Blog

Raoni Barcelos and Khalid Taha brought the heat for 15 full minutes at UFC on ESPN 17.

The bantamweight competitors were rewarded for their efforts with “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Barcelos set a tremendous pace throughout the bout and appeared to be on the verge of putting his opponent away on a few occasions, but Taha stayed in the fight and made it to the final horn. Still, it was Barcelos who emerged with a well-deserved unanimous decision triumph.

Elsewhere, Giga Chikadze pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a quick finish of replacement foe James Krause-Simmons in a featured featherweight matchup. After a feeling-out process, Chikadze felled Krause-Simmons with a body kick followed by a head kick. Standing-to-ground punches ended the bout 3:51 into the first frame.

Finally, heavyweight submission artist Alexander Romanov earned the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” c…

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. Glover Teixeira refused to give in. The respected Brazilian veteran on Saturday likely cemented himself as the No. 1 contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division, as he submitted Thiago Santos with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC on ESPN 17 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In his first appearance since July 6, 2019, Santos (21-8, 13-7 UFC) capitulated 1:49 into Round 3.

Teixeira (32-7, 15-5 UFC) walked through hellfire to secure one of the most significant victories of his 39-fight career. Hurt on multiple occasions, the former Shooto Brazil champion turned to his takedowns, world-class grappling and destructive ground-and-pound to neutralize another knockout-minded opponent. He dominated Santos in the second round and cinched a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 17 coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critc…

#UFCVegas13 is LIVE TONIGHT on @espn at 10pm ET pic.twitter.com/dUbmcIyi6g

— danawhite (@danawhite) November 8, 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.

It was gruesome enough to inspire widespread dry heaves.

Former Tachi Palace Fights champion Max Griffin prompted an injury stoppage against Ramiz Brahimaj in the third round of their UFC on ESPN 17 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as he nearly took off the Fortis MMA rep’s left ear with a well-placed elbow strike. Brahimaj (8-3, 0-1 UFC) was declared unfit to continue 2:03 into Round 3, then likely sought out the nearest plastic surgeon.

Griffin (16-8, 4-6 UFC) spent most of the first two rounds burying jabs into his opponent’s face, opening multiple cuts and leaving visible damage to both of his eyes. Midway through the third, he dazed Brah…

Bryan Barberena will not face Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 182 as expected after undergoing emergency surgery.

According to an announcement on his Instagram page, Barberena had an “emergency exploratory laparotomy due to internal bleeding from a couple ruptured arteries in his omentum.” It is currently unclear if a replacement opponent will be found for Rodriguez.

The full statement regarding Barberena is as follows:

Bryan had an emergency exploratory laparotomy due to internal bleeding from a couple ruptured arteries in his omentum. He had 1.5 liters of blood in his abdomen. Bryan’s surgery was successful. He is having pain, which is expected, but he is doing good. The doctor said because he is young and healthy he will have a quick recovery. Unfortunately, due to the surgery, Bryan will not be fighting on November 14th. He is extremely disappointed, and was ready to put on a show, but he will be back ASAP (once he’s healed). He apologizes to his oppone…

UFC on ESPN 17 is now down to 10 bouts after a positive COVID-19 test “involving” Ian Heinisch ahead of his middleweight showdown with Brendan Allen.

As a result, the contest has been canceled, and a featherweight clash between Giga Chikadze and James Krause-Simmons has been promoted to the main card. The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the news in a statement on Saturday.

UFC on ESPN 17 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight tilt pitting Thiago Santos against Glover Teixeira. The main cad airs on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.

Heinisch and Allen were previously slated to meet at UFC on ESPN 12 on June 27 before Heinisch withdrew from the bout due to injury. The 32-year-old Heinisch snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round stoppage of Gerald Meerschaert in his most recent outing at UFC 250 on June 6.

Allen has kicked off his prom…

Antonio Silva wants to share his side of the story.

After leaving the main event of Taura MMA 11 in Florida last Friday due to problems with the organization, Silva (19-12-1) already agreed to fight against American Chris Barnett (21-6). The two heavyweights are set to come to blows in France on Dec. 12 in fledgling organization Arena Fight Championship. On Wednesday, “Bigfoot” spoke to Sherdog, where he explained the whole situation involving Taura MMA.

“It was absurd,” Silva said flatly. “They [Taura MMA] promised to pay me some advanced money in August in order to help my camp expenses and never deposited. In the week of the fight, they found out that one exam I sent in October needed to be made again, and they guaranteed there was no time left for that, which is not true. Unfortunately, the event was not professional with me. Actually, they were doing two events at the same time, one week in Brazil and the next one in USA, and didn’t have enough people to take c…

Respect after all! pic.twitter.com/X8dqV4saVA

— ACAMMA (@ACA_League) November 6, 2020 Azamat Kerefov remains on the Absolute Championship Akhmat flyweight throne after ACA 113.

In the main event, Kerefov (14-0) and Kurban Gadzhiev (16-3) clashed once again, this time for the 125-pound championship. In their first contest, Kerefov took a unanimous verdict over Gadzhiev after a three-round clash. Running it back two years later, the result was much the same after five rounds. The challenger started strong, inflicting visible damage to the body of the champion in the opening round. In the second stanza, Kerefov showed off some of his grappling skills as he dominated his opponent on the ground for most of the round. The third round was fairly even, with both contenders exchanging shots and attempting to impose their will on one other.

In the first championship round, Kerefov looked to be the fresher man as he outgrappled his seemingly fatigued…

Breaking: Injury has forced Darren Till out of his UFC Fight Night main event against Jack Hermansson on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas. Kevin Holland steps in as a replacement. pic.twitter.com/8R5V0yk4Vc

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 6, 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 rising Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight prospect is quickly finding his way up his division. ESPN announced on Friday that Darren Till (18-3-1) has suffered an injury and has been forced to withdraw from his headlining contest against Jack Hermansson (21-5). In his stead atop the Dec. 5 Fight Night card will be Kevin Holland (20-5). According to ESPN, Hermansson wanted to face a ranked opponent, but as others declined, Hermansson decided he would remain on the card and take on Holland.

“Trailblazer” is riding an impressive four-fight win streak bu…

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. For the first time in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, the promotion has signed a fighter from Hong Kong. On Friday, MMA DNA reported that Sasha Palatnikov (5-2) has signed with the UFC to meet fellow newcomer Louis Cosce (7-0) at UFC 255. The two welterweights will lock horns at the UFC Apex on Nov. 21. Cosce has since confirmed his appearance on the card on his Instagram page. He will be competing alongside his brother Orion Cosce, when the latter takes on Nicolas Dalby also at welterweight.

Cosce earned a contract on Dana White's Contender Series when he flattened Victor Reyna in 72 seconds in August. Throughout his relatively young pro career that also saw him win by knockout in 18 seconds at a Combate Americas card in 2019, Cosce has finished all of his opponents in the opening round. Both he and his brother are …

The long awaited return is finally here

@TMarretaMMA makes the walk tomorrow night!

[ LIVE on ESPN2 & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ThAydIFk9t — UFC (@ufc) November 6, 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. It’s all systems go for this weekend’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event, with every fighter on the card making weight and not a catchweight contest in sight.

The UFC returns to the ESPN airwaves on Saturday with a Las Vegas card headlined by Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira. It’s a light heavyweight bout with potential title implications, although Israel Adesanya’s plan to climb to 205 may have thrown a wrench in that.

In his last bout, Santos (21-7) came painstakingly close to dethroning Jon Jones. While “Marreta” ultimately lost a split decision, he earned plenty of fans after his spirited performance. The B…

WHAT A COMEBACK! Kiamrian Abbasov retains the ONE Welterweight World Title with a fourth-round knockout of James Nakashima! #InsideTheMatrix2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/K8G2U3Xyet

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 6, 2020 The One Championship welterweight belt returned to Kyrgyzstan after the dust settled at One: Inside the Matrix 2.

The card’s main event saw Kiamrian Abbasov put his welterweight belt on the line against the undefeated James Nakashima. The challenger started strong in the opening rounds, breaking the nose of the champ with one of his combinations. Despite the injury, Abbasov bit the bullet and tried his best to ride out Nakashima offense. The American dominated the first few rounds, especially on the ground.

In the fourth stanza, Abbasov felt the urgency to make a statement. After recovering from an involuntary low blow, Abbasov rushed towards his opponent. Nakashima changed levels for a tak…

Corey Anderson made a successful Bellator MMA debut against Melvin Manhoef in the headliner of Bellator 251.

Anderson (14-5) immediately took down Manhoef (32-15-1, 2 NC) and pummeled "No Mercy" with punches on the ground. This cycle was repeated in Round 2, but "Overtime" was able to land several huge elbows that forced the referee to step in at 2:34.

The co-main event saw heavyweights Tyrell Fortune and Said Sowma face off. Fortune (9-1, 1 NC) was able to get back into the win column after suffering his first defeat earlier this year. However, Sowma (6-2) made the bout a competitive one and was the more active fighter later on. After 15 minutes of action, all three judges scored the bout 29-28 Fortune.

Middleweight prospect Austin Vanderford stayed undefeated against Vinicius de Jesus. The one-sided affair lasted a full 15 minutes as Vanderford (10-0) was able to outgrapple de Jesus (9-4). Vanderford took a unanimous decision victory earning scores of 30-26, 30-2…

Brutal!#AndNew - Amin Ayoub conquers Lightweight gold with this nasty knockout of Cleiton ''Predator''!#BRAVECF44 pic.twitter.com/o2BRR5twjH

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) November 5, 2020 A French revolution took place in Bahrain on Nov. 5.

The Brave CF 44 main event featured an intriguing clash as Cleiton Pereira da Silva (15-3) put his lightweight title on the line against Amin Ayoub (15-4). The defending champion imposed his striking skills over Ayoub early on before taking his opponent to the canvas. The French contender looked very comfortable with his back on the canvas and answered with a relentless submission offensive. “Fierceness” attempted multiple armbars, but the champion shrugged them off and kept scoring with strikes on top.

The tide changed by the end of the third round, when Ayoub shook “Predator” with a few shots. Although Silva was saved by the bell, the damage was done. Sensing that his time to shine was near, …

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight Randa Markos will be looking to break her first career losing streak when she steps into a fight on short notice. On Tuesday, The Canadian Press put out a story that Randa Markos (10-9-1) was stepping in for Livinha Souza (14-2) to face Kanako Murata (11-1) at strawweight at UFC Fight Night 182. Confirming the news on Thursday was Combate, while also writing that Souza suffered an injury to her shin that will keep her out of action until January.

Markos returns less than two months removed from a first-round armbar defeat to Mackenzie Dern in September. With 20 career fights under her belt, the setback to Dern follows one from Amanda Ribas in March, setting the Canadian on her first losing skid. On the other hand, Markos has not won consecutive bouts since starting her career off at 3-…

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. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Thiago Santos does not expect his upcoming headliner will last long. Sixteen months after a historic five-round title battle against Jon Jones, Santos is returning to the Octagon to face another Brazilian and former title challenger beaten by Jones. His thriller with Jones earned him surgeries in both knees, and confined “Marreta” to a wheelchair for two months. Despite the long absence, Santos is ready to pick up where he left off.

“Glover is a complete fighter that looks for the knockout or submission all the time,” Teixeira told Sherdog. “I would bet that this fight is not going to reach the 5th round. The only assurance I have is that fans will have a lot of fun in our fight.”

Santos also spoke about this matchup on Tuesday to Brazilian journalist Luis Coutinho, whe…

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. Former Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Thiago Santos does not expect his upcoming headliner will last long. Sixteen months after a historic five-round title battle against Jon Jones, Santos is returning to the Octagon to face another Brazilian and former title challenger beaten by Jones. His thriller with Jones earned him surgeries in both knees, and confined “Marreta” to a wheelchair for two months. Despite the long absence, Santos is ready to pick up where he left off.

“Glover is a complete fighter that looks for the knockout or submission all the time,” Teixeira told Sherdog. “I would bet that this fight is not going to reach the 5th round. The only assurance I have is that fans will have a lot of fun in our fight.”

Santos also spoke about this matchup on Tuesday to Brazilian journalist Luis Coutinho, whe…

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 beefed up its ranks by signing four competitors -- heavyweight Jared Vanderaa, featherweight Luis Saldana, welterweight Ignacio Bahamondes and light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg -- from Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series on Wednesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Perhaps the most intriguing talent to land a contract, Ulberg blew away American Top Team’s Bruno Oliveira with punches in the first round of their encounter at 205 pounds. Oliveira (8-2) bowed out 2:02 into Round 1, losing for the first time in more than four years.

Operating out of the City Kickboxing camp in New Zealand, Ulberg (3-0) measured distance with leg kicks and waited for an opportune time to strike. The Israel Adesanya stablemate countered a lazy jab from Oliveira with a ferocious multi-punch burst -- right and left ho…

coverage kicks off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.

to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1

(+ Enlarge) | Photo: Getty/UFC

Vanderaa trapped Hunsucker and unloaded with leather.

Hunsucker throws a big overhand and Vanderaa ties him up and backs him into the fence, where he lands several knees to the body. They separate and Hunsucker rushes forward swinging wild, heavy punches. Vanderaa survives the onslaught and they return to the center of the cage. Hunsucker counters a kick with a left hook that lands and he unloads again with a heavy flurry of punches. Vanderaa lands an inside leg kick, but Hunsucker is the aggressor early, throwing everything behind his punches so far. Hunsucker loads up on a huge overhand right but Vanderaa eats it. Hunsucker wades forward but Vanderaa eludes a punch and secures a rear body lock. Moments later, Vanderaa dumps his man on the canvas. With Hunsucker on all fours, Vanderaa begins lan…

If Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya does come to fruition, it won’t be until March at the earliest.

That’s when Blachowicz told ESPN he’d be ready to make his first title defense. The newly-crowned light heavyweight champion is expecting his first child with his wife in December, and his native Poland is still struggling to combat COVID-19. Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes to claim the vacant belt at UFC 253 on Sept. 26, and UFC president Dana White recently revealed that reigning middleweight champ Israel Adesanya will be next to challenge Blachowicz.

"I can fight in March with anybody," Blachowicz said. "It's no problem for me. But I cannot fight any earlier than March. If Israel wants to wait, no problem.

"In Poland right now, the situation is not so good, and we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. Right now we train normally, but nobody knows what our government is preparing for. We'll see what's going to happen later.”<…

A welterweight clash pitting Stephen Thompson against Geoff Neal is in the works for a UFC event on Dec. 19.

ESPN was first to report the bout. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight tilt between Leon Edwards and Khamzhat Chimaev. Thompson vs. Neal has not been officially announced, but the promotion is close to finalizing the fight.

Thompson will be making his first Octagon appearance of 2020. The former title challenger halted a two-bout skid in his last outing when he took a unanimous decision over Vicente Luque at UFC 244 in November 2019. “Wonderboy” owns other notable wins against the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Rory MacDonald, Robert Whittaker, Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger.

Neal has won his first five UFC bouts to emerge as a new contender in the welterweight division. The Contender Series veteran was supposed to face Neil Magny in August but was forced to withdraw from the contest for health reasons. N…

Former UFC middleweight No. 1 contender Paulo Costa recently did a live session on his YouTube channel in which he revealed a desire to face Robert Whittaker for the interim 185-pound belt.

“Whitaker is No. 1 in the rankings, I’m No. 2,” Costa said. “Once [Israel] Adesanya goes up to light heavyweight, it makes sense to have an interim title fight. I’ve already talked to [UFC president Dana White] and he said he would love to see that fight.”

There is recent precedent for such a move in the middleweight division: When Whittaker, who was the reigning champion at the time, was unable to compete at UFC 236 because he was recovering from hernia surgery, the promotion booked an interim title clash between Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum. With Adesanya expected to move to 205 pounds to challenge reigning light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz, it’s unclear how long it will be until “The Last Stylebender” makes another title defense at 185 pounds.

In the same live session,…

UPSET CITY

@KevinCroom_MMA, welcome to the Octagon!

[ #UFCVegas10 - LIVE now on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/mPG9x6PL6e — UFC (@ufc) September 12, 2020

UFC lightweight Kevin Croom and Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jose Flores each received four-and-a-half month suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for marijuana in relation to recent bouts.

The NAC issued the sanctions during a teleconference on Wednesday. Additionally, Contender Series heavyweight Chad Johnson received a nine-month term for testing positive for a banned amphetamine, while UFC welterweight Niko Price had a temporary suspension extended after testing positive for the prohibited cannabinoid carboxy THC in relation to his bout at UFC Fight Night 178 on Sept. 19.

Croom scored a major upset in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 177, where he submitted Roosevelt Roberts with a guillotine choke 31 seconds into Round 1. Croom te…

Tito Ortiz can now add elected official to his list of achievements.

The UFC Hall of Famer won a seat on the Huntington Beach city council on Tuesday night. There were three seats open for four-year terms, and Ortiz finished first among 15 potential candidates. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” received 34,901 (14.3 percent) of 244,792 votes to join Dan Kalmick (11 percent) and Natalie Moser (10.9 percent) in earning a seat.

Ortiz identifies as a Republican conservative and has ties to President Donald Trump dating back to his appearance on the reality show “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Ortiz has continued to be a vocal Trump supporter since his election in 2016.

According to his campaign website, Ortiz’s platform is focused on supporting law enforcement, promoting a healthy business community, legal immigration, school choice and addressing the homeless problem in the community, among other things.

“I am committed to representing Huntington Beach with honor a…