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Bellator MMA has parted ways with a total of 18 fighters, including former featherweight champion Daniel Straus, light heavyweight king Liam McGeary and once highly-touted prospect Tywan Claxton.

Other notables no longer on the roster include Alessio Sakara, Heather Hardy, Bec Rawlings, Tyree Fortune and John Teixeira. Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Not all fighters mentioned were released by Bellator; some simply didn’t have their contracts renewed or are potentially pursuing other opportunities.

The following athletes are also not on the California-based promotion’s roster: Khonry Gracie, Amanda Bell, Chuck Campbell, Demarques Jackson, Dominic Mazzotta, Olga Rubin, Kirill Sidelnikov, Mike Jasper, Steve MacDonald and Ryan Spillane.

Straus is a two-time 145-pound title holder with Bellator. He initially claimed the belt with a five-round verdict over Pat Curran at Bellator 106 in November…

UFC is finalizing a light heavyweight bout between Jimmy Crute and Jamahal Hill for the UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 2, multiple sources told @bokamotoESPN. pic.twitter.com/Ww86HW4vzd

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 9, 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 appears that Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights Jamahal Hill and Jimmy Crute will both be able to fight again soon after going down mid-fight with bad injuries. On Friday, ESPN broke the news that Crute (12-2) and Hill (8-1, 1 NC) will tangle on the Oct. 2 UFC Fight Night card. Crute first posted about his new four-fight contract as well as his next match, which is set to be against Hill, on Thursday. The pairing will be less than four months removed from Hill suffering a horrific arm injury from an armbar, but “Sweet Dreams” has been cleared to compete again. Crute su…

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 potential Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight title eliminator is on tap for a Fight Night main event in October. ESPN announced on Friday that Marina Rodriguez (14-1-2) will headline the UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 9 against Mackenzie Dern (11-1). The event, which will go down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, may place the winner in prime position for a future title shot.

Rodriguez’ first UFC main event went her way when she won a decision over Michelle Waterson in May. Rodriguez is riding a two-fight win streak since her first career defeat, which came against Carla Esparza a year ago. In January, the Brazilian smashed fellow countrywoman Amanda Ribas in the second round to earn her first stoppage inside the Octagon. Rodriguez is the only woman in UFC history to fight to a draw on two separate occasions, doing so aga…

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. Submission specialist Preston Parsons is about to join the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on short notice. Welterweight Daniel Rodriguez (14-2) announced on an Instagram story on Wednesday that his opponent Abubakar Nurmagomedov was forced out of their July 17 contest. On Thursday night, MMA Island was the first to report that Nurmagomedov’s replacement would be the newcomer Parsons (9-2). The promotion confirmed this booking on Friday, with the 170-pound bout taking place on UFC on ESPN 26 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Parsons makes his way to the UFC with a 100 percent career submission rate, and his two defeats also came by stoppage. No pro fight for the Jacksonville Beach, Fla., resident has ever gone past the 4:26 mark of the second frame, win or lose. Four tapouts on Combat Night Pro events from 2019 to…

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. With 11 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship victories under his belt, Paddy Pimblett is set to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in September. On Friday, Combate first broke the story that Pimblett (16-3) would be stepping inside the Octagon on Sept. 4 against Luigi Vendramini (9-2). The UFC Fight Night card slated for London does not yet have a venue established, although this lightweight bout has been booked for this event. News of Pimblett’s debut came from the fighter on his Instagram page on Thursday, and the matchup was confirmed by other outlets on Friday.

Former bantamweight Pimblett has largely impressed since his shift up to the lightweight division in 2018, starting with a flying triangle choke on Alexis Savvidis in his first fight at 155 pounds. An unsuccessful attempt for the Cage Warriors lightweig…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCZ3gk-el9M&w=640&h=360] Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 264 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor have a score to settle on what could be the biggest Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view of the year. Both fighters in the main event of UFC 264 had no issue making weight. In fact, all but one competitor on the 13-fight card hit their proper marks. Irene Aldana came in 3.5 pounds heavy for her bantamweight bout against Yana Kunitskaya, and she has been fined 30 percent of her purse. The bout will otherwise proceed as scheduled.

Coming off the biggest victory of his career, Poirier (27-6, 1 NC) will look to go two up in the trilogy against "Notorious." The Louisiana native was able to finish McGregor off with punches in Round 2 of their meeting earlier this year, which avenged a previous defeat to the Irishman in 2014. "The…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTQHgLHDiRM&w=560&h=315] 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. After bursting out of the gate with three quick stoppage wins, hot Ultimate Fighting Championship commodity Khamzat Chimaev will be coming back to the Octagon following a lengthy layoff. According to a report from betting site Octagon.bet on Friday, and subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets, the UFC is booking Chimaev (9-0) for October against Jingliang Li (18-6). The two welterweights will collide at UFC 267, which is slated to go down on Oct. 30 at an undisclosed venue in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This will be Chimaev’s first appearance since a knockout win in September 2020, as the Russian out of Sweden contracted COVID-19.

The future was bright for 27-year-old Chimaev, who debuted in the promotion in July 2020 and went on to rattle off three speedy…

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. Carlos Felipe has made life easier for Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers, getting his requested pairing in October. After Felipe (11-1) defeated Jake Collier in June by split verdict, the Brazilian called out Andrei Arlovski (31-20, 2 NC) in the post-fight press conference. The promotion has granted his request, as Felipe and Arlovski will throw down at an upcoming UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 16 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Felipe announced the news of this pairing on an interview with Canal Encarada on Wednesday, and he subsequently confirmed the heavyweight tilt on his Instagram.

“I have a request for the matchmakers,” Felipe asked at the UFC 263 post-fight press conference. “Put me with Andrei Arlovski. This is the fight to make. I have all the respect for Andrei Arlovski, but I think his time has already passed.…

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. Due to an injury replacement, Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Matt Schnell now finds himself in a matchup against a top-ranked foe. ESPN Deportes first reported the news on Wednesday night that Askar Askarov (14-0-1) has been forced out of his pairing with Alex Perez (24-6) due to a broken hand. The two flyweights were set to dance at UFC on ESPN 27 on July 31, but as a result, Matt Schnell (15-6) will be entering and the bout will be shifted to the UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 28. Perez and Schnell were originally slated to meet at UFC 262, but the scrap fell through and Schnell stayed on the card in a losing effort.

Schnell, who has lost two of his last three to Alexandre Pantoja and Rogerio Bontorin dating back to late 2019, will be taking on the sixth-ranked flyweight Perez on relatively short notice. As mentioned…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A strawweight tilt pitting Amanda Ribas against Virna Jandiroba has been added to the UFC 267 bill.

Combate was first to report the matchup. UFC 267 will take place on Oct. 30 in Abu Dhabi and is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight championshp bout between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

Ribas kicked off her promotional tenure with four consecutive triumphs before falling to Marina Rodriguez via second-round TKO in her most recent outing at UFC 257. She was twice booked to face Angela Hill but both times the fight fell through due to COVID-19 issues for the Brazilian. The 27-year-old Marcelo Ribas Team product is 10-2 over the course of her professional career, with seven triumphs coming inside the distance.

Jandiroba has won three of her last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, she stopped Kanako Murata via second-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 25 on June 19. The former Invicta FC title holder also owns subm…

Nick Diaz’s long-awaited Octagon return is close to becoming a reality.

The promotion is targeting a welterweight clash between Diaz and Robbie Lawler for the UFC 266 co-main event on Sept. 25. UFC president Dana White initially revealed the booking to TSN. Verbal agreements have been issued for the bout, but contracts have yet to be signed.

Lawler and Diaz initially squared off at UFC 47, with Lawler losing via knockout at the 1:31 mark of Round 2.

Diaz hasn’t competed since January 2015, when he lost a five-round decision to Anderson Silva in the UFC 183 headliner — though the official result was overturned to a no contest after “The Spider” failed a drug test. Since that bout, Diaz has flirted with a comeback on multiple occasions, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet. A former Strikeforce champion, Diaz hasn’t won a fight since taking a unanimous decision over B.J. Penn at UFC 137 on Oct. 29, 2011. The 37-year-old Stockton, Calif., native won 11 strai…

Breaking: https://t.co/GUi7KSNP3n (@CryptoCom) becomes first-ever global official fight kit partner & first cryptocurrency platform of @UFC.

More information here :https://t.co/t955WC9WyD

— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 7, 2021 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is partnering with Crypto.com, which will allow the crypto platform to place its branding on UFC fight kits.

According to a report from Sportico, the deal is for 10 years and $175 million – the largest sponsorship ever for the Las Vegas-based promotion. In addition to having the Crypto.com logo on UFC apparel worn by fighters and their corners, the company will also get prominent placement on the Octagon during pay-per-view events and Dana White’s Contender Series cards. Crypto.com “will also be integrated into UFC content on both linear and digital platforms, including live broadcasts, pay-per-views, and UFC-owned social media channels,” per a release.

“This is a partnership …

How about that! NSAC no longer sanctioning for marijuana. Crazy that in my tenure with UFC I've seen NSAC try to suspend Nick Diaz for life for marijuana, to this. Big credit to Exec Director Bob Bennett for spearheading this change. Just don't show up to fight impaired!

— Jeff Novitzky (@JeffNovitzkyUFC) July 7, 2021

Fighters competing in Nevada will no longer be punished for testing positive for marijuana.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to remove marijuana from the list of banned substances in the state. As a result, fighters will no longer face sanctions for a positive test.

“We should be always at the forefront of these issues, and I believe it’s warranted and merited since it is legal in this state,” NSAC chairman Stephen Cloobeck said. “I think we need to jump forward being the leader as we’ve always been.”

The new rule will take effect immediately, but fighters previously facing punishment …

The life of the legendary Pride champion Wanderlei Silva will soon be available for viewing on the big screen.

According to Brazilian outlet UOL, Luppi Productions has acquired the rights to the biography “Wanderlei Silva Sem Coleira,” which was written by journalists Thiago Parijani and Luiz Henrique Gurian and launched in Brazil last October.

According to Luiz Pereira, producer and partner at Luppi Productions, one possibility is to launch the film in 2022 in conjunction with a Japanese company. Japan is where Silva’s legend was born, after he defeated the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba to capture the Pride middleweight belt — which led to a lengthy championship reign in the organization. Pereira also said that he hopes to eventually release the film on streaming platforms such as Netlix, Amazon or Disney+.

Retired from MMA since 2018 with a career record of 35-14-1, “The Axe Murderer” is considered as one of the most aggressive and dominant fighters in vale tud…

Herb Dean will oversee the action when Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor square off for a third time in the UFC 264 headliner on Saturday.

The veteran official was approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to referee the trilogy bout during a Wednesday meeting. Dean was the third man in the cage for both of the first two fights between Poirier and McGregor.

Meanwhile, Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo were appointed as cageside judges for the lightweight bout. Neither of the first two fights needed the scorecards: McGregor defeated Poirier via first-round TKO at UFC 178 in September 2014, while “The Diamond” avenged that loss in a second-round stoppage at UFC 257 this past January.

UFC 264 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is available on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The preliminary card begins on ESPN and ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Former UFC welterweight contender Chad Mendes may be considering a return from retirement.

A recent Instagram post indicated as much, as the Team Alpha Male stalwart shared a photo of a boxing session with a caption suggesting that a comeback is imminent.

“Another hard boxing session with [Joey Rodriguez] crushed!!” Mendes wrote. The timing, power, footwork and speed have been coming together the last few weeks! Been loving the [Mike Tyson] and [Canelo Alvarez] style of boxing baby!

“The itch is getting stronger and stronger! Might have to start talking some numbers soon.”

Mendes officially announced his retirement in 2019, some seven months after a second-round technical knockout loss to future featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 232.

"The main reason I didn't say something sooner was there were some loose ends I wanted to tie up," Mendes said then. "I wanted to step away for a little bit and let everything settle, and just make sur…

Maryna Moroz will face Luana Carolina in a flyweight bout at a UFC event on Oct. 16.

Combate was first to report the booking. The card does not yet have an official location or headliner.

Moroz is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision triumphs over Sabina Mazo and Mayra Bueno Silva. The 29-year-old Ukraine native is 5-3 in the Las Vegas-based promotion and 10-3 as a professional overall.

After her appearance on the Brazilian edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, Carolina has been victorious in two of her three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 28-year-old Brazilian garnered a split verdict over Poliana Botelho at UFC on ESPN 23 on May 1.

Dana White addresses Francis Ngannou and how the #UFC265 interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane came about. Full interview coming to @UFCarabia pic.twitter.com/aU8ewUULJT

— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) July 6, 2021

When it was announced that Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane would square off for the interim heavyweight crown at UFC 265, it raised a lot of eyebrows in the MMA community.

After all, Francis Ngannou had only just claimed the belt with a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic on March 27, and plenty of promotional champions have been sidelined for much longer without the creation of an interim title.

However, UFC president Dana White doesn’t think that putting an interim title up for grabs was out of line with the promotion’s usual method of doing business.

“You knew this was coming for weeks if we didn’t get a deal done,” White told UFC Arabia. “This has happened a million times.”

Ngann…

pic.twitter.com/QVHskFgjA0

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 6, 2021

Conor McGregor has kicked off UFC 264 fight week with a different type of social media strategy ahead of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.

Late Monday night, the Irish star delivered an eerie voice message to his opponent via Twitter.

“Dustin,” McGregor said. “‘Peahead’ ... I’m coming for you Peahead. Silly hillbilly.”

After a cordial approach by both fighters heading into UFC 257, tensions already seem to be rising heading into Saturday’s UFC 264 headliner. Both men will likely have plenty to say at a pre-fight press conference scheduled for Thursday at the T-Mobile Arena 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

After defeating McGregor via second-round technical knockout in their January rematch, Poirier said he was prepared for a less civil approach from the former two-division champion heading into their trilogy.

“The good thing about this one is if it’s c…

A featherweight striker’s delight has been targeted to headline an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Aug. 28.

According to a report from ESPN, the promotion is targeting a clash pitting Edson Barboza against Giga Chikadze for a UFC Fight Night event on that date. The contest has not yet been officially signed but is close to being finalized.

Barboza is 2-1 since moving from lightweight to 145 pounds. After dropping a closely-contested split decision to Dan Ige at UFC on ESPN 8, the 35-year-old Brazilian has rebounded to score a decision win over Makwan Amirkhani at UFC Fight Night 179 followed by a knockout over Shane Burgos at UFC 262. Barboza had lost four of his previous five Octagon appearances before switching divisions.

Chikadze has won his last eight bouts since August 2018 — including six triumphs in UFC competition. The 32-year-old Kings MMA representative scored his most notable victory to date at UFC on ESPN 23, where he defeated Cub Swanson wi…

The attention of the entire MMA world will be focused on the Octagon this Saturday when Conor McGregor faces Dustin Poirier in one of the most highly-anticipated rubber matches in UFC history.

The fact that Mcgregor beat Poirier via technical knockout in their first encounter in the featherweight division at UFC 178 in 2014 and the American have won the second encounter seven years later at UFC 257 has made that third fight even more intriguing.

Bellator featherweight champ Patricio Freire, who is in the midst of preparations to defend his belt against A.J. McKee on July 31, believes McGregor’s superior technique will be a key factor in the fight.

"McGregor is good at revenge. Actually, he was winning the first fight [before the finish],” Freire said. “Conor may talk a lot of s—t, but he is much more technical than Poirier. I think he will come more prepared this time and win decisively.

Meanwhile, UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira might have the m…

Bellator MMA has signed former Eagle Fighting Championships lightweight king Gadzhi Rabadanov to an exclusive, multi-fight contract.

Sherdog.com confirmed the deal with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. A date for Rabadanov’s Bellator debut was not revealed.

Rabadanov claimed the interim belt with a victory over Joao Paulo de Moura e Silva when the promotion was still known as Gorilla Fighting Championships. He was elevated to undisputed champion before dropping the title to Mehdi Dakaev in a five-round decision at Eagle Fighting Championship 30 this past December.

The Dagestani competed once for Professional Fighters League during the 2019 season, earning a unanimous verdict over Steven Siler in a featherweight matchup. Rabadanov missed the featherweight mark for two ensuing PFL appearances, however, and has since moved to 155 pounds. He enters his Bellator debut having won eight of his last nine professional outings, a run…

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The lineup for UFC on ESPN 26 continues to grow, as the promotion recently announced three more bouts for the July 17 event.

The three new matchups are as follows: Amanda Lemos vs. Montserrat Ruiz at strawweight; Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira vs. Alan Baudot at heavyweight and Miles Johns vs. Anderson dos Santos at bantamweight.

UFC on ESPN 26 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a lightweight tilt pitting Islam Makhachev against Thiago Moises. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

After falling to Leslie Smith in her promotional debut, Lemos has won three straight bouts, including a first-round TKO of Livinha Souza in her last outing at UFC 259. Ruiz, meanwhile, outpointed Cheyanne Buys in her first Octagon foray at UFC on ESPN 21 to improve to 10-1 as a professional.

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