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Dan Ige will get to remain on the UFC Fight Night 187 card.

According to ESPN, Gavin Tucker will step up to face Ige after original foe Ryan Hall withdrew from the event due to an injury suffered in training. Ige wanted to make every effort to remain on the March 13 card because he has a baby coming in April. Tucker had previously been tabbed to face Cub Swanson on May 1.

UFC Fight Night 187 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. The event is expected to stream in its entirety on ESPN+.

Tucker enters the matchup on a three-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 34-year-old Titans MMA product last appeared at UFC 256, where he outpointed Billy Quarantillo on Dec. 12. Tucker is 13-1 as a professional, with 10 of those triumphs coming inside the distance.

Ige had a six-bout promotional winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a five…

Infelizmente testei positivo para o COVID 19 e estarei fora desse card do próximo dia 27 de fevereiro,em breve estarei em ação novamente!!#deussabedetodasascoisas @ufc @ufc_brasil pic.twitter.com/UVLw8cpwN6

— Raoni Barcelos (@BarcelosRaoni) February 22, 2021

Not long after officially receiving a new opponent for his scheduled appearance at UFC Fight Night 186, Raoni Barcelos has been forced to withdraw from Saturday’s event.

The Brazilian bantamweight announced via social media that he is off the card after testing positive for COVID-19. In a video statement (translation via MMAFighting.com), Barcelos revealed the he and is wife are not experiencing any symptoms and he hopes to fight soon.

Barcelos was originally booked against Raphael Assuncao before his opponent withdrew due to a positive COVID-19 test of his own. The promotion then announced over the weekend that Barcelos would instead square off against short-notice foe Marcelo Rojo…

Once considered to be among the Top 5 middleweights in the world between 2005 and 2008, former World Extreme Cage Fighting champion Paulo Filho analyzed the top of the UFC heavyweight and lightweight divisions in a recent interview with Sherdog.com.

"I dont see any need for Jon Jones to gain weight to enter in the heavyweight division. His technical level is so superior to [Francis] Ngannou and [Stipe] Miocic that I truly believe he can beat both, even weighing 205 pounds. Ngannou is a one-punch fighter and Miocic has less tools than Jones. I see clearly Jon Jones as future heavyweight champion at the end of 2021.”

As far as the lightweight division goes, the Carlson Gracie black belt believes that former Bellator champion Michael Chandler will eventually capture UFC gold.

"I was really impressed with this kid. He is such a solid fighter — wrestling, cardio, explosion and knockout power in one single package. Considering the Top 5 of that division, I see Charles…

Recent flyweight title challenger Alex Perez will return to action against Matt Schnell at UFC 262 on May 15.

MMA DNA was first to report the pairing. UFC 262 does not have an official location or headliner, but it is expected to include a women’s 125-pound matchup pitting Katlyn Chookagian against Viviane Araujo.

Perez had a three-fight winning streak halted at UFC 255, where he was submitted in the opening stanza by reigning flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo on Nov. 21. Prior to that, the Team Oyama representative had scored successive triumphs over Jussier Formiga, Jordan Espinosa and Mark De La Rosa. The former Contender Series competitor is 6-2 during his promotional tenure and 24-6 as a professional overall.

Schnell, meanwhile, returned for the first time in more than a year at UFC on ESPN 20, as he rebounded from a knockout loss against Alexandre Pantoja in December 2019 to earn a split verdict against Tyson Nam in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 20. The 31-year-old …

The UFC Fight Night 185 co-main event came down to a battle of damage vs. positional control.

Ultimately, it was Yana Kunitskaya’s activity that won the day, as she captured a unanimous decision triumph against Ketlen Vieira in a matchup of ranked women’s bantamweights at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The former Invicta FC champion was buoyed by a strong finish down the stretch in the final stanza, when she reversed from being mounted and bloodied her Brazilian foe with elbows before the horn.

Although Vieira controlled much of the contest through takedowns and grappling, her inability to land offense from above ultimately cost her. While all three judges submitted 29-28 tallies for Kunitskaya, media scorecards told a different story, with 14 of the 18 tracked by MMADecisions.com favoring Vieira. Kunitskaya admitted feeling some tension before the final verdict was announced.

“I feel I won the fight. I did more damage, but sometimes judges make v…

After a perfectly-timed uppercut sent Curtis Blaydes tumbling to the canvas like a sack of potatoes, Derrick Lewis punctuated his UFC Fight Night 185 victory with a little something extra.

With Blaydes already unconscious, “The Black Beast” dove in to land two brutal shots of ground-and-pound in a follow-up reminiscient of what Dan Henderson did to Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in July 2009. It was also a reminder of just how brutal this sport can be.

When asked about the final two punches, Lewis defended his actions in typical humorous fashion with a WWE reference, while also pointing out that it’s the referee’s job to say when the fight is over.

“I can’t just turn the switch off just like that,” Lewis said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Some fighters can do that, but I can’t do it. I have to wait until the referee pulled me off because you never know what could happen. Anything could happen. He could’ve turned into the Undertaker and stood straight …

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Chris Daukaus earned the most significant victory of his career to date at UFC Fight Night 185, as he scored a first-round technical knockout of Alexey Oleynik in a featured heavyweight encounter at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

With three first-round finishes to kick off his promotional tenure, the 31-year-old Philadelphia native is now a person of interest in the division.

“This is what careers are made of right now. The light is on the heavyweight division right now, especially with the amount of heavyweight headliners,” Daukaus said. “It’s definitely something I’m not taking for granted. I’m definitely capitalizing on it.

  “I’ve finally got a number next to my name. It’s something I’ve been striving for. It was definitely something I could grab and I did that.”

By putting Oleynik away 1:55 into the opening stanza, Daukaus was able to avoid going to the ground with the Russian submission speciali…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Tom Aspinall’s latest Ultimate Fighting Championship victory came by different means than he anticipated it would.

After nearly finishing Andrei Arlovski with punches in the opening stanza, the Englishman landed a takedown early in Round 2, locking in a rear-naked choke for a submission victory at the 1:09 mark of the period.

“I didn’t expect to finish him with a submission. That’s the last thing I expected,” Aspinall said. “I thought it was going to be a quick knockout or I’m going to beat him on points. Very happy with it, but not very happy with the performance. I’ve got a lot to work on, but I’ve got a long time to work on it. It’s all good.”

Aspinall’s previous five triumphs — including two in UFC competition — had come via KO or TKO, but the Team Kaobon product points out that he has solid submission skills even if he doesn’t usually show them.

“I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu for a long time. My dad’s one of the first …

Derrick Lewis’ massive knockout of Curtis Blaydes halted the championship aspirations of his opponent, and it made “The Black Beast” $50,000 richer in the process.

Lewis received a “Performance of the Night” bonus thanks to a finish of Blaydes 1:26 into the second round of their heavyweight headliner at UFC Fight Night 185 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After getting outstruck for a round, Lewis timed a Blaydes’ takedown attempt and blasted his foe with an uppercut. The Houston native sealed his win with a pair of brutal ground strikes.

Elsewhere, Chris Daukaus garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for making short work of Alexey Oleynik in a featured heavyweight matchup. Daukaus forced the submission specialist to remain standing and rocked the Russian with a right hand, then swarmed with punches and knees against the fence to secure a stoppage 1:55 into Round 1.

Tom Aspinall was the third heavyweight on the main card to take home a $50,000 “…

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 may sound cliché, but Derrick Lewis really does only need one. “The Black Beast” took a massive step forward in a bid for another Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title shot, as he knocked out Curtis Blaydes in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 185 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Lewis (25-7, 16-5 UFC) brought it to an emphatic and frightening close 1:26 into Round 2.

Blaydes (14-3, 9-3 UFC) enjoyed some early success with a penetrating jab and thudding leg kicks but struggled to safely close the distance. He ducked into an uppercut in the second round, froze where he stood and collapsed backward. Lewis trailed his defenseless opponent to the canvas and slammed two right hands into his exposed face before referee Herb Dean could intervene.

Lewis, 36, now finds himself on a four-figh…

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 185 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 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:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese sco…

A barrage of strikes@SexiMexi135 gets it done with only 15 seconds to go in RD 1! #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/1lNeEc3l7P

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 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.

John Castaneda made his footprint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division.

The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy rep took care of former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Eddie Wineland with punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 185 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Castaneda (18-5, 1-1 UFC) sealed the deal 4:44 into Round 1.

Wineland (24-15-1, 6-9 UFC) countered effectively with right hands, answered a head kick with a takedown and pressured his adversary onto his back foot. Castaneda turned the tide with a right cross and followed with an accurate multi-punch volley that drove the D…

Angela Hill and Ashley Yoder will square off for a second time at UFC Fight Night 186 next Saturday.

The strawweight pairing was announced during the UFC Fight Night 185 broadcast. UFC Fight Night 186 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+.

Hill and Yoder initially squared off at “The Ultimate Fighter 25” finale in July 2017, with Hill winning a unanimous decision. “Overkill” enters the rematch on a tough-luck streak after dropping back-to-back split decisions against Claudia Gadelha and Michelle Waterson. Prior to that, Hill had won four of her previous five Octagon appearances.

Yoder, meanwhile, snapped a two-bout skid in her last outing, as she outpointed Miranda Granger at UFC Fight Night 182 this past November. The Team Quest product is 3-5 in the Las Vegas-based promotion and 8-6 as a professional overall.

POWER OFF THE CHARTS

@OttmanAzaitar needs just 94 seconds to call it a night!

[ Card concludes next on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/UCMWqi0FeG — UFC (@ufc) September 13, 2020

In yet another strange turn of events, lightweight Ottman Azaitar has been granted a second chance by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

UFC president Dana White revealed to ESPN on Saturday that Azaitar will remain on the roster after previously announcing the fighter would be released due to breaking COVID-19 protocols in Abu Dhabi ahead of a UFC 257 matchup with Matt Frevola.

“So [Azaitar] and his team cut off their wristbands, gave them to somebody outside the bubble – I don’t know how they even did it – that guy taped them, showed up here with a bag, went into a room, shimmied across four balconies, went into his room, dropped the bag off, changed his clothes, and then left. Now, when security tried to stop him, he wouldn’t stop. Either way, it’s j…

A women’s bantamweight showdown pitting former champion Holly Holm against “The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner Julianna Pena is set for UFC Fight Night on May 8.

ESPN was first to report the booking. The event does not yet have an official location, and Holm vs. Pena is not expected to serve as the evening’s headliner. The card also includes a clash between Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez.

The 39-year-old Holm is coming off an impressive five-round verdict over Mexican contender Irene Aldana in the UFC on ESPN 16 main event on Oct. 3. The Jackson-Wink MMA standout has won three of her last four Octagon appearances, also notching triumphs over former 135-pound title challenger Raquel Pennington and current featherweight No. 1 contender Megan Anderson.

Pena, meanwhile, has won six of her eight promotional appearances, with her only defeats coming at the hands of ex-featherweight queen Germaine de Randamie and reigning 125-pound title holder Valentina Shevchenko. In…

UFC Fight Night 185 is down to 13 bouts after a positive COVID-19 test resulted in the cancellation of a lightweight clash between Drakkar Klose and Luis Pena.

Pena revealed that one of Klose’s cornermen tested positive for the virus in a post on his Twitter account. The bout is expected to postponed until a future UFC event.

I hate this man but it’s with a heavy heart that must inform you guys that the fight has been called off,” Pena wrote. “One of Drakkar’s corner tested positive for [COVID] and out of the health and safety for us both, the [UFC] decided to pull the fight. Praying that he and his team remain healthy.”

I hate this man but it’s with a heavy heart that must inform you guys that the fight has been called off one of Drakkar’s corner tested positive for covid and out of the health and safety for us both the @ufc decided to pull the fight praying that he and his team remain healthy

— Luis Antonio Pena (@violentbobross) Feb…

Rafael Alves missed weight for his featherweight bout against Patrick Sabatini at #UFCVegas19, coming in at 157.5 pounds. pic.twitter.com/jRQacn1xNc

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 19, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Rafael Alves cried before stepping on the scales, but the tears he shed didn't make enough of a difference as he still came in 11.5 pounds over the featherweight limit. It appears that the UFC Fight Night 185 weigh-ins might wind up being more drama-filled than the actual fights. The weigh-ins for the latest UFC card saw four fighters fail to make weight. While the headlining heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis is intact, the fight card drops down to 14 after the weigh-ins took place.

The fighter with the dishonorable distinction of missing weight by …

Getting some serious Cool Hand Luke vibes in the final minute.#LFA100 pic.twitter.com/jm6Id89hHt

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 20, 2021 The Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new flyweight champion at LFA 100. Only one-half of the main event was fighting for the belt due to late-replacement Nate Smith missing weight, but Victor Altamirano made sure the belt didn't stay vacant.

Altamirano (9-1) opened the fight by landing damaging leg kicks and showcased a clear advantage on the feet. While Smith (6-2) proved he was the better wrestler by taking down "El Magnifico" several times, Altamirano was able to minimize damage and get back to his feet. Neither man came close to finishing the other over five rounds, and ultimately, the judges saw the fight in favor of Altamirano with marks of 50-45, 49-46 and 50-44.

The co-main event saw flyweight prospects Karlee Pangilinan and Charles Johnson clash. Both men came out throwing on the fee…

Brad Riddell finally has confirmation of his next bout.

He meets No15 lightweight Gregor Gillespie the Brunson x Holland card on March 22 (NZT) pic.twitter.com/h7LLx425oS

— Christopher Reive (@ChrisReive) February 19, 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Gregor Gillespie is coming back after a long time away following his first career loss.

The NZ Herald first reported on Friday that Gillespie (13-1) would be making his long-awaited comeback against Brad Riddell (9-1) on March 20. The UFC Fight Night event on that date is not yet numbered, and could take place on ABC or ESPN as well as ESPN+, but it will be held in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The news has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Gillespie will be competing for the first time since late 2019, when Kevin Lee ki…

Now that the #LFA100 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most?

: https://t.co/rnK8WCvlYq

: https://t.co/AWK56nmShK@ShellsDotCom@USENDmoney@PsoRite@GLCDirect2000@AthleticCBD@IncaKolaUSA@SheathUnderwear@HartmanArena@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/Ag8bkqSoui — LFA (@LFAfighting) February 19, 2021 A one-way title fight will now cap off the Legacy Fighting Alliance's 100th numbered event.

The LFA is back for a second straight week, this time with another belt on the line. Headlining LFA 100 is a flyweight title bout between Victor Altamirano and Nate Smith for the vacant championship that was last held by Jimmy Flick. However, the title fight comes with a significant asterisk, as only Altamirano is eligible for the belt after Smith weighed 2.6 pounds over the flyweight limit.

Both flyweights are coming into the bout with plenty of hype. Altamirano (8-1) holds the record for most wins in LFA history as he …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZD_3FCcbiI?start=212&w=560&h=315] A fighter has come clean amid concerns that he threw a fight in Afghanistan last Thursday.

On Feb. 11 at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan, the 11th event of Truly Grand Fighting Championship titled “Champions Fight Night” took place, with a seven-fight card that brought finishes in its last six bouts. In the main event, local Ahmed Wali Hotak took on the well-traveled Brazilian Leonardo Barbosa Paes Barreto at a 73kg (160-pound) catchweight. The two engaged in a tense stand-up affair, even though Barreto had notched all but one of his career stoppage wins by submission.

Midway through the second round, after a prolonged clinch exchange, Hotak struck his opponent with a knee to the chest, and the impact of the strike made Barreto fall back in an unusual way that instantly drew ire from the MMA community. Referee Yousuf Momand leapt in to stop the match after less than three hammerfists h…

Just announced!! TWO Canadian bouts are official for March 13th!

@MishaC911 vs @Superman_Spann@MeanMachine505 vs @JourdainAir pic.twitter.com/XHtwUKf69n

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) February 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. An intriguing Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight battle has been rebooked for an upcoming March event.

At UFC Fight Night 183 in December, Misha Cirkunov (15-5) and Ryan Spann (18-6) were slated to square off against one another, only for the match to fall through when Cirkunov suffered an injury. The promotion promised the pairing would be maintained for a future event, and on Thursday, the UFC announced that Cirkunov vs. Spann has been placed on UFC Fight Night 187. The two will meet at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 13.

Latvian-Canadian finisher Cirkunov has alternated firs…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXMvUv3rwaA?start=6&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. Two top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweights looking to separate themselves from the pack will come to blows in May. Combate first reported the story that Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-5) will take on Augusto Sakai (15-2-1) at the UFC Fight Night event on May 1. This event is expected to take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas but its location has not been formalized.

Abdurakhimov will be competing for the first time since September 2019, with a pair of scrapped 2020 matchups against Ciryl Gane nixed for various reasons. The Dagestan native’s last appearance came against Curtis Blaydes, and he was pounded out by ferocious ground-and-pound to snap a three-fight win streak. Prior to getting clobbered by Blaydes, Abdurakhimov rattled off a trio of wins on…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB4lXDV70TA&w=560&h=315]

Fifteen votes will determine the new rankings for Bellator MMA in every weight category.

The organization officially released its fighter rankings panel on Thursday via press release, which will allow for 15 MMA media members to select the top-10 fighters in each Bellator division: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, women's featherweight and women's flyweight. Beyond selecting fighters from seven men’s categories and two for women, the voters will be picking pound-for-pound fighters for both men and women. Bellator will be using a third-party firm called Combat Registry to count the votes and prepare the lists, which will come from votes following every Bellator event. Sherdog.com was asked to join the panel, but opted not to participate in the process.

Twenty percent of the panel will be constituted of MMA Junkie staff members, with Geo…