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Former UFC competitor Abel Trujillo was sentenced to two years’ probation in a child exploitation case in Castle Rock, Colorado, on Wednesday, according to 9News.

Trujillo was originally arrested in July 2019 and charged with with attempted sexual exploitation of a child, promotion of obscenity to a minor and sexual exploitation of a child – self/publish – all of which are felonies. Trujillo accepted a plea agreement in March and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of promoting obscenity.

Had the felony charges remained, Trujillo would have faced up to 18 months in jail.

Castle Rock police were initially notified in October 2018 that the victim received inappropriate messages via social media from Trujillo. The girl first made contact with Trujillo in March 2018 and received a follow request from him on Instagram. According to an affidavit, she accepted the request “because Abel is a celebrity.”

Shortly thereafter, the girl began receiving direct mess…

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Bobby Green will step in for Rodrigo Vargas and square off against Alan Patrick Silva Alves at UFC Fight Night 177.

Promotion officials announced the change in the lightweight bout on Wednesday. Vargas withdrew from the contest for undisclosed reasons. UFC Fight Night 177 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 12 and is headlined by a light heavyweight scrap pitting Thiago Santos against Glover Teixeira.

Green is 2-0 thus far during his 2020 campaign after earning unanimous decision triumphs against Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 11 and against Lando Vannata at UFC Fight Night 173. Prior to that, the former King of the Cage champion had been victorious in just one of his previous seven promotional appearances.

Patrick had a three-bout winning streak snapped at UFC 229, where he was knocked out by Scott Ho…

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

Would-be UFC competitor Aleksander Doskalchuk has accepted a 14-month suspension from USADA for a violation of the promotion’s anti-doping policy.

Doskalchuk tested positive for mesterolone metabolites in an out-of-competition sample collected on June 6. Mesterolone is a banned substance in the anabolic agents category. The flyweight fighter will not be eligible to compete until August 2021.

Doskalchuk received a reduced sanction after providing evidence that a doctor mistakenly provided him medication containing mesterolone. The 30-year-old Ukrainian received an additional reduction in his sanction thanks to his complete cooperation in the investigation.

A former M-1 Global flyweight champion, Doskalchuk was expected to compete at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18 in Abu Dhabi but withdrew from a proposed bout against Malcolm Gordon. He owns a 10-1 professional record.

The full USADA statement …

The Bellator women’s flyweight division has another interesting contender.

The California-based promotion has signed former Invicta Fighting Championships 125-pound title holder Vanessa Porto to an exclusive, multi-fight contract. Sherdog.com confirmed the signing with a promotion official following an initial report from ESPN.

A date for Porto’s Bellator debut is currently unknown. Porto has vacated the Invicta FC belt as a result, and the all-female promotion will crown a new champion in November.

Porto claimed the Invicta FC crown with a victory over Pearl Gonzalez in February 2019 and then defeated Karina Rodriguez in a non-title affair in her last appearance at Invicta FC 38. The 36-year-old Brazilian owns a 22-8 career mark that includes wins over the likes of Roxanne Modafferi, Jennifer Maia, Germaine de Randamie and Tonya Evinger.

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Sean Strickland will make his first Octagon appearance in two years when he locks horns with Wellington Turman in a welterweight bout on Oct. 31.

Combate was first to report the booking. The UFC event is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall and is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Strickland hasn’t competed since he was injured and underwent knee surgery following a motorcycle accident in December 2018. Strickland last appeared at UFC Fight Night 138, where he scored a second-round TKO of Nordine Taleb in October 2018. “Tarzan” is 7-3 over the course of his promotional tenure.

Turman has lost two of his first three bouts in the Octagon. Most recently, the 24-year-old Brazilian suffered a first-round knockout loss at the hands of Andrew Sanchez at UFC Fig…

Two title belts will be up for grabs at Invicta Fighting Championships 43.

The promotion announced Wednesday that Invicta FC 43 will be headlined by a showdown for the vacant flyweight championship between Pearl Gonzalez and Erin Blanchfield, while Emily Ducote and Montserrat Ruiz will vie for strawweight gold in the evening’s co-main event.

Invicta FC 43 takes place on Nov. 20 in Kansas City and will stream on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event takes place behind closed doors and will utilize open scoring. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.

A two-time UFC veteran, Gonzalez previously challenged for the flyweight crown at Invicta FC 34, where she fell to Vanessa Porto via technical decision. “The Chi-Town Princess” rebounded to outpoint Brogan Walker-Sanchez at Invicta FC 37 before dropping a unanimous verdict to Miranda Maverick at Invicta FC 39.

Blanchfield has been victorious in six of her first seven profess…

A women’s featherweight clash pitting Leslie Smith against Amanda Bell has been added to the Bellator 245 lineup.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bout with a promotion official on Wednesday. Bellator 245 takes place on Sept. 11 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and is headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida. Smith vs. Bell will take place on the preliminary card.

After a seven-bout stint with the UFC, Smith fought twice for Bellator in 2019. After earning a majority decision against Sinead Kavanagh in her promotional debut, Smith dropped a unanimous verdict to Arlene Blencowe in her most recent outing at Bellator 233. The 38-year-old is 11-8-1 over the course of a professional career that includes victories over the likes of Irene Aldana, Jennifer Maia and Raquel Pennington.

Bell, meanwhile, has compiled a 3-2 mark while competing for the Scott Coker-led organization. Most recently, “The Lady Killer” defeated Janay…

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Ever since reports surfaced that Brock Lesnar was no longer under contract with the WWE, speculation has run rampant regarding the massive superstar’s next move.

Though Lesnar himself has been quiet, a return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been a popular topic of conversation and more specifically, a showdown with former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones made it clear he was aware of Lesnar’s free agency when he directed a tweet at the former heavyweight king earlier this week.

While Jones vs. Lesnar is far from becoming a reality, UFC president Dana White would make the fight if Lesnar wanted to step into the Octagon again.

“If they both want to fight each other, I’m sure it’s a fight the fans want to see and it would be a good introduction for Jones into the heavyweight division,” White …

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 on Tuesday brought in more reinforcements through Dana White’s Contender Series, as flyweight Jimmy Flick, light heavyweight William Knight and bantamweight Ronnie Lawrence joined the roster on the strength of impressive Week 5 performances at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Flick submitted Nate Smith with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their flyweight encounter. Smith (6-1) conceded defeat 3:15 into Round 3, the Elevation Fight Team prospect beaten for the first time as a professional.

Flick (15-5) was masterful on the ground. The Oklahoma-based Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt settled in top position in all three rounds and made passes at a variety of submissions throughout the first 10-plus minutes: a straight armbar, a brabo choke, a triangle choke, an armbar, an omoplata and multipl…

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Sherdog's live DWCS 2020 Week 5 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores…

Bellator MMA has bolstered its talent pool by signing light heavyweight Viktor Nemkov and featherweight Cody Law.

Sherdog.com confirmed the Nemkov signing with a promotion official following an initial report from Tass, while the promotion announced the addition of Law via social media. A date for the Bellator debuts of Nemkov and Law has not been revealed.

Nemkov is the older brother of Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov. A former M-1 Global champion, Viktor Nemkov last competed under the Professional Fighters League banner, where he was eliminated from the light heavyweight tournament following a draw against Bozigit Ataev . The elder Nemkov is a gold medalist in the Russian Combat Sambo championships and owns notable wins over UFC veterans Gadzhimurad Antigulov and Ronny Markes.

Hello @BellatorMMA pic.twitter.com/chDZA4Zp8S

— Cody Law (@codylaw_160) September 1, 2020

Law, meanwhile, is a former Division I wrestler at…

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A rematch of the “BMF” title fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz is currently in the works for a future Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

TMZ Sports initially reported that the matchup would take place on the UFC 256 pay-per-view card on Dec. 12, but ESPN later revealed that a date has not been decided. However, it is unlikely that Masvidal and Diaz would agree to be on the undercard after headlining UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden this past November.

While both Masvidal and Diaz are reportedly interested in the rematch, no agreements have been signed. The contest could potentially headline the UFC’s January pay-per-view, per ESPN.

Masvidal defeated Diaz via doctor stoppage in the UFC 244 main event on Nov. 2. The bout was halted due to a cut on Diaz’s eye, but the Stockton, California, native later…

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Kamaru Usman’s next welterweight title defense will come against Gilbert Burns, and the bout has been targeted for UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

TMZ Sports was first to report the matchup, and it was later confirmed to ESPN by UFC president Dana White. UFC 256 also features a women’s featherweight title tilt between reigning champion Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson. A location and venue for the event has not been announced.

Usman and Burns were originally supposed to meet at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi on July 11, but Burns was forced to pull out of the contest after testing positive for COVID-19. Instead, Usman made his second successful title defense with a clear-cut five-round verdict against Jorge Masvidal in the evening’s main event. “The Nigerian Nightmare” has won 16 straight professional bouts – including 12 in the UFC.

Read more about Kamaru Usman Expected to Defend 170-Pound Title vs. Gilbert Burns at UFC 256 on Dec. 12

British heavyweight @AspinallBJJ gets his wish!

He faces Serghei Spivac on Oct 10 pic.twitter.com/OtFxhMcDiM

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 1, 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 heavyweight clash pitting Sergey Spivak against Tom Aspinall has been added to the lineup for the the UFC’s Oct. 10 offering.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. Additionally, MMA DNA has reported that a bantamweight scrap between Ali AlQaisi and Tony Kelley will take place on the card. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to be held on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Marlon Moraes and Corey Sandhagen.

A native of Moldova, Spivak has split his first four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 25-year-old captured a majority decision triumph over Carlos Felipe at U…

Former strawweight queen Jessica Andrade is expected make her 125-pound debut against Katlyn Chookagian at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Oct. 17.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. Andrade was originally linked to a matchup with Jessica Eye, but that bout fell apart after Eye reportedly suffered an injury. The card is expected to be held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a featherweight duel between Chan Sung Jung and Brian Ortega.

After losing the 115-pound belt to Weili Zhang in a 42-second TKO defeat last year, Andrade returned to the Octagon at UFC 251, where she dropped a split decision against Rose Namajunas. Prior to that two-bout skid, “Bate Estaca” had been victorious in seven of her previous eight promotional appearances. When she makes her flyweight debut, Andrade will have competed in three different weight classes within the Las Vegas-based organization.

Chookagian, meanwhile, challened for flyweight gold at U…

Legacy Fighting Alliance will close out its “Phase Two” series of cards with a middleweight scrap pitting Chidi Njokuani against Cristhian Torres.

The promotion announced that Njokuani vs. Torres will serve as the main event for LFA 91, which takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Sept. 11. The card will stream on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Six other bouts have been confirmed for the main card: Kyle Stewart vs. Tim Caron at middleweight; Jamal Pogues vs. Tim Hiley at light heavyweight; Hailey Cowan vs. Kelly Clayton at bantamweight; Nick Maximov vs. Johnny James Jr. at light heavyweight; Nate Togbah Richardson vs. Dariius Estell at featherweight and Josh Quinlan vs. Pete Keepers at welterweight.

Njokuani was released from Bellator in 2019 after a 5-3 stint with the California-based promotion. The 31-year-old last appeared at Bellator 224, where he dropped a unanimous verdict to Rafael Carvalho in July 2019.

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Jon Jones is preparing to make his heavyweight debut, and he’s already making a case as to why he should leapfrog Francis Ngannou to be the division’s No. 1 contender.

“Stipe [Miocic] doesn’t want to fight Francis again because the first fight really wasn’t close,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Looking at it from Stipe’s point of view, fighting Francis again is definitely more of a lose situation than a win. Stipe asked for a new challenge, why not fight the light heavyweight GOAT?

“Besides, we’re way closer in size. What’s more exciting than that?”

Jones recently vacated his light heavyweight title in preparation for a move to heavyweight. A date for his debut in the big man’s division is unknown, but UFC president Dana White has stated that Ngannou is next in line to face Miocic, who is coming of a trilogy victory…

Brock Lesnar is a free agent once again.

According to a report from ESPN, the former UFC heavyweight champion is no longer under contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. WWE removed Lesnar’s merchandise from the organization’s online store over the weekend. Pro Wrestling Insider was first to bring word of Lesnar’s free agency.

The 43-year-old Lesnar captured the UFC heavyweight crown in 2008 and defended the belt twice before falling to Cain Velasquez via first-round TKO at UFC 123 in October 2010. He retired from the sport following a loss to Alistair Overeem in December 2011.

The multiple time WWE champion returned to the Octagon in July 2016, when he took a unanimous decision over Mark Hunt at UFC 200. However, that victory was overturned to a no contest after Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance.

In the past, Lesnar has been linked to a UFC return when there are negotiations involving his WWE contract. Most recently, he appeared in the ca…

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Though an inadvertent eye poke from Stipe Miocic hindered Daniel Cormier’s vision for the second half of their UFC 252 title bout, it looks like “DC” will be able to avoid surgery for the torn cornea he suffered on Aug. 15.

"The first week and a half, [the eye] was really bad, it wasn't opening, and it was completely blurry, but now it kind of feels like an eyelash is in it," Cormier said during his ESPN show on Monday. "I went and saw the doctor last week, and he told me I'm probably not going to have to have surgery, just kind of rest and recover. And today it feels good, but just feels like something in there, you know when you get an eyelash and can't get it out? It's just right in the corner.

"It was concerning initially, because they didn't know how severe the impact was going to be going forward. They didn't k…

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Bellator MMA is hosting two cards in Milan, Italy, in September.

It seems that the Bellator European Series is ready to make its long-awaited return after the long hiatus forced by the ongoing COVID-19 health emergency. According to multiple sources, Italian fighter Chiara Penco will face Aleksandra Toncheva Plamenova in a 115-pound clash that will go down on an upcoming card in Milan, Italy, on Sept. 26. The sources asked for anonymity since the news isn’t official yet.

In her latest cage appearance, former Extreme Cage Fighting champion Penco (4-2) dropped a decision in front of Danni Neilan at Bellator 240. Prior, "Beasty Barbie" lost her divisional title to Karolina Wojcik after a close match that took place at EFC 76 back in December 2018. That loss snapped a four-bout winning streak that featured all submission victories.

IMMAF World and two-time European Champion Toncheva…

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Felipe Dias Colares is expected to square off against Gustavo Lopez at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Nov. 7.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the bantamweight bout. The location and venue for the card have yet to be announced.

A former Jungle Fight champion, Colares has dropped two of his first three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 26-year-old Team Nogueira representative was outpointed by Montel Jackson at UFC Fight Night 166. “Cabocao” is 9-2 as a professional, with seven of those triumphs coming inside the distance.

Lopez, who previously held Combate Americas gold, lost a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili in his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 10 on June 13. That halted a three-bout finishing streak for the 31-year-old Xtreme Couture product, who is 11-5 with 10 finishes over the…

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 fifth week of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official, as all 10 competitors hit their contracted marks on the scales Monday. The only fighter who experienced any serious difficulty was William Knight, who weighed 207.5 pounds on his initial attempt. After being given an additional hour to cut weight, Knight checked in at 206 pounds for his light heavyweight clash with Cody Brundage (205).

Dana White’s Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The evening’s featured contest is a featherweight tilt pitting Melski Bagdasaryan (145) against Dennis Buzukja (145.5).

Anchored at Glendale Fighting Club in California, Bagdasaryan has kicked off his professional tenure with victories in four of his first five outings. Perhaps even more impressively, all …

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Frankie Edgar’s victory over Pedro Munhoz immediately made him a person of interest in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division. Now “The Answer” has his sets set on a fellow former champion.

During an appearance on Bruce Buffer’s ”It's Time” podcast, Edgar expressed interest in a future matchup with ex-bantamweight title holder Dominick Cruz. Cruz returned to action after more than three years away at UFC 249, where he suffered a second-round TKO loss to Henry Cejudo in a title bout on May 9.

Edgar believes Cruz makes for an ideal pairing as he waits for the title picture at the top of the bantamweight division to clear up.

“Another guy that’s also a little older and a legend himself is Dominick Cruz,” Edgar said (transcription via MMAFighting.com). “A lot of people are still talking about t…

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Brian Kelleher will welcome Kevin Natividad to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 176 on Saturday.

Natividad is a replacement for Ricky Simon, who was pulled from the card after one of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the change to the featherweight bout. UFC Fight Night 176 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+ beginning with prelims at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT followed by the main card at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Kelleher will be competing for the fourth time this year. After kicking off his 2020 campaign with finishes of Ode Osbourne at UFC 246 and Hunter Azure at UFC Fight Night 171, “Boom” dropped a unanimous verdict to Cody Stamann in his most recent a…