Blog

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. Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras believes Brazilian greats Rafael dos Anjos, Jose Aldo and Patricio Freire will cement their statuses as all-time greats soon. Right after return from Las Vegas with dos Anjos, “Dede” Pederneiras spoke with Sherdog about his first experience in the corner of the former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion. Aware that dos Anjos was now the #6 ranked lightweight according to the UFC rankings, Pederneiras did not like the idea of dos Anjos as an alternate for the recently formalized Conor McGregor-Dustin Poirier rematch.

“If UFC offers that, [dos Anjos] is the one who should choose, but I don’t think that would be a nice idea. I have no doubt that Rafael is coming to fight for the belt, so he doesn't need to hurry for that”, said Pederneiras, before recalling everything the athl…

Now that the #LFA95 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most tonight?

: https://t.co/eJrC4qcSiH

: https://t.co/aiIgZVyko3@ShellsDotCom@FredLoyaIns@USENDmoney@Krushmatized@PsoRite@GLCDirect2000@AthleticCBD@IncaKolaUSA@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/d5omcI0Fcd — LFA (@LFAfighting) November 20, 2020 The Legacy Fighting Alliance will still make it to fight day after multiple fights fell off the card.

LFA 95 is now going to be headlined by Alexsandro Pereira (185.8) vs. Thomas Powell (182) at middleweight after several major shakeups to the event. The original marquee matchup featured a title fight between Nick Browne and Arthur Estrazulas, but it and two other bouts have been scuttled from the event lineup due to COVID-19 protocols.

Glory kickboxing middleweight and interim light heavyweight champ Pereira may be a relative MMA neophyte, but he sports an impressive kickboxing resume that has seem him scor…

#InvictaFC43: King vs. Harrison Official Weigh-in Results https://t.co/nyxH3JlsCh

— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) November 20, 2020 Invicta Fighting Championships lost its title fight shortly after weigh-ins, and it will carry on with five fights.

Invicta FC 43 will now be capped off by the promotional debut of unbeaten Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Kayla Harrison, who made featherweight for the first time at 145.9 pounds. Harrison will face former Legacy Fighting Alliance and Fury Fighting Championship competitor Courtney King, who sports a 75 percent career finish rate. King hit the scales at 145.2 pounds to make their upgraded match official.

Originally the top billing, Emily Ducote (114.5) and Montserrat Ruiz (113.3) were set to square off for the vacant strawweight title. The promotion announced shortly after the weigh-ins that the match has been scratched due to “enhanced COVID-19 safety protocols.”

One fighter…

A jednak ‼️ Już 26 listopada w walce wieczoru gali ACA 114 w Łodzi Daniel Omielańczuk (24-9-1) powalczy z Tony "The Hulk" Johnson Jr. (13-5-1) o mistrzowski pas ACA w wadze ciężkiej! Czy Polscy kibice doczekają się pierwszego Polskiego mistrza w lidze ACA!? pic.twitter.com/JcMz0YJe5A

— ACAMMA (@ACA_League) October 19, 2020 On Nov. 26, top-ranked Absolute Championship Akhmat heavyweights Daniel Omielanczuk and Tony Johnson will fight for the vacant ACA heavyweight title.

According to ACA President Alexey Yatsenko, ACA 114 in Lodz, Poland, will go on without spectators, taking into account the local COVID-19 restrictions in place. The event, which will be available for purchase on pay-per-view through the ACA website, will otherwise be unaffected.

“It will be a real five-round battle of the titans,” Yatsenko exclaimed to Sherdog. “The title became vacant after its owner Mukhomad Vakhaev finished his contract with our organization, and it w…

“Golden Boy” throwing #InsideTheMatrix4 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship

How to watch ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX IV https://t.co/XVUI9f1Syb pic.twitter.com/bCO7gwSRkx

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 20, 2020 One Championship aired the fourth part of its pre-recorded “Inside the Matrix” series. One: Inside the Matrix 4 was headlined by a kickboxing clash between Aslanbek Zikreev and Wang Junguang. The contenders engaged in a back-and-forth battle that saw exciting moments from both sides. As the fight wore on, the Russian fighter appeared sharper than “Golden Boy,” and two of the three judges rewarded him with the split decision victory. Zikreev’s triumph over the former title contender led him to eye a future championship challenge.

In the co-main event, Joseph Lasiri took home a hard-fought split decision over Rocky Ogden in a muay Thai clash. The pace of “The Hurricane” kept Ogden guessing for the majority of the bout, and the …

NO DOUBT

@Daico_Deiveson locks in our main event.

[ Get the #ESPNPlus PPV: https://t.co/246VA65KPH ] pic.twitter.com/596E3v7Ngt — UFC (@ufc) November 20, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 255 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s second-to-last pay-per-view of 2020 will take place this Saturday.

Headlining UFC 255 are two flyweight title fights as Deiveson Figueiredo and Valentina Shevchenko look to defend their respective titles. All 12 fights on the card are now official after the weigh-ins took place, although Mike Perry missed weight by 4.5 pounds.

This will mark the first title defense for Figueiredo (19-1), who had to defeat Joseph Benavidez twice in a row to capture the belt that Henry Cejudo left vacant. Making weight has previously been an issue for the champ, whose only career loss was to Jussier Formiga, but …

Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bellator 253Credit: Bellator MMA Bella…

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 going out with a bang for its year-end card, with a bantamweight thriller added to an already stacked lineup. According to a report from BJPenn.com on Thursday, Jose Aldo (28-7) will be taking on Marlon Vera (16-6-1) at the UFC Fight Night event on Dec. 19. Aldo and Vera were originally considered to square off at UFC 255, but the matchup fizzled before coming to fruition.

Aldo is in the midst of a three-fight losing streak, the longest of his career. The longtime featherweight king dropped down to bantamweight in December 2019 to take on Marlon Moraes, and he lost a close split decision. With Moraes unable to compete several months later, Aldo stepped over him to face Petr Yan for the 135-pound throne. Aldo reigned over the UFC’s featherweight division for several years after bringing his …

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 big women’s bantamweight contest is coming to the first Ultimate Fighting Championship card of 2021. Sara McMann (12-5) first posted to her Instagram on Wednesday that she would be taking on Julianna Pena (9-4) at the UFC card on Jan. 16. Pena posted news of the matchup shortly thereafter on her own Instagram. The matchup was once considered for the Dec. 19 Fight Night event, per a matchmaking video posted by the UFC, but it has since been moved to the new year for undisclosed reasons.

McMann ended a two-fight submission loss skid to Ketlen Vieira and Marion Reneau by earning a decision win over Lina Lansberg in January. McMann was on the shelf for nearly two years from 2018 to 2020 after having a child, and then suffering an injury to eject her from a bout with Nicco Montano. Pena replaced her in that matchup.

“The Vene…

For the first time since 2006, an Ultimate Fighting Championship legend is no longer part of the roster.

MMA Fighting first broke the news on Thursday that Anderson Silva (34-11, 1 NC) was released by the UFC. Shortly after this story came out, UFC President Dana White disputed the release when speaking to TMZ. A few hours later, White told TMZ that he was mistaken, and that Silva was indeed released from his contract. “The Spider” made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 5 in 2006.

The all-time great middleweight started off his UFC tenure by rattling off 16 wins, a record that still stands. Capturing the 185-pound throne by smashing Rich Franklin in his sophomore appearance, Silva went on to defend it 10 times. This consecutive title defense streak record was later trumped by Demetrious Johnson, who retained it in 11 bouts. Along the way, Silva went up to light heavyweight a few times, scoring knockouts of James Irvin, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar – all…

*NEWS FLASH * Nevada Athletic Commission has cancelled my fight against Raoni Barcelos for December 5th . They want me to fight only a ranked fighter. I amReady .. Hoping they find me an opponent @UFC pic.twitter.com/J6rx4Au9hl

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) November 19, 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. A hot Ultimate Fighting Championship prospect is not getting an opportunity he hoped for after all. Coach Ray Longo first spoke about the booking between Merab Dvalishvili (12-4) and Raoni Barcelos (16-1) at bantamweight at UFC on ESPN 19. At the time, Barcelos was stepping in for Cody Stamann, who pulled out for COVID-19 related reasons. Dvalishvili posted on Twitter on Thursday that the fight was off, but he claimed it was due to rankings and the commission. MMA Junkie has since clarified that this is no…

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. Three important Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts at lightweight and middleweight are now booked on the promotion’s first pay-per-view in 2021. MMA Junkie was first to report on Thursday that Arman Tsarukyan (15-2) and Nasrat Haqparast (12-3) will compete against one another at lightweight. The two will face off at UFC 257 on Jan. 23 at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Tsarukyan has since confirmed the booking on Instagram, while stating that his initial plan was to take on Alexander Hernandez in December.

Haqparast rebounded from his first career knockout loss with a decision over Alex Munoz in August. Prior to facing Munoz, Drew Dober smashed him in 70 seconds at UFC 246. The German-born fighter holds a 75 percent finish rate throughout his career, with his most recent stoppage win due to strikes com…

After defending various submission attacks from Entwistle, Roa was able to get the upper hand, with the fight coming to an ending due to Ian's injury

Dumar Roa, your winner via TKO for BRAVE CF 45! #BRAVECF #BRAVECF45 #KombatKingdom #Bahrain pic.twitter.com/eMfpx3YygW

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) November 19, 2020 An unfortunate injury marred the ending of an otherwise exciting Brave Combat Federation event. The main event of Brave CF 45 was short but intense. The headliner pitted Colombia's Dumar Roa (9-7) against Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Ian Entwistle (9-4), with the latter stepping back into the cage for the first time in over four years. The Englishman shot for a leg lock as soon as the match started, and for a time, it looked like he could end the battle emphatically. Roa kept faith to his "Corazon de Leon" nickname and stoically resisted the submission attempt, all while trying to fight his way out of it. …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Although already listed on Sherdog Fight Finder, and confirmed several times over by Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, the ink has finally dried for the big fight. On Thursday morning, The Mac Life announced that Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) have signed their bout agreements to face one another again at UFC 257. The two will square off on Jan. 23 at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. They will meet for the second time, and over six years removed from their first pairing at UFC 178 in 2014, where McGregor won by first-round knockout.

The official signing by both parties puts an end to negotiations that included potentially shifting the contest to headline UFC 256 on Dec. 12. While they had both verbally agreed to the matchup earlier in November, both men…

The lineup for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s event on Dec. 19 continues to grow, as a bantamweight scrap pitting Pannie Kianzad against Sijara Eubanks has been added to the bill.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweght bout between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.

Kianzad is on a two-bout winning streak after earning unanimous decisions against Bethe Correia and Jessica Rose-Clark in her last two UFC appearances. The 28-year-old Swede has compiled a 13-5 career mark while also competing in organizations such as Invicta FC and Cage Warriors.

Eubanks, meawhile, had a two-fight winning streak snapped when she dropped a unanimous verdict to Ketlen Vieira at UFC 253 on Sept. 26. “The Ultimate Fighter 26” competitor owns wins over the likes of Julia Avila, Roxanne Modafferi and Lauren Murphy in the Octagon.

Goiti Yamauchi will square off against former CES MMA lightweight champion Nate Andrews in a lightweight bout on the Bellator 254 main card.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 254 takes place on Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and is headlined by a flyweight championship tilt between Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez.

Yamauchi enters the matchup with Andrews having won six of his last seven promotional appearances. Most recently, the 27-year-old Japan native choked out Daron Cruickshank at Bellator 237 last December. Yamauchi is 11-3 over the course of his Bellator tenure.

Andrews, 36, won nine consecutive fights with CES MMA before a recent 1-2 stint with Professional Fighters League. Andrews concluded his 2019 PFL season with a majority decision loss to Chris Wade in the playoffs last year. “The Snake” is 16-3 as a professional, with all but on…

A light heavyweight clash pitting Misha Cirkunov against Ryan Spann has been added to the lineup for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s event on Dec. 19.

MMA DNA was first to report the book. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight tilt between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.

Cirkunov will compete for the first time in 2020 after going 1-1 in the Octagon last year. Cirkunov rebounded from a 38-second TKO loss to Johnny Walker at UFC 235 with a first-round submission of Jimmy Crute at UFC Fight Night 158 in September 2019. The 33-year-old Latvian is 6-3 during his UFC tenure and 15-5 as a professional overall.

After earning a UFC contract on Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Spann was victorious in his first four Octagon appearances. That streak came to an end at UFC Fight Night 178 in September, when he was knocked out in the first round by Walker. The 29-year-old Fortis MMA product owns an 18-6 ca…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW5Pl7vzFnw&w=560&h=315]

Donald Cerrone knows that his mixed martial arts career is coming to a close, but “Cowboy” would prefer to go out on his terms.

The 36-time Octagon veteran is winless in his last five UFC appearances. After his last bout, a majority draw with Niko Price at UFC Fight Night 178 on Sept. 19, Dana White suggested it was time to have a conversation with Cerrone about retirement.

“For him tonight, the win for him tonight, he was on his way out in the first 30 seconds of the first round,” White said at the card’s post-fight press conference. “He fought back, he’s tough, he’s durable. I love ‘Cowboy,’ and I know this is going to f—ing crush him and break his heart, but it’s time to have a conversation with him.”

Cerrone dismissed the notion at the time but more recently, the BMF Ranch founder acknowledged that his career does have a shelf life.

“This is the last run,” Cerrone said in a video posted …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZZYaULbC2U&w=560&h=315]

Darrion Caldwell and A.J. McKee are ready to vie for a berth in the championship round of Bellator MMA’s featherweight grand prix.

Both Caldwell and McKee made weight without issue on Wednesday ahead of their headlining clash at Bellator 253. Caldwell tipped the scales at 144.7 pounds for the five-round bout, while McKee checked in at 144.8. The Caldwell-McKee winner will eventually square off against the winner of the Patricio Freire-Emmanuel Sanchez bout in the finals of the tournament with 145-pound gold on the line.

Bellator 253 takes place on Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and will also see Benson Henderson (170) make his return to welterweight against Jason Jackson (170) in the co-main event. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network and Dazn at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel and Dazn at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT.

Caldwell,…

It appears that Jesse Ronson could be spending a significant amount of time on the sideline after failing a USADA drug test.

The UFC welterweight announced the news in a post on his Facebook page. Ronson says he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Metandienone, which is also known as Dianabol.

“It is with great surprise, and sadness that I have to inform you that I have received a suspension from USADA for the detection of a banned substance in my sample provided to them during an out of competition test,” Ronson wrote. “This has turned my world upside down as it’s a 20-month suspension. I haven’t slept much and have been sick to my stomach as I would never knowingly or purposely take a banned substance.”

Ronson added that he spent $1,000 to have a supplement sent to a testing facility, but it came back clean. The fighter added that he was unable to provide USADA with any of his other supplements that might have been tainted.

“USADA has been working w…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 255 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. J.P. Buys, Gloria de Paula, Tucker Lutz and Victoria Leonardo punched their tickets to the Ultimate Fighting Championship during the Season 4 finale of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The season concludes with 37 new UFC recruits, some of whom have already touched down inside the Octagon. Buys (9-2) joined his wife Cheyanne on the UFC roster with his controversial technical submission of Jacob Silva in the first round of their flyweight showcase. With Silva stuck in a guillotine choke near the base of the fence, referee Marc Goddard intervened 4:54 into Round 1 despite the fact that there was neither a tapout nor concrete proof that the former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder had lost consciousness. Nevertheless, the stoppage was called, with Silva (6-4) immediately leaping to his feet …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 255 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live DWCS 2020 Week 10 coverage kicks off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result

Paul Felder is facing a potentially lengthy layoff following his loss to Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC Fight Night 182 headliner.

mixedmartialarts.com obtained a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Felder must have an X-ray or MRI on his right elbow and doctor clearance or he will be sidelined until May 14. At a minimum, “The Irish Dragon” is suspended until Jan. 14 with no contact until Dec. 30.

Dos Anjos, who defeated Felder by split decision in his lightweight return, is suspended until Dec. 15 with no contact until Dec. 6.

Three other fighters from UFC Fight Night 182 are facing potential six-month suspensions: Cory McKenna (left ankle sprain), Alex Morono (right knee) and Roque Martinez (left knee).

UFC Fight Night 182 Medical Suspensions:

Rafael dos Anjos: suspended until 12/15/20 ;No contact until 12/06/20 for hard fight

Paul Felder: must have X-Ray or MRI of rig…

A flyweight bout pitting Maycee Barber against Alexa Grasso has been confirmed for UFC 258.

The promotion announced the matchup on Tuesday. UFC 258 takes place on Feb. 13 and is also expected to include a middleweight rematch between Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall. A location for the event was not revealed.

Barber hasn’t competed since UFC 246 in January, when she injured her knee in a unanimous decision loss to Roxanne Modafferi on Jan. 18. Prior to that, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum began her promotional tenure with TKO triumphs against Hannah Cifers, J.J. Aldricha and Gillian Robertson.

Grasso, meanwhile, made a successful 125-pound debut at UFC Fight Night 175, where she took a unanimous decision over Ji Yeon Kim at UFC Fight Night 175 on Aug. 29. The 27-year-old Lobo Gym MMA representative went 3-3 as a strawweight, earning notable wins against the likes of Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Randa Markos.