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Even Muhammad Ali had stinker or two, as did Micky Ward. Every great fighter is allowed to have an off night, and Saturday was clearly an off night for the wildly popular Israel Adesanya.

Adesaya remained undefeated while retaining his middleweight world title in the main event of UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Nigerian star slowly picked apart Yoel Romero (13-5) over five horribly dull and uneventful rounds. The lack of action was exacerbated by the fact that it followed the insane war between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, an epic battle that could possibly wind up being 2020’s ‘Fight of the Year.’

Romero barely mounted any sort of offense over the course of the allotted 25 minutes and, with Adesanya (19-0) being a master counterstriker, the title affair caused an angry crowd to launch boos into the Octagon. Adesanya wound up winning a unanimous decision to remain champion, but virtually nobody was thrilled about the fight, including UFC president D…

Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on a show for the ages in the UFC 248 co-main event.

The strawweight title bout was a no-brainer selection for “Fight of the Night,” as both fighters added an extra $50,000 to their respective bank accounts. The combatants traded blows for five grueling rounds, but ultimately Zhang’s power earned her a memorable split-decision triumph at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Elsewhere, Beneil Dariush earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his second-round knockout of Drakkar Klose in a preliminary lightweight affair. After threatening with a rear-naked choke for much of the opening stanza, Dariush put his stamp on a brief second-round slugfest, winning via knockout 60 seconds into the period.

Finally, Sean O’Malley pocketed the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award on the strength of a quick finish of Jose Alberto Quinonez in a preliminary bantamweight clash. “Sugar” overwhelmed his foe with a ri…

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 248 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Sherdog's live UFC 248 coverage will begin at 6:15 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:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Ben Duffy scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ja…

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In cooperation with Between Rounds, the Sherdog Radio Network will recap UFC 248.

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“ I just heard tha Emily is out of the fight with me today. I also heard she had to be taken to the ER. I hope she is alright and I wish from the bottom of my heart that she recovers from whatever it is that she is suffering from.

— Polyana Viana (@Polyana_VianaDF) March 7, 2020

Emily Whitmire has been forced to pull out of a scheduled clash with Polyana Viana at UFC 248 due to medical issues.

Viana initially announced the cancellation via social media, and multiple outlets have since confirmed the news. As a result, UFC 248 will move forward with 11 bouts. Whitmire vs. Viana was initially slated for the ESPN+ preliminary portion of the card.

Whitmire missed weight by 1.5 pounds on Friday, and according to Viana, the strawweight had to be taken to the hospital on Saturday. The Xtreme Couture representative is coming off a submission loss to Amanda Ribas at UFC on ESPN 3 last June to fall to 2-2 within the Las Vegas-based promot…

Carmouche makes her Bellator debut in May at #Bellator243 pic.twitter.com/dFO3PUPsFJ

— Carbazel MMA (@Carbazel) March 6, 2020 Bellator MMA is returning to California in May with a high-stakes flyweight matchup in the main event.

The promotion announced via press release on Friday that Liz Carmouche (13-7) will be making her Bellator debut against Mandy Bohm (6-0, 1 NC) at Bellator 243. The event will take place at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, on May 29. No other bouts have been announced for the event.

Carmouche left the Ultimate Fighting Championship following a lackluster championship defeat to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC Fight Night 156 in 2019. Across their 25-minute encounter, Carmouche landed an unprecedented 18 significant strikes, and the UFC was so disappointed with her performance that she was released while doing media obligations with the company. Bellator signed the WMMA pioneer and two-time…

Legacy Fighting Alliance returns to The Bomb Factory in Dallas for LFA 83, and every fighter has successfully made weight.

The card is headlined by a featherweight bout that will see former champion Damon Jackson take on Mauro Chaulet. Jackson (16-3-1, 1 NC) never lost his LFA title, and instead vacated it in order to sign with the Professional Fighters League. However, his $1 million aspirations shattered in just 10 seconds as he was knocked out by Movlid Khaybulaev with a flying knee. This is the first fight back in LFA for “The Leech” since his crushing defeat.

Chaulet (13-6) successfully made his LFA debut last year as he won a split decision over Samson Phommabout. The Brazilian will look to make his mark inside the LFA cage at the expense of Jackson. He’s successfully finished 10 of his opponents, so the featherweight remains a dangerous finisher.

LFA 83 airs live on Friday on UFC Fight Pass starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

LFA 83 Weigh-in Results Damon …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWdvhz2kBvg&w=671&h=377] Invicta Fighting Championships returns to Kansas City, Kansas, for its third tournament, and all participants have made weight.

The third installment of the Phoenix Series is headlined by a bantamweight title tilt between Lisa Verzosa and Julija Stoliarenko. The championship is currently vacant as Sarah Kaufman left the promotion for the Professional Fighters League in 2019.

The undefeated Verzosa (5-0) has four wins inside the Invicta cage. She picked up two last year as she won decisions over Kerri Kenneson and Katharina Lehner. “Battle Angel” has yet to finish a professional fight, although the 24-year-old will look to win her first championship on Friday night.

Stoliarenko (8-3-2) is a one-time Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor, and has strung together four straight victories since losing to Leah Letson. This will mark the Invicta debut for the Lithuanian fighter. All eight of her victories ha…

Breaking: Per sources, UFC rebooking last week’s controversial bout between Ion Cutelaba and Magomed Ankalaev to UFC 249 in April in Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/UUGqAf65rY

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 5, 2020 Hot off the heels of a controversial result, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is rebooking a high-stakes light heavyweight match for April.

On Thursday, ESPN announced that the UFC will be running back the 205-pound collision between Magomed Ankalaev (13-1) and Ion Cutelaba (15-5, 1 NC). The two met at UFC Fight Night 169, and the controversial ending saw Ankalaev awarded the victory when Cutelaba was apparently “playing possum.” The two will meet UFC 249 in April, seven weeks after their first.

Ankalaev has stopped his opponent in three of four victories inside the Octagon. Prior to the Cutelaba result, he finished Dalcha Lungiambula with a front kick and follow-up punches in November. His promotional debut saw …

The two women accusing Abdul Razak Alhassan of sexual assault testified against the UFC fighter in Tarrant County (Texas) Court on Tuesday, according to a report from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Alhassan was indicted on two counts of sexual assault by a Tarrant County jury on Sept. 24, 2018.

Alhassan is accused of raping two women inside of their homes after meeting them at the Varsity Tavern in Fort Worth, where he was working as a bouncer on March 23, 2018. The women, ages 20 and 22 at the time, were allowed by Alhassan to enter the club,after the fighter asked the older of the two, “What are you going to do for me?” The 22-year-old gave him her phone number and they were allowed to enter.

The women were there to celebrate the birthday of Fort Worth police officer Joshua Yates, who sometimes worked security at the establishment. They would become intoxicated over the course of the night and witnesses said they saw Alhassan and the older woman kissing in a hal…

The Professional Fighters League continues to boost its talent pool for the upcoming season.

UFC veteran Olivier Aubin-Mercier revealed to ESPN that he has signed with the PFL with designs on competing at lightweight during the promotion’s 2020 campaign. The champion in each PFL weight class earns a $1 million prize at the end of the season.

"I liked it [the PFL format] so much that during those two years, I was trying to first win my last three fights in the UFC to finish my contract, but then get in PFL after that," Aubin-Mercier told ESPN. "So I'm happy they still took me. I'm really happy to be with them, and it's gonna be a hell of a ride for the next year.”

Aubin-Mercier exited the UFC on a three-fight skid after dropping successive decisions against Alexander Hernandez, Gilbert Burns and Arman Tsarukyan. “The Canadian Gangster” went 7-5 in the Octagon and is 11-5 as a professional overall.

A pivotal clash between top 135-pound contenders Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan will reportedly headline the UFC’s first-ever trip to Kazakhstan.

MMAjunkie.com was first to bring word of the matchup. Both Moraes and Yan have verbally agreed to the bout, but contracts have not yet been signed.

UFC Kazakhstan is expected to take place on June 13 at Astana Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Neither the event nor Moraes vs. Yan has not been formally announced by the promotion.

Moraes is coming off a contentious split-decision triumph over former featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 245. Prior to that, the ex-WSOF titlist was stopped in the third round by Henry Cejudo in a clash for the vacant bantamweight championship at UFC 238. “Magic” is 5-2 in UFC competition with other notable wins over Raphael Assuncao, Jimmie Rivera, Aljamain Sterling and John Dodson.

Yan, meanwhile, is unbeaten six Octagon appearances and has won 14 of his 15 professional fights overall. T…

Dana White wants to see Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez run it back.

The flyweight division remains in limbo after no champion was crowned at UFC Fight Night 169 last weekend in Norfolk, Va. Figueiredo defeated Benavidez by second-round technical knockout in the evening’s main event but was ineligible to win the flyweight belt because he missed weight one day prior.

Benavidez was cut open by an accidental clash of heads during an exchange in the second frame, and moments later, Figueiredo dropped his foe with a powerful right hand. A few follow-up hammerfists ended the contest at the 1:54 mark of Round 2.

During a media scrum in Las Vegas, White said that he believes a rematch is the way to go due to both the failed weight cut and the accidental head butt.

“That was a great fight,” White said (video via the Las Vegas-Review Journal). “Absolutely, I think the head butt had a lot to do with the knockout too. Not taking anything away from [Figueiredo]…

A featherweight clash pitting Ryan Hall against Ricardo Lamas has been added to the UFC Oklahoma City lineup.

The promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night 174 takes place at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 2 and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Chris Weidman and Jack Hermansson. The promotion also on Tuesday confirmed a light heavyweight booking between Alonzo Menifield and Devin Clark though The Oklahoman.

The winner of Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Hall has been victorious in his first four Octagon appearances. The 35-year-old jiu-jitsu ace is coming off a three-round verdict against Darren Elkins at UFC Fight Night 155 on July 13. Hall also owns wins over B.J. Penn, Gray Maynard and Artem Lobov in the Las Vegas-based promotion.

A former featherweight title challenger, the 37-year-old Lamas enters the matchup with Elkins having lost three of his last four bouts. “The Bully” last competed at UFC 238, where he suffered a fi…

Despite suffering his third defeat in a flyweight title bout, Joseph Benavidez was the top earner from this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 169 card.

Benavidez took home $180,000 following his second-round technical knockout defeat at the hands of Deiveson Figueiredo in the evening’s headliner at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. That figure included $30,000 of Figueiredo’s show money on account of the Brazilian missing weight last Friday. Figueiredo, meanwhile, earned $120,000 even with the deduction but did not capture the flyweight belt due to his transgression on the scale.

The Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation recently released salary figures from the event.

The only other six-figure earner from UFC Fight Night 169 came from the prelims. Ten-time Octagon veteran Marcin Tybura garnered $136,000 for a unanimous decision victory over Sergey Spivak ($14,000) in a heavyweight duel.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athl…

Joseph Benavidez will have three months to recover following his technical knockout loss to Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC Fight Night 169 headliner this past Saturday.

Benavidez received a 90-day medical suspension from the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation after his defeat in the flyweight title bout at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. Benavidez also required a suture for the laceration which resulted from an accidental clash of heads in the fight.

Figueiredo, who was ineligible to win the flyweight belt due to missing weight, did not receive a medical suspension after the bout.

Meanwhile, Zarah Fairn dos Santos, was stopped via punches and elbows by Felicia Spencer in the opening round of the featherweight co-main event, was suspended for 60 days and needs to submit X-ray clearance for her left orbital socket in order to be reinstated.

UFC Fight Night 169 Medical Suspensions:

Joseph Benavidez: suspended for 90 days w…

Paul Felder’s management and coach already said that retirement talk was premature after the fighter’s disappointing loss to Dan Hooker at UFC Auckland. Now the man himself has confirmed that he has more fighting left to do.

After dropping a split verdict to Hooker on Feb. 22, “The Irish Dragon” contemplated calling it a career. “The might be it for me,” he said during an interview in the Octagon.

During an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Felder admitted that he enjoys fighting too much to hang up the gloves at 34 years old.

"That moment almost seemed right, but nah, I think I've got a lot more left in me physically," Felder said. "I'm already recovering from one of the hardest battles of my life, and s---, it's addictive, man. That five rounds, that main event, I liked it. I liked being on the poster.

"I'm a pretty dramatic guy. I kind of always think about that moment [of retiring in the cage]. Just as I always think about what having th…

A lightweight clash between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Hernandez is in the works for UFC 249.

According to MMAjunkie.com, the two athletes have verbally agreed to square off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 18. The Las Vegas-based promotion has yet to officially announce the bout. UFC 249 is headlined by a lightweight title tilt between reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

The 28-year-old Makhachev has been victorious in seven of his eight UFC appearances thus far. Most recently, the Dagestani fighter outpointed renowned grappler Davi Ramos at UFC 242 on Sept. 7. The former M-1 Challenge competitor owns an 18-1 career mark that includes three triumphs by KO/TKO, seven by submission and eight via decision.

Hernandez, meanwhile, is 3-1 during his promotional tenure, with his lone setback coming at the hands of Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 143. In his last outing, the 27-year-old Texan took a contentious unanimous verdic…

Joseph Benavidez struggled to find the right words to say after his latest bid to capture championship gold fell short in the UFC Fight Night 169 headliner on Saturday night.

An incidental clash of heads caused blood to gush from Benavidez’s head in the second stanza of his 125-pound title clash with Deiveson Figueiredo at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va., and moments later, the Brazilian capitalized by flooring his foe with powerful right hand. A few follow-up hammerfists halted the bout, and with that, Benavidez fell to 0-3 in UFC flyweight championship bouts. The flyweight throne will remain vacant for the time being, however, as Figueiredo was ineligible to win the belt after missing weight on Friday.

“I feel like this is isn’t real right now,” Benavidez said in a post-fight interview with UFC commentator Michael Bisping. “I’m in some freakin’ nightmare. I had a lot of visions of talking to you after and a lot of things that were going to happen that didn’t.

“S…

If Deiveson Figueiredo had come into weigh-ins a few pounds lighter on Friday, he’d be able to call himself the new UFC flyweight champion today.

Despite an impressive knockout of Joseph Benavidez in the UFC Fight Night 169 headliner, Figueiredo walked out of the Octagon a winner but not a champion. The Brazilian failed to make his contracted weight for the first time in eight promotional appearances, therefore sabotaging his chance at capturing UFC gold.

Benavidez did make weight and only he was allowed to capture the vacant crown, but “Joe Jitsu” didn’t have the storybook night he had been dreaming about for years. Benavidez (28-6) is now 0-3 in world title fights under the UFC umbrella and it’s anybody’s guess whether he’ll ever get another chance for glory.

Figueiredo (18-1) was defending the American’s takedowns throughout the first and early part of the second, but he was getting tagged by plenty of Benavidez’s punches. Figueiredo wasn’t hurt by his foe’s s…

OH MY! @MeganA_mma finishes it w/ the right hand! #UFCNorfolk pic.twitter.com/QPC02CqsJ2

— UFC (@ufc) March 1, 2020

Megan Anderson made a statement at UFC Norfolk, and it made her $50,000 richer in the process.

The Australian featherweight received a “Performance of the Night” bonus for her first-round knockout of Norma Dumont Viana in a main card affair at Chartway Arena on Saturday night. A perfectly-timed counter right hand sent Viana to the canvas and forced referee Kevin MacDonald to wave off the bout 3:31 into the opening stanza.

Elsewhere, Kyler Phillips and Gabriel Silva garnered “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their preliminary bantamweight scrap. Ultimately, multi-punch combinations and competent grappling work carried Phillips to a unanimous decision triumph and his second consecutive victory.

Finally, Jordan Griffin earned the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks t…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Joseph Benavidez probably feels cursed at this point. The World Extreme Cagefighting holdover failed for the third time to capture the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown, as he was victimized by second-round punches from Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC Fight Night 169 headliner on Saturday at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Figueiredo (18-1, 7-1 UFC) drew it to a close 1:54 into Round 2, but because of his inability to make weight, the Brazilian was ineligible to win the 125-pound title. As a result, the flyweight throne sits empty.

Benavidez (28-6, 15-4 UFC) was active and aggressive throughout a competitive first round that saw him connect with winging power punches and escape an armbar. However, his tendency to lead with his head proved costly. An inadvertent clash of heads in the second round opened a horr…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 169 coverage will begin 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:Mike Sloan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Sloan scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:T…

Feb 29, 2020

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Watch the UFC Fight Night 169 post-fight press conference here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr5yHfhXd6o&w=560&h=315]