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There is now a clear direction for the beginning of legalized MMA in France.

The French Sport Ministry announced Tuesday that it has tasked the French Boxing Federation with supervising the development of MMA in the country for its first year. The French Boxing Federation was vying for the opportunity along with other existing federations for karate, judo, muay Thai and kickboxing.

“Having requested and analyzed all relevant information received from a number of combat federations who were interested in welcoming MMA, we have decided, by an official Ministerial Decision, to delegate the sport of MMA to the French Boxing Federation,” read a statement from the French Sport Ministry.

The relationship with the French Boxing Federation is only temporary. After the first year, the Ministry will determine whether MMA is ready to become an independent federation in France. For years, the ban on MMA in France has been believed to be the work of the French Judo Association…

Donald Cerrone only spent 40 seconds in the Octagon with Conor McGregor at UFC 246, but he nonetheless suffered injuries that could sideline him for up to six months.

“Cowboy” is suspended until July 17 unless he is cleared by a doctor for a nasal fracture and a mild orbital fracture. At a minimum, he is suspended until Feb. 18 with no contact until Feb. 9. The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from UFC 246 on Tuesday.

Cerrone was rattled by a series of shoulder strikes to the face early in his welterweight headliner with McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this past Saturday. From there, McGregor rocked his foe with a head kick before finishing off his victory with a series of punches to the head. McGregor emerged from the fight with a clean bill of health.

Six other fighters from UFC 246 are looking at potential six-month layoffs unless they receive doctor clearance: Maurice Greene (right elbow, right foot), An…

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

Tristan Connelly will look to build upon his surprising Octagon debut when he squares off against Alex da Silva Coelho at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on April 11.

Combate was first to report the booking. The UFC Fight Night event does not yet have a location or venue. Connelly vs. Coelho will likely take place at lightweight.

Connelly authored Sherdog’s 2019 “Upset of the Year” when he defeated flashy striker Michel Pereira on short notice in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 158 on Sept. 14. Connelly is on a five-bout winning streak and owns a 14-6 professional record overall.

Coelho was submitted by Alexander Yakovlev in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 149 before outpointing Rodrigo Vargas in his sophomore outing at UFC Fight Night 156. The 23-year-old Brazilian is 21-2 as a pro, with all but one of his triumphs coming inside the distance.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OohO8e3Lzwg&w=560&h=315]

Keith Lee, the younger brother of UFC lightweight standout Kevin Lee, will make his big-show debut next month.

Keith Lee will square off against Shawn Bunch in a bantamweight bout at Bellator 239. sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Lee has signed a multi-fight contract with the California-based promotion.

Bellator 239 takes place at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., on Feb. 21 and is headlined by a welterweight clash pitting Ed Ruth against Yaroslav Amosov. The main card will air on both Paramount Network and Dazn.

The 23-year-old Lee is 5-3 since making his professional debut in 2017. The Xtreme Couture representative enters his Bellator debut on a two-bout winning streak. Two of Lee’s three career losses have come via split decision.

A former NCAA All-American wrestler, Bunch had a five-bout winning streak sn…

Sodiq Yusuff (11-1) is the third wave of MMA's Naija Invasion - the featherweight division's top young threat. He outhustles the underrated Andre Fili with smooth boxing and new shades of grappling en route to unanimous 29-28 scores, boosting his UFC mark to 4-0. #UFC246 pic.twitter.com/P9CGocu2TO

— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) January 19, 2020

Sodiq Yusuff continued his rise to stardom at UFC 246, earning his sixth consecutive victory with a unanimous verdict over Andre Fili in a preliminary featherweight tilt.

Yusuff built a lead on the scorecards through two rounds, then withstood a rally from Fili in the final frame to earn his fourth triumph within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Yusuff wanted a quick finish, but Fili ultimately proved to be too durable.

“I expected a rough fight coming into it,” Yusuff said. “I thought if I landed well that I could get him out of there. He was durable, he’s tough, but I didn’t really expect an…

Big ups to Roxanne Modafferi! She's age 37 with 16 years in the game, yet still improving and humbling vociferous young upstarts like Maycee Barber (knee injury notwithstanding). What an awesome performance, @Roxyfighter. #UFC246 pic.twitter.com/uH3kVnmVlz

— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) January 19, 2020

Flyweight prospect Maycee Barber will be sidelined for a significant period of time after tearing the ACL in her left knee.

Bucky Barber, the fighter’s father, confirmed the injury with ESPN. Barber is expected to be sidelined for at least nine months after dropping unanimous decision to Roxanne Modafferi in a preliminary flyweight bout at UFC 246.

"We think she injured it in the first 10 seconds," Bucky Barber said. "She stepped on Roxanne's foot as she backed up and felt a pop. You can see the knee give out on the side. She went back and started fighting and trying to do things and I noticed she was flat in a way I've never seen b…

It seems like an eternity ago when Holly Holm was at the top of her game as an undefeated former three-division boxing world champion who invaded MMA and eventually head-kicked Ronda Rousey into oblivion.

But in the four-plus years since UFC 193, where Holm snatched Rousey’s bantamweight title with one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history, the Jackson-Wink MMA standout has struggled mightily. She was put to sleep by Miesha Tate in her first title defense and then lost to both Valentina Shevchenko and Germaine de Randamie. Since then, she has alternated between wins and losses and fight fans appeared to have moved on from “The Preacher’s Daughter.”

But on Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 246, Holm (13-5) was dominant in picking apart Raquel Pennington for three rounds, winning a lopsided unanimous decision. When the two women weren’t clinching against the cage, Holm used her superb striking to win rather easily. Holm edged Pennington back at UFC 184 via sp…

Floyd Mayweather used Conor McGregor’s big return victory at UFC 246 to steal some of the limelight for himself.

Shortly after McGregor dispatched Donald Cerrone via technical knockout in 40 seconds in Saturday’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the retired boxing champion shared a Mayweather vs. McGregor 2 poster on his social media account. The image also included logos of Mayweather Promotions, the Money Team, the UFC and Mayweather’s broadcast partner, Showtime.

Mayweather and McGregor squared off in the boxing ring in August 2017 in a showdown dubbed “The Money Fight.” While Mayweather won via 10th round TKO, the bout was lucrative for both men, with Mayweather earning a reported $300 million and McGregor taking home something in the neighborhood of $100 million.

During Saturday’s post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White again confirmed that working with Mayweather again is on the agenda. White has recently said that the plan woul…

Conor McGregor was the unquestioned star of the show at UFC 246, but he was joined by four other athletes in receiving $50,000 “Performance of the Night” checks from the promotion.

McGregor earned his bonus with a 40-second TKO stoppage of Donald Cerrone in Saturday’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was the second-quickest stoppage of the Irishman’s UFC career and was his first victory in the Octagon since November 2016.

Elsewhere, Alexey Oleynik received a $50,000 performance bonus thanks to a second-round submission of Maurice Greene in a featured heavyweight scrap. After threatening with a scarf hold in the opening stanza, the Russian veteran was able to secure a belly-down armbar at the 4:38 mark of Round 2.

Diego Ferreira also pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for an impressive triumph over Anthony Pettis in a featured lightweight affair. The Fortis MMA representative locked in a rear-naked choke 1:46 into the second round …

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 246 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Sherdog's live UFC 246 coverage will begin at 7 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:Keith Shillan scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Keith Shillan scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Roun…

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The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 246 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Click here if you are having problems listening, or would like to open the stream on your mobile device.

Powered by Between Rounds, the Sherdog Radio Network returns Saturday evening to recap UFC 246. Digging the soundtrack to the Sherdog Radio Network? Check out Odin Smith on Twitter.

» Call in to the show! +1 (917) UFC-TALK! That's +1 (917) 832-8255 »

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LaLF7TlcUY&w=560&h=315] The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 246 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Watch the UFC 246 “McGregor vs. Cerrone” post-fight press conference above immediately following the event. It will be archived in this same location, as well.

Who will Conor McGregor call out first in his post-fight octagon interview if he beats Cowboy:@GamebredFighter -150Khabib +110Mayweather +1400Usman +1400Pacquiao +2000Nate Diaz +2000#UFC246 props> https://t.co/xhJgZPknNa

— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) January 17, 2020

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 246 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

For the headliner of UFC 246 on Saturday, a plethora of betting lines have opened, ranging from fight results to fight attire.

On Friday, the sportsbook BetOnline posted a series of fight lines on the UFC 246 headliner between Conor McGregor (21-4) and Donald Cerrone (36-13, 1 NC). Currently, "Notorious" is a significant -325 favorite, while "Cowboy" has the comeback at +275. Essentially, one would need to bet $325 on McGregor in order to win $100, while someone putting $100 on Cerrone would make them an additional $275 -- if that re…

BREAKING: Leon Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) vs Tyron Woodley (@TWooodley) is on as the headliner of UFC London, per Dana White. ELITE 170-pound matchup. pic.twitter.com/KrSvPfWZ1s

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 17, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship has now made the main event for UFC London in March official.

According to ESPN on Friday, UFC President Dana White announced that Tyron Woodley (19-4-1) and Leon Edwards (18-3) will come to blows at UFC London. In December, Woodley posted on his Instagram that he agreed to a welterweight matchup against Edwards to headline the card, and it took three weeks for the agreement to materialize. The welterweight main event will go down at the O2 Arena in London on March 21.

Woodley has not competed inside the Octagon since losing his belt to Kamaru Usman in March 2019. Prior to the loss, Woodley defended his welterweight throne against Darren Till, Demian Maia and Stephen Th…

BREAKING: Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) vs. Yoel Romero (@YoelRomeroMMA) will headline UFC 248 in Las Vegas per Dana White. Adesanya was itching to fight. Big one in the desert on March 7. pic.twitter.com/pnx6M5aNoW

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 17, 2020 Yoel Romero will be getting another crack at the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title in March.

On Thursday, ESPN announced that Israel Adesanya (18-0) will be defending his middleweight throne against Romero (13-4) at UFC 248. "The Last Stylebender" has targeted a fight with Romero for quite some time, and the promotion is putting it together. The event will take place on March 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 185-pound title affair will join another championship match up on the card at strawweight, between Weili Zhang and former divisional queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Adesanya has yet to taste defeat as a professional in MMA, most recently demol…

Fabricio Werdum Granted a Reduced Sanction under UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/qYyCqjohAa

— USADA | UFC Anti-Doping Program (@USADA_UFC) January 16, 2020

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum will be back in action much sooner than anticipated.

According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday, Werdum has been issued a 10-month reduction in his suspension from competition. With the shorter sentence, the former champ will be eligible to return on April 1.

Werdum tested positive in April 2018 for banned substances prior to his headliner at UFC Moscow and was given a two-year suspension. Although he claimed it was a "misunderstanding," the two-year ban stood until now. Even though his positive test came that April, the suspension went into effect later due to his temporary retirement and other testing issues.

The reason for the suspension being reduced is due to his cooperation wi…

It seems like Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Matt Brown will get the chance to fight in front of hometown fans very soon.

According to a report by MMA Fighting late Wednesdsay, "The Immortal" (22-16) will soon lock horns with Dana White's Contender Series alum Miguel Baeza (8-0) at UFC on ESPN 8 in March. The two will square off in the welterweight division.

Brown is riding a two-fight winning streak over the last two-plus years. After going on a three-bout skid, “The Immortal” got back on track at the expense of Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 120, when he trashed the fellow UFC veteran thanks to a vicious elbow KO. Brown repeated himself in the following clash with Ben Saunders, knocking out his opponent in a violent fashion at UFC 245. For some time in 2017, "The Immortal" contemplated retiring from the sport, but it appears he found motivation once again to keep on fighting.

Baeza will try to crash Brown's party in front of his opponent's hometown…

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 246 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

UFC President Dana White will be joined by Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone in a press conference to raise awareness for Saturday's UFC 246 card in Las Vegas.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ14bN_cYyQ&w=560&h=315]

Two new contests have been added to the Bellator 239 lineup, as Tyrell Fortune will meet Timothy Johnson at heavyweight, while Denise Kielholtz will take on Kristina Williams at flyweight.

Sherdog.com confirmed the matchups with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 239 takes place at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., on Feb. 21 and features a welterweight scrap between Ed Ruth and Yaroslav Amosov.

Fortune has emerged as one of the top heavyweight prospects in Bellator while compiling an 8-0 mark within the California-based promotion. Most recently, the Arizona Combat Sports product defeated former UFC competitor Azunna Anyanwu via second-round technical knockout at Bellator 233.

A seven-time UFC veteran, Johnson has kicked off his Bellator tenure with back-to-back first-round knockout losses against Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minakov. The 34-year-old North Dakota native is 12-6 as a professional with notable wins o…

Arnold Allen has a new opponent for UFC Fight Night 166.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced that Nik Lentz will replace the injured Josh Emmett and face Allen in a featherweight contest on Jan. 25 in Raleigh, N.C. Lentz was originally slated to meet Nad Narimani on the card, but Narimani also withdrew from the event due to injury.

UFC Fight Night 166 takes place at PNC Arena and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Curtis Blaydes and Junior dos Santos. The card will air on ESPN+.

Lentz last appeared at UFC Fight Night 152, where he had a two-bout winning streak snapped in a second-round TKO loss to Charles Oliveira. Allen, meanwhile, is on an eight-bout winning streak that includes six triumphs in the Octagon.

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 246 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Darren Till’s second UFC bout at middleweight could be on the horizon.

The former welterweight title challenger recently posted March weather averages for Las Vegas on his Instagram account, hinting that he could be in line for a bout at UFC 248 on March 7 at T-Mobile Arena. Jack Hermansson replied in the comments, throwing his name in the ring for a potential matchup with the Liverpool native.

UFC president Dana White told The Mac Life that the promotion is looking at UFC 248 or UFC London on March 21 as potential events for Till’s next bout. However, it’s unlikely that Hermansson will be the opponent.

“We’ve been talking to him and bouncing around with different opponents,” White said. “We’ll have something for him very soon. It’ll either be London or Vegas.

“Probably not [against Hermansson],” White said. “We’ll see ho…

SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh is supremely confident in Conor McGregor’s chances against Donald Cerrone with UFC 246 just a few days away.

That alone shouldn’t be a surprise. However, while Kavanagh has previously predicted a late finish for McGregor, that doesn’t mean he expects the fight to be particularly close.

“I think he’s too slick and too technical,” Kavanagh recent told The Mac Life. “Whether it’s something that happens in the first minute or if it goes the distance, if it goes 25 minutes, I don’t see it being a war. I see it being very one-sided. He’s on weight. He’s fitter than I’ve ever seen him. He’s relaxed, he’s happy, he’s calm. It’s really one of those … it’s a cliche, but it could not have gone better.”

The majority of McGregor’s most memorable moments have occurred in abbreviated contests, with the Irishman scoring a quick knockout or technical knockout victory. The “Notorious” one went the distance to earn a majority decision in a remat…

A lightweight showdown between Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira will serve as the headliner for UFC Brasilia on March 14.

Brazilian outlet Combate was first to report the matchup. UFC Brasilia takes place at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium and also includes a light heavyweight tilt pitting Johnny Walker against Nikita Krylov. The card will stream on ESPN+.

After a one-bout stint at welterweight proved to be unsuccessful, Lee returned to 155 pounds to author a head-kick knockout of the previously unbeaten Gregor Gillespie in his most recent outing at UFC 244. “The Motown Phenom” is 11-5 over the course of his promotional tenure and also owns victories against the likes of Edson Barboza, Michael Chiesa, Francisco Trinaldo and Magomed Mustafaev, to name a few.

The UFC’s all-time leader in submission wins, Oliveira enters the bout on a six-fight winning streak in which he has finished all off his opponents inside the distance. Most recently, “Do Bronx” scored a first-round KO …

Gian Villante will return to the heavyweight division for the first time since 2011 when he locks horns with Ben Rothwell at UFC 249.

Newsday first reported the bout. UFC 249 takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 18 and is headlined by a lightweight championship bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

Villante hasn’t fought at heavyweight since his Strikeforce debut on Feb. 12, 2011, when he lost to Chad Griggs via first-round technical knockout. The 34-year-old New Yorker was also a heavyweight and light heavyweight champion in Ring of Combat earlier in his career. Villante is coming off a first-round TKO loss to Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Fight Night 145 in February 2019.

Rothwell, meanwhile, ended a three-bout skid with a foul-marred second-round TKO of Stefan Struve at UFC on ESPN 7 on Dec. 7. Rothwell’s Octagon tenure dates back to 2009 and includes wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Matt Mitrione and …