Blog

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…

Credit: Joao Baptista/Sherdog.com Credit: Joao Baptista/Sherdog.com Credit: Joao Baptista/Sherdog.com Credit: Joao Baptista/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: TJ De Santis Credit: TJ De Santis Credit: TJ De Santis Credit: TJ De Santis Credit: TJ De Santis Credit: TJ De Santis Credit: TJ De Santis Credit: Jeff Sherwood Credit: Jeff Sherwood Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel Credit: Dave Mandel …

Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media © Credit: © Jerry McCarthy/KO! Media ©

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.

…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNVzdic3iCs&w=560&h=315]

One former Jon Jones training partner believes “Bones” will continue his extended run of success when he moves to the heavyweight division.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, former Jackson-Wink MMA teammate Rashad Evans discussed Jones’ potential at heavyweight. After Evans spit from the Albuquerque, N.M.-based camp, he faced Jones for the 205-pound title at UFC 145, losing a five-round verdict on April 21, 2012. While there was once bad blood between the two rivals, Evans still has plenty of respect for Jones.

“Jon moving up, it’s going to be a continuation of the legacy of Jon Jones,” Evans said. “Jon Jones is a phenomenal athlete. He’s a phenomenal fighter and his IQ inside the Octagon, it can’t be surpassed by anybody. So I expect him to carry that to the heavyweight division.

“The things that I think may give him some problems is the fact that these guys are big and they do hit harder. But for …

For Dustin Poirier, it was an easy decision to choose a trilogy with Conor McGregor over a lightweight title fight.

"If I am the best in the world, then I'm gonna beat Conor and fight for the belt. It's like doubling down on yourself,” Poirier told ESPN. “I’m a gambling man. I believe in my skills and fighting. So I just doubled down. That’s what it was.”

It seemed like a virtual certainty that “The Diamond” would be next in line to fight for the vacant lightweight crown after defeating McGregor via second-round technical knockout at UFC 257 in January. However, Poirier opted for the trilogy with the Irish star over a title bout, and Charles Oliveira claimed the throne with a stoppage of Michael Chandler at UFC 262.

“I don’t know how much you want to get into the actual contractual stuff with this, but me fighting for the belt, I wouldn’t have got pay-per-view [points]. I”d have got a base salary of probably not even a third of my base salary for this fight,” Po…

#BellatorFWGP finalist @ajmckee101 stopped by the desk to chop up #Bellator263 with @BCusterTV #ColbertNyambayar @BellatorMMA pic.twitter.com/qpAsth4XvE

— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) July 4, 2021

The Bellator 263 headliner between Patricio Freire and A.J. McKee may very well be the biggest fight in the history of the California-based promotion, but McKee is willing to take it one step further.

Not only does “The Mercenary” believe the featherweight grand prix final determines the No. 1 fighter under the Bellator banner, but he thinks the winner also deserves a spot at the top of all pound-for-pound lists, regardless of organization.

“Definitely. Hands down,” McKee said on Saturday’s Showtime Boxing broadcast. “This fight is for the pound-for-pound best, I feel, in the world. At 145 pounds, there’s not too many guys that can stop myself or ‘Pitbull.’”

McKee has kicked off his professional tenure with 17 consecutive triumphs in Be…

HEADKICK ARTIST

Ludovit Klein puts Slovakia on the map!

[ Tune in LIVE on ESPN2 ] pic.twitter.com/0oj8dN5p1Y — UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2020

Nate Landwehr and Ludovit Klein will lock horns at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Oct. 16.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. The event does not yet have an official location or headliner.

A former M-1 Global champion, Landwehr is 1-2 in his first three promotional appearances. In his last outing, “The Train” suffered a flying knee knockout loss to Julian Erosa 56 seconds into the opening round of their bout at UFC Fight Night 185. Landwehr was also knocked out by a knee from Herbert Burns in his Octagon debut but recovered to outpoint Darren Elkins in his next bout at UFC on ESPN 8.

Slovakia’s Klein has split his first two UFC bouts. After knocking out Shane Young in his first Octagon foray at UFC 253, “Mr. Highlight” dropped a decision to Michael Trizano at UFC o…

Former UFC flyweight contender John Dodson and his family were involved in a serious car accident over the weekend.

According to Dodson’s manager, Ricky Kottenstette, the fighter will no longer be able to compete in his scheduled bout against Cody Gibson at XMMA 2 on July 30 following the “near death” crash. A GoFundMe account has been started to help the New Mexico native and his family, and donations can be made here.

“We have started this go fund me to help John Dodson and family. The Dodson’s were headed to Texas on vacation to visit family when they were involved in a near death accident with the whole family inside the vehicle,” Kottenstette wrote.

“They were all released from the hospital this morning but will have a rough month of recovery and financial hardship ahead. They have totaled their family vehicle and unfortunately John will no longer be able to fight in his upcoming July 30th bout. We are asking for assistance to help them with their medical …

Saturday marks a year since Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomeodv, died due to COVID-19 related complications.

Abdulmanap was an integral figure in the MMA career of his son, serving as Khabib’s main coach during his rise to prominence. His death hastened Khabib’s departure from the sport, as the Dagestani grappler retired following a victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 this past October, citing a promise he made to his mother to no longer compete without his father by his side.

Today is already a year since the Father is not with us,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram. “This event increased my conviction that nothing in this world belongs to us, neither our children, nor our parents, nor our property. All we have is all temporary.”

“Everything belongs to Allah alone and to Him will be our return, tie your hearts to Allah, stay more alone with Him, because the time will come and we will all be put in a grave…

Nate Marquardt making his MMA return Aug 6th #TitanFC70 pic.twitter.com/LsPcnzoUb9

— Jim (@ItAlways420) July 3, 2021

Nate Marquardt will return to action for the first time since November 2017.

The former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger announced his comeback from retirement during Titan FC 70 on Friday. Marquardt plans to fight at the promotion’s Aug. 6 event. An opponent for the fight was not revealed.

“It’s 100 percent God,” Marquardt said of his motivation to return. “Honestly, I’ve been sent here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and He’s the only way to be saved and our nation is in desperate need right now to turn back to the Lord. I believe that’s the message God has for me and I’m really excited to fight again.”

Marquardt initially revealed that in December 2019, but it wasn’t until now that “The Great” was able to make those plans concrete. The ex-King of Pancrase first announced his retirement at the en…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHx0QgNVTfM&w=560&h=315]

Sean Soriano will square off against Octagon newcomer Fernando Padilla in a featherweight clash on Oct. 2.

ESPN was first to report the booking. The UFC Fight Night event takes place at an as yet to be announced location and is headling by a light heavyweight showdown pitting Thiago Santos against Johnny Walker.

After winning five of his last six bouts on the regional circuit, Soriano returned for a second promotional stint at UFC 262, where he suffered a second-round submission defeat to Christos Giagos on May 15. The 31-year-old Sanford MMA product is thus far winless in four UFC appearances.

A native of Chihuahau, Mexico, Padilla enters his first UFC foray having won four of his last five professional outings. Most recently, the 24-year-old Team Oyama representative knocked out Cameron Graves with an elbow in the second round of their featherweight title encounter at Fury Fighting Championship…

The LFA 110 main event is LIVE on UFC FIGHTPASS!! #LFA110 pic.twitter.com/132I15oQhh

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 3, 2021 Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new interim flyweight champion in the LFA 110 main event that pitted Yuma Horiuchi against Charles Johnson.

The action was fast-paced on the feet, with both fighters having success. Referee Kevin Nix inserted himself into the bout by deducting a point from Horiuchi for a low blow during Round 2. While Horiuchi (8-4) landed damaging leg kicks, Johnson (9-2) was able to find success with his hands. Johnson would come on strong in the championship rounds in order to eke out a split-decision victory with scores of 49-45, 46-48 and 48-46.

The co-main event was a solid middleweight bout between undefeated prospect Chibwikem Onyenegecha going up against an experienced veteran in Renato Valente Alves. While not the most dramatic contest, Alves (8-4) was generally able to outwork Onye…

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. Top Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contender Rob Font had a major scare from the World Anti-Doping Agency recently. Following his successful performance, a five-round decision win over ex-champ Cody Garbrandt, Font (19-4) failed a post-fight drug test for a metabolite of the noontropic substance known as meclofexonate. Upon learning of this test, Font and his team including manager Tyson Chartier documented every supplement that Font took, submitting his information to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. After an investigation, Font has been cleared of any wrongdoing, although he is currently under suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which is customary for an active anti-doping case. Chartier released a full statement of the proceedings on his Instagram account on Friday, detailing the steps they took as well…

Now that the #LFA110 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most?

: https://t.co/o0b7Vbey3p

: https://t.co/KLUg3OjH5h@ShellsDotCom@Drink9mm@KoiCBD@SheathUnderwear@GLCDirect2000@HowlerHead@TeamSmartStop@GrandCasinoOKC@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/hWqsPXqVIU — LFA (@LFAfighting) July 2, 2021 Although several fights fell through during fight week, the Legacy Fighting Alliance will surge ahead with a shortened five-fight offering capped off by a title bout.

A new LFA interim flyweight champion will be crowned at LFA 110. All 10 mixed martial artists that remained on the billing hit their proper marks. The main event will see Charles Johnson face Japanese prospect Yuma Horiuchi for the interim 125-pound championship. The promotion is opening up the title for dispute, as current champ Victor Altamirano is headed to Dana White's Contender Series in search of a Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

After s…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmrRla8jqs&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. Top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight Thiago Santos knows his back is up against the wall in a few months. Placed at number four at 205 pounds on the UFC rankings and #10 on Sherdog’s official rankings, Santos (21-9) is passing through the most difficult moment of his UFC career. With a record of 13-8 in eight years with the UFC, the man known as “Marreta” is reeling from three consecutive losses to Jon Jones, Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. Santos spoke to Sherdog about his upcoming October matchup and his future with the company, and despite his losing streak, he does not appear to be tense or unhappy.

“Anyone who passed through the surgeries I did, after five rounds with Jon Jones, and returned doing good fights with top contenders wo…