Gleison Tibau: ‘Next Year the Title Will Be Mine’
After the boy explained that he wanted to be a pro fighter, Silva quickly strapped on his gloves. Silva then instructed Tibau to lay on his back and try to escape from mount, all while Silva was clubbing the young lad in the face with surprisingly heavy ground-and-pound. Any normal child would be traumatized, never passing by any martial arts academy again, but not the little Gleison Tibau.
“I got so deformed that I couldn’t return home,” Tibau reminisced to Sherdog. “Otherwise, my mother would be really mad. So, I stayed in Mossoro and returned t…Taila Santos to Replace Tatiana Suarez Against Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 266
Syndicate MMA standout Modafferi has alternated wins and losses in her last nine since returning to the UFC in 2017. Ultimately falling short to Nicco Montano for the inaugural flyweight strap in her second season on “The Ultimate Fighter,” “The Happy Warrior” has gone the distance in seven of eight since the Montano fight. The lone stoppage in that stretch came when she batt…
Nina Nunes Meets Amanda Lemos at Newly Announced UFC Card on Dec. 18
Nunes returned from nearly a two-year layoff after having a daughter with two-division champ Amanda Nunes to face Mackenzie Dern in April. The Floridian succumbed to an armbar in the first round, thereby…
Bellator 265 Weigh-in Results: Wilson Blows Weight, Fight With Borics Nixed
#BELLATOR265 Weigh-in Results: Jay-Jay Wilson (@TheMaoriKid1) - 150.4 lbs. pic.twitter.com/6CbPRWh8ak
— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 19, 2021 Only one fighter on the Bellator 265 card missed weight, but it was a costly miss as the planned co-main event was nixed as a result.The now nine-fight card is headlined by Bellator MMA heavyweight contenders Cheick Kongo and Sergei Kharitonov. The co-main event was originally supposed to pit Adam Borics against Jay-Jay Wilson, but Wilson missed weight significantly and came in at 150.4 pounds for the featherweight bout. As a result, the fight is off, and Dante Schiro vs. Logan Storley will now serve as the penultimate bout.
Kongo (30-11-2, 1 NC) is coming off a split-decision defeat to Timothy Johnson. Prior to the setback, Kongo was undefeated in nine outings. The 46-year-old will look to show he still has more left in the tank. The French fighter officially weighed 247 pounds.<…Injury Forces Tresean Gore Out of UFC on ESPN 30, Bryan Battle Now Meets Gilbert Urbina
The middleweight finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 29” have a new pairing after Tresean Gore suffered a knee injury that forced him to pull out of a clash with Bryan Battle.
As a result, Battle will now square off against Gilbert Urbina with a UFC contract on the line. UFC president Dana White revealed the new pairing to TMZ Sports.“Brutal for this poor kid, you know,” White said. “But, what we’ll do is when Tresean Gore is healthy, does he fight Bryan Battle if Bryan wins the fight? You know, I don’t know. We’ll see how this thing plays out. But, yeah, Gore is out.”
The “TUF 29” finals, which take place as part of the UFC on ESPN 30 card on Aug. 28, will also see Ricky Turcios square off against Brady Hiestand at bantamweight with a promotional deal on the line. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight duel between Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze.
PFL Playoffs Weigh-in Results: Larissa Pacheco Misses Mark, Pulled from Semifinal Bout
The women’s lightweight bracket of the Professional Fighters League playoffs will look a little different than originally anticipated after Larissa Pacheco missed weight on Wednesday.
Pacheco, who was the top seed at 155 pounds, tipped the scales at 158 pounds for her proposed semifinal clash against Taylor Guardado (155.6). As a result, Pacheco has been replaced by No. 5 Mariana Morais, who checked in a 153.6 pounds. The other half of the lightweight semifinals are official, as defending champ Kayla Harrison (155.6) and opponent Genah Fabian (156) made weight for Thursday’s headlining bout.Meanwhile, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza (235.6) will square off against Jamelle Jones (250.8) in one heavyweight semifinal, while Denis Goltsov (250) locks horns with Ante Delija (244.4) in the other half of the bracket.
The winners of their respective matchups will advance to the PFL championships on Oct. 27 for…
T.J. Dillashaw Interested in Fight Against Jose Aldo ‘After I Get My Belt Back’
Shortly after he authored perhaps his best performance since moving to bantamweight in a unanimous decision triumph over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265, Jose Aldo set his sights on a fellow former champion.
“It would be great for me to fight with [T.J.] Dillashaw,” Aldo said after his UFC 265 win. “Hopefully by December. I think it would be a great fight and that’s what we expect. That’s what I’m expecting right now.”Dillashaw returned from more than a two-year absence at UFC on ESPN 27, where he captured a contentious split-decision triumph over Cory Sandhagen on July 24. While the ex-bantamweight king is open to a future clash with Aldo, he has some unfinished business he’d like to handle first.
“Yeah, I like the callout,” Dillashaw said in a recent interview with Submission Radio. “I would like to fight Jose Aldo. He’s a legend of our sport, and we can do it after I get my belt back.”
That means Dillashaw will have to wait for the winner of the rematch betwe…
Leah McCourt to Face Jessica Borga in Bellator 267 Co-Main Event
Leah McCourt will lock horns with Jessica Borga in the Bellator 267 co-main event on Oct. 1.
Promotion officials announced the featherweight booking on Wednesday. Bellator 267 takes place at the SSE Arena in London and is headlined by a welterweight rematch between Douglas Lima and Michael Page. The main card airs on Showtime at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, while prelims begin at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT.McCourt enters the matchup with Borga on a five-bout winning streak, with four of those victories coming within the California-based promotion. Most recently, the 29-year-old Belfast native submitted Janay Harding in the second round at Bellator 259 on May 21.
Borga, meanwhile, had a two-fight winning streak snapped in a unanimous decision loss to Talita Nogueira at Bellator 256 on April 9. The Champions MMA export began her promotional tenure with a first-round submission win over Amber Leibrock at Bellator 226.
Christian Lee vs. Rae Yoon Ok, Two Other Title Bouts Top One ‘Revolution’ Lineup
FIGHT CARD for ONE: Revolution! pic.twitter.com/AdUwBiBPne
— Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) August 18, 2021Three title bouts will top the card for One Championship “Revolution” on Sept. 24, the Singapore -based promotion announced Tuesday.
In the main event, Christian Lee will defend his lightweight (170-pound) crown against Rae Yoon Ok. Additionally, reigning strawweight (125-pound) king Joshua Pacio will meet Yosuke Saruta in a trilogy bout, while bantamweight kickboxing title holder Capitan Petchyindee Academy will lock horns with Mehdi Zatout.One “Revolution” takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and airs on the One Super App. Three other contests were confirmed for the evening’s main card: Martin Nguyen vs. Kim Jae Woong at featherweight (155 pounds); Amir Aliakbar vs. Anatoly Malykhin at heavyweight and Victoria Lee vs. Victoria Souza at atomweight (115 pounds).
The 23-year-old Lee is currently on a six-bout wi…
Sara McMann Among Multiple Withdrawals from UFC on ESPN 30
The UFC on ESPN 30 card has lost a few fights after multiple fighters were forced to withdraw from the Aug. 28 event.
The most prominent exit involves Olympic silver medalist and former bantamweight title challenger Sara McMann, who announced that she is pulling out of a proposed matchup with Ketlen Vieira due to injury.“Ugh, I have crappy news to share. I am out of the August 28 fight because of a reinjury,” McMann wrote. “I’m hoping like hell it’s a quick healing process but I’ll have to wait until I get the final prognosis to know. The worst part is that I was so healthy and having a really great camp.
“I know I’ll keep the gains I’ve made but I was really hoping to get the reward for all of the work I’ve put in the last few months. If [Ketlen Vieira] is able to wait and push our fight date back, I’m happy to do that. I’ll be back to the [UFC] as quickly as possible.”
It’s currently unclear if Vieira will remain on the card against a replacement oppon…
Boxing Coach Luiz Dorea Discusses Upcoming Bouts for Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort
Two days after celebrating the gold-medal winning performance of his student, Herbert Conceicao, following his knockout of Oleksandr Khyzhniak at the Tokyo Olympics, boxing coach Luiz Dorea learned of Anderson Silva’s scheduled booking against Tito Ortiz under the Triller Fight Club banner on Sept. 11.
“I was already in L.A. at Anderson´s gym training my student, (2016 Olympic gold medalist) Robson Conceicao, for his first world title dispute against (WBC super featherweight champion) Oscar Valdez, when Anderson informed me about the fight against Ortiz,” Dorea told Sherdog.com.“Actually I got really excited when Anderson told me about that fight. It will be a clash of MMA legends, two former champions under boxing rules.”
Dorea has experience preparing for Ortiz after training Antonio Rogerio Nogueira for his matchup with “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” at UFC 140 nearly a decade ago. Nogueira would win that fight via first-round technical knockout.…
Metro Fight Club Head Coach Saul Soliz Dead at 55
We're very saddened by the tragic news of Saul Soliz's passing. Saul will be remembered fondly as a world-class coach, leader and, more importantly, a world-class man. Sending our sincere condolences to those who had the privilege of knowing Saul. pic.twitter.com/klzvKDGgJE
— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA) August 17, 2021Saul Soliz, the leader of Metro Fight Club in Houston and a prominent coach in the MMA community for years, has died at age 55.
Soliz’s friend, John Gomez, revealed in a Facebook post that the cause of death was COVID-19. Soliz’s passing has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.“He fought a long hard fight, anyone that knew JR knows he was a UFC trainer, he loved training his fighters and showing them how to become winners, not only in fighting but also how to live life -- he mentor so many , I’ll never know how many , I know it’s a long list,” Gomez wrote. “He really loved training his fighters- they all have…
Yancy Medeiros, Justin Jaynes Released from UFC Roster
Fifteen-time Octagon veteran Yancy Medeiros is no longer on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.
MMAFighting.com reported on Tuesday that Medeiros and Justin Jaynes have been released by the Las Vegas-based promotion. It is unclear if Medeiros and Jaynes were cut with existing fights on their deals or if their contracts were simply not renewed.Medeiros has been with the UFC since 2013, compiling a 6-8 record with one no contest over the course of his tenure. He earned notable wins over the likes of Alex Oliveira, Erick Silva and John Makdessi. Medeiros exits the organization on a four-bout skid, including a decision loss to Damir Hadzovic in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 190 on June 26. The Strikeforce veteran earned five performance bonuses during his time with the UFC.
Jaynes exits the UFC on a four-bout skid after scoring a 41-second technical knockout win over Frank Camacho in his debut in June 2020. In his last outing, Jaynes dropped a s…
Saidyokub Kakhramonov in for Leomana Martinez, Meets Trevin Jones at UFC on ESPN 29
Saidyokub Kakhramonov will replace Leomana Martinez and lock horns with Trevin Jones at UFC on ESPN 29.
MMA Island was first to report the new bantamweight bout. UFC on ESPN 29 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight bout between Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT following prelims at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.The 25-year-old Kakhramonov enters his Octagon debut on a two-bout winning streak after back-to-back knockout victories on the regional scene. Most recently, he stopped Tycen Lynn 45 seconds into the second round at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 92 on March 11. He also notably fought once under the Professional Fighters League banner, falling to Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision in 2018. The Team Top Notch representative is 8-2 over the course of a career that began in 2017.
Jones last appeared at UFC 259, where he scor…
Misha Cirkunov Moves to Middleweight, Faces Krzysztof Jotko on Oct. 2
Misha Cirkunov will drop to 185 pounds for a matchup against Krzysztof Jotko at a UFC event on Oct. 2.
The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker and will likely be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.Cirkunov will make his middleweight debut after compiling a 6-4 mark in the Octagon at 205 pounds. The 34-year-old Latvian began his UFC tenure with four consecutive triumphs but has fallen on hard times lately with losses in four of his last six outings. Most recently, Cirkunov suffered a 71-second TKO defeat to Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13.
Jotko, meanwhile, had a three-bout winning streak snapped in a decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC on ESPN 23 on May 1. The American Top Team product is 9-5 in the UFC and 22-5 as a professional overall.
Former UFC, Boxing Champ Holly Holm Inducted into New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame
After a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holly Holm was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame on Monday night.
Holm, a former UFC bantamweight champion who is from Albuquerque, N.M., was part of the 2019 class that was supposed to be enshrined one year earlier. Holm posted photos of the ceremony, which she attended with her family, longtime coach Mike Winkeljohn and manager Lenny Fresquez.“Tonight I was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. I am honored and humbled,” Holm wrote on Instagram. “I truly appreciate everyone who has supported me in my journey thus far. My family, friends, coaches, manager, teammates and of course all of my fans. Thank you for believing in me in this journey and taking this ride with me. I am only more motivated to keep pushing to succeed and strive for greatness. I want to continue to make you all proud of me. It is impossible to put in words how much love I feel everyday. Here’s to aiming high. I am still striv…
Mason Jones-Alan Patrick Rematch Scheduled for UFC Event on Oct. 23
Due to an accidental eye poke in the second round, Mason Jones vs. Alan Patrick ends in a no contest.#UFCVegas28 pic.twitter.com/SwYAqCgoDl
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) June 5, 2021A lightweight rematch pitting Mason Jones against Alan Patrick is on tap for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Oct. 23.
Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Combate. The card is expected to be headlined by a middleweight showdown between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. A location has not been formally announced.Jones was performing well agianst Patrick in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 189 in June before an accidental eye poke from the former Cage Warriors two-division champion resulted in their bout being ruled a no contest at the 2:14 mark of Round 2. The 26-year-old Welshman is still looking for his first promotional triumph after dropping a unanimous verdict against Mike Davis in his debut…
Kayla Harrison Unapologetic for Confident Nature: ‘I’m Sick of Being Miss Congeniality’
You can forgive Kayla Harrison if she intially comes off as dismissive of some of her opponents. It’s simply the product of a supremely confident nature one might expect from a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Harrison has taken a similar approach to PFL playoff opponent Genah Fabian, who she will face in a 155-pound semifinal matchup at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Thursday. Harrison took a moment to clarify some comments she made regarding her matchup with Fabian during a media call on Monday.“It’s nothing personal to Genah at all,” Harrison said. “I respect her as a fighter. I respect her as a person. I think in a different lifetime maybe we would’ve been friends. But I have one job to do. I have to go out and win fights. I have to destroy. I have a goal, I have a dream.
“It’s nothing personal, it’s just business. I think people misconstrue that as arrogance or cockiness. It has nothing to do with Genah. It’s how much I believe i…
Genah Fabian: Kayla Harrison Isn’t Fighting ‘A Girl She Can Just Run Over’ in PFL Playoffs
Genah Fabian was supposed to face Kayla Harrison under the Professional Fighters League banner in 2019, but a difficult weight cut forced her to withdraw from that bout.
Timing is everything, and the City Kickboxing representative believes that delay was actually a blessing in disguise. Fabian will now face the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the main event of a PFL playoff card at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Thursday night. The winner will advance to the women’s lightweight finals on Oct. 27 for a shot at $1 million.“I was just uneducated about a few things, and that affected me come weight cut time,” Fabian said of her past issues during a media call on Monday. “I’m a big girl — [5-foot-11] — so I carry a lot of muscle and whatnot. Unfortunately that time, I had cut things out a bit too early. Therefore when it come time for the big cut, my body shut down. It was a very tough heartbreaking time. You work so hard toward something.
Read more about Genah Fabian: Kayla Harrison Isn’t Fighting ‘A Girl She Can Just Run Over’ in PFL PlayoffsLight Heavyweight Title Bout to Headline LFA 115 in Wisconsin on Sept. 24
Silveira inside a minute! #LFA106 pic.twitter.com/IpZvZrGEEJ
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 1, 2021The light heavyweight championship will be up for grabs when Legacy Fighting Alliance heads to the “Badger State” next month.
The promotion announced Monday that LFA 115 will feature a 205-pound title tilt between Joshua Silveira and an as-yet-to-be-determined opponent at the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh, Wisc., on Sept. 24. The evening’s main card will stream on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT."Josh Silveira is the top 205-pound prospect in the sport,” LFA CEO Ed Soares said. “He was originally set to face Jesse Murray for the LFA light-heavyweight title in the main event of LFA 110 on July 2nd, but Murray withdrew with an injury. Murray has now withdrawn from the re-scheduled title fight, so Silveira will be facing a new opponent for the title on Sept. 24. The new challenger will be announced as soon as the new title fig…
Source: UFC Vet Darko Stosic to Clash with Michal Andryszak at KSW 63
The winner of this clash will likely get a shot at the KSW heavyweight championship.
Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Darko Stosic will take on Michal Andryszak in an upcoming heavyweight tilt at KSW 63, Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the promotion. Polish organization Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki wanted to match the 29-year from Belgrade, Serbia, against current heavyweight titleholder Philip De Fries, but an injury prevented the champion from participating in the event. KSW then resorted to the Stosic-Andryszak matchup, which has all the trimmings of a title eliminator.Stosic (15-4, 2-0 KSW) made his promotional debut following a stint in UFC’s 205-pound division that ended with one victory and three defeats. In KSW, he returned to heavyweight, where he first wrecked Michal Wlodarek with a right hand that stopped the contest at the 4:39 mark in Round 2 at KSW 59 before smashing Michal Kita with punches 4:05 into Round 1 at KSW…
Conor McGregor Plans on ‘Walking Straight to a Title Shot’ in Targeted 2022 Return
Conor McGregor is currently in the midst of recovery from a gruesomely broken leg suffered in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, but the Irish superstar remains optimistic about his comeback.
During a Twitter Q&A session on Sunday, McGregor briefly discussed when he expected to fight again after the injury that ended his trilogy bout with Poirier after just one round on July 11. Shortly thereafter, the Dublin native underwent surgery where an intramedullary rod was inserted into his tibia and a small plate and screws were attached to his fibula.“2022. I’m improving rapidly!” McGregor wrote regarding his targeted return date. “Working with the best team money can buy! I’ll be back in no time, lock loaded!”
McGregor began his UFC tenure at 145 pounds, where he captured a championship before moving to lightweight and becoming a simultaneous two-division champion. The “Notorious” one has competed at 155 and 170 pounds in recent years. He admitted that he is …
One ‘Empower’ Features Strawweight Title Tilt, Atomweight Grand Prix on Sept. 3
One Championship "Empower" has a new date, as the all-female card topped by an strawweight title bout and the opening round of the atomweight grand prix will go down on Sept. 3.
In the evening’s main event, reigning One strawweight (125-pound) champion Jingnan Xiong will square off against Michelle Nicolini. Additionally, four atomweight (115-pound) grand prix quarterfinal matchups were confirmed: Seo Hee Ham vs. Denice Zamboanga; Meng Bo vs. Ritu Phogat; Alyona Rassohyna vs. Nong Stamp and Itsuki Hirata vs. Alyse Anderson.Meanwhile, Mei Yamaguchi will face Julie Mezabarba, while Grace Cleveland will meet the Bi Nguyen/Jenelyn Olsim winner in a pair of grand prix alternate bouts. Two non-MMA bouts round out the card: Anissa Meksen vs. Cristina Morales in an atomweight kickboxing affair and Jackie Buntan vs. Daniela Lopez in a strawweight muay Thai clash.
One Championship Empower takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and can be viewed on the One S…