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BREAKING: 4 man Welterweight Title Tournament is confirmed

Rostem Akman vs Ian GarryJack Grant vs Madars Fleminas #CW121 // March 19th // #THETRILOGYMore info https://t.co/bIR1I74TFX pic.twitter.com/heo8fyyXWR

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) March 2, 2021 Cage Warriors will begin its journey to crown a new 170-pound champion with the semifinals of a welterweight tournament on March 19.

The European promotion recently announced that Ian Garry will face Rostem Akman and Jack Grant will meet Madars Fleminas at Cage Warriors 121. The winners of the semifinal bouts will advance to vie for welterweight gold later this year.

“The welterweight division needs a new champion and there is no shortage of contenders,” Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan said in a release. “MMA fans love nothing more than a grand prix, and I am so excited to see how this one plays out.”

Garry has amassed a 5-0 record under the Cage Warriors banner an…

Upon further review, Alexander Hernandez believes he deserved to win his lightweight clash with Thiago Moises at UFC Fight Night 186.

The San Antonio Texas native released a statement on Monday via Instagram regarding Saturday’s unanimous decision loss. All three cageside judges sided with Moises after three rounds: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

“Silence the commentary, watch this fight, and convince me I didn’t win 2 1/2 of 3 rounds,” Hernandez wrote. “It’s extremely difficult to rationalize and agree with the outcome, but it is the outcome. Three more fights to come this year. Onward.”

While the fight was competitive — Moises only held a 53-to-50 edge in significant strikes landed — all 21 unofficial media scorers tracked by MMADecisions.com agreed with the judges and submitted tallies for the ex-Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion.

“Just getting used to being in the Octagon, I train at ATT, the best in the world,” Moises said. “I get better every day,…

Shortly after vanquishing Felicia Spencer at UFC 250 last June, Amanda Nunes raised eyebrows by mentioning the word “retirement.”

“I’m in a moment that I can retire, you know, and I’m in a moment that I can fight. I’m fine,” Nunes said. “There’s nothing else to be done right now in the division. The Hall of Fame will come, for sure. My life going forward, if I do stop now, the UFC will give me every support I need to continue having my money and work.”

As it turns out, Nunes never got too serious about calling it a career, and now the two-division champion will return to defend her featherweight crown against Megan Anderson at UFC 259 on Saturday. The 32-year-old Brazilian is rejuvenated after having a daughter with her fiancee, UFC strawweight Nina Ansaroff. Now, Raegan Ann Nunes provides all the motivation she needs.

“What is gonna keep me moving forward?…This time it’s different. This time I’m gonna be able to share with my daughter,” Nunes told TSN. “To see…

Thirteen-time world jiu-jitsu champion Marcus Almeida will finally make his MMA debut on April 7 against South Korean Ji Won Kang under the One Championship banner.

Sherdog.com confirmed the heavyweight bout following an initial report from Combate.com. Kang is already scheduled to face Amir Aliakbari at One Championshp “Fists of Fury” on March 5. It is unclear if he will remain on this week’s card and face Almeida next month.

Kang made his MMA debut in 2018 and has won his first four appearances by knockout or technical knockout inside of a round. The 25-year-old last appeared at One Championship “Unbreakable 3” where he stopped Mehdi Barghi at the 4:50 mark of Round 1 on Feb. 5.

Almeida, who trains at American Top Team, recently retired from grappling competition to pursue an MMA career. The 30-year-old has won numerous gold medals and championships during his grappling tenure, including gold medals in the Pan American Championship and IBJJF World Championshi…

Those within the American Kickboxing Academy camp have high expectations for Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Islam Makhachev.

Makhachev will return to action for the first time since September 2019 when he squares off against Drew Dober on the massive UFC 259 card in Las Vegas card Saturday. The event, if all remains intact, features a trio of championship fights at the top of the bill.

Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier and lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov both believe Makhachev will be in a similar position before too long.

"For 10 straight years, we've had title fights out of AKA," Cormier told ESPN. "How do we continue that? Islam is the guy. We all believe right now Islam is our next best chance to have someone great."

Makhachev has been victorious in 18 of 19 professional outings and is currently on a six-fight winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. He’s had multiple matchups fall through since outpointing Davi…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

On paper, the UFC Fight Night 186 co-main event looked to be one of Saturday’s most entertaining pairings.

When Magomed Ankalaev and Nikita Krylov stepped into the Octagon, however, they ended up being one of eight fights on a nine-bout card that went the distance. And despite the finishing track record of both light heavyweights, the bout was a bit of a grinder as Ankalaev emerged with a unanimous decision victory.

“I was planning to fight standing up but once he started wrestling with me, I had to change my tactics and I also wrestled,” Ankalaev said.

“I feel great, but the fight didn’t go as I expected. I could say that it was a little boring, but the end result is that I’m happy with my win. I’m not disappointed because my victory is what matters.”

Ankalaev has now won six consecutive fights and is a rising star in the 205-pound division. He hopes that his latest victory can push him to a greater stage.

“I ho…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEjlGq_X9RQ&w=560&h=315]

All signs still seem to be pointing toward a trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor later this year.

Porier is coming off a second-round technical knockout victory against the Irish superstar at UFC 257 on Jan. 23, while McGregor stopped “The Diamond” via first-round TKO in their first meeting at UFC 178 in September 2014. During a recent appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, Poirier discussed why a third matchup remains appealing.

“Conor wants the trilogy and I do too,” Poirier said. “We’re just trying to get the right deal structured. This is going to be a big fight. He knocked me out, I knocked him out. The trilogy. For sure one of the biggest fights this year, but maybe of all time... So I think the trilogy makes a lot of sense and a lot of money. So we’re just trying to get the right deal structured and see what the time frame is. Because for a guy like Conor, you want th…

Patrick Mix will square off against James Gallagher in a bantamweight showdown at Bellator 258.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. Bellator 258 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on May 7 and is headlined by a 135-pound championship tilt between Juan Archuleta and Sergio Pettis. The main card will air on Showtime 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

The 27-year-old Mix suffered his first professional defeat in 14 outings in a championship bout against Archuleta at Bellator 246 last September. The former King of the Cage standout began his tenure with the California-based promotion with victories over Ricky Bandejas and Isaiah Chapman before submitting Yuki Motoya in a crossover bout at Rizin 20.

Gallagher, meanwhile, has won four consecutive bouts since losing to Bandejas at Bellator 204 in August 2018. The 24-year-old SBG Ireland product last appeared at Bellator Milan, where he tapped out Callum Ellenor in the opening stanza on Oct. 3.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Ciryl Gane has only been a professional mixed martial artist for less than three years.

Such thinking might have tempered expectations at UFC Fight Night 186, when the Frenchman cruised to a forgettable five-round verdict against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in Saturday’s heavyweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It wasn’t the type of performance that will propel Gane to the top of the division, but it was nonetheless significant for an athlete who is still learning and progressing.

“This guy is really dangerous, he is really tough, he has big knockout power, so we have to manage the fight with this guy, manage the distance and be focused, be careful,” Gane said. “We did it, we did it well and we did more. We made pressure against the cage, we did maybe two, three takedowns, maybe more. I tried to finish the fight. I try, I try, but yes it was a good fight.”

It was also Gane’s first time going a full 25 minutes in the cage, …

Jairzinho Rozenstruik had an evening to forget at UFC Fight Night 186.

The Surinamese heavyweight was unable to get on track against Ciryl Gane, as he lost a five-round verdict in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rozenstruik never displayed his knockout power in a contest where Gane controlled the range and held a comfortable 102-to-42 edge in significant strikes landed. While Gane cruised, the bout was sorely lacking when it came to action.

After the loss, Rozenstruik released a brief video statement on social media.

“Fans, family, and friends, I just fought and the fight didn’t go my way,” he said. “I think it’s my worst performance ever if you ask me... So this is me explaining myself, I think I owe you guys this.

“I’m gonna go back home and work my ass off for my next fight. Don’t know when that’s gonna be. Respect to Ciryl, he win the fight, and he’s a professional fighter. This is what I can say.”

A first…

After Saturday night, there probably aren’t too many people who would mind seeing a trilogy bout between Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera.

On a UFC Fight Night 186 card where memorable moments were few and far between, the bantamweight contenders engaged in an entertaining three-round clash that was an easy choice for “Fight of the Night” honors. Ultimately, Munhoz avenged a 2015 split-decision loss to Rivera with a unanimous decision triumph at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

There was already a mutual respect forged in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 77, but that certainly didn’t detract from the quality of the rematch.

“Jimmie and I became good friends after the first fight we did a few years ago,” Munhoz said. “He’s a great guy, a tough, tough, tough fighter. For me, it was an honor to bring that fight back from the first time and now we are able to display again such a great fight. First one was a great fight, now this one definitely deserves ‘Fight of t…

Neither the UFC president nor the man who plans on capturing heavyweight gold in the near future was particularly impressed with the main event at UFC Fight Night 186.

Ciryl Gane improved to 8-0 with a five-round unanimous decision against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night, but it was a contest largely devoid of action as the Frenchman was content to pick his opponent apart on the outside for the better part of 25 minutes.

According to Dana White, Gane still has a long way to go before he can be regarded as one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division.

“Everybody’s talking about Ciryl being this big contender, but look what Francis [Ngannou] did to Jairzinho,” White told Yahoo Sports. “This was [Ciryl Gane’s] coming out party and his chance to show the world who he is. He won, but let’s leave it at that, he won.”

While Gane didn’t dispatch Rozenstruik in 20 seconds like Ngannou did at UFC 249 this past May, but…

Only three $50,000 post-fight bonuses were handed out following UFC Fight Night 186 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera were an easy selection for “Fight of the Night” honors following their entertaining three-round battle at bantamweight. Though both combatants had their moments during spirited exchanges, calf kicks made the difference for Munhoz in the long run as he avenged a 2015 defeat to Rivera and halted a two-bout losing streak in the process.

Meanwhile, just one “Performance of the Night” award was given on a card that saw eight of the nine contests go the distance. The only combatant who finshed a fight, Ronnie Lawrence, got the extra cash as he overwhelmed Vince Cachero with his agression en route to a third-round TKO victory. The American Top Team product set the stage for the finishing sequence with a spinning back kick to the body before suplexing his opponent and moving to full mount. From there, Lawrence unloa…

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. Ciryl Gane’s approach was undeniably effective, but it lacked the wow factor for which many had hoped. The impressive Frenchman kept his perfect professional record intact and moved another step closer to a shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title with a tepid unanimous decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the UFC Fight Night 186 headliner on Saturday in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges saw it the same: 50-45 for Gane (8-0, 5-0 UFC).

Rozenstruik (11-2, 5-2 UFC) struggled to pull the trigger for five full rounds, one of his cornermen slapping the canvas in frustration at one point in the middle of the fight. Perhaps the most compelling exchange between the two heavyweight contenders took place in the second round, where Gane tossed “Bigi Boi” off-balance and briefly threatened with a standing rear-naked …

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 Fight Night 186 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 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:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round…

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.

Thiago Moises may have punched his ticket to another competitive tax bracket in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division.

Crushing low kicks, efficient counters and stellar striking defense spurred the American Top Team rep to a unanimous decision over Alexander Hernandez in the featured UFC Fight Night 186 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges sided with Moises (15-4, 4-2 UFC): 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Hernandez (12-4, 4-2 UFC) fought fire with fire for much of the three-round encounter. Moises kept him off-balance with kicks to the lower leg, occasional spinning attacks and more basic techniques. The Brazilian hit the accelerator in the third round, invited Hernandez to try to keep up and unleashed his hands and feet in a steady but violent burst of offense that put the …

Matt Mitrione will lock horns with Tyrell Fortune in a heavyweight clash at Bellator 255.

The California-based promotion recently announced the booking. Bellator 255 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on April 2 and is headlined by a featherweight grand prix semifinal pitting Patricio Freire against Emmanuel Sanchez. The evening’s main card will air on Showtime.

A competitor on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Mitrone is winless in his last four Bellator appearances. In his last outing, “Meathead” suffered a first-round technical knockout defeat to Timothy Johnson at Bellator 243 this past August. Mitrione began his promotional tenure on a four-bout winning streak that included victories against Fedor Emelianenko and Roy Nelson.

Fortune’s entire professional tenure has been spent under the Bellator banner. The Arizona Combat Sports product kicked off his career with eight consecutive triumphs before a knockout loss to Johnson and a…

A pivotal strawweight showdown between Carla Esparza and Xiaonan Yan is on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s May 22 card.

MMA DNA was first to report the 115-pound booking. The UFC Fight Night event currently doesn’t have a location or headliner. The card is also expected to included a women’s featherweight scrap between Felicia Spencer and Danyelle Wolf.

The UFC’s inaugural strawweight title holder, Esparza is currently on a four-bout winning streak dating back to April 2019. Most recently, “Cookie Monster” garnered a split verdict against Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 14 this past July.

Yan, meanwhile, has been victorious in 13 of 14 professional outings — including her first six Octagon appearances. The China Top Team standout has gone the distance in all of her promotional triumphs and has scored notable wins over Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Angela Hill.

A strawweight clash pitting Angela Hill against Ashley Yoder has been pulled from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 186 card.

The bout was removed due to “COVID-19 protocols,” the promotion announced Saturday. As a result, Hill vs. Yoder will now take place at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13. Yoder later revealed in an Instagram video that someone in her camp tested positive for the virus.

UFC Fight Night 186 will now proceed with nine fights. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Hill and Yoder initially squared off at “The Ultimate Fighter 25” finale, with Hill earning a unanimous decision triump on July 7, 2017.

Main event official!

@JairRozenstruik locks in #UFCVegas20 - LIVE on #ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/fkXo6J0NWw

— UFC (@ufc) February 26, 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. Although typically a formality, the Ultimate Fighting Championship weigh-ins of late have each brought their fair share of drama, this week included.

The UFC's busy February comes to an end this weekend as it puts on its fourth event in as many weeks. UFC Fight Night 186 will see heavyweight contenders Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane look to make a statement at the other’s expense. The 10-fight card is now official after the weigh-ins took place, but not everyone made their contracted weight.

The biggest miss on the scales came from Maxim Grishin as he missed the light heavyweight limit by 4.5 pounds. The card also lost a welterweight bout betw…

Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas for the strawweight title is in the works for UFC 261 on April 24, per multiple sources.

The fight isn't finalized just yet, however, that's the date the promotion and both fighters are targeting at this time. Hoping to get done in coming days.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 26, 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. Should everything come together, an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship will be bolstered by a duo of major women’s championship matches.

On Friday, ESPN broke the news that the promotion was aiming to book champ Weili Zhang (21-1) against Rose Namajunas (9-4) for the strawweight belt on UFC 261. The fight is not official at the moment, but it is in the works for the April 24 pay-per-view card. In addition to the matchup news, the promotion appears to have abandoned it…

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. The very first Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter from Guyana will make his way to the Octagon in May. On Thursday, Christian Aguilera (14-7) announced that he would be facing newcomer Carlston Lindsay Harris (15-4) at welterweight on May 8. The UFC Fight Night card on that date is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, although its destination is not official at this point. Should this matchup stay together, Harris will become the first to ever represent his home country of Guyana in the UFC cage.

Aguilera suffered his first-ever submission loss when Sean Brady put him to sleep in August 2020. The loss put an end to a three-fight win streak that saw him springboard into the UFC on the heels of a win over Glaucio Eliziario at LFA 81 earlier that year. His promotional debut came some 14 days later, where he k…

Only the prelims are listed thus far so I won’t post the whole thing, but TV listings say Cortney Casey is facing JJ Aldrich on March 13th

— Tom Feely (@omgitsfeely) February 26, 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 couple weeks before the card will happen, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has added a flyweight matchup. On Thursday, the UFC added Cortney Casey (9-8) vs. J.J. Aldrich (8-4) to its lineup on UFC Fight Night 187. The flyweights will tangle at the March 13 fight card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, per the promotion’s release to cable television outlets. This will be Aldrich’s first appearance since before the pandemic.

Casey has alternated wins and losses in her last five, with losses to Michelle Waterson, Cynthia Calvillo and Gillian Robertson interspersed between victories over Angela Hill and Mara Romero Borella…

Who's YOUR pick for Xiaomi Fight of the Night? #ONEFistsOfFury #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/Wj7ntPmTBe

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) February 26, 2021 The first event in the One Championship “Fists of Fury” trilogy saw most of the fights go the distance.

In the "Fists of Fury" main event, Ilias Ennahachi put his flyweight kickboxing title on the line against Superlek Kiatmoo9. The defending champion took his time to study his opponent in the first round. Superlek had some issues with steadiness early in the first frame as he slipped on the canvas a few times, which may have contributed an accidental groin strike from a back kick. After apologizing, Superlek kept kicking his opponent’s left side, but it was not enough to slow Ennahachi’s offense. The second round saw Ennahachi going in and out with his flashy combinations as his opponent resorted to his kicks.

The third round was arguably the best for the challenger…