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.@CrisCyborg caps off her brilliant Bellator debut with a round 4 TKO! #Bellator238 pic.twitter.com/byDfekcas7

— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) January 26, 2020

Cristiane Justino made a little bit of history on Saturday night when she vanquished Julia Budd to claim the Bellator featherweight crown.

The title was the fourth career championship win for “Cyborg,” adding to a collection that already includes belts in the UFC, Invicta FC and Strikeforce. The 34-year-old Brazilian took a moment to reflect on the accomplishment during the Bellator 238 post-fight press conference.

“I was never thinking this is going to happen,” she said. “When I start, I have a dream. I have a dream I want to do my best. One thing I have in my heart, I want to prove that girls can fight like the guys. We can be violent, we can be technical, you can make the people like you and watch your fights. … I’m thankful. I feel blessed I have the opportunity to hold four …

Curtis Blaydes was more than effective in the opening round against Junior dos Santos, but he wasn’t succeeding in what he was trying to do. 

All that changed in the second frame.

Blaydes (13-2), typically a monstrous wrestler with insane takedown ability, was a miserable 0-for-6 on takedown attempts against the former heavyweight champion during their main event tilt at UFC Fight Night 166. Though he backed up the Brazilian with right hands in that first stanza, it was clear he wanted to take his foe down and pound him into oblivion. But when that initial game plan backfired, the Elevation Fight Team contender switched things up and obliterated the one-time titleholder.

  “Obviously the game plan was the wrestling, but he wasn’t letting that happen, so I had to adjust and rely on my striking more,” Blaydes said after his win. “I’ve always had hands, but no one could stop my wrestling, so why wouldn’t I keep going to that?”

Blaydes avoided a wild uppercu…

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. Curtis Blaydes has become a grave threat to the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division. The Elevation Fight Team export brought down former champion Junior dos Santos with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 166 headliner on Saturday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. His best days clearly behind him, dos Santos (21-7, 15-6 UFC) bit the dust 66 seconds into Round 2.

Blaydes (13-2, 8-2 UFC) whiffed on all six of his takedown attempts and instead turned to his ancillary skills. He backed up dos Santos with a number of clean right hands in the first round, then cracked the code in the second. Blaydes countered an errant uppercut from the Brazilian with an overhand right that marked the beginning of the end. The impact wobbled dos Santos and left him defenseless against a burst of follow-up …

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 166 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 Tonight's the night for the UFC's debut in Raleigh, North Carolina, and we begin in the featherweight division. Two UFC newcomers come head-to-head as Dana White's Contender Series contract winner Burns (9-2, 0-0 UFC) against former M-1 Global champ Landwehr (13-2, 0-0 UFC). All of Burns' finishes have come by tapout, while all of Landwehr's have been by strikes; the referee for this interesting style matchup is Larry Carter. There is no touch of gloves, as the two instead greet one another with jabs to the face. Burns throws a body kick, and then a high kick that makes him topple over. Burns nearly flops down to lure Landwehr, but the American is not intereste…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut24LkRaGT4&w=560&h=315] Dazn is the exclusive streaming partner of Bellator MMA. You can sign up here and live stream 100+ fight nights a year. Bellator MMA's first event of 2020 is set to take place as Bellator 238 emanates from The Forum in Inglewood, California, on Saturday. Headlining the card is the debut of former Strikeforce, Invicta Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship women's featherweight champion Cristiane Justino as she challenges Bellator's featherweight queen Julia Budd for her belt. Every fighter has successfully made weight, all is set for tomorrow’s event. Budd (13-2) won the inaugural Bellator women's featherweight title back in 2017 after finishing Marloes Coenen with punches. "The Jewel" has notched up three defenses since then, with the most recent a TKO win over Olga Rubin. Budd's only losses have come to Nunes, who knocked her out in just 14 seconds back in 2011, and Ronda Rousey, who submitte…

#UFCRaleigh Official Weigh-in Results - Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265): 248

Full results: https://t.co/qkEwJIc52G

— UFC News (@UFCNews) January 24, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns after its first pay-per-view event of the year with an ESPN+ card featuring a heavyweight bout between former champion Junior dos Santos and Curtis Blaydes. The card is now official as every fighter has successfully made weight prior to Saturday's event in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dos Santos (21-6) will be looking to rebound from a quick knockout loss at the hands of Francis Ngannou. The 35-year-old had been on a three-bout win streak before that having picked up victories over Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa and Blagoy Ivanov. "Cigano" has no trouble making the heavyweight limit and came in at 247 pounds.

Blaydes (12-2, 1 NC) will have a chance to notch the biggest victory in his career against dos Santos. He was also stopped by Ngann…

Wales in the house! @JackShoreMMA vs @EspartanoUFC is on for #UFCLondon

https://t.co/wg9VkLIZbA pic.twitter.com/qijmGKf6ja

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 23, 2020 An exciting bantamweight feature between two promising prospects has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's next trip to London. On Thursday morning, the promotion announced that Welsh prospect Jack Shore (12-0) and Geraldo de Freitas Jr. (12-5) will lock horns at UFC London.

The undefeated Shore made his UFC debut after a long run in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, where he won the bantamweight crown. In his UFC debut, "Tank" overcame Nohelin Hernandez thanks to a slick rear-naked choke submission at UFC Fight Night 160.

In his latest Octagon appearance, “The Spartan" Freitas dropped a split decision to Chris Gutierrez in a bantamweight affair that went down at UFC Fight Night 156. Prior to that, the Nova Uniao representative defeated Feli…

Official

Undefeated Croatian light heavyweight Ivan Erslan @ThePolishBear_ Przemyslaw Mysiala at #KSW53: Fight Code on March 21 pic.twitter.com/vB62ocd7Gc

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 23, 2020 The first KSW event in 2020 is taking shape, as the Polish promotion has just announced three bouts for KSW 53. Croatian light heavyweight prospect Ivan Erslan (8-0, 1 NC) will put his undefeated record on the line when he faces Bellator MMA veteran Przemyslaw Mysiala (23-10-1). Erslan made his debut in the Polish promotion at KSW 51, when he destroyed Darwin Rodriguez in under 90 seconds. Previously, the 28-years old Erslan had a successful run in Croatia's Final Fight Championship, where he scored a TKO victory over Roger Carroll and captured a split decision over Ivica Tadijanov.

The upcoming bout is the second KSW fight for "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 28 cast member Mysiala as well. In his promotional debut, the Polish fighter had to b…

Ciryl Gane contre le Daghestanais Shamil Abdurakhimov (N.10 heavyweight) pour l'#UFC249, le 18 avril prochain à Brooklyn, sur la carte de Khabib vs. Ferguson ! pic.twitter.com/rigqcpaTMN

— La Sueur (@lasueur_off) January 23, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is building up its yearly trip to Brooklyn, New York, in a big way.

On Wednesday, a pair of reports from MMA Fighting and French publication La Sueur indicated that two major matchups at UFC 249 are currently in the works. First, Jeremy Stephens (28-17,1 NC) will now be facing Calvin Kattar (20-4) at this event at featherweight, while heavyweights Ciryl Gane (6-0) and Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-5) will square off as well. Sherdog.com has since confirmed the bout between Gane and Abdurakhimov with sources familiar to the situation.

Stephens will be looking to turn around a lengthy skid that has seen him lose three of his last four, with the other a no-contest to Yair Rodri…

The most active fighter in Bellator MMA history is moving on from the promotion to fight bare knuckle.

On Wednesday night, KO Reps, the management team for David Rickels, posted on Instagram that "The Caveman" would be moving on from Bellator for now to join Bare Knuckle FC. He does not yet have an opponent booked, but he will be competing in the headliner of BKFC 11 on March 11 in Wichita, Kansas. According to MMA Junkie, Rickels' manager Oren Hodak confirmed this information and stated that Rickels was not finished in MMA or with Bellator permanently.

With 15 wins inside the Bellator cage, Rickels currently holds the fourth-most victories in company history. His 23 appearances are the most in organizational history, and Rickels made his last walk under the Bellator banner when he took on Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 225 in August. Competing both at lightweight and welterweight through his career, Rickels won the Season Eight lightweight tournament in 2013 to earn a…

Dhiego Lima sofreu uma lesão e está fora da luta contra Alex Morono no UFC 247, 8 de fevereiro. Ainda não há mais informações sobre qual a contusão do brasileiro. Ultimate procura novo rival para Morono. #feedmma

— Raphael Marinho (@raphamarinho) January 22, 2020 The Ultimate Fighting Championship has taken a few big hits in its return to Houston in February.

On Wednesday, Combate first reported that Dhiego Lima (15-7) has been forced to withdraw from his welterweight scrap with Alex Morono (15-5, 1 NC) due to a neck injury. Additionally, on Thursday, MMA Junkie reported that Jimmie Rivera (22-4) will not be competing against Marlon Vera (15-5-1) at bantamweight on that same night. Both were slated to square off against their respective opponents at UFC 247, which will be going down at the Toyota Center in Houston on Feb. 8. The promotion has not yet announced a replacement for either fighter, or if the two remaining will stay on th…

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Even after a loss to Conor McGregor in the UFC 246 main event, Donald Cerrone is doing just fine for himself.

The popular UFC veteran appears in a trailer for the upcoming Netflix release, “Spenser Confidential” alongside leading actor Mark Wahlberg and musician Post Malone, and there appears to be plenty of action in the scene that is shown.

In a prison scene, Cerrone tells Wahlberg that he and the other inmates have a “have a little going away message for you.” Moments later, a brawl ensues in the library, and not surprisingly, Wahlberg appears to get the best of things. It’s unclear what role “Cowboy” has beyond that scene.

Cerrone has actor credits in a few other shows and movies including The Equalizer 2, Godless, The Night Shift, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Justified.

Directed by Peter Berg, “Spenser Confidential” is expected to be released on March 6. A brief synopsis of the p…

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Combate Americas will make another journey to Fresno, Calif., with a card filled with several “Mexico vs. USA”-themed matchups.

The card takes place at the Save Mart Center on Feb. 28 and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Pablo Sabori and Adrian Guzman. Additionally, Ivan Castillo will square off against Danny Ramirez at lightweight, while Carlos Reyes will square off against Paul Elizondo Jr. at flyweight.

The card will air in English on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and in Spanish on Univision (12 p.m. ET/PT) and on TUDN USA (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT) and will also included a featured women’s flyweight tilt between Zoila Frausto and Karla Benitez.

A native of Sonora, Mexico, Sabori is coming off a majority decision loss to Anthony Avila at Combate 31 “Mexico vs. USA” on Feb. 22. The 27-year-old known as “Gallo Negro” owns an 8-6 career mark that includes a 1-3 record in Combate Americas. Read more about Combate Americas Returns to Fresno with ‘Mexico vs. USA’ Card on Feb. 28

Daniel Pineda’s failed drug test cost in October cost him a chance to compete for $1 million in the Professional Fighters League championship. Now that violation has also resulted in a pair of victories being removed from his record.

A drug test revealed Pineda had a high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in his system in relation to his PFL playoff wins over Movlid Khaybulaev and Jeremy Kennedy on Oct. 17. Further tests showed the presence of exogenous testosterone in his system.

During a Nevada Athletic Commission meeting on Wednesday, Pineda had those two playoff victories overturned. He also received a six-month suspension and a $12,500 fine. While initially denying use of a banned substance, Pineda received some leniency from the commission for ultimately admitting he was at fault. The fighter was not present at Wednesday’s hearing.

Pineda’s suspension will conclude on April 18. He will be required to submit clean drug tests 30, 15 and three days away…

Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

A women’s bantamweight clash pitting Ketlen Vieira against Marion Reneau is in the works for UFC 250.

MMAjunkie.com was first to bring word of the matchup, which has not been officially announced by the promotion. UFC 250 takes place on May 9 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will also reportedly feature a bantamweight championship clash between Henry Cejudo and Jose Aldo.

Vieira returned to the Octagon after more than a year away at UFC 245, where she suffered a first-round knockout loss to Irene Aldana. Prior to that, the Brazilian was viewed as a future title contender thanks to victories in her first four UFC bouts – including triumphs over Cat Zingano and Sara McMann.

Reneau, meanwhile, is looking to return to the win column after suffering back-to-back losses against Yana Kunitskaya and Zingano. “The Belizean Bruiser” is 5-4-1 during her promotiona…

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…

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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.

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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 …