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A pivotal Bellator MMA heavyweight clash is on the books for November.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie first broke the news that Tyrel Fortune (11-1) would be squaring off with Linton Vassell (20-8) at the heavyweight division on Bellator 271. The two big men will toe the line at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 12. The organization has since confirmed the pairing to Sherdog.

Fortune was originally slated to compete at Bellator 269 against Vitaly Minakov, but he was forced out for undisclosed reasons and will be competing less than three weeks later in Florida instead of Russia. At the beginning of 2020, Fortune suffered his first career defeat at the hands of future title challenger Timothy Johnson. Since then, Fortune faced Jack May twice, winning the rematch after the first ended due to an accidental groin strike. In July, Fortune made Matt Mitrione tap to strikes in 105 seconds, improving his record for the most knockouts in Bellator hea…

A COLOSSAL ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title fight and the highly anticipated semifinals of the ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix headline ONE: NEXTGEN on 29 October! @PhogatRitu @_itsuki_h_ #ONENextGen #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/7zEU8f2MUA

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 7, 2021 With COVID-19 resurgent in Singapore, One Championship has decided to go back to closed-door, tape-delayed events.

Via press release on Thursday, One sent out the lineup for the first of a trio of events in the “Nextgen” series. The first, a live show, will take place on Oct. 29 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, and it will feature six bouts including two kickboxing contests. The subsequent fight cards of Nextgen II and Nextgen III will air via tape delay on Nov. 12 and Nov. 26, respectively.

The live show of One: Nextgen will be capped off by a light heavyweight kickboxing title fight betwee…

Two weeks after a difficult weight cut led to the cancellation of her bantamweight bout against Macy Chiasson, Aspen Ladd will move up a weight class to replace the injured Holly Holm at UFC Fight Night 195.

Ladd will face Norma Dumont in a five-round, 145-pound bout on Oct. 16 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. ESPN was first to report the new matchup is close to being finalized. Ariel Helwani initially brought word that Holm had withdrawn from the UFC Fight Night 195 main event due to a knee injury.

The 26-year-old Ladd has not competed since December 2019, when she defeated Yana Kunitskaya via third-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 7. Since then, Ladd has had multiple fights fall through, including bookings against Julianna Pena, Sara McMann and Chiasson. Ladd did not fight at all in 2020 due to a torn ACL.

Dumont earned the biggest win of her career to date at UFC Fight Night 188, where she garnered a split decision over former UFC title challenger and Invicta FC cham…

A lightweight matchup pitting Jim Miller against Erick Gonzalez has been targeted for UFC Fight Night 195 on Oct. 16.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report that the bout was in the works. UFC Fight Night 195 takes place at the UFC Apex and is headlined by a featherweight duel between Holly Holm and Norma Dumont.

Miller is coming off back-to-back decision losses to Vinc Pichel and Joe Soleck in his last two Octagon appearances. The New Jersey native will be competing for the 38th time within the Las Vegas-based promotion when he faces Gonzalez. His last victory came at UFC on ESPN 11, a first-round submission of Roosevelt Roberts in June 2020.

Gonzalez enters his UFC debut having won four of his last five promotional outings. The 29-year-old known as “The Ghost Pepper” notably has an 8-4 mark while competing under the Combate Americas banner and is 14-5 as a professional overall.

Shortly after Bellator president Scott Coker announced that Patricio Freire had vacated the lightweight title, which in turned elevated his brother’s rematch with Peter Queally to a 155-pound championship bout, Sherdog.com spoke with Patricio to get a better understanding of his decision.

“There were some things bothering me,” Patricio said. “My brother was the No. 1 challenger. If he keeps winning, he will have to fight for the belt, and it doesn't make sense for me to fight for the belt if that happens. We know that if I weren't the champion, he would have already fought for the title. Then he had to fight Queally to continue his career since I was the champion.”

Patricio also revealed that his loss to A.J. McKee in a featherweight title bout this past July played an important role in his decision.

“Being beaten in the featherweight division and holding the lightweight belt doesn't make sense to me,” he said. “I have no ego to hold this status. It doesn't…

Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane are expected to square off in a heavyweight championship unification bout at UFC 270.

Multiple outlets confirmed that verbal agreements are in place for both fighters following an initial report from French outlet La Sueur. UFC 270 does not yet have an official location, but the card is also expected to include a key middleweight showdown pitting Derek Brunson against Jared Cannonier.

After failing in his first bid for heavyweight gold, Ngannou claimed the title with a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic in the UFC 260 headliner. “The Predator” is currently on a five-fight winning streak in which he has finished all five of his opponents by KO/TKO inside of two rounds.

Gane, meanwhile, is undefeated in 10 professional appearances — including seven in the UFC. “Bon Gamin” claimed the interim championship with a third-round TKO of Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 on Aug. 7.

Five-round fights are no longer just for title bouts in Bellator MMA.

Bellator president Scott Coker revealed during "The MMA Hour." on Wednesday that the California-based promotion will transition to five rounds for all main-event fights beginning in 2022. The remaining non-title headliners in 2021 will remain three rounds, however.

“This is something that a lot of fans feel this happened in the last two or three months because of the way the chips fell in some of these fights, but really we’ve been talking about this for the last six to eight months,” Coker said. “We decided that starting Jan. 1 that all the main events fights will be five rounds.”

Recently, UFC signee Yoel Romero expressed confusion following the end of his Bellator 266 headlining bout against Phil Davis, which he lost after three rounds via split decision. Romero apparently thought the contest was set for five rounds. Another fight that could have warranted two more frames was the Bellator 2…

The stakes have been raised for the Peter Queally-Patricky Freire rematch at Bellator 270.

Bellator president Scott Coker announced during "The MMA Hour." on Wednesday that Patricio Freire has vacated the lightweight belt, which he has not defended since stopping Michael Chandler in 61 seconds at Bellator 221 in May 2019. As a result, Queally vs. Freire will be for the vacant 155-pound championship.

Patricio Freire addressed the situation shortly thereafter on Twitter. The younger “Pitbull” brother was a two-division champion before losing his featherweight crown to A.J. McKee at Bellator 263 this past July. For now, his focus is on regaining that title, while allowing his brother to have his own golden opportunity.

“Honor and family come first,” he wrote. “When I first won the LW belt it was just about revenge. It was still an honor, but with the loss at 145 I’m starting over. It’s time for the LW division to move on and for [Patricky Freire] to have his shot.…

Cristiane Justino will make her next featherweight championship defense against Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 271.

The bout will headline the Nov. 12 event, which is slated for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The card will air on Showtime. Bellator president Scott Coker revealed the booking on "The MMA Hour."

Justino claimed the 145-pound belt with a fourth-round TKO of Julia Budd at Bellator 238 in January 2020. Since then, “Cyborg” has defended the crown with a second-round submission of Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 249 and a five-round TKO of Leslie Smith at Bellator 259. The 36-year-old Brazilian has lost just twice in 27 professional outings.

Ireland’s Kavanagh is currently on a two-fight winning streak within the California-based promotion. After stopping Olga Rubin in the second round at Bellator 234, she outpointed Katharina Lehner in her most recent appearance at Bellator Milan in October 2020. Kavanagh is just 4-4 under the Bell…

Alistair Overeem has been forced to pull out of his heavyweight title fight with Rico Verhoeven at Glory: Collision 3 due to injury. Glory announced on Wednesday that the heavyweight superfight will not go down at the Oct. 23 event.

Rico Verhoeven will still remain on the card, according to the promotion, and a replacement for Overeem will be revealed in the near future. Overeem released a statement regarding his withdrawal via Instagram.

“I deeply regret that I have to pull out of the fight against Rico Verhoeven Oct. 23. I’ve never pulled out a fight before and trust me, this decision was hard to make. I’ve been dealing with the injury for over a month,” Overeem wrote. “Two days before the press conference, a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t even able to walk straight.

“After some treatment I felt much better. And since I’ve never been a quitter, I wasn’t going to quit now. I went back in camp. But… the injury got worse again and I could not even fulfill a comple…

Mike Malott needed less than a minute to handle his business.

The Team Alpha Male rep was one of four competitors to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he submitted the previously unbeaten Shimon Smotritsky with a guillotine choke in the first round of their welterweight feature on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Malott (7-1-1) sealed the deal 39 seconds into Round 1.

Smotritsky (7-1) took the bait, moved in for a potential takedown and immediately found himself entangled in the guillotine. His situation went from bad to worse to downright dire as Malott improved his positioning and tightened his squeeze on the choke. Smotritsky waved the white flag soon after.

In addition to Malott, UFC President Dana White awarded contracts former Hoosier Fight Club champion Carlos Hernandez, Fortis MMA standout Fernando Garcia and undefeated Entram Gym prospect Genaro Valdez.

Hernandez outstruck and outpaced …

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 DWCS 2021 Week 6 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A middleweight bout between Jamie Pickett and Laureano Staropoli that was slated for UFC Fight Night 194 has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Pickett confirmed that one of his coaches tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the contest will be rescheduled for the UFC’s Oct. 23 event. AgFight first brought word of Pickett’s withdrawal.

“Fight has been canceled and I’m stuck in Vegas,” Pickett wrote on his Instagram story. One of my coaches test positive for COVID and now we have to stay here for 10 days. I’m pissed the f—-k off but everything is everything. I’ll get through this somehow.”

UFC Fight Night 194 currently has 10 bouts, including a strawweight headliner pitting Marina Rodriguez against Mackenzie Dern. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+.

A two-time competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Pickett is still looking for his first Octagon triumph after falling to Ta…

After victories against Amanda Ribas and Michelle Waterson in her last two outings, Marina Rodriguez is confident that a win over Makenzie Dern in the UFC Fight Night 194 main event could be her ticket to a strawweight title shot.

"I have no doubt that an impressive win over Mackenzie via knockout or submission will get me closer to the title,” said Rodriguez, a renowned muay Thai specialist who is also a jiu-jitsu purple belt.

Rodriguez is well aware of the ground credentials of her opponent, a black belt and a multiple time jiu-jitsu world champion. With that in mind, Rodriguez has been training plenty of no-gi jiu-jitsu with black belts Alexandre de Souza and Igor Soares ahead of Saturday’s bout.

"Actually, since I arrived in UFC, they have given me some of the best grapplers of the division. I faced in sequence [Cynthia] Calvillo, [Carla] Esparza and Ribas, so this camp was pretty much the same. A lot of grappling and takedown defense,” Rodriguez said.

Read more about Marina Rodriguez Ready to Show Jiu-Jitsu Skills If Needed Against Mackenzie Dern

A middleweight rematch between Kevin Holland and Kyle Daukaus has been scheduled for Nov. 13 after their initial meeting resulted in a no contest.

ESPN was first to report the booking. 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 reviewed before the final verdict and the fight was ultimately ruled a no contest.

Now, Holland and Daukaus will attempt to find some closure at UFC Fight Night 197, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight duel between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

After a breakout 2020 campaign in which he went 5-0, Holland is winless in his last three Octagon appearances — including the no contest against Daukaus. Prior to that, Holland’s defensive wrestling was exposed in back-to-back decision…

The death of recent Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship opponent Justin Thornton hit Dillon Cleckler hard.

Clecker, who had built a relationship with Thornton over the years after their MMA bout under the Island Fights banner in 2013, released a statement on his Facebook page reacting to his friend’s passing. An “absolutely devastated” Cleckler said that Thornton ultimately died due to pneumonia.

“As a fighter nothing prepares you for the news I received this morning on my way to training. Some of you may not of heard yet but my last opponent Justin Thornton passed away last night due to pneumonia,” Cleckler wrote. “I can’t help but feel absolutely devastated about this because I’ve known Justin for years. Not many people know this but we fought 8 years ago and he told me right away he wanted the rematch. I know that when he got the phone call to finally get that rematch on a bigger stage he saw a huge opportunity and took it. Justin is a warrior. It’s in his blood to …

While the UFC Fight Night 193 main event was short on action, both Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker are facing potentially lengthy medical suspensions following their light heavyweight bout.

Santos defeated Walker via unanimous decision in a lackluster five-round fight this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos needs X-rays on his left ring finger, left foot, left knee and left ribs and then must receive medical clearance or he will be sidelined until April 1. At a minimum, “Marreta” is suspended until Nov. 2 with no contact until Oct. 24. Walker, meanwhile, needs an X-ray on his left foot and must receive medical clearance or he is out until April 1. At a minimum, Walker is suspended until Nov. 2 with no contact until Oct. 24.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com.

Four other athletes from UFC Fight Night 193 are facing potential six-month terms: Niko Price (left kne…

An interesting matchup of lightweight talents is on tap for UFC Fight Night 197, as Thiago Moises will lock horns with Joel Alvarez on Nov. 13.

Alvarez initially revealed the booking on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night 197 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

Moises had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he was submitted by Islam Makhachev in the fourth round of the UFC on ESPN 26 headliner on July 17. Prior to that, Moises had bested Michael Johnson, Bobby Green and Alexander Hernandez in succession.

Alvarez has won three consecutive bouts since dropping his Octagon debut to Damir Ismagulov at UFC Fight Night 145. Most recently, the 28-year-old Spaniard known as “El Fenomeno” submitted Alexander Yakovlev in the opening round at UFC 254.

Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.31

Yutaka Saito vs. Juntaro Ushiku#RIZIN #RIZIN31 pic.twitter.com/iUPvFVzPoM

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) October 4, 2021 Featherweight champion Yutaka Saito will defend his crown against Deep title holder Juntaro Ushiku in the Rizin Fighting Federation 31 main event on Oct. 24.

The Japanese promotion announced the booking on Monday. Rizin 31 takes place in Yokohama, Japan, and will also see recent atomweight title challenger Kanna Asakura square off against Saori Oshima in the co-main event.

The rest of the Rizin 31 card was also confirmed: Tsuyoshi Sudario vs Saint Saint; Yusaku Nakamura vs. Yuki Ito; Daisuke Nakamura vs Suguru Nii; Masanori Kanehara vs. Takahiro Ashida; Daichi Abe vs Akira Okada; Rikuto Shirakawa vs Takuya Yamamoto; and Seiichiro Ito vs Kunta Hashimoto.

A former Shooto featherweight champion, Saito has won eight of his last nine professional outings. That stret…

Count Patricio Freire among those who didn’t agree with the final verdict in the Bellator 267 headliner.

Michael Page defeated ex-welterweight champion Douglas Lima via split decision on Friday in London, but many observers thought Lima did enough to get the nod. Freire is in that camp, and he believes the result would be different if a third meeting was booked.

"The fight was pretty even,” the Bellator lightweight champion told Sherdog.com. “But I disagree with the result, I would give the win to Douglas. And if they make a trilogy, like MVP suggested, I will bet again on Douglas again.”

Meanwhile, it’s been more than two months since Freire relinquished his featherweight crown to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 main event. “Pitbull” revealed that he has made a somewhat unconventional proposal to the promotion.

"My desire is to have a title unification bout at a catchweight [of 150 pounds],” Freire said. “The winner gets both belts, but Bellator has not an…

Crazy 1 punch knockout BKFC 20 #BKFC20 pic.twitter.com/1ypGt3qdQi

— SEATTLE MIKE (@fightswfriends) August 21, 2021

Justin Thornton, a veteran of 24 professional mixed martial arts bouts, has reportedly died due to injuries sustained in a knockout loss under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship banner this past August.

My MMA News was first to report Thornton’s death. Thornton fell face first to the canvas after absorbing a right hand from Dillon Cleckler at BKFC in Biloxi, Miss., on Aug. 20. Thornton was taken out of the ring on the stretcher. He remained hospitalized since the bout and was also on a ventilator, according to various reports. Thornton was 38 years old.

“This morning we were very saddened to be notified of the passing of one of our fighters, Justin Thornton, who competed at BKFC-20 on August 20, 2021,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said in a statement released to MMAjunkie.com. “We join the rest of the combat sports commun…

There was one mishap on the scales during Monday’s weigh-ins for Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Joshua Weems tipped the scales at 139 pounds for his bantamweight clash against Fernando Garcia. As a result, Weems has been fined 20 percent of his purse. All of the nine other athletes slated for action — including Garcia (136 pounds) — hit their contracted marks without issue.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The featured bout of the evenign is a welterweight clash pitting Shimon Smotritsky (170.5) against Mike Malott (170.5).

Israel’s Smotritsky is just 21 years old but has compiled a 7-0 record since turning pro in 2016. Most recently, “Assassin” took a split decision over Sergey Yaskovets at Russian Cagefighting Championship 8 in December 2020. He also owns a pair of victories under the Bellator MMA banner.

Malott, who is anchored at Team Alpha Male, has been victorious i…

The long-anticipated lightweight championship showdown between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier is a done deal.

Poirier’s representatives confirmed to promotional broadcast partner ESPN on Sunday night that the Louisiana native has agreed to challenge Oliveira for lightweight gold at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. Poirier added his own note of confirmation via Twitter: “Signed, sealed and delivered.” MMAFighting.com was first to report the Oliveira-Poirier matchup last month.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 4, 2021

UFC 269 doesn’t have an official location but will likely take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card is also expected to include a women’s bantamweight title tilt beetween reigning champ Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.

Oliveira claimed the 155-pound throne vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov on May 15, when he defeat Michael Chandler via second-round TKO in the UFC 262 headliner. “Do Bro…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Tanner Boser will lock horns with Sergei Pavlovich in a heavyweight matchup at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 4.

Pavlovich confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from TSN. The UFC Fight Night card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is topped by a bantamweight clash between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Boser snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he knocked out Ovince St. Preux in the second-round at UFC Fight Night 190. The 30-year-old Canadian is 4-3 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion and 20-8-1 as a professional overall.

Pavlovich will look to return to action after having a 2020 booking against Ciryl Gane fall through due to injury and a September matchup with Tom Aspinall canceled as a result of visa issues. The Eagles MMA representative suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Alistair Overeem in his Octagon debut but has since reboun…