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Joanne Calderwood gave up her title shot to stay active, and Jennifer Maia ended up being the primary beneficiary from that decision.

Maia staked her claim to a No. 1 contender spot at UFC Fight Night 173, as she submitted Calderwood with an armbar in the first round of their co-main event clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Afterward, the Brazilian called out Valentina Shevchenko, and the reigning 125-pound queen seemed to be impressed by Maia’s performance, simply responding, “See you soon, Jennifer Maia.”

See you soon Jennifer Maia

— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) August 2, 2020

“Ever since I got in the UFC, I’ve never had an easy fight. I always test myself in those fights. I’m happy the champion is talking about me. I’m ready to fight for the title,” Maia said. “I want to fight with the champion. It’s going to be a pleasure to fight her.”

Maia has won nine of her last 11 fights in the UFC and Invicta da…

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 Fight Night 173 coverage will begin Saturday 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: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 Crit…

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Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will square off against surging contender Jared Cannonier at UFC 254.

ESPN was first to report the pairing. UFC 254 takes place on Oct. 24 and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. A location for the pay-per-view event has not been confirmed.

Whittaker returned to the win column at UFC on ESPN 14, where he took a competitive five-round verdict over Darren Till. It was Whittaker’s first appearance since losing the 185-pound belt to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 this past October.

Cannonier, meanwhile, will return to action for the first time since undergoing pectoral surgery in February. The former heavyweight and light heavyweight competitor has emerged as a contender at 185 pounds after successive TKO finishes of David…

OFFICIAL! @DerekBrunson locks in our main event. #UFCVegas5 pic.twitter.com/wdgmbdtIIb

— UFC (@ufc) July 31, 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. Try as they might, the Ultimate Fighting Championship could not salvage all three fights impacted by late-notice withdrawals. The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas after a month in Abu Dhabi with UFC Fight Night 173. The event is headlined by two middleweight contenders as Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan will both look to get one step closer to a crack at UFC gold with a victory.

With a recent TKO loss to champion Israel Adesanya, Brunson (20-7) appeared further away than ever from a potential title fight. The North Carolina native has bounced back since that defeat with decision wins over Ian Heinisch and Elias Theodorou. The 36-year-old hit the scales at the midd…

Bryce Logan threw hands with a madman for 25 minutes and exited the cage none the worse for wear.

A devastating jab, effective counters and intermittent leg kicks spurred the Fight Ready export to a unanimous decision over Jacob Rosales, as he captured the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight championship in the LFA 87 headliner on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Logan (12-4, 4-0 LFA) was awarded 48-47 marks on all three scorecards.

Rosales (12-6, 1-1 LFA) pressed the issue from the start and moved forward with no regard for his physical well-being. The approach proved costly. In the second round, Logan connected with a jab that appeared to break the CSW standout’s nose. Blood spatter covered the cage as Rosales resumed his march with a maniacal zest. Logan’s feet kept him out of danger, allowed him to outmaneuver Californian and paved his way to victory. Rosales made significant gains in the fifth round, only to see his advances cut o…

Montserrat Ruiz now qualifies as a known commodity.

The once-beaten Kings MMA prospect submitted Janaisa Morandin with a scarf hold armlock in the first round of their Invicta Fighting Championships 41 headliner on Thursday at the Police Athletic League in Kansas City, Kansas. Morandin (10-4, 1-4 Invicta), who missed weight for the match, conceded defeat 3:28 into Round 1.

Ruiz (9-1, 1-1 Invicta) swarmed with punches, lured the Brazilian into the clinch and delivered a head-and-arm throw along the fence. From there, she moved to a topside crucifix, controlled Morandin’s head and isolated the arm with her legs. Ruiz then elevated her hips, cranked on the shoulder and forced the tapout.

In the flyweight co-main event, Erin Blanchfield rode takedowns, stifling top control and heavy ground-and-pound to a clear-cut unanimous decision over Brogan Walker-Sanchez. Blanchfield (6-1, 4-1 Invicta) swept the scorecards with 30-26 marks across the board, extending her current winn…

We got ourselves a #Lightweight Title Fight in #SouthDakota tomorrow night at #LFA87! @LilBadger155 (155)vs.@BryceLogan23 (154.6)

TOMORROW!@SanfordPentagon#SiouxFalls, #SouthDakota#MMA#LFANation@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/ehcZMjpPAg

— LFA (@LFAfighting) July 31, 2020 The Legacy Fighting Alliance wraps up its month of title fights this week with LFA 87, and the seven-fight card is now official as all fighters made weight. Ending July with a bang is a vacant lightweight championship affair as Bryce Logan takes on Jacob Rosales. Logan (11-4) is riding a three-fight win streak inside the promotion, although he did lose bouts to Demarques Jackson and Nate Andrews elsewhere. His most recent appearances saw him pick up decision victories over Jonas Flok and Kenneth Glenn. Logan will look to capture his first championship, and had no issue making weight by coming in at 154.6 pounds.

Another lightweight that is undefeated under the LFA banne…

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. Last week’s Ultimate Fighting Championship headliner has suffered a torn MCL that will put him on the shelf for a little while. On Thursday, ESPN was informed by Darren Till’s coach Colin Heron that Till tore his MCL in his main event against Robert Whittaker at UFC on ESPN 14. Till believes that the injury took place during the second round, to which “The Gorilla” told his corner between rounds that he could not put weight on it. Till continued to fight to the end of the fifth round, and lost a decision to the former champ.

According to Till’s coach, Till’s injury surprised the doctors, who were in shock that Till could even stand up for the remainder of the fight. “Torn MCL, doctors are amazed he was able to stand up for the last three rounds,” Heron wrote. “He is in a cast for six weeks and then we’ll reassess. Hopefully i…

Ryan Bader will return to the light heavyweight division to defend his title against Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244 on Aug. 21.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from sports.ru. The fight has not been finalized, but bout agreements have been issued to both athletes. Bellator 244 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The card will air on Paramount Network and Dazn.

Bader and Nemkov were originally scheduled to square off on May 9 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced Bellator to put its event schedule on hold.

Bader hasn’t defended his light heavyweight belt since a second-round TKO of Linton Vassell at Bellator 186 on Nov. 3, 2017. He then became a two-division champion by besting Muhammed Lawal, Matt Mitrione and Fedor Emelianenko to win the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix. The Power MMA Team standout’s first heavyweight defense at Bellator 226 ended in a no contest when he poked Cheick Kongo in the eye last…

Valerie Loureda will make her return to the cage when she faces Tara Graff in a flyweight bout at Bellator 243. The California-based promotion announced the fight on Wednesday. Bellator 243 takes place on Aug. 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and is headlined by a rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson. Loureda vs. Graff will take place on the prelims, which stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel beginning at 6:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT.

.@ValerieLouredaa returns to the cage to take on @Graff_Tara next Friday at #Bellator243!

Catch all the prelims on our Youtube channel and the Bellator app. pic.twitter.com/HwPAxCYQ0P

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) July 29, 2020

Anchored at American Top Team, Loureda has kicked off her Bellator tenure with victories over Colby Fletcher and Larkyn Dasch in her first two outings. She was initially scheduled to return against Graff at Bellator 238 in January but had to withdr…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3Q1l_nfVI&w=560&h=315]

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Stipe Miocic may be preparing for his trilogy with Daniel Cormier, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have some fun while helping promote a brand he supports.

The UFC heavyweight champion recently appeared in a humorous commercial for Fire Dept Coffee, which is founded, owned and produced by firefighters. Miocic, of course, is a full-time firefighter in Ohio along with his professional MMA career.

Miocic is slated to defend his heavyweight crown against Cormier in the UFC 252 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Aug. 15.

Here’s a further description of Fire Dept Coffee from its website:

Fire Dept. Coffee is a veteran-owned business dedicated to providing great-tasting, easy-drinking coffee to hardworking people everywhere. Every order is fres…

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Two fighters from UFC on ESPN 14 are facing a potentially lengthy time on the sideline following Saturday’s card.

Peter Sobotta, who dropped a unanimous decision to Alex Oliveira in a welterweight contest, is suspended 180 days unless his right forearm is cleared by an x-ray. At a minimum he is suspended 30 days for a left eyelid laceration.

Mike Grundy, who lost to Movsar Evloev by unanimous decision at featherweight, will be out 180 days unless he is cleared by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. At a minimum, Grundy is suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.

The UFC, which oversaw the event, released a full list of medical suspensions to mixedmartialarts.com. UFC on ESPN 14 took place at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi and saw Robert Whittaker defeat Darren Till via unanimous decision in the evening’s headlin…

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Antonio Silva is expected to make his return after a three-year absence against Brett Martin at Taura MMA 11 on Oct. 30.

Combate was first to report that Silva had signed with the Brazilian MMA promotion. Taura MMA 11 takes place in Kissimmee, Florida, and is also expected to include former UFC fighters Rousimar Palhares, Guto Innocente and William Macario on the card.

Silva hasn’t competed since June 2, 2017, when he suffered a second-round knockout loss against Vitaly Minakov at Fight Nights Global 68. “Bigfoot” has lost his last five professional outings dating back to a first-round TKO defeat to Mark Hunt at UFC 193. The 40-year-old Brazilian is 19-12-1 as a professional and owns notable wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Travis Browne, Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski.

Martin, who is the Legacy Fighting Alliance heavyweight champion, enters the matchup on a five-bout winning streak. The 26-year-old Triumph …

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The UFC on ESPN 14 main card averaged 908,000 viewers on ESPN this past Saturday, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That figure is the ninth-best rating for a UFC on ESPN card thus far. The card peaked at 1.2 million viewers.

UFC on ESPN 14 took place at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi and saw Robert Whittaker take a unanimous decision against Darren Till in the evening’s main event. The main card also featured a trilogy bout between Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and a heavyweight clash pitting Fabricio Werdum against Alexander Gustafsson. Rua defeated Nogueira by unanimous decision, while Werdum tapped out Gustafsson in the opening stanza.

The preliminary card averaged 483,000 viewers and was topped by a lightweight tilt between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert, which Trinaldo won by technical knockout in…

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The UFC lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje appears to have a date.

UFC president Dana White announced to CNN that the highly-anticipated clash will take place on Oct. 24. A venue and location for the bout were not revealed. Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje was supposed to have been booked for September, but plans changed when the reigning 155-pound champion’s father died earlier this month due to complications from COVID-19.

"It's been very rough on him," White told CNN. "His father was a hero to him, he loved his father, they had a very close relationship and it was very hard on him.”

Nurmagomedov hasn’t competed since September, when he defended his belt with a third-round submission of Dustin Poirier at UFC 242. The American Kickboxing Academy standout owns a 28-0 career…

A pair of bouts have been added to Bellator 243, as Myles Jury will face Georgi Karakhanyan at lightweight, while Adam Borics will face Derek Campos in a 150-pound catchweight clash.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bookings with a promotion official following reports from MMAjunkie.com and Combate. Bellator 243 takes place on Aug. 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and is headlined by a rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson. Jury vs. Karakhanyan is slated for the main card, while Borics vs. Campos is set for the preliminary draw.

After falling to Benson Henderson in his promotional debut, Jury outpointed Brandon Girtz in his second outing at Bellator 239 on Feb. 21 to halt a three-fight skid. Karakhanyan, meanwhile, returned to the win column following a three-fight winless stretch with a second-round submission of Paul Redmond at Bellator 240.

Borics suffered defeat for the first time in 15 professional appearances at Bellator 238, whe…

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

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The full card for Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series is now official.

The promotion announced the five-bout lineup for the Aug. 11 card over the weekend, including a featured bout between middleweights Joseph Pyfer and Dustin Stoltzfus. Dana White’s Contender Series takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on UFC Fight Pass at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

The other four bouts scheduled for the event are as follows: Adrian Yanez vs. Brady Huang at bantamweight; Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Cory McKenna at strawweight; T.J. Laramie vs. Daniel Swain at featherweight and J.P. Buys vs. Nate Smith at flyweight.

A native of Media, Pennsylvania, Pyfer has compiled a 7-1 career mark while competing for northeastern organizations such as Ring of Comba…

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After finishing his UFC contract with an impressive submission win in the first round over Alexander Gustafsson this past Saturday, Fabricio Werdum talked to Sherdog.com about the fight and his future plans.

“As I told you two weeks before the fight, this time I was able to do everything I couldn't do in my return against [Alexey] Oleynik,” Werdum said. “Besides the camp itself, which was amazing, I liked very much the result of hiring Eric Faro. I'm a hyperactive person and controlling my focus was such a turning point.”

Werdum also revealed that his next combat sports appearance will be a grappling match with Marcus Buchecha Almeida on Sept. 6.

"Buchecha is an amazing person. He already helped me when I fought Roy Nelson, and it will be amazing to have to opportunity to test my skills with the gu…

A women’s bantamweight clash pitting Germaine de Randamie against Julianna Pena is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Oct. 3.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the booking. The venue for the event is unknown, as the UFC has yet to make an official announcement regarding the card.

De Randamie last appeared at UFC 245, where she dropped a five-round verdict to Amanda Nunes in a bantamweight title fight on Dec. 14. Prior to that, “The Iron Lady” had compiled a five-bout winning streak in UFC competition that included a brief reign as the promotion’s inaugural featherweight queen.

Pena, meanwhile, returned following more than a two-year absence at UFC Fight Night 155, where she outpointed Nicco Montano a little more than year ago. “The Venezuelan Vixen” has been victorious in five of her six promotional appearances overall.

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A matchup between light heavyweight prospects Johnny Walker and Ryan Spann is expected to go down at UFC 253.

ESPN was first to report the booking. UFC 253 takes place on Sept. 19 and will be held at either the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card is expected to be headlined by a middleweight championship tilt between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Henrique Costa.

Walker generated plenty of hype after first-round finishes of Khalil Rountree, Justin Ledet and Misha Cirkunov in his first three Octagon appearances. However, the 28-year-old Brazilian has since dropped back-to-back fights against Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov. The Rio de Janeiro native has finished all but one of his 17 career triumphs inside the distance.

Spann, meanwhile, enters the bout on an eight-fight winning streak that …

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Ultimate Fighting Championship brass must have been feeling especially generous following the final “Fight Island” event because Fabricio Werdum, Paul Craig, Khamzat Chimaev, Jesse Ronson, Tom Aspinall and Tanner Boser all left UFC on ESPN 14 with $50,000 “Performance of the Night” checks following their victories on Saturday night.

Werdum submitted Alexander Gustafsson with an armbar 2:30 into the opening stanza of their featured bout at Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, spoiling the Swede’s heavyweight debut.

Craig earned his third triangle-submission victory in UFC competition against Gadzhimurad Antigulov, tapping his foe with the maneuver 2:06 into Round 1 of their light heavyweight affair.

Chimaev won for the second time in 10 days, dominating Rhys McKee en route to a technical knockout victory 3:09 into the first …

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. After a brief hiatus, Robert Whittaker is back on track. The former middleweight champion returned to form in the UFC on ESPN 14 headliner, winning a closely-contested unanimous decision over Darren Till at the Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. All three cageside judges struck 48-47 scorecards in favor of Whittaker, who took time off due to burnout following his championship defeat to Israel Adesanya last October.

“That fight was so stressful,” Whittaker said. “Honestly, I hope the fans and everybody can appreciate it. That was one of the most technical fights I've ever had to fight.”

Till (18-3-1, 6-3-1 UFC) threatened to make it an early night for Whittaker (21-5, 12-3 UFC), as he dropped his opponent with a clean elbow to the jaw in the first round. Till tagged his foe with several lefts on the fee…

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 14 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 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:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Trist…

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A intriguing welterweight duel between Neil Magny and Geoff Neal is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Aug. 29.

ESPN was first to report the booking. Though a location has not been formally announced, the event is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After not competing at all in 2019, Magny has posted a 2-0 record in UFC competition this year. Magny outpointed Jingliang Li at UFC 248, and then the Elevation Fight Team representative returned to take a unanimous verdict against Anthony Rocco Martin at UFC 250 on June 6. Magny has won four of his last five promotional appearances.

Neal, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the top prospects in the welterweight division. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum has won five consecutive bouts in the Octagon, finishing all but one o…