-ending guillotine choke 1:57 into the first round to capture the featherweight crown. “Pitbull” had no issue giving credit to the new champion.

“On this night, he was great,” Freire said. “He kicke…

Prior to walking to the cage at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night, A.J. McKee envisioned a quick finish of Patricio Freire in the Bellator 263 headliner.

“Honestly, I dreamt the fight,” McKee said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference (video via MMAFighting.com). “I knew I won the fight. I prayed about it and the same night I had a vision. So I knew I had a victory but it wasn’t the dream that I had which was peculiar. Now, maybe that’s the 155-pound title that I saw. I don’t know. I’m just enjoying this moment, man. I knew it was going to come.”

McKee made short work of the man who many regarded as the greatest fighter in Bellator history. He stunned Freire with a head kick, dropped him near the fence with a flurry of punches and after a premature celebration, locked in a guillotine choke which eventually rendered the Brazilian unconscious at the 1:57 mark of the first round.

“Man, to do it the way I did it, I said I was going to do it in s…

It was a night to remember for Cheyanne Buys at UFC on ESPN 28.

The Dana White’s Contender Series alum received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for her technical knockout victory against Gloria de Paula in the evening’s co-main event. Buys landed a perfectly-timed head kick when her foe attempted to return to her feet, and despite her best efforts, De Paula was unable to remain upright after absorbing that blow. Buys followed up with ground-and-pound from mount to force the stoppage 60 seconds into the strawweight bout.

Elsewhere, Melsik Baghdasaryan garnered the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a stoppage of fellow Contender Series alum Collin Anglin in a featured featherweight matchup. In the second round, Baghdasaryan connected shin-to-skull with a head kick and finshed the fight with follow-up punches at the 1:50 mark of the period.

Finally, Jason Witt and Bryan Barberena earned “Fight of the Night” honors and $5…

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. Sean Strickland’s bite was every bit as bad as his bark. The Syndicate MMA rep set up shop as a serious contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he laid claim to a clear-cut unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist Uriah Hall in the UFC on ESPN 28 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges sided with Strickland (24-3, 11-3 UFC): 50-44, 50-45 and 49-46.

Hall (17-10, 9-9 UFC) was never much of a factor. Strickland wrecked the former Ring of Combat champion with a consistent and damaging jab across all five rounds. He mixed in clean one-twos and occasional kicks, overwhelming the typically flashy Hall with basic but effective offensive techniques. Strickland was at peak strength in the third round, where he followed an overh…

The Million Dollar Submission! @AJMcKee101 stops @PatricioPitbull to become the Bellator Featherweight World Champion. WOW!

A historic moment at @TheForum. #Bellator263 pic.twitter.com/fg75zEKrta

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 1, 2021 On perhaps the biggest stage in Bellator MMA history, A.J. McKee dispatched the man who is arguably the promotion’s greatest fighter in shockingly quick fashion.

McKee claimed the featherweight crown — and the $1 million check that accompanies winning the organization’s 145-pound grand prix — with a first-round submission of Patricio Freire in the Bellator 263 headliner at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday night. The 26-year-old Team Bodyshop standout rendered Freire unconscious with a standing guillotine choke at the 1:57 mark of Round 1. The Brazilian sees a seven-bout winning streak come to an end but remains the reigning Bellator lightweight champion. McKee, meanwhile (18-0, 18-0 Bellato…

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 UFC on ESPN 28 ​coverage will begin Saturday at 6 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: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 …

Sherdog's live Bellator 263 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.

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 Bellator Featherweight Title Fight:Patricio Freire (144.5) vs. A.J. McKee (145) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

Heavy shots landing early in RD 1 #UFCVegas33 pic.twitter.com/9hloPvVgeA

— UFC (@ufc) August 1, 2021

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.

Chris Gruetzemacher had the deeper gas tank.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 quarterfinalist on Saturday scratched and clawed his way to a unanimous decision over former Combate Americas champion Rafa Garcia in the featured UFC on 28 prelim at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Gruetzemacher (15-4, 3-3 UFC), who rebounded from an Oct. 31 knockout loss to Alexander Hernandez.

Garcia (11-2, 0-2 UFC) had the Arizona native reeling inside the first minute, as he uncorked a clean left hook, powered into top position and applied his ground-and-pound. Gruetzemacher stayed cool under fire and slowly regained his wits. By the …

A lightweight clash pitting Mike Hamel against Bryce Logan is on tap for Bellator 265.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official on Saturday. Bellator 265 takes place at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Aug. 20 and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Cheick Kongo and Sergei Kharitonov. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

A veteran of Combate Americas and Legacy Fighting Alliance, Hamel has fallen to Adam Borics and Usman Nurmagomeodv in his first two Bellator appearances. The 28-year-old MMA Lab representative has won just two of his last seven professional outings dating back to May 2017.

Logan, meanwhile, had a three-bout winning streak snapped in a split-decision loss to Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 251 this past November. The 31-year-old Power MMA product is 12-5 over the course of a professional tenure that includes stints in LFA, Victory Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance.

The semifinals of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix have a date and a venue.

The promotion announced Saturday that Vadim Nemkov vs. Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader vs. Corey Anderson will take place on Oct. 16 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Addtional bouts will be announced at a later date.

Nemkov claimed the 205-pound belt with a second-round TKO of Ryan Bader at Bellator 244 last August before outpointing Phil Davis in the quarterfinals of the grand prix at Bellator 257 on April 16. The 29-year-old Russian is currently on an eight-bout winning streak.

Johnson returned to action for the first time since 2017 at Bellator 258, where he survived some early adversity to score a second-round knockout of Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros on May 7. The 37-year-o…

UFC on ESPN 28 is down yet another fight.

On Saturday, Rani Yahya announced that he has withdrawn from Saturday’s co-main event bout against Kyung Ho Kang due to a positive COVID-19 test. As a result the card will move forward with 10 fights. UFC on ESPN 28 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt pitting Uriah Hall against Sean Strickland. Yahya vs. Kang is the fifth bout that has been canceled from the card over the course of the past week.

“Hey guys, my fight just got cancelled. I tested positive for the COVID-19 test that was made yeasterday, “ Yahya wrote on Instagram. “I feel very good physically, and I believe that everything happens for a reason. Thank you all for the support!!”

Yahya ended a two-bout winless skid at UFC Fight Night 187, when he submitted Ray Rodriguez in the second round on March 13. The 36-year-old Constrictor Team representative is 12-4-1 with one no contest since beginning his tenure with th…

Coming in at 185.5

@UriahHallMMA is all business for #UFCVegas33.

[ LIVE Tomorrow on @ESPN & E+ ] pic.twitter.com/kbXuGMRBED — UFC (@ufc) July 30, 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. For the third week in a row, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will put on a card airing on ESPN, but it lost multiple fights during its dramatic weigh-ins.

UFC on ESPN 28 is headlined by a bout between middleweight mainstays Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland and both main eventers made weight. A middleweight with tremendous knockout potential, Hall (17-9) is always a wildcard when he enters the Octagon. "Primetime" is on the best streak of his career having put together four straight wins inside the UFC. In his last time out, Chris Weidman suffered a gruesome leg injury from the first kick at the beginning of their bout. Prior to that, Hal…

One Championship returned with its first live event in months, and its main MMA fight did not disappoint.

The “One: Battleground” headliner pitted strawweight muay Thai champ Sam-A Gaiyanghadao against Prajanchai PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym. While many expected a surgical performance from the titleholder, his young opponent surprised with his audacity and recklessness. The defending champion did not fare well in the early going, getting dropped right at the end of the round with a big right hand. Sam-A composed himself in the second stanza, but Prajanchai carried his momentum into quick attacks and flashy combinations in the second and third rounds.

As the fight advanced in the championship rounds, the challenger seemed to slow down, with inexperience possibly playing a factor as he fatigued. Sam-A tried to keep his opponent’s aggression at bay with body kicks, and his strategy paid dividends as the clash continued. The defending champion hunted for a knockout, hoping that …

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. An all-action Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight barnburner is being targeted for November. According to ESPN on Friday, Justin Gaethje (22-3) has agreed to take on Michael Chandler (22-6) at 155 pounds on UFC 268. This event, which is slated for Nov. 6, does not official have a venue or location. However, the fight card is being considered for Madison Square Garden in New York. Both men will be coming off of championship stoppage losses.

Gaethje, who posts a stellar 91 percent career finish rate, is coming off the first submission loss of his career. The interim champ looked to unify his strap against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020, and he fell short, getting put to sleep by a triangle choke in the second round. The loss snapped a four-fight knockout streak where “The Highlight” dispatched James Vick, Edson Barboza,…

Thomas Petersen didn't come to wrestle tonight!!!!!#LFA113 pic.twitter.com/crwInLwGlX

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 31, 2021 Thomas Petersen is the new Legacy Fighting Alliance heavyweight champion after defeating Vernon Lewis in the LFA 113 main event.

Petersen made short work of the veteran and proved he's a prospect to watch. A big left hand floored Lewis (8-5) and a swarm of punches ended the bout. Petersen improves to 5-0 with the victory and shared the news that he's becoming a father next rather than calling out any future opponents.

The co-main event saw bantamweight Ricky Camp and Greg Fischer test their skills. The bout went three hard-fought rounds with Camp (12-4) controlling most of the action on the feet while Fischer (10-3) attempted to wrestle. The judges awarded the fight to Camp via split decision with scores of 28-29, 30-27, 29-28.

Welterweights Chris Brown and Glaucio Eliziario had the first competitive bout o…

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. Hours after missing weight for her now-canceled Ultimate Fighting Championship fight this weekend, bantamweight Nicco Montano wanted to clear the air. Montano was set to face Yanan Wu at UFC on ESPN 28 on July 31 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but the former flyweight champ hit the scales at 143 pounds, or seven above the division’s cap. Upon evaluation, the promotion and commission promptly pulled the bout from the card. Montano previously lost her 125-pound title ahead of UFC 228 in 2018, when she was hospitalized due to her weight cut and it was stripped from her.

Montano posted a statement on Instagram about what happened to cause this issue:

“Hi all of my supporters. I wanted to give a [PSA] on what happened. I was dedicated through camp to this fight, training four hours a day, including my fasted 4-5 mile runs and…

A giant novelty check with a very real prize awaits the winner of the Bellator MMA featherweight grand prix on Saturday.

Bellator 263, which takes place on July 31 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., will conclude the organization’s featherweight tournament. To the victor belong the spoils – the winner of the Patricio Freire vs. A.J. McKee clash will earn a tournament title, the promotion’s featherweight championship strap and a $1 million check. Both finalists will also earn large payouts simply for competing in this bout, as the only two on the card that will clear six figures no matter the result. Current two-division king Freire will take home $250,000 to show, and his win bonus is $1 million; his opponent McKee will earn $150,000, plus the possible $1 million prize. The California State Athletic Commission released the event salaries, as first reported by MMA Junkie on Friday.

The next top earner of the card is two-time 145-pound title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez, …

Things went zero to 60 at the #Bellator263 presser

Watch @PatricioPitbull vs. @ajmckee101 in the #BellatorFWGP final SATURDAY on @Showtime: https://t.co/eXPmkdlk5J. pic.twitter.com/DIW9LJEC93

— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) July 29, 2021 Weigh-ins were not just a formality ahead of Bellator MMA's tentpole event this weekend. Bellator MMA returns to Saturday night for one of the promotion's biggest cards of the year, one topped by a heavily anticipated featherweight title fight between Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee. Both men in the Bellator 263 main event did make weight, but McKee had to hit the scales twice after initially coming in .2 pounds above the championship limit. Every other competitor on the card made weight, but one bout was pulled off after Justin Barry did not pass his medicals. Daniel Compton weighed 189.6 pounds for their 190-pound catchweight contest, and he will receive his show money as a result.

Freire (32-4), who h…