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Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal will get a chance to settle a feud that began more than two years ago when they square off at UFC 269.

The pairing was initially reported by Ariel Helwani and later confirmed by promotion broadcast partner ESPN. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the bout, but contracts have not yet been signed. Edwards vs. Masvidal will be a three-round affair.

Edwards and Masvidal famously crossed paths at UFC Fight Night 147 in London on March 16, 2019. Masvidal defeated Darren Till via second-round KO and Edwards took a split verdict over Gunnar Nelson at the event, but it was what happened backstage that really made headlines. Masvidal was giving an interview when he began exchanging words with Edwards, who was nearby. “Gamebred” then left the interview set to confront the Englishman, and shortly thereafter the fighters engaged in a brief altercation before being separated. That incident led to Masvidal’s famous “three-piece with a soda” line,…

Hakeem Dawodu will lock horns with Michael Trizano at a UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 5.

MMA DNA was first to report the featherweight tilt. The card does not yet have an official location or headliner.

Dawodu had a five-bout winning streak snapped in a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 263 this past June. The 30-year-old Canadian enjoyed a 7-0-1 tenure with World Series of Fighting before signing with the UFC.

The winner of Season 27 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Trizano is 3-1 thus far in UFC competition. Most recently, the Team Tiger Schulmann representative outpointed Ludovit Klein at UFC on ESPN 24 on May 8.

There were some difficulties on the scales ahead of Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Two fighters slated to compete on Tuesday’s card missed weight, including Christian Rodriguez, who is scheduled to meet Reyes Cortez Jr. in the evening’s featured bout at bantamweight. Rodriguez initally weighed 138 pounds, while Cortez Jr. tipped the scales at 135.5 pounds. Rodriguez was unable to hit his contracted mark after taking an extra hour to cut weight, as he was only able to get down to 137.25 pounds.

Meanwhile, Jake Hadley initially checked in at 127.25 pounds for a flyweight showdown against Mitch Raposo (126). After being given an additional hour to cut weight, Hadley came still came in heavy at 127 pounds.

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

Anchored at the MMA Lab, Cortez Jr. has been victorious in five of his first six professional appearances. Most recently, he outpointed Axel…

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell was arrested early Monday morning in Los Angeles after an alleged domestic violence incident.

TMZ Sports was first to report Liddell’s arrest. The 51-year-old former light heavyweight champion was booked for misdemeanor domestic battery at the Lost Hills Sheriff Station after an alleged incident between Liddell and his wife in Hidden Hills, Calif.

Lost Hills police were called to respond to a family disturbance at the 24000 block of Jim Bridger Road at approximately midnight local time. It was then determined that a verbal argument became physical. Liddell is married to Heidi Northcott, and the couple have two children together. Northcott did not require medical attention, according to the report.

Liddell’s bail has been set at $20,000, and he is set to appear in Van Nuys Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Liddell is listed at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds on his booking sheet.

Known as “The Iceman,” Liddell was one of the UFC’s …

A bantamweight clash pitting Douglas Silva de Andrade against Sergey Morozov has been added to the UFC 271 lineup.

Combate was first to report the booking. UFC 271 takes place on Feb. 12 at an as yet to be determined location. The event does not yet have a headliner.

Silva de Andrade fought twice in 2021, splitting a pair of bouts. After dropping a unanimous verdict to Lerone Murphy in a featherweight affair at UFC on ESPN 20, the 36-year-old Brazilian returned to 135 pounds and scored a first-round KO of Gaetano Pirrello at UFC Fight Night 193 on Oct. 2. He is 5-4 over the course of a promotional tenure that began in 2014.

Morozov also went 1-1 in the Octagon in 2021. He suffered a submission loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in his debut at UFC on ESPN 20, but rebounded to outpoint Khalid Taha at UFC on ESPN 26. The former M-1 Global champion has won six of his last seven professional outings.

It was not a night to remember for Melvin Guillard at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s event in Billings, Mont., on Saturday.

In addition to suffering a 59-second knockout loss to Joe Riggs in the BKFC Fight Night headliner, Guillard exited the bout with multiple orbital fractures that required surgery on Sunday. “The Young Assassin” brought word of his injuries in an Instagram post on Sunday morning.

“Just found out at 3:15 a.m. I have five fractures in my orbital so I will be having surgery today,” Guillard wrote. “Just wanted to get my fans, friends and family the news. I'll be okay, just keep me in your prayers. I'll be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared right now. We'll see what happens.”

Guillard posted an update later on Sunday that showed him leaving leaving the emergency room, with his left eye still completely swollen shut.

The 38-year-old Guillard fell to 0-4 under the BKFC banner in defeat. A veteran of the UFC and Bellator MMA, Gui…

Mackenzie Dern came up short on the biggest stage of her mixed martial arts career to date, but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is planning on using the experience to become a better fighter in the long run.

Dern dropped a unanimous decision to Marina Rodriguez in the UFC Fight Night 194 main event at the UFC Apex on Saturday night, ending her four-bout Octagon winning streak. Dern had Rodriguez in trouble after dragging her to the mat in Round 2, as she threatened with a leg lock, landed ground-and-pound from the reverse crucifix position and took her opponent’s back. Rodriguez was able to survive, however, and spent the majority of the contest outclassing Dern on the feet.

“Yesterday wasn’t the result I was training for, but this fight is the biggest learning experience for me,” Dern wrote on Instagram. “Now I have a lot to look back on and fix to become a better fighter! For sure a submission would have been great but to have these rounds for me to work on is su…

Viewers on UFC broacasts are often given an inside look at the coaching in fighters’ corners between rounds. In some instances, the advice given by the corners can be misleading — often because the coaches and trainers are viewing the bout from a different perspective.

After UFC Fight Night 194, James Krause, Tim Elliott’s coach at Glory MMA & Fitness, admitted that his instructions ended up being to the detriment of his athlete. Elliott fell to Matheus Nicolau via unanimous decision, with all three judges submitting 29-28 scorecards in favor of the Brazilian.

Krause, meanwhile, saw a different fight from his cageside seat, and he’s accepting some of the blame for Elliott’s defeat.

“I made a huge coaching error tonight that I’m sure is going to haunt me for some time to come,” Krause wrote on Instagram. “Going into the [third] round I thought for 100% sure we took 1 and 2. Regardless of if that was true or not I should have pushed Tim to work up in the 3rd… …

Not only did Randy Brown have to deal with a game opponent at UFC Fight Night 194, but he also had to battle through a mangled toe for much of Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“It just snapped out of place,” Brown said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “The big toe snapped out of place at the joint high up on the foot there. But it kept going back in. I kept putting it back in. Interesting experience.”

The broadcast team pointed out that Brown’s foot appeared to be compromised after landing a front kick to Jared Gooden’s chin early in the fight, but it was unclear how much it would negatively affect the welterweight known as “Rude Boy.” In the moment, Brown just relied on instinct to treat the injury as best he knew how so he could continue competing.

“I put it back in,” Brown said. “It came out and I looked at it. I was like, ‘All right.’ It’s crazy the thought and the instinct just kicks in. [It’s like], ‘Let me just step on tha…

Marina Rodriguez has some history with Carla Esparza in the Octagon, but she also has respect for the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion.

Rodriguez earned her third consecutive triumph in the UFC Fight Night 194 main event on Saturday, as she put on a striking clinic to earn a unanimous decision against grappling ace Mackenzie Dern at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The Brazilian muay Thai specialist is closing in on a title shot, but she believes that Esparza — the only woman to defeat her in UFC competition — should have received the next opportunity. Instead it went to Weili Zhang, who was granted an immediate rematch against Rose Namajunas at UFC 268.

That said, if the promotion comes calling after UFC 268, Rodriguez won’t pass up a chance to compete for championship gold.

“I’ll never deny a chance to fight for the title, but for me, Carla should be next and not Weili,” Rodriguez said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “But since the rematch is booked …

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

For the second time in the past few months, UFC fighter Luis Pena has been arrested.

Pena was arrested Saturday on misdemeanor charges of domestic violence and battery, according to Broward County (Fla.) Jail records. The battery charge comes with a $1,000 bond, while the domestic violence charge does not have an amount listed because a bond hearing is required. Pena was arrested in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office released the following statement to MMAjunkie.com:

At approximately 12:34 a.m., Broward Sheriff’s Office Deerfield Beach deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call near the 200 block of Southeast 12th Avenue in Deerfield Beach. On scene, deputies made contact with multiple subjects, and Luis Antonio Peña was later detained and taken into custody. Peña was transported to BSO Main Jail and faces one count simple battery and one count domestic violence battery (both misdemeanor). The investig…

It was ladies’ night when it came to post-fight bonuses at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, as Marina Rodriguez, Mackenzie Dern, Mariya Agapova and Lupita Godinez each took home $50,000 checks.

Rodriguez and Dern earned “Fight of the Night” honors for their five-round strawweight headliner at UFC Fight Night 194. Rodriguez utilized a multi-faceted striking arsenal to control the action on the feet, but she had to survive a couple scary moments on the mat against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Ultimately, Rodriguez was able to avoid serious danger and emerged with a unanimous decision triumph.

Elsewhere, Agapova received a “Performance of the Night” award on the strength of a submission win against Sabina Mazo at flyweight. Agapova controlled the range with her striking throughout the fight before dropping her adversary with a crushing right hand to the jaw in the third round. From there, Agapova wasted little time jumping on Mazo’s back and locking in a re…

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. Marina Rodriguez has begun to make serious headway in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division. The Brazilian muay Thai practitioner outstruck Mackenzie Dern and withstood a few harrowing ground exchanges with the jiu-jitsu ace, as she took a unanimous decision from the 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist in the UFC Fight Night 194 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges saw it the same: 49-46 for Rodriguez (15-1-2, 5-1-2 UFC).

Dern (11-2, 6-2 UFC) had her chances. The Checkmat RVCA rep dragged Rodriguez to the canvas in the second round, threatened with a leg lock and moved into side control. From there she applied her ground-and-pound from a reverse crucifix p…

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 194 coverage will begin Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

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

Round 1 This afternoon card all on ESPN+ is a shorter one, with just nine fights remaining on the billing. Short fight nights call for short introductions, and the show begins with a tilt between lightweights in Garcia (11-4, 0-1 UFC) and Ontiveros (11-7, 0-1 UFC) that are both looking for their first win in a new division. While Garcia is moving up from featherweight, Ontiveros is shifting down from middleweight to 155 pounds, and they meet literally and figuratively in the middle but do not touch gloves in front of referee Chris Tognoni. Ontiveros starts off wit ha solid right hand, and he…

Brutal ground and pound gets Alexandr Romanov the W

[ #UFCVegas39 | Prelims LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/lm6KCi7EVT

— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2021 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. Alexander Romanov moved another step closer to relevance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division, as he disposed of Team Quest’s Jared Vanderaa with punches in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 194 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The undefeated Romanov (15-0, 4-0 UFC) drew the curtain 4:43 into Round 2.

Vanderaa (12-6, 1-2 UFC) never moved out of his defensive posture. Romanov chipped away at the Team Quest product with takedowns in a largely one-sided first round, then turned up the heat in the second. The Moldovan tripped his …

CONFIRMED: Should any fighter miss weight or be forced to withdraw from a 2021 #PFLChampionship title match, these fighters will be ready to step in as the alternate for their weight division. pic.twitter.com/w0RADQeVbG

— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 8, 2021

When there’s $1 million on the line, it’s always good to have a backup plan.

With that in mind, Professional Fighters League recently revealed the six alternates who will be on standby in case any of the athletes who are participating in championship bouts on Oct. 27 are forced to withdraw or miss weight.

The six replacement fighters are as follows: Genah Fabian (women’s lightweight), Brendan Loughnane (featherweight), Clay Collard (lightweight), Sadibou Sy (welterweight), Emiliano Sordi (light heavyweight) and Denis Goltsov (heavyweight).

The PFL championship takes place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and is headlined by a women’s lightweight final between …

Hittin' the scales at 114.5

@MackenzieDern is main event ready!

[ #UFCVegas39 | Tomorrow | | Live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/xVfXkDliiD — UFC (@ufc) October 8, 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 UFC Fight Night 194 main event between Marina Rodriguez and Mackenzie Dern and eight other bouts are now official after the weigh-ins took place.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's latest event is on the shorter side, going on with just nine bouts. Seventeen of 18 fighters managed to make weight, with Jared Gooden missing the welterweight limit by three pounds. Additionally, a bout between Phil Hawes and short-notice replacement Chris Curtis was scrapped after Hawes turned down the opponent change. Although James Krause attempted to step in and face Curtis, the commission did not license or clear Krause to compete on a…

Per sources, Alexa Grasso is out of her flyweight fight against Joanne Calderwood on Nov. 20. Calderwood (@DRkneevil) will now face Taila Santos instead. They are the UFC's Nos. 6 and 9 ranked flyweights, respectively.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 8, 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. Strictly from a rankings perspective, this change in opponent at the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division is actually an improvement. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN announced on Friday that Alexa Grasso will not longer be competing UFC Fight Night 198 for undisclosed reasons. In her stead will be Taila Santos (18-1), who will come to blows with Joanne Calderwood (15-6) at 125 pounds on Nov. 20. While Grasso is the #10 ranked flyweight according to the promotion, Santos is at the #9 spot to Calderwood as the sixth-ranked w…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAlDHb0IK84&w=560&h=315] Longtime Bellator MMA staple Patricky Freire wants to keep the lightweight title in his family.

On Monday, former two-division champ Patricio Freire announced that he was relinquishing his lightweight belt, after losing the featherweight title to A.J. McKee in July. Patricio did not want to interfere in veteran lightweight Patricky’s title run, explaining that he would not face his brother for a championship. Bellator head Scott Coker hen announced that the vacant 155-pound throne would be up for grabs in a rematch between Patricky and Peter Queally in Dublin at Bellator 270. Many were surprised by this news, including Coker, the fans, media, and even Patricio’s own brother. Patricky spoke to Sherdog about this new sudden development on Thursday.

“My brother told me something about that last week and I told him not to do so, believing I had changed his mind,” Freire explained. “But he communicated about …

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. Just like he did in 2021, Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Calvin Kattar will headline the first show of 2022. On Friday, MMA Junkie announced that Kattar (22-5) and Giga Chikadze (14-2) is the current planned headliner for the UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 15. This unnumbered event is expected to be held inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and this featherweight marquee matchup has been agreed to but the contracts have not been signed. Kattar’s manager, Tyson Chartier, confirmed in an interview with MyMMANews on Friday that Kattar had accepted a main event match in January.

Kattar has not fought since taking a hellacious beating at UFC on ABC 1 that remains a top contender for Sherdog’s 2021 “Beatdown of the Year” award, absorbing an unprecedented 445 significant strikes from Max Holloway. Before the one-sided loss, “T…

Bellator MMA is not going to make it easy on Pam Sorenson in November.

MMA Fighting first reported on Friday that Sorenson (9-3) would be making her second promotional appearance against multiple-time featherweight title challenger Arlene Blencowe (14-8) at Bellator 271. The two 145-pound women with sights set on gold in the future will square off inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. News of this booking has since been confirmed by the organization.

Sorenson made her successful debut with Bellator in August, capturing a split decision over ex-Professional Fighters League lightweight Roberta Samad. The departing Invicta Fighting Championships featherweight queen took over two years away from the sport after claiming the belt from Kaitlin Young in August 2019. Before winning the vacant strap against Young, she fell short to Felicia Spencer to suffer her first stoppage loss in 2018.

Australia’s Blencowe bounced back from a humbling submi…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8gq2Gu0dZk&w=560&h=315] Glory Kickboxing did not have to look far for a replacement to Alistair Overeem for the heavyweight title fight this month.

Overeem suffered an injury and was forced out of his fight with heavyweight kingpin Rico Verhoeven on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Beyond Kickboxing was the first to report that Glory will be bringing one of its main card fighters in against Verhoeven, as Jamal Ben Saddik will face Verhoeven for the third time on Oct. 23. Saddik was set to take on Benjamin Adegbuyi in a rematch that night, and Adebguyi will now be facing Antonio Plazibat instead. Sherdog has since confirmed the news with promotion officials.

Saddik fought Verhoeven in 2017 at Glory 49, and the fight was close early on before Verhoeven knocked Saddik out in Round 5 with a head kick. Their first meeting came in 2011, and “Goliath” forced Verhoeven’s corner to stop the fight a minute into the second round. Now at 1-1…

On 23 October I will make my comeback at @GLORY_WS

You guys wanted it, now you got it. I’m looking forward to see all my supporters at #COLLISION3 Let’s make new memories together. The show must go on

Great work by Glory and my management for making this happen. pic.twitter.com/i0Z1VYJsTS — Gökhan Saki (@gokhantherebel) October 8, 2021 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 8 to reflect the news of Saki's first opponent.

Vaunted kickboxer Gokhan Saki is returning to the sport after over six years away and a two-fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The kickboxing legend known as “The Rebel” announced early on Friday morning that he has signed with Glory Kickboxing again. Saki (81-16, 1 NC; 58 KOs) will be competing on Oct. 23 at Glory: Collision 3, and per Beyond Kickboxing and a poster from the organization, he will be taking on James McSweeney (46-7, 31 KOs) in the co-headlining bout. Saki c…

LAST MINUTE CHANGE

Chris Curtis finally get's the UFC call!! He takes on Phil Hawes tomorrow on the #UFCVegas39 card. Curtis replacing Deron Winn. pic.twitter.com/00P6KETUmk

— MMA DNA (@MMADNANL) October 8, 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. At long last, Chris Curtis has joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship ranks.

On Friday morning, MMA DNA first broke the news that Curtis (26-8) has been signed by the promotion to step in on extremely short notice and face Phil Hawes (11-2) at middleweight. Hawes was originally booked against Deron Winn, but Winn was forced out of the match for non-COVID, non-weight related, undisclosed reasons. The signing was confirmed by multiple outlets, and then cemented when Curtis hit the scales on Friday to make weight at 184.5 pounds.

Shortly after Curtis successfully made weight, MM…