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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g-7zP_f24U&w=640&h=360] Legendary boxers Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. will return to the boxing ring for an exhibition bout on Saturday night where no official winner will be announced by the California State Athletic Commission. The pay-per-view event is built on spectacle as it will also see YouTuber Jake Paul take on three-time NBA slam dunk winner Nate Robinson in a professional bout. Additionally, musical performances by Lil Wayne, French Montana, YG and Ne-Yo will take place throughout the evening.

With all due respect to “Weezy F. Baby,” the biggest draw to the pay-per-view is the return of Tyson (50-6, 44 KO). The 54-year-old hasn’t competed in the ring since a humbling defeat to Ireland’s Kevin McBride in 2005. In his prime, Tyson was regarded as an all-time great at heavyweight as he won his first 19 professional bouts via KO, and became the youngest world champion in the division's history. Controversy regularly followed T…

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 final bout of ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Bethe Correia’s career will have to wait a little while longer. Correia (11-5-1) posted on Instagram earlier in the week announcing that her matchup with Yanan Wu (11-3) will be shifting from UFC on ESPN 19 to the Jan. 16 Fight Night event. A reason was not given for the unexpected change in the date.

In her post, Correia wrote (via Google Translate), “Soon I will be living this moment again! Not in December, but January 16th!” Subsequent posts for Correia have included the hashtag “UFC Fight Island,” which appear to confirm the location of the Jan. 16 fight card at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Subsequent events like UFC 257 are expected to take place in that venue.

This is to be Correia’s final MMA fight, although …

One Championship is looking to challenge UFC Fight Pass as a streaming option for feeder leagues to its organization.

On Thursday night, the Singapore-based company put out a press release announcing it had begun to sign regional promotions to its One Super App. On Nov. 28, the first event will take place, as Russian Cagefighting Championship and Fair Fight Promotion – the latter a kickboxing league – co-promote an event titled “Road to One.” The fight card will feature fighters from Russia looking to score a contract with One, and one such contract will be on the line at the end of a four-man kickboxing tournament that night.

The event, which sees 26 competitors fight throughout the card in both MMA and kickboxing matches, will take place in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The four kickboxers involved are as follows: Vladimir Kuzmin vs. Maxim Petkevich in one semifinal, and Tamerlan Bashirov vs. Victor Mikhailov in the other. The one-night featherweight tournament will be …

Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis — tomorrow night’s UFC main event — has been canceled, per multiple sources. Blaydes has tested positive for COVID.

The promotion is hoping to reschedule the fight in December, sources say, though that isn’t a done deal just yet.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 27, 2020 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. Editor's note: The article has been updated at 1:25 p.m. on Nov. 27 to reflect the new status of the new main event.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship headliner on the latest ESPN showcase is off the day before it was set to go down.

ESPN first announced on Friday that Curtis Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19. This news pulls him out of his UFC on ESPN 18 heavyweight main event with Derrick Lewis. ESPN noted that the UFC is intending to re-book the event for a December card,…

Marcando las 204.5 libras en la @brownbearC #UFCVegas15 pic.twitter.com/Lf9pjD3X6y

— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 27, 2020 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 making the best of a bad situation with a 10-fight offering, and all but one of the fighters remaining made weight. The promotion ends its busy November with UFC on ESPN 18. The card was set to be headlined by heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. However, Blaydes tested positive for coronavirus and the fight has been pulled just a day before it was scheduled to take place.

As a result of the change, the light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Anthony Smith and Devin Clark will serve as the new five-round main event and the card will continue with 10 fights. That wasn't the only drama today, though, …

Wyglądalo to bardzo niedobrze..Szczerze minimalnie faworyzowałem Johnsona no ale to co odwalił to nie mam pytań#ACA114 pic.twitter.com/SG36Xm7rBO

— Tymon Nowak (@TymonNowak5) November 26, 2020 Bellator MMA and One Championship alum Tony Johnson is going to celebrate Thanksgiving in a big way after capturing the Absolute Championship Akhmat heavyweight belt.

In the main event of ACA 114, former Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Daniel Omielanczuk (24-10-1, 1 NC) clashed with Johnson (14-5-1, 1 NC) for the vacant heavyweight championship. The battle lasted a mere 69 seconds, and saw Omielanczuk aggressively chasing his opponent right out of the gate. At first, Johnson attempted to push away from his opponent’s offensive by extending his fingers towards Omielanczuk, but referee Herb Dean had none of that. After receiving a warning, “The Hulk” clipped Omielanczuk with a deadly duo of punches, sending the Polish fighter crashing to the canv…

Deiveson Figueiredo gets his 50k bonus personally from Dana White...#deivesonfigueiredo #danawhite #ufc pic.twitter.com/Q0JwIsDqfa

— RED CACHE (@redcachenet) November 25, 2020

Deiveson Figueiredo was feeling a little left out when bonuses were announced at the conclusion of UFC 255.

Not anymore.

In a video intially posted as an Instagram story by Figueiredo’s manager, Wallid Ismael, and later shared via Twitter, the reigning flyweight champion can be seen receiving a bag of cash from UFC president Dana White.

“I f—-ed up,” a smiling White says in the video. “I made a mistake.”

Figueiredo made his first 125-pound title defense with a submission of Alex Perez 1:57 into Round 1 of the UFC 255 headliner last weekend. Despite that impressive showing, the Brazilian was initially passed over for a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus in favor of Joaquin Buckley and Antonina Shevchenko.

“I’m the kind of champion who says wh…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKyj_ZD3cUw&w=560&h=315]

Jan Blachowicz can envision an eventual return to the heavyweight division, but the more pressing matter at hand is his first 205-pound title defense.

After Blachowicz claimed the vacant light heavyweight belt with a knockout of Dominick Reyes at UFC 253, he said that March would be an ideal time for him to return n to the Octagon. However, middleweight king Israel Adesanya, the opponent the UFC has targeted next for Blachowicz, wants to fight earlier than that.

Blachowicz isn’t budging on his initial stance.

“I don’t care. I want to fight in March, not earlier,” Blachowicz recently told Submission Radio. “I sent email to the UFC, if they want my next fight, they have to do this in March. March is the perfect month for me. If he wants to fight earlier, it’s not my problem, it’s his problem. I am the champion of 205. So if he will fight against me, my rules, my category — my month is March.”

…

A heavyweight showdown between Linton Vassell and Ronny Markes has been targeted for Bellator 254.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bout, which has not been finalized, with a source close to the situation following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Bellator 254 takes place on Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and is headlined by a women’s flyweight championship tilt between Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez.

A two-time light heavyweight title challenger, Vassell moved up to heavyweight in 2019, when he fell to Valentin Moldavsky in his big-man debut at Bellator 218. “The Swarm” rebounded in his last outing, as he scored a second-round technical knockout victory against Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 234 in November 2019.

Markes has been scheduled to make his promotional debut against Josh Barnett (twice) and Matt Mitrione at two separate events, but on each occasion the fights fell through for various reasons. The five-time UFC ve…

Charles Oliveira has been feeling overlooked in the UFC’s crowded lightweight division, but he’ll get a chance to turn some heads next month.

“Do Bronx” will lock horns with former interim champ Tony Ferguson in the UFC 256 co-main event on Dec. 12. The potentially action-packed 155-pound matchup was a late addition to the card after two title bouts — Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson and Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling — were canceled.

Oliveira enters the bout on a seven-fight winning streak in which he has finished all his opponents inside the distance. Facing a marquee opponent was worth the risk of accepting a short-notice fight, the Brazilian says.

“I’m happy for this opportunity to fight Ferguson; I’m taking this fight on less than 20 days notice, but it’s a chance to display my talent and show I’m ready to fight any Top 5 ranked guy, like I’ve been saying for a while now,” Oliveira recently told UFC.com. “The time has come. I will shock the world on Dec. 12…

Kayla Harrison’s featherweight debut in Invicta FC went much like the majority of her 155-pound appearances in the Professional Fighters League.

That is, the two-time Olympic gold medalist was dominant. Harrison rolled past Courtney King in the Invicta FC 43 headliner, winning via technical knockout 4:48 into Round 2 to run her professional mark to 8-0. Perhaps more importantly, Harrison was able to make weight without issue — though it wasn’t an enjoyable process.

"I got to fight week about 153 pounds and had to quarantine the whole time," Harrison recently told ESPN. "I brought plastics and sat in an Epsom salt bath for the first time ever. It was terrible. But I got down to 146 pounds the night before and ate and drank to help me sleep. I woke up the next morning and only needed 15 more minutes in the bath to be on weight.

"Everybody knows I don't believe in weight cutting. I don't believe it's super healthy. But I also understand I'm in the business of Kayl…

DIVISION ON NOTICE

@AmirAlbazi - welcome to the Octagon!

Action continues on @ESPN / E+ for #UFCFightIsland2 pic.twitter.com/I6NZJCbNCM — UFC (@ufc) July 18, 2020

A proposed flyweight bout pitting Amir Albazi against Zhalgas Zhumagulov has been pulled from the UFC on ESPN 18 lineup.

Russian outlet TASS was first to report the news. The cancellation reportedly occurred because of a passport issue involving Zhumagulov. As it stands now, UFC on ESPN 18 will move forward with 11 fights.

UFC on ESPN 18 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. The main card airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

A veteran of Bellator and Brave CF, Albazi made successful Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 172, where he submitted Malcolm Gordon with a triangle choke in the opening stanza …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w04OudFDltM&w=560&h=315]

Joaquin Buckley followed up his “Knockout of the Year” frontrunner with another stoppage victory at UFC 255 this past Saturday, but that doesn’t mean “New Mansa” is going to quit his day job.

Buckley revealed to TMZ Sports that he is working on getting an apparel business up and running, but until that happens, he plans on keeping his gig at national pharmacy store chain Walgreens.

“Besides the UFC, and they’re giving me these big checks, I still don’t have a business of my own,” Buckley said. “I need to just keep working and having that working mentality and work ethic. So I’m just gonna keep holding down the job. Until my business is off the ground, we’re gonna still keep working at Walgreens.”

Buckley likely clinched the top spot for best KO of 2020 with his spinning back kick finish of Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Night 179 on Oct. 10. The 26-year-old St. Louis native wasn’t quite as spectacula…

Two contests have been added to the UFC 257 bill, as Shane Burgos will meet Hakeem Dawodu at featherweight, while Umar Nurmagomedov will face Sergey Morozov at bantamweight on Jan. 23.

Burgos announced his matchup with Dawodu on his Instagram story following a report from MMA Empire, and Morozov confirmed his fight against Nurmagomedov in a post on his Instagram account. UFC 257 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Burgos had a three-fight winning streak halted at UFC on ESPN 11, where he dropped a unanimous verdict against Josh Emmett on June 20. The 29-year-old Team Tiger Schulmann product is 6-2 during his promotional tenure and 13-2 as a professional overall.

Dawodu, meanwhile, has been victories in his last five UFC appearances. Most recently, the Calgary, Alberta, Canada, resident captured a split-decision triumph against Zubaira Tukhugovat UFC 253 on Sept. 26. Three of Dawodu’s fi…

With victories in four of his last five UFC appearances, Alistair Overeem is still going strong.

Nonetheless, the 40-year-old Dutchman acknowledges that he is nearing the end of his mixed martial arts career. Overeem laid out a tentative timeframe for retirement in a post on social media Tuesday.

“I’m still improving: even at 40 I think you can clearly see that in my fights,” Overeem wrote. “I’m still on a learning curve. But I have to be realistic. I’m going to have a couple more fights, then I’m going to hang up the gloves. If I win the belt, then the mission is completed.”

I’m still improving: even at 40 I think you can clearly see that in my fights. I’m still on a learning curve. But I have to be realistic. I’m going to have a couple more fights, then I’m going to hang up the gloves. If I win the belt, then the mission is completed #onefinalrun pic.twitter.com/gxQrZrrhhc

— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) November 24, 2020

Ov…

Getty/UFC

Bantamweight champion Petr Yan has broken his silence on the reason for his withdrawal from UFC 256.

Over the weekend it was revealed that Yan’s title defense against Aljamain Sterling had been pulled from the Dec. 12 card. As a result, the promotion rushed to book Deiveson Figueiredo against Brandon Moreno to serve as the new UFC 256 headliner.

Yan revealed on Instagram Live (translation courtesy of RT Sport) that numerous factors played a role in the postponement of the bout. The UFC is reportedly looking to reschedule Yan vs. Sterling for early next year.

"Everything's in force for the fight. It's going to be postponed for about a month and a half, but everything's in order," Yan said. "There were different problems, with the flight, with the visa, during training I flew away for a visa deadline, lots of factors. 

"We decided with the team to move everything to next year, perhaps the card will be more suitable… Everything is…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jLnNC5Ilb0&w=560&h=315]

All eyes of the fighting world will be on the Staples Center this Saturday when Mike Tyson returns to the ring to face fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

According to the California State Athletic Commission, the fight will be contested under special exhibition rules: The bout will be eight, two-minute rounds instead of 12, three-minute rounds, and both fighters will wear 12-ounce gloves in order to minimize damage. CSAC executive director Andy Foster has also said that the bout will be stopped if there’s a cut and competitors will not be permitted to knock their opponent out. However, Tyson’s trainer, Rafael Cordeiro, believes the fighters trained hard in order to provide an entertaining ending for the fans watching on pay-per-view.

“As soon as there’s an athletic commission, three judges (the bout will not be officially scored, but three ex-fighters have been assigned to determine an unofficial winner…

Even at 45 years old, the competitive fires still burn strong within Anderson Silva.

In an Instagram post over the weekend, “The Spider” expressed a desire to continue fighting despite recently being released from his UFC contract.

I didn’t want to talk about this subject, especially because I’m on vacation and as the saying goes, ‘a deal is a deal,’” Silva wrote. “I’ll make it clear to all my fans that this is a moment of joy and gratitude!!! I feel free, after an attempt to force my retirement!

“I love and have always loved what I do, winning and losing are a part of it, it has absolutely nothing to do with age, I made technical mistakes and lost, but I didn’t lose what’s most important, the will and the desire to continue doing what I love,” he continued. “I still have the warrior spirit and that burning flame in my heart that motivates me, I have total belief that I can continue to compete in the elite of MMA. I take this moment to reflect about my career a…

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

A heavyweight fight between Ruslan Magomedov and Dmitry Poberezhets has been added to the preliminary card of Absolute Championship Akhmat 115.

ACA 115 will take place in Moscow on Dec. 13 at the VTB Arena. Magomed Ismailov and Ivan Shtyrkov will meet in the main fight of this event. ACA president Aleksey Yatsenko said that every effort will be made to accommodate fan attendance while respecting COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. If spectators are allowed, the venue will only be allowed to fill to 25 percent capacity.

Magomedov’s 15-1 record includes triumphs over Viktor Pesta, Josh Copeland and Shawn Jordan in the UFC. However, Magomedov received a liftetime ban from the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2019 due to multiple violations of the UFC anti-doping policy. Magaomedov returned to active competition following a four-year absence at ACA 101, where he earned a unanimous verdict over Daniel James in Novem…

A light heavyweight clash pitting Alonzo Menifield against William Knight has been targeted for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Feb. 27.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the bout. The UFC Fight Night event does not have a location but is expected to be headlined by a 205-pound tilt between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka.

Menifield is coming off an 0-2 campaign in 2020 in which he dropped a unanimous decision to Devin Clark at UFC 250 and suffered a second-round KO defeat to Ovince St. Preux at UFC Fight Night 176 on Sept. 5. The Contender Series alum was unbeaten in his first nine professional outings, including KO/TKO victories over Vinicius Moreira Castro and Paul Craig in the Octagon.

After a pair of triumphs on the Contender Series, Knight was successful in his promotional debut, as he earned a unanimous decision over Aleksa Camur at UFC 253 on Sept. 26. The 32-year-old Thornton Martial Arts member has lost just once in 10 pro appearances — a …

Alex Perez and Jennifer Maia are among nine fighters from UFC 255 who are facing potential six-month medical suspensions.

Mixedmartialarts.com released a full list of medical suspensions from Saturday’s event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In the main event, Deiveson Figueiredo submitted Perez with a guillotine choke 1:57 into the opening stanza to retain his flyweight crown, while Valentina Shevchenko garnered a five-round verdict over Maia to defend her 125-pound belt in the evening’s co-headliner.

Perez needs an X-ray and doctor clearance on his right hand or he will be sidelined 180 days. Maia, meanwhile, needs clearance of a nasal fracture or she will also be facing a 180-day suspension. At a minimum, Maia is suspended 45 days with 30 days of no contact.

Seven other fighters from UFC 255 are also facing 180-day terms: Cynthia Calvillo (right shoulder), Brandon Royval (right shoulder), Joaquin Buckley (right hand), Ariane Lipski (orbital fr…

WOAH! @BulldozerBoser showcasing INSANE GnP!

The card continues on @ESPN.#InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi | #UFCFightIsland3 pic.twitter.com/QXA2ZTVjPf

— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2020 UFC heavyweight Raphael Pessoa has accepted a one-year suspension for an anti-doping violation, USADA announced Monday.

Pessoa tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) in an out-of-competition sample collected on March 4. HCTZ is a diuretic, which can dilute urine and disguise the presence of other banned substances in a drug test.

According to the statement, the results of Pessoa’s test were delayed by laboratory closures forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. That allowed Pessoa to compete at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Tanner Boser. Normally Pessoa would have been pulled from that bout ahead of time upon testing pos…

It was supposed to be Cody Garbrandt standing across the Octagon from Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255.

However, a bicep injury forced the former bantamweight champion to withdraw from the bout, and Alex Perez took “No Love’s” spot against the reigning champion. Figueiredo made short work of Perez on Saturday night, winning via guillotine choke 1:57 into Round 1 of the UFC 255 main event in Las Vegas. Garbrandt wasn’t particuarly impressed by the Brazilian’s quick victory.

“Alex Perez was just someone they gave Deiveson Figueiredo to build up our fight more,” Garbrandt recenty told ESPN. “I knock [Figueiredo] out in the first or second round. I’ll be ready by March.”

Garbrandt’s timeline could potentially work well for both Figueiredo and the promotion: The flyweight champion has already been booked for a quick turnaround against Brandon Moreno at UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

In a separate post on social media, Garbrandt revealed that he was affected by COVID-19 and…

Alex Perez didn’t get much of a chance to showcase his skills in the UFC 255 headliner.

The 28-year-old Team Oyama product succumbed to a Deiveson Figueiredo guillotine choke at the 1:57 mark of the opening stanza at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night, snapping a three-bout winning streak. Perez initiated a takedown early in the fight before Figueiredo transitioned from a leg lock to the fight-ending maneuver. Perez struggled valiantly to free himself from the predicament, but it was to no avail because the champion’s squeeze was too tight.

Perez released a statement regarding the defeat on his Instagram account.

“Well, it is what it is. It’s part of the business,” Perez wrote. “Stuff happens. I’ll be back. 2020 has been a crazy year for me. [Three] fights and finding out I’ll be a dad. I’m beyond blessed. Thank you for all the support. I’ll be back!

“Thank you to all my teammates, coach, family, friends and sponsors for all the support. Without …