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Tanner Boser’s victory over Ovince St. Preux in the UFC Fight Night 190 co-main event was not without controversy.

Right before the finishing sequence in the heavyweight bout, Boser appeared to grab the fence to help him return to his feet after being taken down by “OSP” at the beginning of the second round. Once Boser was upright, he stuffed a St. Preux takedown, hurt his foe with a knee and dropped him with a right hand, ending the contest 2:31 into Round 2. At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Boser denied grabbing the fence.

“I heard his corner yelling about it, but I don’t remember doing it – I don’t think there was [a fence grab]” Boser said . “Their job is to be in the best interest of their fighter. If they believe that I grabbed the fence, they have every right to be angry. I don’t believe I grabbed the fence.

“I didn’t see on the replay that I grabbed the fence, and I’m confident I didn’t grab the fence. But …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ciryl Gane is shaping up to be a difficult puzzle to solve at heavyweight. The Frenchman won his second consecutive five-round verdict in the Octagon, taking a unanimous decision over former Bellator MMA and M-1 Global champion Alexander Volkov in the UFC Fight Night 190 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Gane received scorecards of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 from the cageside judges, ending Volkov’s two-bout winning streak. The victory comes on the heels of a 25-minute triumph over Jairzinho Rozenstruik this past February, proving that the MMA Factory member is the rare big man capable of consistently swimming in deep waters.

“Volkov is one of the best in the division, so I’m really happy,” Gane said.

Volkov (33-9, 7-3 UFC) simply had no answers for his opponent’s superior spe…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 190 coverage will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the roun…

#UFCVegas30 Highlight Video: Kennedy Nzechukwu Overwhelms Danilo Marques https://t.co/ndXRSnfO3Y pic.twitter.com/1GHIcyhUip

— Sherdog by Mandatory (@sherdogdotcom) June 26, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Once Kennedy Nzechukwu gets rolling, it’s difficult to halt his momentum.

The Dana White’s Contender Series alum shook off a slow start at UFC Fight Night 190 to defeat Danilo Marques via technical knockout in a light heavyweight showdown on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nzechukwu (9-1, 3-1 UFC) brought the show to a close 20 seconds into Round 3 for his third consecutive promotional triumph.

The first half of the bout belonged to Marques (11-3, 2-1 UFC). The Demian Maia protégé landed an immediate single-leg takedown and made Nzechukwu wear him like a backpack for appr…

Timur Valiev and Raoni Barcelos engaged in one of the evening’s most competitive battles at UFC Fight Night 190, and both men are now $50,000 richer for their efforts.

Valiev and Barcelos received “Fight of the Night” honors for their bantamweight clash on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Though Barcelos scored the bout’s only two knockdowns in the second frame, Valiev ultimately captured a narrow majority decision thanks to superior volume and movement in Rounds 1 and 3.

Elsewhere, Kennedy Nzechukwu earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a come-from-behind victory over Danilo Marques at light heavyweight. After spending much of the first two rounds fending off rear-naked choke attempts from his opponent, the man known as “African Savage” put Marques away with a flurry of punches 20 seconds into the final frame.

Finally, Marcin Prachnio garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check on the strength of a secon…

Timur Valiev and Raoni Barcelos engaged in one of the evening’s most competitive battles at UFC Fight Night 190, and both men are now $50,000 richer for their efforts.

Valiev and Barcelos received “Fight of the Night” honors for their bantamweight clash on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Though Barcelos scored the bout’s only two knockdowns in the second frame, Valiev ultimately captured a narrow majority decision thanks to superior volume and movement in Rounds 1 and 3.

Elsewhere, Kennedy Nzechukwu earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a come-from-behind victory over Danilo Marques at light heavyweight. After spending much of the first two rounds fending off rear-naked choke attempts from his opponent, the man known as “African Savage” put Marques away with a flurry of punches 20 seconds into the final frame.

Finally, Marcin Prachnio garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check on the strength of a secon…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LwQUIrzvxM&w=560&h=315]

Kayla Harrison has the look of a runaway train in the Professional Fighters League.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist dispatched Cindy Dandois with an armbar in the first round of their PFL 6 headliner on Friday at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Just the second woman to submit the Belgian in mixed martial arts competition, Harrison (10-0, 9-0 PFL) brought it to a close 4:44 into Round 1.

Dandois (16-7, 0-2 PFL) never presented much of a threat. Harrison assumed top position after a failed takedown attempt from the “Battlecat,” advanced to side control and applied the heavy ground-and-pound for which she has become known. She eventually stood above Dandois, connected with a sweeping left hand and achieved full mount with roughly a minute remaining in the first round. Harrison went to work with punches once more, sat back on the armbar and prompted the tapout.

Meanwhile, fo…

Sherdog's live PFL 2021 6 coverage will begin at 6 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. 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 The Official Result

Sherdog's live PFL 2021 6 coverage will begin at 6 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Round 1 Starting the night's action, we have recent UFC veteran Klidson Abreu (15-4) taking on Jamelle Jones (10-6), perhaps best known for losing via flying knee to Mike Rodriguez on the Contenders Series. Officiating will be referee Gary Copeland. Abreu and Jones come out cautiously to start matters off. Abreu fires off several wild kicks, and his second one, to the legs, is caught by Jones, who scores a single-leg. Jones is in half-guard, but Abreu immediately works to sweep. Jones blocks it and the pace slows a little. Abreu eventually regains full guard, causing Jones to back off. He then re-engages, but it's not long before Abreu postures u…

By The Numbers

WHAT A FIGHT! Both men gave everything but it's Valentin Moldavsky who gets the Unanimous Decision nod over @tbeartim. #AndNew Bellator Interim-Heavyweight Champion #Bellator261 pic.twitter.com/3PNpo2r0Zu

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 26, 2021 Bellator MMA crowned its interim heavyweight champion at Bellator 261. The main event saw 36-year-old veteran Timothy Johnson go up against Russian prospect Valentin Moldavsky. Johnson (15-7) looked to brawl with the 29-year-old and found some success on the feet while doing so. However, Moldavsky (11-1) was more technical at a distance and was generally landing the better punches. In Round 3, the Russian started to take Johnson down and found success in the grappling exchanges. As the fight continued, Moldavsky was the fresher fighter despite Johnson always moving forward. After five rounds, the judges awarded Moldavsky the unanimous decision and the interim title with scores of…

OFFICIAL at 265

@AlexDragoVolkov is locked for #UFCVegas30.

[ Main Card 4pmET | Tomorrow on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/xNCFSEFhec — UFC (@ufc) June 25, 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. For the second week in a row, there was no drama on the scales.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship wraps up its busy June schedule with a potential heavyweight title eliminator match between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov atop UFC Fight Night 190. Each of the 26 fighters for this event made weight, and Volkov will keep a 20-pound weight advantage over Gane.

The smaller heavyweight is the undefeated Gane, who yet to taste defeat in his eight professional mixed martial arts bouts, including five inside the Octagon. "Bon Gamin" most recently won a five-round decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and before that, picked up a second-ro…

All fighters slated to compete at Rizin Fighting Federation 29 made weight ahead of their scheduled bouts.

That includes the four contests slated for the opening round of the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix, which are the featured fights on the card. Yuto Hokaumura tipped the scales at 134.1 pounds for his clash against Kuya Ito, who checked in at the same weight. Meanwhile, Takafumi Otsuka clocked in at 134.4 pounds for his first round matchp with Hiroki Yamashita (134.1).

Rizin 29 takes place at Maruzen Intech Arena in Osaka, Japan, on Sunday. The card, complete with English commentary from Joe Ferraro and Damien Brown, is available via pay-per-view for $24.99 here. The card will also include four kickboxing bouts.

Rizin 29 Weigh-in Results:Yuto Hokamura (134.1) vs. Kuya Ito (134.1)Takafumi Otsuka(134.4) vs. Hiroki Yamashita (134.1)Kenta Takizawa (134.4) vs. Masakazu Imanari (133.8)Kazuma Kuramoto (133.8) vs. Alan Yoshihiro Yamaniha (134)Yusuke Yachi (155.9) …

Bellator MMA middleweight king Gegard Mousasi is set to begin his second reign as champion.

The news on Friday first came from MMA Junkie, who reported that Mousasi (47-7-2) will be defending his 185-pound belt against John Salter (18-4) on Aug. 13. The newly announced event titled Bellator 264 will be held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and no other matches have been released yet. The pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Mousasi reclaimed the middleweight throne in October 2020, when he overwhelmed welterweight champ Douglas Lima and thwarted his foe’s intentions of becoming a simultaneous two-division champion. Mousasi held the strap in 2018, and lost it in 2019 by a majority verdict to Rafael Lovato Jr. A split decision win over Lyoto Machida led to the vacant title fight with Lima, after Lovato Jr. surrendered the crown due to health issues. “The Dreamcatcher” maintains a high stoppage rate of 81 percent throughout his career that d…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BNWys4A33o&w=560&h=315] One of the greatest heavyweights of all time is coming back to Bellator MMA this year.

The promotion announced on Thursday that a press conference for Fedor Emelianenko (39-6, 1 NC) would be taking place on Friday. During this brief announcement, where Emelianenko was joined by Bellator head Scott Coker and commentator John McCarthy, Bellator released the information that the legendary Russian would be appearing at a card on Oct. 23 in Moscow. This event will be staged in the VTB Arena in the capital city of Russia – a Bellator first – although there was no name mentioned for his next adversary. Emelianenko will serve as the headliner for this unnumbered Bellator event.

“The Last Emperor” has two bouts left on his Bellator contract, and his Moscow appearance will not likely be his final battle. The 44-year-old joined the company in 2017, where he faced Matt Mitrione and lost by knockout in 74 seconds. Ea…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loO8Vbb_s2Q&w=640&h=360]

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The 2021 Regular Season for the Professional Fighters League will come to a close on Friday, and one fighter has already eliminated herself from contention at the weigh-ins.

Kayla Harrison is set to return to the PFL cage atop a busy card filled with women's lightweights and heavyweights, plus bouts featuring Anthony Pettis and Lance Palmer. Harrison will headline against Cindy Dandois, with the Olympic gold medalist winning her last bout this season while Dandois came up short in her most recent fight. A perfect 9-0 in her career, the homegrown PFL star will come into her meeting with Dandois as a gargantuan favorite, and she hit the lightweight limit of 156 pounds. Meanwhile, Dandois had her four-fight submission streak come to an end against Kaitlin Young…

Bellator 261 weigh-in results: Tim Johnson (@tbeartim) - 260 lbs. pic.twitter.com/tgs8jRxaED

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) June 24, 2021 After 21 months of inactivity in the division, Bellator MMA is ready to open Ryan Bader's heavyweight strap up for dispute.

On Friday, Bellator MMA will crown a new interim heavyweight champion at Bellator 261. Timothy Johnson and Valentin Moldavsky will fight for the interim belt since titleholder Bader is currently busy competing in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix. All fighters made their contracted weights for the event.

The bigger main in the main event will be Johnson (15-6), who is arguably on the best winning streak of his career. In his last three outings, Johnson rattled off upset wins over Tyrell Fortune, Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo. Now he'll look to win his first belt, and he weighed in at 260 ready pounds.

In his way is Moldavsky, a 10-1 Russian prospect. The FedorT…

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 main card tilt on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming pay-per-view event will have to wait a little longer to go down. Per Sean Brady (14-0) on his Instagram on Thursday, his opponent Kevin Lee (18-6) has been forced out of their UFC 264 meeting on July 10. According to Brady and Ariel Helwani, Lee suffered a rib injury in training, and that the fight has been pulled altogether from the event. Instead of Brady facing a new opponent on short notice, he and his team are looking to schedule the fight with Lee at an event in August, possibly for UFC 265 on Aug. 7.

Unbeaten as a pro, Brady has surged while in the UFC, with four wins over names like Court McGee and Jake Matthews. The Renzo Gracie Philly standout most recently submitted Matthews with an arm-triangle choke in March, and before then, he put Christian Aguil…

A lightweight clash between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises will serve as the new main event for UFC on ESPN 26.

The matchup is a replacement for a previously scheduled featherweight showdown pitting Max Holloway against Yair Rodriguez, which was postponed to an as yet to be announced date after Holloway suffered an injury. MMAjunkie.com was first to confirm Makhachev vs. Moises as the new five-round headliner.

UFC on ESPN 26 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on July 17 and also includes Miesha Tate’s return from retirement, as she squares off against Marion Reneau at bantamweight.

A teammate of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is currently on a seven-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 29-year-old Dagestani submitted Drew Dober with an arm triangle in the third round of their UFC 259 clash on March 6.

Moises, meanwhile, is on a three-bout winning streak in the Octagon. After subm…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

More details have emerged surrounding the arrest of UFC veteran Luis Pena last weekend.

According to an affadavit from the Boca Raton Police Department, Pena was charged with robbery by sudden snatching, battery and criminal mischief following a fight with his girlfriend on June 14. The fighter known as “Violent Bob Ross” is currently in Broward County Detention Center, where he awaits transport to Palm Beach County. ESPN was first to report the new details in the case.

Pena allegedly smashed the woman’s phone on the ground after accusing her of looking at other men on Instagram. Pena’s girlfriend told police that a fight then ensued in which she ended up with a laceration on her lip along with scratches and redness on her knuckles.

Boca Raton Police received an anonymous tip that night that Pena was suicidal, in possession of a gun and knife and was planning to return to his girlfriend’s home to kill her. Pena refused to p…

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If all goes as planned, Bethe Correia’s farewell bout will take place this fall.

The former bantamweight challenger is expected to meet Karol Rosa at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Oct. 2. Combate was first to report the booking. The card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight scrap between Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker.

Correia was originally slated to have her retirement bout against Yanan Wu at UFC on ABC 1 on Jan. 16 before an appendicitis forced her to withdraw from the event. Correia last appeared at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25, when she lost a unanimous decision to Pannie Kianzad. The 38-year-old Brazilian has been victorious in just two of her last eight UFC bouts dating back to August 2015.

Rosa is currently on a five-bout winning streak, with three victories coming within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Thus far, the 26-year-old Brazilian has gone the distance in victories over Lara Procopio , Vane…

Considered to be a natural light heavyweight, Bruno Henrique Cappelozza was not among the favorites to make the Professional Fighters League playoffs, but after a 46-second knockout of Ante Delija, the underdog Brazilian is first in the heavyweight standings.

Even in the event of a loss to Muhammed DeReese at PFL 6 on Friday, Cappelozza has a great chance to be among the final four heavyweights in the playoff bracket come October. The 32-year-old Corinthians MMA product revealed to Sherdog.com what it was like to return to active competition after a nearly three-year absence.

“It was certainly the most difficult time of my career,” he said. “I went through a very hard time with a long series of injuries and surgeries, but God blessed me with that invitation to the PFL.”

Cappelozza is confident heading into his matchup with DeReese, who is coming off a first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Denis Goltsov at PFL 3 on May 6.

“My record shows how aggressive I am. All…

Tremendous ratings, youngest audience in MMA and global growth. @combateglobal is the top-ranked contender for the MMA world championship. https://t.co/s4ZlLWXo4Y

— Campbell McLaren (@campbellcombate) June 22, 2021

Combate Global has a new home for the English-language broadcasts of its events.

The promotion announced Tuesday that it has signed a multi-year broadcast agreement with CBS Sports and Paramount+. Combate Global will debut on June 25 on CBS Sports Network before transitioning to Paramount+ on July 9 through the remainder of the year.

Paramount+ is expected to air 30 live Combate Global events annually in 2022 and 2023, while CBS Sports Network will complement that coverage with a one-hour recap show following each event. Additionally, CBS Sports Network will feature re-airs of past Combate events, while the promotion’s entire fight library will be available on Paramount+.

"The addition of Combate Global’s exciting MMA acti…

A strawweight clash pitting Karolina Kowalkiewicz against Jessica Penne has been booked for UFC 265.

Promotion officials announced the pairing on Tuesday. UFC 265 takes place on Aug. 7 at an as yet to be announced location and features a women’s bantamweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.

A former 115-pound title challenger, Kowalkiewicz is currently mired in a four-bout losing streak. After suffering a first-round knockout loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 228, the Lodz, Poland, native dropped three successive decisions to Michelle Waterson, Alexa Grasso and Xiaonan Yan. Kowalkiewicz hasn’t tasted victory since taking a split verdict over Felice Herrig at UFC 223 in April 2018.

Penne, meanwhile, returned from a four-year hiatus to snap a three-bout skid at UFC on ESPN 22, where she garnered a split-decision triumph against Lupita Godinez on April 17. The former Invicta FC atomweight title holder is 3-4 during her tenure with the Las Vegas-based…