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.@ufc returns to Columbus for the first time in 11 years with an action-packed UFC FIGHT NIGHT @NationwideArena on Saturday, March 28. for future bout announcements featuring top contenders and rising prospects. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 31. pic.twitter.com/m1DNYXQRSS

— Nationwide Arena (@NationwideArena) December 12, 2019

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced its return to Ohio for the first time in years.

The promotion announced on Thursday that it would return to Columbus, Ohio, for a Fight Night event at the Nationwide Arena on March 28. No bouts have been announced for the event yet, although several fighters including current heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, former bantamweight king Cody Garbrandt, former flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye and all-action welterweight Matt Brown are from the Buckeye State.

The last time the Las Vegas-based organization travelled to Ohio came at UFC 203, when …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OsTq58aI2A&w=560&h=315]

In Dana White’s mind, Amanda Nunes is already the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time.

“One hundred percent. She has destroyed everybody,” the UFC president recently told BT Sport. “Cris Cyborg, so many women feared her for years, Amanda Nunes destroyed her and basically beat her at her own game. She beat Ronda Rousey. She beat [Valentina] Shevchenko twice. She beat Germaine de Randamie. Miesha Tate. The list goes on and on. She viciously knocks people out. She’s a beast.”

It’s an impressive resume, to say the least. Nunes, a two-division champion, will defend her bantamweight crown against de Randamie in a rematch at UFC 245 on Saturday. In attendance will be Olympic gold medalist and boxing champion Claressa Shields, who has been linked to Nunes both in the Sweet Science and MMA. White confirmed that he has been in talks with Shields and her team, and the fighter will be present at the T-Mo…

Conor McGregor’s first Octagon appearance in more than a year will be at welterweight, but if is successful, a lightweight title shot could be next for the Irish star.

McGregor will square off with Donald Cerrone in a 170-pound bout at UFC 246 on Jan. 18, and reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will face Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18.

“If Conor can get through ‘Cowboy’ and if Khabib can get through Tony, then we’d be looking at a rematch between Conor and Khabib down the line here pretty soon,” UFC president Dana White told BT Sport in a recent interview.

That statement drew the ire of lightweight contender Justin Gaethje, who called the notion a “crock of s—t” on Twitter. Gaethje has been vocal in calling out McGregor in recent months. The former World Series of Fighting champion is not currently booked against an opponent.

Lol at @danawhite “if Conor gets through Cowboy”... what a crock of shit. http…

Former lightweight champion Brent Primus will meet Peter Queally in the Bellator Dublin co-main event.

Promotion officials initially confirmed the booking to MMAFighting.com. Bellator Dublin takes place at 3Arena on Feb. 22 and is headlined by a bantamweight duel between James Gallagher and Cal Ellenor.

Primus has competed infrequently of late, fighting just once per year since 2014. He claimed the 155-pound belt with an upset victory over Michael Chandler at Bellator 180 in June 2017 but lost the title in a rematch at Bellator 212. The Sports Lab representative has since rebounded to submit Tim Wilde with a gogoplata at Bellator Birmingham on May 4.

Queally, a Dublin native, is 1-1 thus far in his Bellator tenure. After dropping a split decision t Myles Price in his debut at Bellator 217, the SBG Ireland product scored a second-round TKO victory over Ryan Scope in his last outing at Bellator 227.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW1YbPAA4Pk&w=560&h=315]

For the first time in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, a husband and wife will compete on the same card.

Mark De La Rosa will face Raulian Paiva in a flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night in Rio Rancho, N.M., on Feb. 15, ESPN.com confirmed on Tuesday. That same night, Montana De La Rosa, Mark’s wife, will lock horns with Mara Romero Borello.

UFC Rio Rancho takes place at the Santa Ana Star Center and is headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz. The card is expected to air on ESPN+.

Mark De La Rosa went 0-2 during his 2019 campaign, falling to Alex Perez and Kai Kara-France via unanimous decision in the Octagon. The 25-year-old Factory X representative is 2-3 in the UFC and 11-3 as a professional overall.

Paiva is looking for his first promotional triumph after dropping a split decision to Kara-France and losing to Rogerio Bontorin via TKO this past y…

Sergio Pettis will make his first Bellator foray early next year.

The UFC veteran will square off against Alfred Khashakyan in a bantamweight bout at Bellator 238 at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Jan. 25. Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 238 is headlined by a women’s featherweight title bout between Julia Budd and Cristiane Justino.

Pettis parted ways with the UFC earlier this year following a 14-bout stint with the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Roufusport product competed at both flyweight and bantamweight in the UFC but will remain at 135 pounds in Bellator. Pettis is coming off a unanimous decision triumph against Tyson Nam at UFC Fight Night 159 on Sept. 21.

Khashakyan might be best known for facing Sean O’Malley on the first season of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss in July 2017. He has won three straight fights since that de…

The UFC on ESPN 7 main card averaged 1.071 million viewers on Saturday night, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That’s the third-highest figure for a card televised on ESPN in 2019 behind UFC on ESPN 1 (1.463 million viewers) and UFC on ESPN 3 (1.091 million). The last event, UFC on ESPN 6, aired on ESPN 2 and drew an average audience of 805,000 on a Friday night for a main card headlined by Dominick Reyes and Chris Weidman.

UFC on ESPN 7 took place at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and saw Jairzinho Rozenstruik knock out Alistair Overeem at the 4:56 mark of the fifth round in the evening’s headliner. Ratings peaked at 1.4 million viewers for the main event.

Meanwhile, the UFC on ESPN 7 preliminary card attracted an average audience of 696,000 to the network. That’s the second highest rating for a UFC on ESPN prelim lineup this year behind UFC on ESPN 1. That portion of the card was topped by a welterweight duel between Tim Means and Thiago Alves, which Means …

Curtis Millender will square off against Moses Murrietta at Bellator 238.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official on Tuesday following an initial report from FanSided. Bellator 238 takes place on Jan. 25 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash between Julia Budd and Cristiane Justino. Millender vs. Murrieta will be contested at a 175-pound catchweight.

Millender previously went 2-2 over the course of two separate stints with the California-based promotion. The 32-year-old Californian compiled a nine-fight winning streak from June 2016 to December 2018 that included a trio of triumphs in the UFC. Millender was released from the UFC after back-to-back losses to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Belal Muhammad.

Murrietta, meanwhile, has competed for organizations such as Legacy Fighting Alliance and M-1 Challenge over the course of his professional tenure. The 30-year-old was successful in his lone pr…

UFC HISTORY

@ThugnastyMMA records the second twister EVER in the Octagon!

Action continues on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/vN85j7AAxC— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2019

These days one can learn pretty much anything by watching YouTube, including rarely-seen mixed martial arts submissions.

Bryce Mitchell pulled off only the second twister in Ultimate Fighting Championship history on Saturday, as he tapped Matt Sayles with the maneuver 4:20 into the opening stanza at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C. “Thug Nasty” says he initially picked up the move through observation.

“I’m a huge (10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder) Eddie Bravo fan and I got that from YouTube,” Mitchell said after the fight. “I worked so hard for this fight, I almost knew for sure that I was going to get him out of there.

“When I got a hold of Matt, I knew he was working every time he moved. I just had to be patient, you can’t go too early before they’re ready.…

The lineups are set for Thursday’s Quintet Ultra team grappling event.

Each team in the 5-on-5 event represents an influential mixed martial arts promotion: the UFC, Pride, Strikeforce and the WEC. The card takes place at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

The rosters are as follows:

Team UFC: Anthony Smith, Anthony Johnson, Sean O'Malley, Clay Guida and Gilbert Burns

Team Pride: Kazushi Sakuraba, Takanori Gomi, Gregor Gracie, Hector Lombard and Yves Edwards

Team Strikeforce: Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields, Muhammed Lawal, Gesias Cavalcante and Renato Sobral

Team WEC: Chad Mendes, Glover Teixeira, Mark Munoz, Cub Swanson and James Krause

Quintet Ultra utilizes a single-elimination format, where competitors are eliminated by a loss or draw, with the winner of each match remaining on the mat. A team loses when all five of its members are eliminated.

The event will also include the follow…

A strawweight clash pitting Karolina Kowalkiewicz against Xiaonan Yan has been added to the UFC Auckland lineup.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the matchup on Sunday. UFC Auckland takes place at Spark Arena on Feb. 22 and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Paul Felder and Dan Hooker. The card will likely air on ESPN+.

A former 115-pound title challenger, Kowalkiewicz enters the bout on a three-bout losing streak. In her last outing, the 34-year-old Pole dropped a unanimous verdict to Alexa Grasso at UFC 238.

Yan, meanwhile, has kicked off her promotional tenure with four consecutive triumphs. The China Top Team representative last appeared at UFC 238, where she outpointed Angela Hill on June 8.

Alistair Overeem was slated to face Walt Harris in the main event of UFC on ESPN 7 Saturday night and right about now, he probably wishes his opponent never changed.

Harris, who has been reeling from the tragic abduction and murder of his stepdaughter Aniah Blanchard, was replaced by unbeaten contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik. One of the sport’s hottest talents in a heavyweight division in desperate need of new blood, Rozenstruik cashed in on being a late addition to the card, which was held at Capital Arena in Washington, D.C.

Overeem (45-18) was doing well throughout most of their five-round heavyweight encounter, but Rozenstruik’s power bailed him out and the Surinamese fighter won via knockout with only four seconds remaining in the fight. Rozenstruik (10-0) was patient inside the Octagon and though he was losing on the cards late in their duel, he remained diligent in his pursuit of victory.

“I never give up,” he said after his triumph. “I work hard. I tried t…

Ben Rothwell earned a much-needed victory at UFC on ESPN 7, as he stopped Stefan Struve via technical knockout 4:57 into Round 2 of their featured heavyweight bout in Washington, D.C.

However, Rothwell’s victory will long be overshadowed by a pair of devastating low blows he landed on Struve over the course of the bout. The first kick found its way to Struve’s groin in the opening stanza, and the towering Dutchman needed all of his allotted recovery time before he could continue. The second occurred with a little more than one minute remaining in the second frame.

Rothwell had a point taken away after the second foul, but Struve faltered badly once the action continued. He initially appeared to hurt his leg after Rothwell checked a low kick, and then the International Fight League veteran unleashed a barrage of uppercuts near the fence that put Struve away at the 4:57 mark of the period.

Afterward, Rothwell addressed the low blows that might have turned the tide …

When you finish a fight with a submission that has previously been used only once in UFC history, it’s more than likely a post-fight bonus will be on the way.

Such was the case for Bryce Mitchell, who received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his twister submission of Matt Sayles in a preliminary featherweight scrap. Mitchell secured the maneuver 4:20 into the first frame to join Chan Sung Jung as the only fighters to successfully execute the move in the Octagon.

Elsewhere, Rob Font and Ricky Simon pocketed “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their entertaining bantamweight tilt. While Simon did his best to impose his will through takedowns, Font was able to keep the fight upright long enough to land a variety of jabs, right hands and uppercuts to capture a unanimous decision triumph.

Finally, Makhmud Muradov earned the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a resounding knockout of Trevor Smith in a middleweight …

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. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has a grand sense of timing. The undefeated Surinamese heavyweight knocked out former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem with a sweeping right hook in the fifth round of their UFC on ESPN 7 headliner on Saturday at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. A late-notice substitution for Will Harris, Rozenstruik (10-0, 4-0 UFC) brought it to a close 4:56 into Round 5.

Overeem (45-18, 10-7 UFC) used a combination of guile and brawn to build a substantial lead, controlling significant portions of the first four-plus rounds with cautious but intelligent standup, a stifling clinch, tactical takedowns and ground-and-pound. Rozenstruik was seemingly headed for his first MMA defeat in the waning seconds, but he followed a shovel uppercut with a searing right hand. The impact split Overeem’s upper lip and sat him down at the…

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 on ESPN 7 coverage begins Saturday at 5:30 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:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Of…

Tim Means “The Dirty Bird” returns after a lengthy layoff and hasn’t missed a beat, finishing Thiago Alves in the first round. #UFCDC

pic.twitter.com/0kftmsHlrm

— WhatsUpMMA (@WhatsUp_MMA) December 8, 2019 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. Tim Means created an opening and exploited it.

The former multi-division King of the Cage titleholder submitted Thiago Alves with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featured UFC on ESPN 7 prelim on Saturday at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. Means (29-11-1, 11-8 UFC) sealed the deal 2:38 into Round 1, authoring his first submission victory since April 2015.

Alves (23-15, 15-12 UFC) enjoyed some early success with a right cross-left hook combination and a wicked body kick that left a footprint on the ribcage of his counterpart. Means was undeterred. “The Dirty Bi…

Combate Americas heads down to Hidalgo, Texas, on Saturday for Combate: Tito vs. Alberto.

The main event sees a catchweight bout between former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight king Tito Ortiz (209) and ex-WWE champion "El Patron" Alberto Rodriguez (209).

Combate: Tito vs. Alberto airs live on pay-per-view on Saturday, with the main card kicking off at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The card also features the first-ever Combate women's strawweight title fight, as "Super Mely" Melissa Martinez (114) takes on "Dirty Dez" Desiree Yanez (114). Also, in a 150-pound catchweight affair, "Tonga" Gaston Reyno (149) meets "The Warrior" Rey Trujillo. Former professional wrestler "Sexy" Dulce Garcia (119.5) returns to face the debuting Anali Lopez Hernandez (118) in a 120-pound catchweight contest. In another catchweight battle, this time at 148 pounds, Levy Marroquin (147) goes head-to-head with "Baby Bull" Enrique Gonzalez (148). Rounding out the main card is a flyweight …

Combate Americas heads down to Hidalgo, Texas, on Saturday for Combate: Tito vs. Alberto.

The main event sees a catchweight bout between former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight king Tito Ortiz (209) and ex-WWE champion "El Patron" Alberto Rodriguez (209). Ortiz is coming off a first-round knockout victory over longtime rival Chuck Liddell under the Golden Boy MMA banner in November 2018. Rodriguez hasn't competed in MMA since 2010, and ended a six-fight win streak with a second-round TKO loss to Yamamoto Hanshi in Spain.

Combate: Tito vs. Alberto airs live on pay-per-view on Saturday, with the main card kicking off at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The card also features the first-ever Combate women's strawweight title fight, as "Super Mely" Melissa Martinez (114) takes on "Dirty Dez" Desiree Yanez (114). Also, in a 150-pound catchweight affair, "Tonga" Gaston Reyno (149) meets "The Warrior" Rey Trujillo. Former professional wrestler "Sexy" Dulce Garcia (119.5) ret…

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's final event of the year will take place Saturday in Gliwice, Poland, where it will see the return of its most popular champion.

The main event of KSW 52: Race sees former KSW middleweight king Mamed Khalidov (187.2) coming out of a one-year retirement after last fighting at KSW 46. He temporarily left the sport after consecutive losses to current light heavyweight champion Tomasz Narkun, and looking to ruin his comeback attempt is Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Scott Askham (186.51). The English fighter is currently on a four-fight win streak, where he picked up the vacant KSW middleweight strap at KSW 49 with a spectacular flying knee knockout over Michal Materla. However, no belt will be on the line as this will be a 187.4-pound catchweight affair.

Championship gold is on the line further down the card, though. Current KSW interim featherweight champ Salahdine Parnasse (144.62) will look to defend the belt he won back in April as he…

Frankie Edgar is the frontrunner to replace Brian Ortega versus Chan Sung Jung on Dec. 21, sources say. Looking good. Yes, he’s scheduled to fight Cory Sandhagen next month, but UFC is hoping to keep the fight in tact, too. They would have to assess after the South Korea fight.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 5, 2019

Editor's note: The story has been updated at 8 p.m. ET on 12/5/2019 to reflect new information.

Frankie Edgar has saved the Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to South Korea in December.

On Thursday, ESPN reported that Edgar (23-7-1) was being considered to replace Brian Ortega in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 165 on Dec. 21. MMAJunkie later reported that Edgar would indeed be taking the short-notice opportunity. The promotion confirmed this news on Thursday night.

The event was set to be headlined by Ortega against Chan Sung Jung (15-5), but Ortega was forced to withdraw on Wednesday after…

Fight Update! @ImDaOutlaw steps in to take on @MikeChandlerMMA December 28th on @ParamountNet!#BellatorJapan_________________________________

pic.twitter.com/2vI8uw9hCd

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 5, 2019 The debut event of Bellator MMA in Japan has just been shaken up.

Late Wednesday, the promotion announced that Benson Henderson has been forced to withdraw from his bout against Michael Chandler (19-5) at Bellator Japan on Dec. 28. Replacing Henderson will be Sidney Outlaw (14-3) on short notice, and they will face one another at a presumed catchweight affair in the co-main event.

Chandler is looking to bounce back from a knockout loss where he surrendered his lightweight throne to Patricio Freire in May. The upset defeat allowed Freire to become a simultaneous two-division champ, while snapping a three-fight win streak that allowed Chandler to get his belt back for the third time. "Iron Mike" is one of a sma…

The Professional Fighters League will have one opening prelim on its New Year's Eve event before the title fights.

On Thursday, the promotion announced via press release that Brendan Loughnane (18-3) will be squaring off with David Alex Duarte (11-4) at featherweight on the lone prelim of the 2019 PFL Championship. The two will square off on ESPN+ that evening, prior to the main card airing on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The event will take place at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 31. All six finals will take place on the card, with six title fights starting at heavyweight and ending with women's lightweight.

Loughnane earned a spot on the PFL roster after a successful outing against Bill Algeo on Dana White's Contender Series. His performance was lauded but derided by Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, who claimed Loughnane's takedown attempt at the end of the fight cost him another chance to fight with the Las Vegas-ba…

Brian Ortega won’t be competing at all in 2019, as the former featherweight title challenger has withdrawn from a proposed clash against Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Night 165.

ESPN was first to report the news on Wednesday evening. The nature of Ortega’s injury was not disclosed, but the ailment is expected to sideline him for two to three months. According to the report, the promotion is working to find a replacement opponent for “The Korean Zombie.”

UFC Fight Night 165 takes place at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea and also features a pivotal light heavyweight clash pitting Volkan Oezdemir against Aleksandar Rakic.

Ortega last appeared at UFC 231 in December 2018, when he suffered a fourth-round TKO loss to Max Holloway in a featherweight championship bout. “T-City” began his pro career with a 14 victories and one no contest, a stretch that includes notable wins over the likes of Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, Renato Carneiro and Clay Guida.