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Chan Sung Jung will lock horns with Dan Ige in a featherweight main event at UFC Fight Night on June 19.

ESPN first brought word of the matchup. The event does not yet have an official location or venue.

“The Korean Zombie” had a two-bout winning streak snapped at UFC Fight Night 180, when he dropped a five-round verdict to current No. 1 contender Brian Ortega this past October. Prior to that, Jung had earned consecutive first-round TKO wins against Frankie Edgar and Renato Carneiro.

Ige, meanwhile, is coming off a 22-second knockout of Gavin Tucker at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13. The Xtreme Couture product has won seven of his last eight Octagon appearances, with a five-round decision loss to Calvin Kattar on July 15 as the only setback on his record during that run.

Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega will serve as opposing coaches for “The Ultimate Fighter 29.”

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to ESPN. The long-running reality show, which hasn’t aired since 2018, is expected to begin filming later this month. The latest iteration will feature competitors at middleweight and bantamweight and will stream on ESPN+.

Volkanovski and Ortega were scheduled to square off in a featheweight championship bout in the co-main event of UFC 260 on March 27, but Volkanovski was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. Volkanovski will be rebooked at some point after “TUF 29.”

The reality show was initially supposed to premiere in March but was postponed when tryouts were delayed due to the pandemic. The most recent edition of the series, “TUF 28,” premiered in August 2018 and featured Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum as opposing coaches. The show included men’s heavyweights and women’s featherweights, wit…

Cristiane Justino will defend her featherweight crown against Leslie Smith in the Bellator 259 main event.

The California-based promotion recently announced the booking. Bellator 259 takes place on May 21 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and the main card airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Two other bouts were confirmed for the card: Adam Piccolotti vs. Georgi Karakhanyan at lightweight and Christian Edwards vs. Ben Parrish at light heavyweight.

Justino and Smith initially squared off at UFC 198, where “Cyborg” earned a technical knockout victory 1:21 into the opening stanza of a 140-pound catchweight affair.

“I believe [after] five years she’s going to be a better fighter,” Justino said. “More training, more working and fighting. More experience. The first fight was very fast, so I think this one is going to be a longer fight. She’s a warrior. She likes to fight and it’s going to be nice to fight somebody like this.”

A former 145-pound ch…

Sherdog's live Bellator 255 coverage kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Also, free live streams of the prelim and main cards can be watched here.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 The “Showtime Era” for Bellator MMA kicks off with Bellator 255 and a middleweight matchup between Newman (2-0, 2-0 BMMA) and Busick (2-1, 1 NC; 0-1 BMMA). John English is your referee. No touch of gloves as the 185ers set up, Newman southpaw, Busick orthodox. Newman clinches and runs Busick to the fence, looking for the takedown but Busick defends with an overhook. Newman drills Busick with a knee just before they disengage. 90 seconds gone. Newman clinches again, they’re against the fence, and Newman drills Busick with a knee to the cup. After a brief break, they’re back to it. Newman again closes the distance and clinches. They jockey for position away from the fence, Newman just misses a big elbow on the break. Busick slips and …

ピットブル圧勝‼️#Bellator255 pic.twitter.com/AGxAAxWs7X

— エイジ (@ek420doggydogg) April 3, 2021

Greatness comes in all shapes and sizes. In Bellator MMA, it has taken the form of a 5-foot-6, 145-pound Brazilian.

Patricio Freire retained his undisputed featherweight championship, as he choked Emmanuel Sanchez unconscious with a guillotine in the first round of their Bellator 255 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Sanchez (20-5, 12-4 Bellator), who had never before been finished, lost his grip on reality 3:35 into Round 1.

Champion and challenger fought at a measured pace, their mutual respect evident from the start. Midway through the first round, Freire (32-4, 20-4 Bellator) stepped into punching range and knocked down the Roufusport standout with a ringing left hook. In his haste to return to his feet, Sanchez left his neck exposed. “Pitbull” bit down on the choke, jumped into full guard and let h…

Dustin Poirier has officially signed his contract to fight Conor McGregor on July 10, sources say. McGregor, as we know, was already in.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 2, 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’s on. On Friday, ESPN broke the news that Dustin Poirier (27-6, 1 NC) and Conor McGregor (22-5) had officially signed their bout agreements to compete on UFC 264 on July 10. The two lightweights will headline the pay-per-view event that is expected to take place in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with fans in attendance. The two had been targeted for the matchup back in March, and the bout has now been made official. No title will be on the line, but McGregor has suggested a custom belt be created for the victor of this match.

Poirier and McGregor are 1-1 headed into the trilogy match, with each scoring a knockout…

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 over two years away, Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Michel Prazeres is ready to get back in action. Late Thursday night, Georgian outlet Ag. Fight reported that Prazeres (26-3) was gearing up to make his return to the Octagon on June 26. The unnumbered UFC Fight Night event on this date does not currently have a headliner, location or venue established, as it could take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or elsewhere depending on the status of the coronavirus pandemic. On this card, he will be squaring off with unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov (13-0) in the welterweight division. The matchup has since been confirmed by multiple outlets as well as Rakhmonov himself on his Instagram.

Prazeres was suspended in 2020 for failed drug tests the previous year, with his results showing the anabolic steroid boldenone and i…

Just when you think you’ve seen it all in the great sport of MMA, something new happens – and on April Fools’ Day, no less.

On Thursday night, the first event in a doubleheader for Cage Fury Fighting Championships took place in Philadelphia titled CFFC 94. The event was capped off by a thrilling welterweight championship clash between Evan Cutts and Bassil Hafez, where it became the first bout in the organization’s history to reach the fifth round – CFFC title fights are four-round affairs, with the possibility for a fifth should it be tied up. Even though this was a historic occasion, the biggest story was not about the championship showdown, the omoplata that occurred earlier in the night or the other fun fights on the card. The most noteworthy was that a fighter lost a finger.

The co-headliner saw undefeated Devin Goodale square off against 2012 Olympic wrestler Khetag Pliev in a 180-pound catchweight contest. The two battled it out for ten hard-fought minutes, and …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzYEqTbwvvI&w=560&h=315] If you thought Full Metal Dojo would run out of wild ideas for its “Fight Circus” series of events, you haven’t been paying attention.

On Tuesday, the Thailand-based organization announced that its third Fight Circus event, titled “Fisting for Dollars,” would take place on April 9 in the U.S. and April 10 in Thailand. Like the previous cards, Fight Circus Vol. 3 will be streamed live and free on the CamSoda platform, with a wide variety of bouts scheduled throughout the night. Although there may not be a single traditional MMA bout on the card, FMD is branching out to many different facets of unarmed combat.

There are currently nine announced matches for the event, with each one under a different ruleset. While more traditional combat sports such as muay Thai, lethwei and bare-knuckle boxing bouts are booked, the intrigue lies with the unusual matchups. Carrying on the trend from the past two Fight Circus…

Damnn. An accumulation of damage to the left leg of Ismail Naurdiev puts an end to the Brave main event. Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi finishes the UFC vet with low kicks in R2. #BRAVECF50 pic.twitter.com/RKUpajVOC8

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 1, 2021 The judges put in overtime at Brave Combat Federation’s jam-packed card on Thursday.

The main event of Brave CF 50 saw 175-pound titleholder Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi (16-3) notching his first title defense at the expense of Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Ismail Naurdiev (20-5). “The Jordanian Lion” and Naurdiev spent most of the opening stanza studying one another, with the defending champion landing effective kicks while his opponent returned fire with repeated jabs. Al-Silawi’s gameplan started paying dividends as the bout progressed, as “The Austrian Wonderboy” started losing his footwork. The defending champion forced Naurdiev to back against the fence as he hunted his opponent down wit…

Update April 1st, 2021 pic.twitter.com/IAkryJWTZx

— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) April 1, 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 standout Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight has embraced the old adage of “ask and ye shall receive.” The UFC on ABC 2 main event was minus a competitor after Darren Till broke his collarbone earlier this week. Immediately after this news broke, Kevin Holland (21-6) spoke up, saying he would take the fight against Marvin Vettori (16-4-1). Per Holland on social media, and then confirmed by multiple outlets, the two middleweights will now headline the April 10 card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Holland last competed at UFC on ESPN 21 on March 20, where he dropped a decision to Derek Brunson to snap a five-fight win streak. The Texas native will tie a record held by Deiveson Figueiredo and Mich…

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. Another talented Invicta Fighting Championships competitor has been plucked to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. On Wednesday, Sportskeeda reported that Erin Blanchfield (6-1) will be fighting in the UFC for the first time, replacing Bea Malecki against Norma Dumont (5-1). ESPN and Blanchfield have both confirmed this news on Thursday, with Blanchfield moving up to the bantamweight division at UFC on ABC 2. The career flyweight will be appearing on April 10 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The Invicta standout rebounded from her first career loss in 2019 – a split decision defeat to Tracy Cortez – by finishing Gabriella Gulfin and Victoria Leonardo. Most recently, “Cold Blooded” captured a unanimous verdict over Brogan Walker-Sanchez in July 2020. Her stoppage of current UFC fighter Leonardo came from a head kick, e…

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 unbeaten prospect is stepping up on short notice to join the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Jessica Penne (12-5) was originally set to face Hannah Goldy (5-1) at UFC 260 in March, but Goldy fell out of her bout after testing positive for COVID-19. The match was pushed to UFC on ESPN 22 on April 17, but according to MMA Junkie on Thursday, Goldy will not be competing on this event either for undisclosed reasons. In her stead will be newcomer Lupita Godinez (5-0), who will be making her promotional debut at strawweight. Godinez confirmed her signing later in the day on her Instagram.

Undefeated as a pro, Godinez captured the Legacy Fighting Alliance 115-pound crown in a thriller against Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos at LFA 94 in 2020. The Mexican fighter out of Canada fighter made her way to the LFA with victories in…

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 Ultimate Fighting Championship is on paper boosting the dollar amount it will pay fighters under its outfitting policy, but fighters should read the fine print first. The promotion announced through ESPN on Thursday that the Venum outfitter arrangement has commenced effective April 1, with Reebok relegated exclusively to footwear with the UFC going forward. The first official use of the Venum gear and fight kits will take place at UFC on ABC 2 on April 10, which is still in search for a replacement headliner after Darren Till broke his collarbone.

Per UFC senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein, the promotion will be boosting the total pay for athletes by approximately $1 million. Fighters in every tier of UFC experience will be paid more compared to their amounts from 2017. UFC newco…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLus7_iYH2k&w=560&h=315] 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 Professional Fighters League is making game changing alterations to its 2021 season. The tournament-based league released a video on Thursday narrated by newly announced Athlete Advisory Board member Ray Lewis. In the video, it showed off several high-profile acquisitions including Anthony Pettis and Rory MacDonald, and formally stated when its first event – April 23 is the date – will take place. All of these events will be held on ESPN2, with prelims and additional coverage on ESPN+. The PFL’s campaign this year is called “More Than A Fight,” and more videos and packages will follow.

That was not the only bit of information to come from the PFL on Thursday, however, as broadcast partner ESPN made public a few significant differences to the 2021 season. In an …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf72PMU-7RM&w=640&h=360] After the weigh-ins took place, everything is set as Bellator MMA returns for both its first event of 2021 and on Showtime.

Bellator 255 is headlined a featherweight title bout between reigning champ Patricio Freire and challenger Emmanuel Sanchez. The winner will advance to the finals of the promotion's featherweight world grand prix tournament to face A.J. McKee. Both champion and challenger made weight, although the rest of the card wasn't as drama free as three fighters failed to hit their contracted weights.

Since knocking out lightweight Michael Chandler in just over a minute to become a double champion, "Pitbull" has impressed in the grand prix. Freire (31-4) beat up Juan Archuleta over five rounds in the opening round and then knocked out Pedro Carvalho in under half a round to make his way into the semi-finals. The titleholder stepped on the scales at 144.1 pounds ahead of what he hopes is his se…

With the Von Flue!! @AlonzoMenifield locks in the early sub to close the #UFC260 prelims! pic.twitter.com/FpFP8NzHVQ

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) March 28, 2021

Though the event was headlined by a heavyweight championship bout, the UFC 260 prelims didn’t do a huge number in the ratings department.

According to ShowBuzz Daily, the preliminary portion of the card attracted an average audience of 718,000 to ESPN. That’s the lowest of the four UFC pay-per-view prelims thus far in 2021, as the other three — UFC 257 (1.433 million), UFC 258 (794,000) and UFC 259 (1.208 million) — all outdrew Saturday’s offering.

UFC 260 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view via ESPN+ and saw Francis Ngannou claim heavyweight gold with a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic in the evening’s main event. The preliminary draw wasn’t big on star power, but in the featured bout of that portion of the card, Alonzo Menifield submitt…

If all goes as planned, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to the Toyota Center in Houston will feature a super-sized 15-bout lineup.

The Las Vegas promotion announced the finalized card for the May 15 event, including a pair of new lightweight bouts: Lando Vannata vs. Mike Grundy and Kevin Aguilar vs. Tucker Lutz.

UFC 262 will take place at the Toyota Center with no crowd restrictions in place. The event is headlined by a clash between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title, while Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz will square off in a five-round non-title co-main event. The lineup for the entire card can be viewed here.

Vannata went 1-1 in 2020 and is coming off a decision loss to Bobby Green in a rematch at UFC Fight Night 173. Grundy, meanwhile, had a nine-bout winning streak snapped at UFC on ESPN 14, where he dropped a three-round verdict to Movsar Evloev.

After winning his first two Octagon appearances, Aguilar has …

If you don’t have a Showtime subscription and don’t plan on purchasing one, you’ll still be able to watch Bellator 255 on Friday night.

The California-based promotion announced Wednesday that the Bellator 255 main card will air free of charge to viewers in the United States on streaming services Pluto TV, Hulu, YouTube and FuboTV, as well as via participating television providers.

The entire 13-bout card, which features an eight-bout preliminary lineup, will also stream live on Showtime and the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, per a release.

“We are proud to be the new home of Bellator and delighted to share this debut event with millions of non-subscribers,” said Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza. “Bellator has steadily built the strongest roster in its history and now includes some of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. On Friday night, we will introduce new fans to this premier brand of mixed martial arts and invite them to our network, whi…

¡¡¡Grandes noticias!!! ¡Estamos de vuelta! Combate Global ha firmado un contrato de cinco años con Univision. ¡Nuestra primera pelea es el 9 de abril!

Big News!!! We’re back! Combate Global has signed a five-year deal with Univision. Our first fight is April 9th! pic.twitter.com/oZyiFNszn7

— Combate Global (@combateglobal) March 31, 2021 Latin American mixed martial arts promotion Combate Americas will rebrand itself as part of a five-year broadcast partnership with Univision, the top Spanish language content and media company in the United States.

The organization, which will now be known as Combate Global, has signed a five-year media rights deal to broadcast 30 events annually on Univision. The kick-off event will take place on April 9, with further details for the card to be announced in the coming weeks.

Going forward, Combate Global events will be available on all Univision platforms, including TUDN, the TUDN Radio Network, TUDN…

Jon Jones continues to be at odds with the UFC regarding financial terms, and the former light heavyweight champion has once again taken to Twitter to express his concerns.

Jones revealed that he had a call with UFC executive vice president and chief business officer Hunter Campbell to begin negotiations for a potential blockbuster fight against Ngannou, the newly-crowned heavyweight champion.

“I had a brief phone meeting with UFC‘s lawyer Hunter a few days ago,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “As of right now I expressed to him that anywhere around $8 to $10 million would be way too low for a fight of this magnitude. That’s all that has been discussed so far.

“I’m supposed to be waiting for what their offer is going to be. Really hoping the numbers are nowhere near that low. I guess we will see what happens.”

After Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic in the UFC 260 headliner on March 27, Jones tweeted “Show me the money,” which led to a contentious exchange with U…

I I feel it’s time to break out this baby for the next fight. I ask the UFC to please create The McGregor belt. I suggest rose gold and rubies. Think patek rare. pic.twitter.com/bGSRBhRwAa

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 31, 2021

Specialized belts are becoming all the rage in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On the heels of Jorge Masvidal capturing the “BMF” title with a victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 244 in November 2019, Conor McGregor has proposed the creation of his own personalized piece of championship hardware ahead of a rumored trilogy matchup with Dustin Poirier.

“I feel it’s time to break this baby out for the next fight,” McGregor wrote on Twitter, posting a video of the UFC 196 pre-fight press conference, where he first mentioned the notion of his own belt. “I ask the UFC to please create The McGregor belt. I suggest rose gold and rubies. Think patek rare.

“Or yellow gold and emeralds possibly. Might be nice a…

Nate Diaz will make his highly-anticipated Octagon return when he faces Leon Edwards in the UFC 262 co-main event.

ESPN was first to report the matchup. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the pairing but contracts have not been signed. Despite being a non-title affair and not occupying a headlining slot, the bout will be contested over five rounds. It will be the first five-round, non-title co-headliner in promotion history.

UFC 262 takes place on May 15 at the Toyota Center in Houston and is headlined by a showdown for the vacant lightweight strap between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira.

Diaz will compete for the first time since losing to Jorge Masvidal via third-round doctor stoppage for the “BMF” title at UFC 244 in November 2019. The Stockton, Calif., native has competed infrequently in recent years, splitting a pair of bouts with Conor McGregor in 2016 and besting Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 in August 2019 before the aforementioned setback to “Game…

Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com Credit: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com

Darren Till has suffered a broken collarbone in training and will not be able to face Marvin Vettori in the UFC on ABC 2 headliner as originally planned.

Till announced the news in a post on his Instagram account Tuesday.

“I’ve been [sitting] here for a good few hours debating how to say this [and] put into words what I’m feeling [and] just going to say it straight... I’VE BROKEN MY COLLARBONE! I’m out my fight next week against Marvin,” Till wrote. “Every person who is around me or who has been around me knows I train on a daily basis with f—ed up knees, lower back, shoulders, hands and the list goes on.

“Yesterday while drilling I fell and straight away I knew I’d broken something. To say I’m f—-ing destroyed by it is an understatement. I’ve literally put my heart, soul, mind, physical body, cash, nutrition, sleep, recov…