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RIZIN's sculpted judoka gets her org on the board, as Kana Watanabe (9-0-1) slowly overwhelms a fast-starting Ilara Joanne with her grappling en route to a third-round TKO! She rides seven straight wins, five of them finishes. #Bellator237 #BellatorJapan pic.twitter.com/dWBM8M2pOq

— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) December 29, 2019

Unbeaten Japanese flyweight Kana Watanabe has signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new addition to the roster, which was later confirmed by Bellator officials. A date for Watanabe’s promotional debut is currently unknown.

Watanabe was an Olympic qualifier for judo in Japan and sports a 9-0-1 career mark in MMA. She has competed for both Deep and Rizin while finishing six of her opponents by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Most recently, she defeated Ilara Joanne by third-round TKO in a crossover bout at Bellator 237 in December 2019.

Watanabe will join …

Rafael de Freitas is denying the sexual assault charges levied against him by one of his students stemming from an incident on Nov. 7.

The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based jiu-jitsu instructor and MMA veteran has been jailed after being accused of drugging and raping a client on that aforementioned date. Bowles Law Firm, which is representing de Freitas in the case, released a statement on the situation Wednesday.

The full statement, which was first obtained by MMAjunkie.com , is as follows:

We represent Rafael de Freitas Barata, a well-loved and very accomplished ju-jitsu practitioner. To date, the public has received one-sided reports of sexual assault based on the word of the alleged victim and a video, which no news agency or the public has seen. We have now watched the video. Let us be clear: these charges are false.

The video proves Mr. de Freitas’ innocence of a crime. We will present evidence that she invited Mr. de Freitas over that morning in text…

Bellator MMA is adding a heavy hitter to its 205-pound division.

It appears that Anthony Johnson (22-6) will eventually make his long-awaited return to MMA, but not in the promotion everyone was expecting. On Wednesday morning, ESPN reported that the former two-time UFC light heavyweight championship contender has signed with Bellator. "Rumble" will most likely compete at 205 pounds, but other reports indicate that he might test himself in the heavyweight division, as well. Johnson is expected to compete in the first half of 2021.

The 36-year old fighter hadn’t stepped inside the cage since April 2017, when he lost to Daniel Cormier in a title clash at UFC 210. Shortly after tapping to a second-round rear-naked choke, "Rumble" announced his retirement from the sport. The first title encounter between Johnson and "DC" also ended in a submission loss for “Rumble” when they locked horns for the interim championship at UFC 187. Johnson finished his UFC tenure wi…

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

The flyweight championship headliner between Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez is now official, as both fighters made weight ahead of their Bellator 254 showdown.

Macfarlane tipped the scales at 124.8 pounds, while Velasquez checked in at 124.4. Bellator 254 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Thursday. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network and Dazn at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel and Dazn at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.

Elsewhere, Goiti Yamauchi weighed in at 162.8 pounds for proposed lightweight clash with Nate Andrews (155.8). Since Yamauchi missed weight by such a substantial amount, Andrews elected not to accept the fight. As a result, a heavyweight bout pitting Davion Franklin (264) agianst Anthony Garrett (241) has been moved to the main card.

Macfarlane has defended her title four times since becoming the…

BAD BLOOD Things just got heated between @MrApocalypseMMA and @JakeHadleyMMA at the CW117 weigh-ins

New episode of Cage Warriors Unlocked drops tonight. pic.twitter.com/PpxaKvmOM0

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) December 9, 2020 Cage Warriors Fighting Championship is back with the first of three consecutive events. 

On Wednesday, the Cage Warriors 117 weigh-ins took place, and everything went smooth as all fighters on the card were cleared to fight. Luke Shanks (7-1), who will put his flyweight title on the line in the main event, had no issues making the championship weight. Shanks weigted at 124.4 pounds. “The Apocalypse” won the divisional title after one of the most one-sided fights in Cage Warriors history when he upended Samir Faiddine at CW 114. 

The challenger, Jake Hadley (6-0), had zero problems when he hit the scales at 125 pounds. “The White Kong” earned his title shot after smashing up Shaj Haque at CW 114 bac…

Marina Rodriguez has agreed to replace Michelle Waterson and meet Amanda Ribas at UFC 257 on Jan. 23.

Multiple outlets confirmed the new strawweight booking following an initial report from Ag Fight. A reason for Waterson’s withdrawal is currently unknown. UFC 257 is expected to take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Rodriguez is 2-2-1 to begin her UFC tenure, with victories over Tecia Torres and Jessica Aguilar. Most recently, the 33-year-old Thai Brasil product dropped a split decision to Carla Esparza at UFC on ESPN 14 that many observers thought she deserved to win.

The 27-year-old Ribas has emerged as a budding star at 115 pounds with victories in her first four Octagon appearances. Ribas went 2-0 in 2020, taking a decision over Randa Markos at UFC Fight Night 170 and submitting Paige VanZant in the opening stanza at UFC 251.

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

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane believes she will be facing the most difficult test of her flyweight reign when she faces Juliana Velasquez in the Bellator 254 headliner on Thursday night.

Since becoming the promotion’s inaugural 125-pound queen with a submission of Emily Ducote in November 2017, “The Ilimanator” has vanquished Alejandra Lara, Valerie Letourneau, Veta Arteaga and Kate Jackson in successive championship defenses.

“Yes, I consider it the biggest challenge so far,” Macfarlane said of Velasquez during a virtual media day. “I would say that Valerie Letourneau at that stage of my career was my biggest challenge because of her pedigree, her experience in the sport, but I would say that stylistically, Juliana is my biggest challenge to date.

“Not only is she a southpaw, but she’s bigger. She seems very physically strong. She goes for the finish. I think her mentality too — she’s ready to be champion…

In his early UFC career, wrestling was a key foundation for Jon Jones’ success.

If the action ever got to be too much on the feet — though it rarely did — Jones, a junior college national champion at Iowa Central Community College, could always resort to taking his opponent down and battering them with elbows. In more recent years, Jones’ wrestling hasn’t been as much of a factor as he’s relied more frequently on his length and kickboxing to carry him to victory.

That could change as the Jackson-Wink MMA standout prepares to move to heavyweight in 2021. Jones, for one, expects to be much more powerful with his takedowns with added weight and strength in his lower half.

"When I was 205, I always had a hard time getting down low," Jones told ESPN. "Or hated getting low, with [single-leg takedowns] and stuff like that. Almost as if my knees were killing me to do it.

"Now that I've been working on my legs so much and they've gotten thicker ... I think that's …

Tony Ferguson has issued an ultimatum to Charles Oliveira ahead of their co-main event clash at UFC 256.

“I am counting on the Brazilian [Charles Oliveira] and others to come In overweight like usual. So I’m calling it now,” Ferguson wrote on Instagram. “Case law: Short notice fight, Charles Oliveira will not cut weight all week and show up 3-4 pounds overweight and use the excuse of a short-notice fight.”

“If he shows up that much overweight, we are not competing. So crew, make sure you visit the kid’s page and encourage him to make the weight if you want to see a fight.”

Oliveira missed weight on four occasions while competing in the featherweight division but he has been on point for all nine of his lightweight bouts in the UFC. However, Ferguson vs. Oliveira was added to the UFC 256 lineup on short notice after the event lost a pair of title bouts.

Ferguson famously cut and made weight for a bout in April against Justin Gaethje even though the entire …

Three-time Legacy Fighting Alliance competitor Sam Hughes will step in on less than one week’s notice to face Tecia Torres at UFC 256.

Hughes is a replacement for Angela Hill, who withdrew from the event after a positive COVID-19 test. Multiple outlets confirmed the new matchup following an initial report from Best Fight Picks. UFC 256 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight championship tilt between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.

Hughes has won two of her three bouts under the LFA banner and is coming off a guillotine choke submisison against Danielle Hindley at LFA 93 on Oct. 16. The Everett, Washington, native is 5-1 as a pro, with all but one of her victories coming inside the distance.

Torres, meanwhile, snapped a four-fight skid in her last outing, as she took a unanimous verdict over Brianna Van Buren at UFC on ESPN 11.

Credit: Joao Baptista/Sherdog.com

Ramazan Emeev and David Zawada will lock horns in a welterweight matchup at the UFC’s Jan. 20 card.

The promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. The UFC event is expected to take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar.

Emeev has been victorious in four of his five Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 33-year-old American Top Team representative outpointed Niklas Stolze at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25. The former M-1 Challenge champion has only lost to Anthony Rocco Martin in UFC competition thus far.

Zawada will return for the first time since November 2019, when he snapped a two-bout losing streak with a first-round submission of Abubakar Nurmagomedov at UFC Fight Night 163. The KSW veteran fell to Danny Roberts and Jingliang Li in his first two Octagon appearances.

Jack Hermansson could be sidelined for a while following his five-round battle with Marvin Vettori in the UFC on ESPN 19 main event.

“The Joker” is suspended for six months unless he has a left orbital fracture cleared by an ophthalmologist. At a minimum he is suspended until Feb. 4 with no contact until Jan. 20. Vettori, meanwhile, needs to have a left eyelid cut cleared by a doctor or he is out until Jan. 20. At a minimum, “The Italian Dream” is suspended until Jan. 5 with no contact until Dec. 27.

mixedmartialarts.com released a full list of medical suspensions from the event late Monday night. UFC on ESPN 19 took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Four other fighters from the card are facing potential six-month terms: Jamahal Hill (left hand), John Allan (right knee, right ankle), Damon Jackson (nasal bone fracture) and Jake Colllier (left orbital fracture).

UFC on ESPN 19 Medical Suspensions:

Marvin Vettori: must have left …

Eddie Wineland and John Castaneda have agreed to square off at the UFC’s Feb. 20 event.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the pairing. A location and headliner for the event have yet to be announced. A heavyweight clash pitting Alexey Oleynik against Chris Daukaus and a bantamweight tilt between Yana Kunitskaya and Ketlen Vieira are also slated for the card.

Wineland is 1-3 in his last four promotional appearances following a first-round knockout loss to Sean O’Malley in his most recent outing at UFC 250. The WEC veteran’s lone victory during that stretch came when he knocked out Grigory Popov at UFC 238.

An 11-time Combate Americas veteran, Castaneda has also last three of his last four pro fights. That includes his Octagon debut, when he dropped a unanimous decision against Nathaniel Wood at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25.

Kayla Harrison will squeeze in one more fight in 2020 when she faces Jozette Cotton at Titan FC 66 on Dec. 17.

ESPN was first to report the bout. Harrison, Professional Fighter’s League defending 155-pound champion, received permission to fight outside the organization until its season resumes in 2021. Harrison defeated Cotton via second-round TKO under the PFL banner in her second MMA bout in August 2018.

Titan FC 66 takes place at Intercontinental Hotel in Miami and will stream on UFC Fight Pass.

"It wasn't easy to find an opponent," Harrison’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN. "Thank you to Jozette for accepting the fight. Her management reached out to me, I reached out to Lex and we got it done. I want to thank everyone for making this happen, including the PFL for giving Kayla the opportunity.”

Harrison made her featherweight debut at Invicta FC 43 on Nov. 20, when she scored a second-round TKO of Courtney King. The two-time judo Olympic gold medalis…

After an impressive submission win over Felice Herrig last August, former Invicta champion Virna Jandiroba is back in Octagon for her fourth promotional appearance on Saturday at UFC 256 against Mackenzie Dern.

With 13 submission triumphs among her 16 professional victories, Jandiroba promises that she will not be afraid to go to the ground against the multiple-time world jiu-itsu champion.

“It’s an MMA fight, not a gi jiu-jitsu match. I´m prepared for all areas,” Jandiroba said. “If the fight goes to the ground, it will be pretty entertaining for the fans. Mackenzie´s game is pretty [unorthodox], [while] my jiu-jitsu is more like a classical old school style. But I'm bringing some surprises for that fight too.”

Jandiroba trained extensively with Nova Uniao black belt Michele Oliveira to help prepare her for the showdown with Dern.

“She has a pretty similar game to Mackenzie and spent almost two month here with me in Bahia, which was really important in my…

Rachael Ostovich is no longer part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.

The flyweight was released from the promotion following her third consecutive defeat, a third-round knockout loss to Gina Mazany at UFC on ESPN 18 on Nov. 28. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the news. UFC president Dana White recently indicated that the UFC will cut as many as 60 fighters in the coming weeks.

A 29-year-old native of Honolulu, Ostovich went 2-2 in Invicta Fighting Championships before appearing on Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where she was eliminated by Barb Honchak in the quarterfinals.

Ostovich went on to win her Octagon debut when she submitted Karine Gevorgyan at the “TUF 26” finale before falling to Montana De La Rosa, Paige VanZant and Mazany in her last three UFC appearances. Ostovich is 4-6 over the course of a pro career that began in 2014.

The hits keep come on coming regarding COVID-19 and UFC 256.

Welterweight Dwight Grant announced via Instagram on Monday that he tested positive for the virus and his bout vs. Jingliang Li has been canceled.

“Hey what's up everyone? I gotta give y'all some bad news, I'm not going to be fighting this weekend. My last Covid 19 test came back positive but luckily the symptoms haven't been severe,” Grant wrote. “This news hit especially hard because of all the hard work and excitement I have for this fight. It's out of my control so im not going to try not to dwell on it too much, but to call it disappointing is an understatement.

“So now I’m focusing all my energy on getting better. Im going to quarantine and by the grace of God, be able to fight again soon. Thank you everyone for all your support. I’ll be back even more determined and fired up to go.”

The promotion has not announced if Grant vs. Li will be rescheduled or if a replacement opponent will be sou…

A woman with whom B.J. Penn fathered a child in June 2019 has filed a paternity suit against the UFC Hall of Famer.

Combate was first to report the news, and additional details were provided by MMAFighting.com. Penn anounced the birth of his daughter, Mahina Amado Penn, on social media eight months after she was born. The girl’s mother, Camila Amado, has filed a lawsuit seeking paternity recognition and alimony.

Penn met Amado while training at Nova Uniao in September 2018, and Amado found out she was pregnant after spending time with the fighter in Hawaii in January 2019. According to the reports, Amado has spent a year trying to get Penn to recognize paternity, and six days after Mahina’s birthday she elected to file a lawsuit in Rio de Janeiro.

According to MMAFighting, a DNA test was conducted with Mahina Amado and one of Penn’s daughters in January 2020 and determined that it was more than 99 percent likely that they were half siblings.

“It’s a very…

Grew up watching this show and now I’m on it. Check out the brand new season of @MTVCribs Monday at 8pm eastern #theresurrection pic.twitter.com/fQhpp2ClQG

— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) December 7, 2020

Even after coming up short in a title bout this past summer, Jorge Masvidal remains one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest stars.

The welterweight contender will appear on an upcoming episode of “MTV Cribs,” a documentary show that tours the private homes of celebrities. In the clip shared by Masvidal, the man known as “Gamebred” provides a glimpse of the American Top Team gym — presumably the show will also go inside the fighter’s home. The current iteration of “Cribs” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.

“MTV Cribs” intially debuted in 2000 and aired for 13 seasons on MTV. There have been various adaptations of the show since then, including a short-verm version on Snapchat in 2017. However, the current reboot, which include…

To my family, friends, and team champion. Thank you so much for the love and support. 

My opponent @karlbabyk has been diagnosed with COVID-19, therefore @UFC has decided to move our fight to the 19th DECEMBER 2020. Wishing @K_babyk_roberson a speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/PI7fM3SJAY

— Dalcha Lungiambula (@Dalcha_Champion) December 7, 2020 A positive COVID-19 test has resulted in the postponement of a UFC 256 middleweight clash between Karl Roberson and Dalcha Lungiambula.

Lungiambula initially announced that Roberson had tested positive for COVID-19 on Twitter, and the news has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. According to Lungiambula and other reports, the bout will be rebooked for UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19.

UFC 256 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight championship tilt between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. The event also lost a strawweight scrap pitting…

Official!

Birmingham's Tom Breese is going to kick off 2021 against Omari Akhmedov on Jan 16! pic.twitter.com/P4iIgedkIK

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 7, 2020 Omari Akhmedov will lock horns with Tom Breese in a middleweight bout at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 16.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking via social media on Monday. A location for the event has not been formally announced but it is expected to take place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card is headlined by a featherweight scrap pitting Max Holloway against Calvin Kattar.

Akhmedov, 33, had a six-bout unbeaten streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Chris Weidman at UFC Fight Night 174 on Aug. 8. The Dagestani known as “Wolverine” is 8-4-1 during his promotional tenure and 20-5-1 as a professional overall.

Breese, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his last four Octag…

Ground game on point! @Savage_UFC puts the finishing touch on a dominant performance.

#UFCVegas3 continues on @ESPN and E+. pic.twitter.com/PK9UIw0AaJ

— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2020 The lineup for UFC Fight Night 183 has two new flyweight additions, as Taila Santos will meet Gillian Robertson, while Jimmy Flick will face Cody Durden.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the fights over the weekend. Santos was initially slated to square off against Montana De La Rosa at UFC on ESPN 19, but the bout was canceled when one of her opponent’s cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. Robertson, meanwhile, was booked against Andrea Lee at UFC 256 before Lee pulled out of the matchup due to injury.

Flick and Durden were also scheduled to collide at UFC on ESPN 19 but a non-COVID medical issue forced Durden off the card on fight day.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 19 and is headlined by a welterweight…

DON'T CALL HER AN UNDERDOG!!@shana_dobson with the RELENTLESS GnP #UFCVegas7 pic.twitter.com/O5bQkmZdkb

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 23, 2020

Shana Dobson will welcome the undefeated Casey O'Neill to the Octagon at a UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 20.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the flyweight pairing. The event doesn’t have a location or headliner as of yet.

Dobson snapped a three-bout skid when she defeated Mariya Agapova by technical knockout 1:38 into the second round of their encounter at UFC on ESPN 15 on Aug. 22. The former “Ultimate Fighter 26” competitor is 2-3 in UFC competition with a stoppage of Ariel Beck to her credit.

Australia’s O’Neill is 5-0 to kick off her professional tenure. The Tiger Muay Thai export is a former Eternal MMA strawweight queen and is coming off a second-round knockout of Christina Stelliou at UAE Warriors 13 on Sept. 25.

Tested positive for Covid and won’t be fighting next week. Tried to stay as safe as possible during fightcamp but with mma training there’s virtually no social distancing. Was looking forward to running it back, maybe in the near future. #CovidFuckingUpEveryonesSeason #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/karOTjqZO2

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) December 7, 2020

Angela Hill has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to compete against Tecia Torres at UFC 256 as expected.

The strawweight fighter announced the news on social media Sunday night.

“Tested positive for Covid and won’t be fighting next week. Tried to stay as safe as possible during fightcamp but with mma training there’s virtually no social distancing. Was looking forward to running it back, maybe in the near future,” Hill wrote.

“Was a little sick over the weekend but feeling back to normal now. Would be trying to fight under different circumstances but thankful for my hea…