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Yo, McTapper. You’re offered to fight @Justin_Gaethje, you going to man up and fight, or your soul still hurting from that ass whipping? Justin will take you to a different level of deep waters. @TheNotoriousMMA

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) April 17, 2019

Controversial manager Ali Abdelaziz is back in the spotlight, this time offering former lightweight champion Conor McGregor a fight against Justin Gaethje in a post on Twitter.

Abdelaziz and McGregor clearly don’t see eye-to-eye, with the feud going back several years and reaching a boiling point when the Irishman took on another of Abdelaziz’s fighters in Khabib Nurmagomedov who dominated McGregor in their lightweight title fight back at UFC 229 in October last year.

The bout was remembered more for the ugly post-fight brawl that took place inside and outside the Octagon immediately following the finish. While both McGregor and Nurmagomedov received lengthy suspensions for their par…

Angela Magana remains in a coma following surgery, but the former UFC competitor is showing some positive signs.

The fighter’s coach, Gabriel Lamastus, posted a video update via Magana’s Twitter account on Wednesday. Magana is in a coma at University Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico after ">complications from an emergency procedure on Tuesday morning.

“She’s been in observation all day long. She’s in a slow recovery. She’s been moving her hands and opening and closing her eyes. So we’re positive that she’s gonna get healthy soon,” Lamastus said.

“She had a nerve block and she went from that to surgery. The surgery went perfectly fine. But the anesthesia gave her a bad reaction. So she didn’t wake up from the anesthesia, which is something very rare. That’s where we’re at right now. She hasn’t wake up. the doctors are trying to reverse the medication and see if she’s responsive to it. “She’s been moving her hands, opening her eyes, wiggling her toes. So everyb…

A featherweight clash pitting Tywan Claxton against >James Bennett has been added to the Bellator 221 main card.

Sherdog.com recently confirmed the pairing with a promotion official. Additionally, former NCAA Division II national champion wrestler will square off against Matthew Paul in a middleweight bout on the preliminary draw. Bellator 221 takes place at Allstate Arena in Chicago on May 11 and is headlined by a lightweight title tilt between Michael Chandler and Patricio Freire. The main card airs on Paramount Network and DAZN.

Claxton has kicked off his professional career with four consecutive victories under the Bellator banner, including three by knockout or technical knockout. Most recently, “Speedy” stopped Kaeo Meyer via technical knockout 2:56 into the opening stanza at Bellator 212.

Bennett is 3-0 as a pro. He last appeared at Bellator 198, where he scored a TKO stoppage of Dustin Stusse in April 2018.

Cotton is 3-0 with the California-based…

Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Thiago Silva will lock horns with Martin Zawada at KSW 49.

The Polish promotion announced the light heavyweight pairing. KSW 49 takes place on May 18 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland and will see Michal Martela face Scott Askham for the vacant middleweight title, while Roberto Soldic defends the welterweight crown against Krystian Kaszubowski.

Silva, 36, is coming off a first-round submission loss to recent UFC signee Ivan Shtyrkov at Russian Cagefighting Championships 5 this past December. After a 12-fight stint in the Octagon, the Brazilian veteran has posted a 5-5 mark while competing for a number of different organizations.

Zawada last appeared at KSW 44 last June, when he suffered a second-round TKO loss to Materla. The 35-year-old German owns a 28-15-1 career mark since beginning his professional tenure in 2003.

Burt Watson, the man once dubbed as the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s “Babysitter to the Stars” by commentator Joe Rogan, is starting his own mixed martial arts promotion.

Watson announced on Tuesday that he will be holding events under the Burt Watson Promotions banner at South Florida’s “hottest venues” starting this spring. According to a release, “each fight card will showcase a wide array of professional talent from around the regional circuit, creating a platform for these athletes to build a local following as they climb the ladder in the world’s fastest growing sport.”

“I want to give fans a world-class product, and preparing each fighter for the bright lights of the next level is what I do,” said Watson, who spent 14 years working with the MMA elite as the site coordinator for the UFC. “The combination of competitive fights and great fan support is the only way to get that done, and I’m excited to start this new chapter.”

The first event will take place on J…

Scrambles, reversals, punches n bunches - round 1 has everything! #UFC236 pic.twitter.com/pgkyK8nUPD

— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2019

The UFC 236 prelims attracted 893,000 viewers to ESPN, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

The figure is the lowest for a pay-per-view prelims on ESPN thus far. UFC 234 prelims drew 1.339 million viewers, while UFC 235 prelims attracted an audience of 1.48 million. The UFC 236 prelims drew 498,000 viewers in the 18 to 49 demographic and a 0.60 share on Saturday.

The preliminary card served as a lead-in to the UFC 236 pay-per-view, which was featured by an interim lightweight title bout between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway and an interim middleweight title clash pitting Israel Adesanya against Kelvin Gastelum. It was the first pay-per-view available exclusively on ESPN+.

This particular preliminary card was light on star power, as Matt Frevola earned a unanimous verdict over Jalin Turner in the featured bout. Perh…

The stakes have been raised for Invicta FC’s upcoming strawweight tournament.

The all-female promotion announced Tuesday that it’s “Phoenix Rising” bracket will crown a new 115-pound champion on May 3. The strawweight belt was vacated when previous champion Virna Jandiroba signed with the UFC.

Four quarterfinal matchups were confirmed for the previously announced field: Mizuki Inoue vs. Sharon Jacobson; Janaisa Morandin vs. Brianna Van Buren; Danielle Taylor vs. Juliana Lima and Kailin Curran vs. Sunna Rannveig Davidsdottir. The entire tournament will take place over the course of one night.

In the event of injury, two reserve bouts were also revealed, as Amber Brown will meet Manjit Kolekar, while Alyssa Krahn will face Itzel Esquivel.

All quarterfinal and reserve bouts will consist of one five-minute round, with the fastest finisher getting the opportunity to choose her opponent from the other advancing fighters. Semifinals will also be one round, while t…

Bellator MMA has re-upped with a couple of its top prospects along with a veteran talent.

The California-based organization recently re-signed Tyrell Fortune, Romero Cotton and Sam Sicila to exclusive, multi-fight extensions, Sherdog.com learned from a promotion official. Exact terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Fortune, a former NCAA Division II national champion wrestler, is unbeaten in six professional bouts, all of which have been contested under the Bellator banner. The 28-year-old Arizona Combat Sports heavyweight is coming off a first-round TKO of Ryan Pokryfky in his most recent outing at Bellator 216.

Cotton, meanwhile, is a three-time NCAA Division II national champion at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The American Kickboxing Academy representative is 3-0 with Bellator, including a first-round TKO of Willie Whitehead at Bellator 204 last August.

Sicilia is the most experienced of the three re-signings. “The Ultimate Fighter 15” cas…

Bellator MMA has re-upped with a couple of its top prospects along with a veteran talent.

The California-based organization recently re-signed Tyrell Fortune, Romero Cotton and Sam Sicilia to exclusive, multi-fight extensions, Sherdog.com learned from a promotion official. Exact terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Fortune, a former NCAA Division II national champion wrestler, is unbeaten in six professional bouts, all of which have been contested under the Bellator banner. The 28-year-old Arizona Combat Sports heavyweight is coming off a first-round TKO of Ryan Pokryfky in his most recent outing at Bellator 216.

Cotton, meanwhile, is a three-time NCAA Division II national champion at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The American Kickboxing Academy representative is 3-0 with Bellator, including a first-round TKO of Willie Whitehead at Bellator 204 last August.

Sicilia is the most experienced of the three re-signings. “The Ultimate Fighter 15” ca…

Max Holloway and Kelvin Gastelum absorbed incredible amounts of punishment in their respective title bouts at UFC 236, and as a result, both are facing indefinite medical suspensions.

The Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission on Monday released a full list of medical suspensions from the event, which took place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta this past Saturday night.

Holloway, who was battered and rocked repeatedly in a decision loss to Dustin Poirier in the evening’s headliner, is sidelined indefinitely pending CT scan results. At a minimum he will be out for 45 days. Poirier, the newly crowned interim lightweight champion, also received a 45-day sit.

Gastelum, meanwhile, also needs CT scan results to lift his indefinite suspension following a five-round loss to Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight belt in the co-main event. Gastelum received a mandatory 60-day suspension, while Adesanya got a 45-day term.

Three fighters from the UFC 23…

UFC flyweight kingpin Henry Cejudo has claimed that he won’t be fighting T.J. Dillashaw again after the former bantamweight champion accepted a two-year ban for a positive drug test taken prior to their bout in January.

On March 20, Dillashaw announced that he would be relinquishing his bantamweight belt and just last week the New York State Athletic Commission suspended Dillashaw for one year as a result of the findings, before United States Anti-Doping Agency slapped him with a two-year ban for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) use, retroactive from his fight against Cejudo on Jan. 19, 2019.

Cejudo was in attendance over the weekend for the UFC 236 card held in Atlanta, Georgia and said he wants nothing to do regarding a rematch again Dillashaw after news broke of the two-year suspension (via MMA Junkie):

“I’ll never fight him again, dude. And I’m not, it’s not like I’m scared or whatnot. I shook his hand, and, this is a sport. This isn’t baseball – you’re…

One good thing for Max Holloway is that even in defeat, he still has the UFC’s featherweight world championship.

Holloway (20-4) came up short for the interim lightweight belt on Saturday in the main event of UFC 236 in Atlanta, his 13-fight winning streak snapped. “Blessed” travelled through Hell against Dustin Poirier, losing a unanimous decision in what was a sensational, bloody war for the ages. Holloway was nearly knocked out in the first from multiple barrages of punches from Poirier, but the Hawaiian never gave up, never wilted under the pressure.

Holloway rallied in the fight and rocked “The Diamond” with his own punches, but the fan-favorite didn’t have quite enough firepower to keep the Louisiana native at bay and could never turn the tides in the duel. His face was busted up, lumped up and cut up, but he took his defeat in stride and gave praise to his conqueror.

“Life is chutes and ladders,” he tweeted on Sunday morning. “Sometimes we gotta take that …

Dustin Poirier was a slight betting underdog coming into his now-legendary battle with Max Holloway, and he cashed in on winning the main event of UFC 236 on Saturday with a performance of a lifetime.

Poirier nearly captured the UFC’s interim lightweight title a few moments into the fight when he clocked and rocked Holloway with a furious barrage of punches to the head. “The Diamond” had his foe on rubbery legs early and often in the first and it seemed like the Louisiana native was going to have an easy win. However, “Blessed” showed unbelievable grit and forced Poirier into a five-round war for the ages.

“It was a tough fight,” Poirier said after his triumph in Atlanta. “I might have won the first. Then he had me hurt, then I had him hurt. I was bleeding, he was bleeding. It was a high-level fight and that’s what fighting is. It hurts, it’s painful.”

Poirier had to survive later on in the duel, but he never wilted under the Hawaiian’s late pressure. “The Diamon…

It’s hard to argue with the promotion’s logic in electing to hand out a pair of “Fight of the Night” bonuses at UFC 236.

With interim gold on the line in both the headliner and the co-main event, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum made Saturday an evening to remember, combining for 50 jaw-dropping minutes of action in Atlanta. As a result, both Poirier vs. Holloway and Adesanya vs. Gastelum garnered “Fight of the Night” honors, and all four men walked away with $50,000 bonus checks.

Poirier relied on his superior power to get the best of Holloway in the main event, taking a unanimous decision over the reigning featherweight king to capture the interim 155-pound crown. Poirier had to battle through Holloway’s trademark volume-based attack in the later rounds, but he was able to survive to end the Hawaiian’s 13-bout winning streak.

Adesanya, meanwhile, needed all 25 minutes to dispatch Gastelum in the evening’s co-main event, and he w…

Shields gets Hammer's attention at the end of the 7th. #ShieldsHammer pic.twitter.com/sRDQLwSqwr

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 14, 2019 It was supposed to be the sort of matchup that propelled women’s boxing into a sort of limelight, but Claressa Shields inadvertently prevented that from happening.

Shields was pitted against fellow unbeaten world champion Christina Hammer in the main event of a Showtime-televised card at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Saturday night, but it was about as one-sided as a championship bout could come. Shields (9-0, 2 KOs) neutralized the Kazakhstani fighter from the start and never looked back, leaving much to be desired in terms of two-way action.

But credit must be given to Shields, who boxed circles around Hammer (24-1, 11 KOs) and made her look amateurish at times during their 10-round affair. Shields led with crisp punches when she wanted and countered Hammer’s attacks when needed…

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 236 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Sherdog's live UFC 236 coverage kicks off Saturday 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 Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Cole Shelton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Cole Shelton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Cole Shelton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Cole Shelton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Cole Shelton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Cole Shelton scores the ro…

Lomachenko gets the 4th round stoppage. That right hook came from the shoulder that got surgery. Is he the p4p #1 ? #lomacrolla pic.twitter.com/jvO0FAbZF0

— FightCard Previewer (@FPreviewer) April 13, 2019 When someone is considered the absolute best in the sport of boxing, he is expected to decimate an opponent not on his level. Vasiliy Lomachenko did just that on Saturday night.

Lomachenko (13-1) blew away Anthony Crolla to record his 10th professional knockout in the main event of a card on ESPN+ inside Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Ukrainian was far too much for Crolla to handle as "Hi-Tech" did whatever he wanted before putting him away in spectacular fashion in the fourth.

Lomachenko dug blistering punches to the head and body, forcing Crolla (34-7-3, 13 KOs) on the defensive from the start. The two-time Olympic gold medalist scored a standing eight-count in the third when he unloaded a barrage of punches along the ropes, convincin…

RIGHT ON TARGETMartin Nguyen clinches a scintillating flying knee knockout victory to retain the ONE Featherweight World Title! @MartinNguyenMMA #WeAreONE #RootsOfHonor #Manila #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/EF2ShIBQmm

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 12, 2019

One Championship returned to one of its historical places as One: Roots of Honor went down at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, on April 12.

A matchup between One featherweight champion Martin Nguyen and former titleholder Narantungalag Jadambaa headlined the event. The Mongolian veteran tried his best to resist Nguyen’s offense, but the Australian proved to be too much for Jadambaa. The end of the bout came as Nguyen scored a perfect flying knee in the second round, sending his opponent to the canvas, where no follow-up was necessary. The end came at 1:07 of the second round.

Joshua Pacio scores a MASSIVE KO, reclaiming the ONE Strawweight…

WE HAVE A FIGHT! @Claressashields at a ready 159.4lbs and @LadyHammer1 at 159lbs ahead of tomorrow’s undisputed middleweight championship 9:10PM ET on Showtime

STREAM #ShieldsHammer : https://t.co/DeJre3WSqg pic.twitter.com/IjffsAf9QO

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 12, 2019 It's not often in boxing that one division is set for an undisputed championship fight, what with all the various sanctioning bodies, mandatory challengers, promoters and networks constantly messing things up. However, the "Sweet Science" will crown a new undisputed women's middleweight champion on Saturday when Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer go toe-to-toe for all the marbles inside Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Thankfully both women made weight at the official weigh-ins on Friday, setting the stage for the biggest matchup in women's boxing in several years.

Hammer (24-0, 11 KOs) has bested everybody in her path en route to capturing the …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf2ypzQX_6U&w=560&h=315]

It's all systems go for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Atlanta for the first time since 2016, with two interim title fights official in the lightweight and middleweight divisions.

Max Holloway hit the scales at 155 pounds, as he contends for the interim lightweight belt against the only man to finish him in Dustin Poirier (154.5), in the UFC 236 main event this Saturday at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Co-headlining the card will be an interim middleweight title scrap between "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum (184) and the undefeated Israel Adesanya (183), and all four made weight easily at Friday's early weigh-ins.

UFC 236 "Holloway vs. Poirier 2," which airs live on pay-per-view on Saturday, April 13 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, also features a light heavyweight clash between Eryk Anders (205) and Khalil Rountree (206). A pair of welterweights will square off,…

Lodune Sincaid, former Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting competitor, and member of the inaugural season of "The Ultimate Fighter," has died at age 45.

Sherdog.com was informed on Thursday of Sincaid's passing, and it was confirmed by his website, which stated, "Lodune Sincaid was found dead April 7, 2019. Lodune was a true friend and will be missed by those close to him as well as those who crossed his path during his time on this earth. He held no grudges and left this life in peace." His cause of death has not yet been determined.

Sincaid first appeared on the big stage at "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 1, where he battled Bobby Southworth in the third episode but ultimately lost by second-round knockout. A welcome presence of levity on the debut season mired with drama and confrontation, Sincaid endeared himself to fans and UFC President Dana White enough to earn a spot on the TUF Season 1 Finale. There, he suffered the first professional los…

Your Main Event!

@vasyllomachenko - 134.4 lbs@ant_crolla - 134.8 lbs#LomaCrolla pic.twitter.com/FxhNCrNRWx

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) April 11, 2019 Two of the best boxers in the world will clash tomorrow as both Vasiliy Lomachenko and Anthony Crolla successfully made the lightweight limit at today's official weigh-in. Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KOs) is a heavy favorite in the bout as the oddsmakers have him as high as a -10000 favorite. However, that isn't an indictment of his opponent but due to how highly thought of the current WBA and WBO champion is. He'll put both of his championships on the line against his mandatory challenger. A win here will help a unification bout against IBF lightweight titleholder Richard Commey materialize. "Hi-Tech" easily made weight by coming in at a trim 134.4 pounds.

Crolla (34-6-3, 13 KOs) will look to cause a stir by causing an upset. The British fighter previously held the WBA lightweight title himself but…

Mairbek Taisumov Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/p8Qfe1C6Rj pic.twitter.com/FuZdAblBYI

— USADA | UFC Anti-Doping Program (@USADA_UFC) April 11, 2019

Mairbek Taisumov has accepted a six-month suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for stanozolol, after proving that his supplements were contaminated.

According to USADA on Thursday, Taisumov has been suspended for six months dating back to October 8. After submitting his dietary supplements to USADA, the agency determined that despite not listing the substance on the labels, those substances still contained stanozolol. As such, USADA levied a shorter suspension, which is now over, and Taisumov is eligible to compete again.

Taisumov tested positive after an in-competition test following his decision win over Desmond Green at UFC Fight Night 136 in Moscow in September. The promotion has not yet announced whether the victory will …

A flyweight bout with title implications has been added to the UFC on ESPN 4 lineup, as Joseph Benavidez will square off against Jussier da Silva in Minneapolis on June 29.

Promotion officials confirmed the pairing on Wednesday, while hinting on social media that the fight could result in a No. 1 contender at 125 pounds. However, with ongoing rumors of the division’s demise nothing is certain.

Who deserves the shot at a flyweight title!?@JussierFormiga & @JoeJitsu look to give us answers at #UFCMinneapolis. pic.twitter.com/9yXOCSlkuN

— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2019

Three other contests were also announced for the card: Drew Dober vs. Marco Polo Reyes at lightweight; Maurice Greene vs. Junior Albini at heavyweight and Roman Dolidze vs. Vinicius Alves Moreira at light heavyweight.

UFC on ESPN 4 takes place at the Target Center and is headlined by a welterweight rematch pitting Tyron Woodley against Robbie Lawler. The card airs on ESPN fo…