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Kelvin Gastelum is maintaining a positive attitude following his loss to Robert Whittaker in the UFC on ESPN 22 main event this past Saturday.

Gastelum shared “Fight of the Night” honors with his opponent for a bout in which he lost a unanimous decision at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While Gastelum pressured Whittaker throughout the fight and displayed a sturdy chin, he had no answers for the ex-champion’s versatile offensive arsenal at the end of the night.

“The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner released a statement expressing a desire to still be “one of the best” on social media.

“Getting an onslaught of amazing messages and I’m glad [people] enjoyed the fight,” Gastelum wrote. “Thank you all for sending even the slightest positive gesture and messages.

I still believe I can get the job done and be one of the best! I wouldn’t say that just to say it, I believe it with my heart. I am learning so much from my opponents and I will make the necessary adjustments f…

Court McGee will square off against Claudio Silva in a welterweight duel at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22.

AgFight was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 188 takes place at an as yet to be announced location and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown pitting Cody Garbrandt against Rob Font.

McGee, 36, has lost five of his last six Octagon appearances dating back to January 2017. Most recently, “The Ultimate Fighter 11” winner dropped a three-round verdict against Carlos Condit at UFC on ESPN 16 this past October.

The 38-year-old Silva began his promotional tenure with five consecutive triumphs before falling to James Krause via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 180 on Oct. 17. The loss to Krause was just the second in 16 professional appearances for the London Shootfighters representative.

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Billy Quarantillo will lock horns with Herbert Burns in a featherweight tilt at UFC Fight Night on July 17.

Quarantillo announced the pairing via social media. The event does not have an official location or headliner but is expected to include the return of Miesha Tate, as she faces Marion Reneau in a bantamweight matchup.

Quarantillo had an eight-bout professional winning streak halted at UFC 256, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Gavin Tucker. The Da…

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Legacy Fighting Alliance will crown its third-ever female strawweight champion on April 23.

The promotion recently announced that Pierangela Rodriguez Giunta will face Svetlana Gotsyk for 115-pound gold in the main event of LFA 105 at the Grand Event Center in Shawnee, Okla. The card will air on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The LFA strawweight belt became vacant after Lupita Godinez signed with the UFC.

Giunta has kicked off her professional career with five triumphs on the regional circuit in Panama and Spain. She has finished all but one of those victories by knockout or technical knockout.

A native of Ukraine, Gotsyk is a former strawweight title holder with the World Warriors Fighting Championship promotion. Her 13-4 career mark includes a notable TKO defeat to UFC champ Weili Zhang in 2016 and 12 wins inside the distance.

The rest of the LFA 105 main card is as follows: Jake C…

Combate Global will hold a one-night, four-man tournament to crown its inaugural North American lightweight champion on April 23.

The promotion announced the news in a release on Monday. Anthony Avila will face Alejandro Sanchez in one semifinal matchup, while Tommy Aaron will meet Luis Gomez in the other. Additionally, Cristian Perez will lock horns with Geraldo Rosa Almonte in a tournament alternate bout.

If one of the semifinal winners is unable to compete in the final, the winner of the alternate bout will take his place in the championship round.

“One night tournaments have become a part of Combate’s DNA, and we couldn’t think of a better way of crowning a new lightweight champion than making the champ earn the title by beating two opponents in one night,” said Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren.

The event airs on April 23 at 12:30 ET/PT on Univision and at 12:30 ET/9:30 p.m. PT on TUDN USA from Univision’s studios in Miami, Florida. Two other bouts …

It’s getting more and more difficult to deny Robert Whittaker a chance to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship.

“The Reaper” earned his third consecutive triumph in the UFC on ESPN 22 headliner, as he put on a brilliant striking exhibition against Kelvin Gastelum for five rounds at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While Whittaker’s lukewarm attitude toward a title shot might have cost him following a victory over Jared Cannonier this past October, the Sydney-based fighter made it pretty clear what he believes he deserves after besting Gastelum in impressive fashion.

“That’s kind of how I’ve always taken to the approach of fighting, is that if you beat ’em all, you’re eventually at the top,” Whittaker said. “It’s a simple path, and there is no other fight that makes sense to me other than that tile shot, and that’s the shot that I want and that I’m getting.”

After losing the 185-pound belt to Israel Adesanya via second-round knockout at UFC 243 in Octob…

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On an evening where UFC on ESPN 22 nearly tied a record for most split decisions on a fight card, Robert Whittaker’s clear-cut verdict over Kelvin Gastelum was an easy choice for “Fight of the Night.”

Whittaker and Gastelum each received $50,000 for Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Although Whittaker picked his opponent apart with crisp punching combinations and head kicks, Gastelum was a game opponent throughout the contest, and that made for a compelling 25 minutes of action. Ultimately, Whittaker was too much, as he swept the scorecards by identical 50-45 tallies.

Earlier, Gerald Meerschaert set a UFC middleweight submission record, earning himself a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in the process. Meershaert secured his sixth submission in the Octagon by choking Bartosz Fabinski unconscious 2:00 into the opening round of their preliminary middleweight contest.

Finally, Tony Gravely garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Per…

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. Robert Whittaker is on the verge of getting a chance to reclaim the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight belt. The ex-champion put on a striking master class against Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC on ESPN 22 main event, sweeping the scorecards by a trio of 50-45 counts. Whittaker (23-5, 14-3 UFC) has now bested Gastelum, Jared Cannonier and Darren Till in succession since relinquishing the 185-pound title to Israel Adesanya in October 2019.

“I’m feeling on top of the world,” Whittaker said. “Obviously this was a very hard fight. I think a lot of people were selling Kelvin short because of where he’s ranked, but I think he’s a very tough fight.”

The PMA Super Martial Arts representative was one step ahead of Gastelum (16-6, 1 NC, 11-6, 1 NC UFC) for the entire 25 minutes. Whittaker set the tone when he briefly dazed Gast…

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. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 22 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 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:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfi…

By technical split decision, Alexandr Romanov is declared the winner. #UFCVegas24 pic.twitter.com/nYktSGnOws

— UFC (@ufc) April 18, 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.

It almost certainly wasn’t the way Alexander Romanov envisioned extending his 14-bout professional winning streak.

The Moldovan remained unbeaten in unusual fashion at UFC on ESPN 22, taking a technical split decision against Juan Espino (10-2, 2-1 UFC) in a preliminary heavyweight contest at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The bout reached an abrupt end 1:05 into Round 3, when Espino rendered Romanov (14-0, 3-0 UFC) unable to continue after landing an accidental knee to the groin from the clinch position. As a result, the bout was scored where it stood: Dave Hagen and Tony Weeks saw it 29-28 for Romanov, while Chris Lee submitted a 29-28 tally…

A lightweight showdown between Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose that was scheduled to co-headline UFC on ESPN 22 will have to go down another day.

At the top of Saturday’s broadcast, the promotion announced that the fight had been scrapped due to Klose suffering an undisclosed injury. As a result, UFC on ESPN 22 will proceed with 10 bouts, and Andrei Arlovski vs. Chase Sherman will serve as the new co-main event.

Shortly thereafter, Klose released a statement revealing that he felt his hand go numb and neck tighten up after being pushed by Stephens during a staredown at weigh-ins on Friday. On Saturday, he was hindered by a migraine and vomiting, so the UFC medical staff elected to remove Klose from the event.

pic.twitter.com/QoI9TOTe3f

— Drakkar Klose (@drakkarklose) April 17, 2021

According to the UFC, Klose vs. Stephens will be rebooked as soon as possible.

Klose last appeared at UFC 248, where he had a three-bout winning…

A welterweight clash pitting Santiago Ponzinibbio against Miguel Baeza is set for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on June 5.

Combate was first to report the booking. A location and headliner for the event have yet to be announced.

After being sidelined for more than two years, Ponzinibbio returned to the Octagon at UFC on ABC 1, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Jingliang Li on Jan. 16. Prior to that defeat, the 34-year-old Argentina native authored a seven-bout winning streak in the Octagon that included victories over the likes of Neil Magny, Mike Perry and Gunnar Nelson.

Baez has the look of a rising star after beginning his professional tenure with 10 straight victories — including three in the UFC. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum has finished all three of his adversaries in the Octagon and is coming off a second-round submission of Takashi Sato in his last outing at UFC on ESPN 18.

Vadim Nemkov still wears the target on his back and does so proudly.

The Fedor Emelianenko protégé retained his undisputed 205-pound title and advanced to the semifinals of the Bellator MMA light heavyweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over Phil Davis in the Bellator 257 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. All three judges scored it the same: 48-47 for Nemkov (13-2, 6-0 Bellator), who improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series with Mr. Wonderful.

Davis (22-6, 9-3 Bellator) struggled to get in gear, and the slow start did him no favors. Nemkov built a commanding lead on the strength of a crisp jab, well-timed punching combinations and occasional kicks to the lower leg. Davis had his moments—he cut the Russian near his left eye with an overhand right in the second round and enjoyed some success in the clinch—but failed to give the champion true pause.

Nemkov will carry an eight-fight winning streak into the tournament semifi…

Longtime Bellator MMA matchmaker Rich Chou will be parting ways with the promotion to serve as an executive with Wimp 2 Warrior, a grassroots training program that works to increase the participation level in MMA.

Chou will officially serve as North American vice president for the organization. W2W is co-founded by CEO Nick Langton and SBG Ireland leader John Kavanagh, who oversees the European branch and the program’s training curriculum.

“Chou will be focused on rapidly expand W2W’s presence across the U.S. and Canada,” stated a release. “Working in concert with Kavanagh and Langton, Chou will accelerate the growth of W2W’s licensee gyms through high profile partnerships with brand name MMA academies and gyms, creating the staging grounds for an immersive 100 class, 20 week fight camp that takes participants on a transformative mind, body and soul experience through the world of martial arts.”

According to a separate release from Bellator, Chou will serve as a consu…

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Anthem Sports and Entertainment has acquired Invicta Fighting Championships, and that means a new broadcast home for the all-female promotion.

The media company, which owns properties such as AXS TV, Fight Network and IMPACT Wrestling, recently announced the news in a release. After several years streaming on UFC Fight Pass, Invicta events moving forward will air on AXS TV in the United States and Fight Network in Canada. Meanwhile, Invicta FC founder Shannon Knapp will join Anthem’s executive team as a senior member of Sports Media Group and will continue her role running the organization.

“This is a huge moment for Invicta and for women in the sport,” Knapp said in a release. “Invicta FC was founded to give female mixed martial artists a platform where they could compete and prove the doubters wrong. Now, as part of the Anthem portfolio and with shows on national television for the first time, Invicta’…

Douglas Lima will defend his welterweight crown against Yaroslav Amosov in the main event of Bellator 260 on June 11.

The California-based promotion announced the pairing on Friday. Bellator 260 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and will also see Tywan Claxton face Justin Gonzales at featherweight and Nick Newell meet Bobby King at lightweight. The main card will air on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV.

After defeating Rory MacDonald in a five-round decision to regain the 170-pound belt in the finals of the welterweight grand prix at Bellator 232, Lima attempted to become a two-division champion last year. His move to middleweight didn’t go so well, as he dropped a five-round verdict to champion Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 250 this past October.

“I’m pumped to get back in the cage and show everyone why I’m the most-feared welterweight in…

Who takes the W home? #LFA104 pic.twitter.com/nkkwwf0iMH

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) April 17, 2021 Aaron McKenzie proved that he's one to watch in the Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight division.

The main event of LFA 104 saw McKenzie (10-2-1) get tested by Brandon Phillips. After a close first round, Phillips (6-4) began hurting McKenzie with body shots and slick striking. However, McKenzie came on strong in Round 3 with an aggressive strategy, and he was able to hurt Phillips with an onslaught of punches. The clutch Round 3 performance was enough for McKenzie to take home a decision victory, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.

The night's co-main event saw flyweights Donavon Frelow and Yuma Horiuchi looking to each snap their respective losing streaks. In the end, it was Horiuchi (8-3) that got back into the win column. After losing a point for grabbing the cage, Horiuchi was able to lock in a tight armb…

Sherdog's live Bellator 257 coverage kicks off Friday at 6 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 Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result Light Heavyweight Title Fight and WGP Quarterfinal Bout:Vadim Nemkov (204.5) vs. Phil Davis (205) Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 The Official Result

“The Underground King” was hoping for a quick turnaround, and he’s getting one.

Eddie Alvarez (30-8 1NC, 1-2 One) has a scheduled fight before the end of the month. On Friday morning, One Champi-onship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced to the South China Morning Post that Alvarez would be com-peting on the upcoming One on TNT 4 card. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA 155-pound titleholder will face the winner of the Marat Garufov-Rae Yoon Ok clash, which has already been taped, but will air on the One on TNT 3 event next Wednesday.

In his latest cage appearance, Alvarez was disqualified after landing several illegal shots on the back of the head of Iuri Lapicus (15-1, 3-1 One) at One on TNT 1. Save for his submission victory over Eduard Folayang at One: Dawn of Heroes, “The Underground King” has recorded three defeats in his latest four outcomes. Besides the disqualification with Lapicus, Alvarez has also been stopped by Dustin Poirier in his…

"The Strabanimal" won't be competing on the upcoming Bellator 258 card after all.

On Friday afternoon, news broke that James Gallagher has been forced to pull out of his scheduled 135-pound clash against Patrick Mix at Bellator 258. MMA Junkie reported first the news that several media outlets then confirmed. The promotion is looking for a short-notice replacement to keep Mix on the card. In the meantime, the Patricky Freire-Peter Queally lightweight clash has been promoted to the main card.

Gallagher (11-1, 8-1 Bellator) is riding a four-bout winning streak after losing to Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 204 in August 2018. In his latest cage appearance, the 24-year-old SBG Ireland representative submitted Callum Ellenor via rear-naked choke in the opening frame of their Bellator Milan encounter.

Mix (13-1, 2-1 Bellator) fell short of capturing the vacant divisional championship when he met Juan Archuleta at Bellator 246 last September. That night, "Patchy" also s…

The Lioness will make her return to the bantamweight division in August. Per Dana White (@danawhite), Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) will defend her 135-pound title against Julianna Peña (@VenezuelanVixen) at UFC 265. pic.twitter.com/tWLmW2Exmt

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 15, 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. Callouts will get you far in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the COVID-19 era. Per ESPN on Thursday, Amanda Nunes (21-4) has her next title defense lined up, for her first appearance at 135 pounds since 2019. At bantamweight, she will defend her strap against Julianna Pena (10-4) at UFC 265 on Aug. 7. Pena called out Nunes after Pena’s previously scheduled match with Holly Holm fell through. On a one-fight win streak, Pena will get a crack at gold.

Nunes has looked nothing short of unbeatable on her current, hi…

The Reaper returns!

@RobWhittakerMMA checks in for #UFCVegas24. pic.twitter.com/iVWvCvRk0W

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 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. A middleweight clash with potential title implications is set after the UFC on ESPN 22 weigh-ins took place, but the story coming out of it was Zarah Fairn dos Santos' enormous weight miss.

Saturday’s card is headlined by former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Robert Whittaker taking on former top contender Kelvin Gastelum. Both main event fighters had zero issues making weight, although the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the card. Fairn dos Santos didn't even make featherweight for her 139-pound catchweight bout against Josiane Nunes as she came in at 147 pounds, and the bout has been canceled as a result. Tracy Cortez also had weight management iss…

Now that the #LFA104 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most?

: https://t.co/LyjI7ilKV8

: https://t.co/uAP3l6qfL2@ShellsDotCom@TheDiceTeam@GLCDirect2000@TeamSmartStop@SheathUnderwear@GrandCasinoOKC@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/Pcp8SmMrpN — LFA (@LFAfighting) April 16, 2021 All fighters successfully made their contracted weights for Friday night's LFA 104 event.

The Legacy Fighting Alliance's latest event will see lightweights Aaron McKenzie and Brandon Phillips atop the card. Both fighters will look to earn a crack at promotional gold or a call from the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a win. In a rarity for the promotion, all 18 fighters on the card made weight without issue.

A familiar face to LFA fans, McKenzie (9-2-1) is undefeated within the promotion. After choking out Glaucio Eliziario in his LFA debut, McKenzie won a decision over Joe Giannetti his next time out. The 32-year-old offic…