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Katlyn Chookagian is taking a business as usual approach to her first UFC title bout.

Chookagian will square off against reigning flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko, a fighter who is regarded as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound female talents. Despite that daunting task, “Blonde Fighter” claims her approach hasn’t changed much from past fights.

“I think it’s just another fight. Yes it’s the title, and that’s what we’re all here for,” Chookagian said during a media call. “You can’t put these fights on a bigger pedestal. Every fight seems like the biggest fight.

“I prepare specifically for Valentina, but I’m confident in the way I’ve trained. Of course each time you make adjustments to try to get better and improve. My mentality is the same for every fight: train as hard as you can so you can be prepared at the day of the fight.”

Chookagian has been on a roll of late, winning five of her last six Octagon appearances to earn a shot at UFC gold. Becomin…

For the past year — or a little bit longer — Jon Jones has made headlines primarily for his exploits inside the Octagon rather than the issues outside of it.

On Saturday, the Jackson-Wink MMA standout will step into the cage for the fourth time since December 2018 when he faces Dominick Reyes in the UFC 247 main event. Prior to regaining the light heavyweight belt with a stoppage of Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232, Jones’ recent years had been marred by a myriad of well-documented issues that led to him being stripped of the belt and suspended on more than one occasion.

As he heads into his first appearance of 2020, “Bones” believes he has put those troubles in the rearview mirror.

“I do feel like the storm is behind me,” Jones told ESPN. “It has been an interesting journey and I’ve learned so much. I’m just grateful. I’m grateful to have had all the lessons that I’ve been able to learn. I’m grateful that God has kept me through all of it and allow me to grow so …

3rd Round Arm-Triangle Submission win for Jamall Emmers. #LFA81 pic.twitter.com/i8neyW47Yu

— mma 21+ (@mma21plus) February 1, 2020 Jamall Emmers may have punched his ticket to a Legacy Fighting Alliance featherweight title fight after winning in stellar fashion in the Rafael Barbosa, but it was his grappling prowess that sealed the deal. “Prettyboy” had peppered Barbosa (12-3) with lead rights to the face early in the third, but once he took “Coxinha” down, it was over. Emmers transitioned from a rear-naked choke attempt to a textbook arm-triangle choke, which finished his foe off.

Barbosa tried his best to fight through the choke, but veteran referee Mike Beltran noticed that he had gone out and stepped in, eliciting a raucous approval from the capacity crowd inside The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. The end came officially at 2:39 of the third, giving Emmers his fourth straight win.

Jacob R…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set on putting the Nurmagomedov family under one roof.

On Friday, UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov posted on his Instagram that his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov (12-0), has been signed by the UFC. The featherweight will join the 155-pound king as well as his other cousin Abubakar Nurmagomedov. His potential opponent or debut date have not yet been announced.

Unbeaten as a professional, U. Nurmagomedov has finished half of his opponents before the final bell. A veteran of Fight Nights Global early in his career, he later made two appearances with the Professional Fighters League. In those, he defeated Saidyokub Kakhramonov and Sidemar Honorio on the scorecards. Most recently, the Dagestan native handed Argentinian Braian Gonzalez his first career defeat, doing so by first-round rear-naked choke.

In his post, K. Nurmagomedov wrote (via Google Translate):

"I, the horse and the @ufc fighter.

"Brotherly @umar_nurmag…

Ovince Saint Preux Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/w9qi740bmG

— USADA | UFC Anti-Doping Program (@USADA_UFC) January 31, 2020

Ovince St. Preux is the second prominent fighter on Friday to test positive for banned supplements and have his suspension reduced to three months, joining Diego Sanchez.

According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Friday, former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title challenger St. Preux has been suspended for three months dating back to a positive test for ostarine on Nov. 1. The Tennessee native was flagged for ostarine and LGD-4033 as well as two additional prohibited compounds, and all four appeared in his positive test.

Following to his cooperation and the investigation that followed, St. Preux was cleared of wrongdoing and received a reduction in his sentence. The regulations under USADA have recently changed, and now permit an infinitesimal …

Dana White told Jim Rome that Masvidal vs. Usman is happening in Las Vegas, probably in July.

— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) January 31, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is going big in July for International Fight Week.

On Friday, UFC President Dana White stated on the Jim Rome Show that welterweight champ Kamaru Usman (16-1) will be taking on Jorge Masvidal (35-13) at an unannounced pay-per-view event in July. The organization does not have any events scheduled beyond UFC 250 in May, so the date and event title have yet to be determined. However, the card will go down in Las Vegas, potentially at the T-Mobile Arena. As the Allegiant Stadium -- the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders -- will open at the end in July, it does not seem to be a suitable venue since International Fight Week traditionally takes place around Independence Day Weekend.

The two men met on Wednesday at a media day in Miami, and engaged in a fr…

Diego Sanchez Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/HvwDoL4vjk

— USADA | UFC Anti-Doping Program (@USADA_UFC) January 31, 2020

Diego Sanchez has run afoul of some banned substances, although he was able to determine his positive test was the result of tainted supplements.

According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Friday, Sanchez has been suspended for three months dating back to a positive test for ostarine on Dec. 12. Additionally, he was also flagged for S-23, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM), and both were discovered in supplements he provided for analysis. Due to his cooperation and the investigation that followed, Sanchez was not found at fault and received a reduction in his sentence. As the USADA regulations have changed, allowing for miniscule levels of these substances provided they do not enhance an athlete's performance, Sanchez was in that threshold of permissibility.<…

Bellator signs Wyatt Barber, Maycee's brother https://t.co/VR1MsXuDCM

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) January 31, 2020 Bellator MMA is investing in a young prospect in hopes that he performs like his famous sister.

According to ESPN on Friday, the promotion has signed Wyatt Barber (0-0) to a contract. A featherweight who fights out of Roufusport in Wisconsin, he is the younger brother of top-10 Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Maycee Barber. He has since confirmed this news on his Instagram page.

The 18-year-old Barber has not made his professional debut, although he appeared at LFA 70 in 2019 as an amateur and finished Julian Valencia in the opening round. This is not the first developmental contract the organization has issued, as it previously signed Aaron Pico to a long-term contract prior to his own pro debut.

His sister lost for the first time in her career at UFC 246 in January against Roxanne Modafferi, …

Got a fight!!! All this time to prepare and I'm already head and shoulders above the competition. #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/if9OAwGE1E

— Gerald Meerschaert (@The_Real_GM3) January 31, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be bringing another middleweight showdown to its March pay-per-view card.

Both Gerald Meerschaert (30-12) and Deron Winn (6-1) posted on their respective social media accounts announcing the matchup on Thursday night. The two will collide at middleweight at UFC 248, which goes down on March 7. The two will join fellow middleweights on the card including the champ and his challenger, Jared Cannonier and his unannounced opponent, Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan.

Meerschaert has dropped three of his last four outings, most recently a split decision loss to Eryk Anders at UFC Fight Night 161 in October. Sporting a finish rate of 93 percent, “GM3” has finished his opponent in each of his five Octagon appea…

THE MAIN EVENTJoshua Pacio retains his ONE Strawweight World Title in a back-and-forth battle with Alex Silva! #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #FireAndFury pic.twitter.com/ePa80jR2mf

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 31, 2020 One Championship stopped for its second event in 2020 as Fire & Fury went down at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 31.

The main event featured a title clash between One strawweight champion Joshua Pacio and challenger Alex Silva. After winning the belt back in April 2019 at Yosuke Saruta’s expense and defending it against Rene Catalan, “The Passion” managed to repeat himself and add another successful defense to his championship stint. Pacio and a very fierce Silva went back and forth for all five rounds of the bout. Pacio tried to impose his striking superiority while “Little Rock” looked to apply his stellar Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. The Brazilian contender nearly secured an…

Now that the #LFA81 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most tomorrow night?@IncaKolaUSA@FredLoyaIns@WWP@buyVPNservice@GLCDirect2000@USENDmoney@OCFair @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/s7Ffgy9JUc

— LFA (@LFAfighting) January 31, 2020 The Legacy Fighting Alliance returns to California for its second event of 2020 with LFA 81, which is headlined by a featherweight bout between Jamall Emmers and Rafael Barbosa.

Emmers (16-4) has rebounded from getting knocked out on the second season of the Dana White's Contender Series by finishing Fard Muhammad, Caio Machado and Jay Cucciniello. The 30-year-old will look to extend his win streak in what will be his third appearance with the organization. "Prettyboy" looked great on the scales and came in at 145.2 pounds.

A training partner of Lyoto Machida, Barbosa (12-2) is coming off a split decision defeat to Luis Alberto Nogueira in October. The Brazilian was pre…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will reportedly be adding a big heavyweight matchup to its upcoming Brazil card in May.

According to a report from Combate on Thursday, heavyweights Blagoy Ivanov (18-3, 1 NC) and Augusto Sakai (14-1-1) will square off at UFC 250 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The bout will mark Ivanov's first appearance in South America, while his opponent Sakai has taken nearly half of his career fights in his home country of Brazil.

Ivanov suffered a setback in his recent performance, losing a split decision to Derrick Lewis in November. The durable Ivanov has never been knocked out as a professional, and sports exactly six victories by knockout, another six by submission and six more on the scorecards. Since joining the UFC in 2018, Ivanov has two decision wins over Ben Rothwell and Tai Tuivasa bookended by decision defeats to Junior dos Santos and the aforementioned Lewis.

Sakai has yet to taste defeat since dropping a split verdict to eventual Bel…

Bellator MMA is looking to put a fight back together that was scratched hours before it was set to go down.

According to MMA Fighting on Thursday, the promotion is looking to match Josh Barnett (35-8) against Ronny Markes (19-7) once more at Bellator 241 in March. The promotion has since confirmed that this bout is being targeted for this event, but that the agreement is not yet in place. The two were originally booked to headline Bellator 235, but on the night of the fight, Barnett was not cleared to compete by the medical staff due to illness.

Barnett as not appeared in a pro MMA bout since he handed Andrei Arlovski his first career submission defeat in September 2016. “The Warmaster” went on to fail a post-fight drug test and was kept out of action for over a year. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency went on to reverse its decision and not suspend Barnett, on the grounds that he tested positive for a contaminated supplement. Barnett sought and received his release from the…

Rafael Lovato Jr.’s mixed martial arts career could be in jeopardy due to a hereditary brain condition.

Prior to facing Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 223 this past June, Lovato was required to undergo a brain scan for the first time in his professional career. It was then that he was diagnosed with cavernoma, which is known as a “cluster of abnormal blood vessels, usually found in the brain and spinal cord.”

In an interview on Joe Rogan’s JRE MMA podcast, Lovato recalls sensing something was amiss when it took a while for him to be summoned from the examination room.

“The radiologist, with really no candor or an easy or soft way of saying it, was like, ‘Dude, have you seen your brain before? There’s some stuff in here you need to see.’ He pulls me into the room and shows me on the screen, pointing out what looked like little balls,” Lovato said. “It looked like something was wrong – it didn’t look like a normal scan. But I don’t know – like shades of discoloration. …

Jorge Masvidal & Kamaru Usman CLASH at Super Bowl Media Row in Miami!!! @GamebredFighter @USMAN84kg @joerogan @danawhite pic.twitter.com/BOcjooQy1L

— Fanatics View (@fanaticsview) January 29, 2020

Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal aren’t currently booked to fight each other, but the tension is building between the two welterweight stars.

Usman and Masvidal recently engaged in a brief altercation that was caught on camera during a Super Bowl media day event. The welterweight champion approached Masvidal as both fighters did interviews on radio row and shouted at the Miami native.

“Do something,” Usman said. “That’s all I hear you talking. Do something. You come up talking. Do something.”

Officials held both fighters back to prevent the incident from getting physical as Masvidal fired back at the champ while blowing kisses in his direction.

“You got a cast on, b--h,” Masvidal said. “I ain’t going to take advantage o…

Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com Credit: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com

A bantamweight clash between Cody Stamann and Raoni Barcelos has been targeted for UFC Columbus.

Combate was first to report the bout. UFC Columbus takes place at Nationwide Arena and is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Raphael Assuncao will square off against Cody Garbrandt in the co-main event.

Stamann last appeared at UFC on ESPN 7, where he battled Yadong Song to a majority draw on Dec. 7. The 30-year-old Michigan native is 4-1-1 in the UFC and 18-2-1 over the course of his professional career.

A former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion, Barcelos has kicked off his UFC tenure with four consecutive triumphs. Most recently, the 32-year-old Brazilian outpointed Said Nurmagomedov at UFC Fight Night 165 to run his career mark to 15-1.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJp0xr6CFyQ&w=560&h=315]

Professional Fighters League is scouring the globe to improve its roster.

The promotion confirmed to ESPN that it has partnered with promotions from United Arab Emirates, Russia, Germany, Brazil and Australia to eventually add five new fighters to its roster for the upcoming season.

Each organization will host a four-fighter tournament, and the winner of each respective bracket will receive a spot on the PFL’s 2020 season. One tournament date has been confirmed, as UAE Warriors in Abu Dhabi has scheduled its event for March 20. The dates for the other tournaments have yet to be determined.

The UAE Warriors event will feature fighters from the featherweight division. Lightweight, light heavyweight and women’s lightweight are also expected to be included in future tournaments, although the weight classes could change.

"We're excited to accelerate growth outside of the United States through the I…

Josh Thomson has officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

The UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator veteran revealed his decision during the "Weighing In” podcast with co-host John McCarthy. Thomson hadn’t competed since a knockout loss to Patricky Freire in February 2017 but he also hadn’t made a definitive statement regarding his career since then.

“I can say that I’m officially retired. I can finally say it,” Thomson said (transcription via MMAFighting.com). “And the thing is that you have to say it sometimes just to say what you just said, because I realized I was taking more shots than I should have been taking. And I don’t want to live that lifestyle, I didn’t want to be in there as a punching bag to anybody. I was taking more in training – that’s the thing, people only see the ones you take in the fight. They don’t realize that you’re taking more in training too, because there’s young, talented studs in my gym. And those guys are whooping your ass to…

Mackenzie Dern will attempt to bounce back from her first professional defeat when she locks horns with Ariane Carnelossi at UFC Lincoln.

Combate was first to report the booking, and Carnelossi also announced the bout on her Instagram account. UFC Lincoln takes place on April 25 and is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira.

After taking more than a year off due to pregnancy, Dern returned to action at UFC Fight Night 161, where she dropped a unanimous verdict to Amanda Ribas this past October. The 26-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is 7-1 as a professional and owns wins over Amanda Bobby Cooper and Ashley Yoder in UFC competition.

Carnelossi, meanwhile, made her Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 159, where she suffered a third-round TKO loss to Angela Hill. That snapped a 12-fight winning streak for the 27-year-old Sao Paulo, Brazil, native.

Juan Archuleta is one of four fighters from the Bellator 238 card who is facing six months on the shelf.

Archuleta is suspended for 180 days with 180 days of no contact for a potential fractures to his right shoulder and left hand. That term can be shortened with physician clearance. Archuleta garnered a unanimous verdict over Henry Corrales in a featherweight bout on Saturday’s main card.

The California State Athletic Commission recently released a full list of medical suspensions from the event. Bellator 238 took place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and saw Cristiane Justino claim featherweight gold with a stoppage of Julia Budd in the evening’s main event. Everyone on the card, including “Cyborg,” received at least a seven-day mandatory suspension.

Three other fighters are facing 180-day suspensions pending doctor clearance: Joshua Jones (jaw), Adel Altamimi (hand) and Miguel Jacob (thumb).

Bellator 238 Medical Suspensions:

Julia Budd: suspende…

Paul Daley will square off against Sabah Homasi at Bellator 241.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. Bellator 241 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and is topped by a featherweight grand prix quarterfinal matchup between Patricio Freire and Pedro Carvalho.

Daley enters the bout on a two-fight winning streak, as he earned a unanimous verdict over Erick Silva at Bellator 223 before scoring a second-round TKO against Saad Awad at Bellator 232 this past October.

Homasi has also won his last two fights, including a 17-second knockout of Micah Terrill at Bellator 225. The 31-year-old American Top Team representative went 0-3 during a brief UFC stint from 2016 to 2018.

Tim Means will be facing a new adversary at UFC Rio Rancho on Feb. 15.

Means’ original opponent, Ramazan Emeev, withdrew from the welterweight bout due to undisclosed reasons. As a result, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Daniel Rodriguez will step in and face Means. ESPN was first to report the change.

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

A New Mexico native, Means has compiled an 11-8 mark while competing in the Las Vegas-based promotion. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN 7, where he submitted Thiago Alves in the opening stanza.

Rodriguez enters his promotional debut on a five-fight winning streak. The 33-year-old Combate Americas veteran earned a decision over Rico Farrington on the Contender Series in his last outing this past July.

Stipe Miocic’s management has indicated that when the UFC heavyweight champion is ready to return, he’d prefer something different than a trilogy bout with Daniel Cormier. Not surprisingly, that doesn’t sit well with “DC.”

"After his health is cleared, we hope to have Stipe back in competition this year in a fight that makes sense and against an opponent that Stipe has not beaten before," Miocic’s agent, Jim Walter, recently told ESPN. "He is more than willing to defend his belt. If an opportunity presents itself outside the UFC, Tyson Fury and Stipe spoke face-to-face in Las Vegas at the Conor McGregor fight."

Following the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards ceremony last week, Miocic revealed that he had been medically cleared after suffering a retina injury in a win over Cormier at UFC 241 last August. However, Walter told ESPN that a second surgery could be necessary. Both Miocic and Walter said there is not a set timetable for the champion’s UFC return at this point …

At first, Alex Perez didn’t even know how to pronounce the name of his next preferred opponent following a submission win over Jordan Espinosa at UFC Fight Night 166 in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday night.

Nonetheless, the message was clear enough. Perez was watching Askar Askarov’s victory over Tim Elliott at UFC 246 the previous week, and he believes that 27-year-old Dagestani would be an ideal dance partner for his next Octagon appearance. Once he had a little bit more time to compose himself, Perez selected a date and venue for the contest.

“I’d like Askar Askarov next. He’s a wrestler, I’m a wrestler and we both like to stand, so why not?” Perez said. “I’d love to get on that Khabib vs. Tony Ferguson card. That’d give me a little break and then come back ready to work.”

The card Perez suggests is UFC 249, which takes place on at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 18 and is headlined by a lightweight title bout between reigning champion Khabib Nurma…