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In 2016, when Francis Ngannou was starting to make waves in the UFC, he talked about wanting to help children in his native country of Cameroon by giving them something to dream about (courtesy of MMA Junkie):

“I want to give some opportunity for children like me who dream of this sport and don’t have an opportunity like me,” Ngannou said. “The last time I was in Cameroon, I brought a lot of materials for boxing and MMA to open a gym. Now I just bought a big space to start the gym, as well.

“A lot of children now in Cameroon, because of me, they have a dream,” he added. “They say, ‘I will be a champion in MMA. I will do boxing like Francis,’ because they saw me when I was young. I didn’t have anything. I didn’t have any opportunity. And today, they see me, and they are dreaming. They are thinking that something is possible. Even when they are so poor, something is possible in life. … It’s not easy. It’s so hard, but it’s possible.”

Fast forward to 2019 and th…

It’s no secret that Stipe Miocic desires a heavyweight championship rematch with Daniel Cormier.

Before he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Cormier in the UFC 226 headliner this past July, Miocic set a promotion record with three consecutive heavyweight title defenses. That type of consistency in a tumultuous division — the Ohio firefighter had also won nine of his last 10 overall before running into “DC” — leads Miocic to believe he deserves a return date with the champion.

Cormier, meanwhile, has stated that he plans on retiring before he turns 40 on March 20. Of course, the American Kickboxing Academy product has been seeking a potentially lucrative matchup with Brock Lesnar ever since the WWE star entered the Octagon to confront Cormier following his victory at UFC 226. However, Cormier has also stated that he would rematch Miocic if the Lesnar bout doesn’t come to fruition.

Miocic recognizes that Cormier’s retirement deadline is drawing near, and on M…

Logan Storley will square off against Ion Pascu at Bellator 216.

Sherdog.com confirmed the welterweight pairing with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 216 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Feb. 16 and is headlined by a welterweight tournament quarterfinal bout between Paul Daley and Michael Page.

Storley, a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota, is 9-0 thus far in his professional career. The 26-year-old South Dakota native’s stint includes four triumphs in Bellator, and in his most recent outing, Storley defeated A.J. Matthews via second-round TKO at Bellator 204 on Aug. 17.

The 36-year-old Pascu has lost both of his appearances with the California-based promotion, dropping a unanimous decision to Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 207 and falling to Ed Ruth by decision at Bellator 196. The Romanian fighter owns an 18-9 professional mark that includes nine wins by KO/TKO and…

FullForce pic.twitter.com/5YsiV5Bbb8

— AJ Agazarm (@TheFloridaBoy) October 3, 2018

Grappling standout A.J. Agazarm’s professional mixed martial arts debut will likely come against Jesse Roberts at Bellator 214.

Sherdog.com confirmed with a promotion official that the matchup has been targeted for the Jan. 26 event following an initial report from ESPN. The bout is expected to be contested at a 160-pound catchweight on the preliminary card. Bellator 214 takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and is headlined by the heavyweight grand prix final between Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko.

Agazarm, a Gracie-Barra black belt who is based in Los Angeles, won the IBJJF world no-gi championship in 2014 and finished second at the ADCC that same year. Agazarm also competed as a collegiate wrestler at Ohio State University.

Roberts will also be making his professional debut at Bellator 214.

It appears that Dwight Grant will not replace Randy Brown against Chance Rencountre at UFC Fight Night 143 in Brooklyn, N.Y., this coming Saturday as originally expected.

Grant was reportedly slated to step in against Rencountre on six days notice, but according to ESPN.com, the welterweight was not cleared by the New York State Athletic Commission due to an eye issue. Brown, meanwhile, was pulled from the card for unspecified reasons, although “Rude Boy” did claim to be 100 percent healthy. Kyle Stewart is now currently the leading candidate to face Rencountre, per ESPN.

UFC Fight Night 143 – also known as UFC on ESPN+ 1 – takes place at the Barclays Center and is headlined by a flyweight championship bout between Henry Cejudo and reigning bantamweight king T.J. Dillashaw.

Grant earned a UFC deal with a second-round knockout of Tyler Hill on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series this past June. The 34-year-old New York native came up short in his Octagon d…

B.J. Penn felt great training at Nova Uniao in Brazil prior to his UFC 232 matchup with Ryan Hall, but the end result was not what he had hoped.

“You know I felt like I had one of the greatest training camps in my life for this fight,” Penn said in an interview on BJPenn.com. “Training in Brazil at Nova Uniao was nothing short of amazing. I can’t thank Leo Santos and coach Andre Pederneiras enough for their efforts. We had practiced everything, including leg locks, and I felt great. It just didn’t work out this time around.”

Ultimately, Penn suffered his sixth consecutive Octagon defeat at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Dec. 29, as he tapped to a Ryan Hall heel hook 2:46 into the opening stanza of their lightweight bout. In hindsight, “The Prodigy” couldn’t do much but tip his hat to Hall, a skilled Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

“I was shocked at how deep Ryan was able to sink in the leg lock right off the hop,” Penn said. “The timing was perfect. I tried t…

Randy Brown has been pulled from a proposed welterweight matchup against Chance Rencountre at UFC Fight Night 143 in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Brown announced his exit from the card but did not offer a specific reason for his withdrawal. FloCombat was first to report the news.

“Thank you to all my friends family and the fans attending the UFC Brooklyn event,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “I am 100 percent healthy and ready to fight. My team and I tried our best to keep the fight on. Unfortunately, the decision wasn’t up to us. I’m excited to be back in action as soon as possible.”

Thank you to all my friends family and the fans attending the UFC Brooklyn event. I am 100% healthy and ready to fight. My team and i tried our best to keep the fight on. Unfortunately the decision wasn’t up to us. Im excited to be back in action as soon as possible #UFCBrooklyn

— Randy Brown (@TouchNgo_) January 13, 2019

Brown is 4-3 during his promotional tenure and 10-3 a…

Mario Bautista will replace the injured John Lineker on short notice and face Cory Sandhagen at UFC Fight Night 143.

FloCombat first brought word of the new bout. UFC Fight Night 143, which marks the promotion’s debut on ESPN+, takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Jan. 19 and is headlined by a flyweight title tilt between Henry Cejudo and T.J. Dillashaw.

A product of the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., Bautista has kicked off his professional tenure with six consecutive wins. Most recently, the 25-year-old outpointed Juan Pablo Gonzalez at Combate Americas “Mexico vs. USA” on Oct. 13. All but one of Bautista’s triumphs have come inside the distance.

Sandhagen is currently on a four-bout winning streak that includes technical knockout stoppages of Iuri Alcantara and Austin Arnett in the UFC.

Daniel Teymur will square off against Chris Fishgold in a featherweight duel at UFC Fight Night 145 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Promotion officials recently announced the booking. UFC Prague — also known as UFC on ESPN+ 3 — takes place at the O2 Arena and features a light heavyweight scrap between Jan Blachowicz and Thiago Santos. The card will air on ESPN+.

Teymur is still searching for his first Octagon triumph after falling to Julio Arce and Danny Henry in his initial two UFC appearances. The Stockholm native began his professional career with six straight victories on the regional circuit.

Fishgold, a former Cage Warriors champion, suffered a first-round technical knockout loss against Calvin Kattar in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 138. That halted an eight-fight unbeaten streak for the Liverpool native, who is 17-2-1 in his professional tenure.

Cutelaba

Roberson@GloverTeixeira faces @KarlBabyK at #UFCBrooklyn on @ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/yzQxpfEUfr

— UFC (@ufc) January 12, 2019 You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ 1 live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event with new broadcast partner ESPN+ has been plagued with injuries, but one fight at least will go on with a late replacement.

On Thursday, it was reported that Ion Cutelaba had withdrawn from his light heavyweight main card bout with Glover Teixeira at UFC on ESPN+ 1 due to an undisclosed injury. Only nine days out from the event, that left the bout in some jeopardy, but the UFC announced on Friday that Karl Roberson had agreed to step in on short notice and fight Teixeira.

The 29-year old “Baby K” came to the UFC through a brutal 15-second knockout win on Dana White's Tuesday …

Anthony Smith may be a huge underdog going into his title shot against Jon Jones in March, but there’s at least one fellow contender out there who thinks “Lionheart” may have more of a chance than he’s being given.

Jones recaptured the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight belt last month in the main event at UFC 232 with his emphatic third round submission victory over Alexander Gustafsson in their rematch bout. He was returning to the Octagon after a 15-month suspension handed down to him from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for testing positive for the drug turinabol.

After Jones’ victory, fans were calling for a trilogy fight with Cormier or for the champion to move up a weight division to test himself against the bigger fighters at heavyweight. Instead, the 205 pound king decided to take a fight against the red-hot Smith who is in the best form of his career after registering three straight victories in 2018 over Rashad Evans, Maurcio Rua a…

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Daniel Cormier has made no secret that he intends to hang up his gloves by the end of March, before his 40th birthday.

With just over two months to go before that date, fans are eager to see what fights are left for the former dual divisional champ with UFC President Dana White stating that he hopes Cormier reconsiders his decision as there a number of very interesting potential fights in the future for Cormier.

Cormier is currently eyeing a huge payday heavyweight bout against World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Brock Lesnar and has stated if that fight doesn’t go ahead, he wants a rematch against former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, whom Cormier knocked out in 2018 to claim the belt.

“DC” is adamant he is a man of his word and will retire in March. He recently appeared on the “Jim Rome Podcast” and revealed what he’ll miss the most when he finally does retire (transcribed by MMA News):

“The walk, th…

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ 1 live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not even into its first event of 2019, and it has already lost multiple major fights from its debut on an ESPN network, now losing Ion Cutelaba against Glover Teixeira due to injury.

Both John Lineker and Ion Cutelaba are out of their respective fights next weekend versus Cory Sandhagen and Glover Teixeira in Brooklyn, sources say. UFC looking for replacements but obviously time is of the essence with the card nine days away.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 10, 2019

According to a report by ESPN on Thursday night, light heavyweight Cutelaba has been forced to withdraw from his bout at UFC on ESPN+ 1 on Jan. 19 due to an undisclosed injury. The promotion is actively seeking replacements for Cutelaba as well as for John L…

Erick Silva will face undefeated Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 216 https://t.co/hWW4jKyEqz

— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) January 10, 2019

DAZN is the exclusive streaming partner of Bellator MMA. You can sign up for a free trial here.

Bellator MMA is stacking the deck at Bellator 216 in February, as the promotion has set an exciting welterweight contest between Erick Silva and Yaroslav Amosov.

On Thursday, MMA Fighting first announced that Bellator would be matching up Silva (20-9-1) against the undefeated Amosov (20-0). Silva was signed by Bellator in 2018 and was originally slated to make his debut at Bellator 207 against Lorenz Larkin, but suffered an injury.

The eternally youthful Silva made his post-UFC appearance a memorable one, tapping Nick Barnes in the main event of LFA 45 in July 2018. Before appearing in the Legacy Fighting Alliance, Silva celebrated a 15-fight UFC career spanning over six years, earning seven post-fight bon…

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ 1 live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not off to an auspicious start in 2019, losing a major fight just over a week out from their debut event on an ESPN network as John Lineker has withdrawn from his battle with Cory Sandhagen due to injury.

According to a report from Brazilian news outlet AgFight Thursday, bantamweight Lineker has been forced to withdraw from his bout at UFC Fight Night 143 on Jan. 19 due to a rib injury. The promotion has not yet announced whether he will be replaced or if Sandhagen will stay on the card.

Lineker was originally scheduled to face Dominick Cruz at UFC 233; however, Cruz tore multiple ligaments in his shoulder which may sideline the former champ for the next year. Lineker was then added to the UFC’s 2019 trip to Brooklyn, where he was set to face Sandhagen. Linek…

Despite her recent struggles on the scales, Mackenzie Dern will continue to compete at 115 pounds in the UFC for the time being.

The decorated grappler’s team confirmed the news to ESPN on Wednesday. Prior to her most recent fight against Amanda Bobby Cooper at UFC 224 this past May, Dern tipped the scales seven pounds over the strawweight limit. Dern would go on to defeat Cooper via rear-naked choke 2:27 into the opening round.

Dern has missed weight for three of her seven professional bouts overall. After UFC 224, Dern said she planned to work with the UFC Performance Institute to help with her weight-cutting issues. According to the ESPN report, Dern made her decision based on a consultation with doctors.

Dern debuted in the Octagon with a split-decision win over Ashley Yoder at UFC 222. The 25-year-old has finished four of her seven victories via submission while competing for organizations such as Invicta and Legacy Fighting Alliance to begin her tenure. She…

Joseph Benavidez isn’t going anywhere, and he thinks that’s a good sign for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight division.

Benavidez revealed to ESPN during a media scrum that he just recently signed a new contract with the UFC. The former 125-pound title challenger will face Dustin Ortiz at UFC Fight Night Brooklyn on Jan. 19, a card that marks the promotion’s debut on ESPN+.

“I just signed a new four-fight deal. I think that’s a good sign,” Benavidez said. “I didn’t even know guys were getting cut until I saw them fighting in RIZN, and I was like, ‘How did those guys get cut?’… The way that I just gauge it is look, there’s a flyweight title fight. One of the best pound-for-pound guys is coming down to our weight to fight. We have a new champion headlining the first card ever with ESPN.

“That’s how I gauge it. I’m fighting on it. There’s other fights being signed.”

Ever since the UFC “traded” longtime flyweight king Demetrious Johnson to One Cham…

Sinead Kavanagh will meet Olga Rubin in a women’s featherweight bout on the main card of Bellator 217, promotion officials announced Wednesday.

Bellator 217 takes place at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Feb. 23 and is headlined by a bantamweight clash between James Gallagher and Steven Graham. The card airs on Paramount Network and DAZN at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. Prelims stream on Bellator.com and the Bellator Mobile App.

Anchored at SBG Ireland, Kavanagh has lost three of her last four Bellator appearances. Most recently, Kavanagh suffered a TKO defeat against Janay Harding at Bellator 207 due to a cut. Kavanagh owns a 5-3 career record.

Israel’s Rubin has established herself as a featherweight to watch in compiling a 5-0 record to begin her career. After scoring a second-round TKO of Joana Filipa Magalhaes in her debut, the Pariente Academy representative took a three-round verdict over Cindy Dandois at Bellator 209 on Nov. 15.

In addition to Kavanagh vs. Rubi…

Coach Jason Parillo believes his star pupil Cristiane Justino was her own worst enemy against Amanda Nunes in their title fight at UFC 232, as she disrespected the ability of the featherweight champion in allowing herself to be drawn into a brawl.

The champ-versus-champ superfight -- the first of its kind between female fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship -- ended in a stunning first-round finish, with Nunes knocking out the favored “Cris Cyborg” in 52 seconds. After Nunes landed the killer blow and the referee called a stoppage to the fight, Parillo could be seen cageside, holding his face in reaction to what had just transpired.

Parillo spoke to MMA Junkie after the fight and said he had a fear that “Cyborg” would go out there to try and take out Nunes with reckless abandon.

“I saw Cris go out there and beat herself,” Parillo said. “I’ve said it in many interviews before, and it was always my biggest concern, which is her just going for broke, losing…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming trip to Philadelphia has its first bout, as Michelle Waterson will square off against Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC on ESPN 2 on March 30.

UFC President Dana White confirmed the strawweight pairing to ESPN on Tuesday. UFC on ESPN 2 takes place at the Wells Fargo Center in “The City of Brotherly Love” and will air on one of the ESPN television networks.

Waterson is coming off a 2-0 campaign in 2018 in which she earned decision victories over Felice Herrig and Cortney Casey-Sanchez. The 33-year-old Jackson-Wink MMA product is 4-2 in the UFC and 16-6 as a professional overall.

A former 115-pound title challenger, Kowalkiewicz had a two-bout winning streak snapped in her most recent outing, when she suffered a first-round knockout loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 228. The Polish standout is 5-3 in the Octagon, a record that includes a notable victory against current champion Rose Namajunas.

The lineup for UFC Fight Night Wichita continues to grow, as the promotion revealed multiple bouts for the March 9 event.

In addition to confirming a previously reported headliner pitting Derrick Lewis against Junior dos Santos as well as another heavyweight clash between Ben Rothwell and Blagoy Ivanov, five other contests were announced on Tuesday: Antony Rocco Martin vs. Sergio Moraes at welterweight; Beneil Dariush vs. Drew Dober at lightweight; Tim Boetsch vs. Amari Akhmedov at middleweight; Marion Renau vs. Yana Kunitskaya at women’s bantamweight and Daniel Spitz vs. Jeff Hughes at heavyweight.

UFC Wichita takes place at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan., and streams on ESPN+. The card will mark the Las Vegas-based promotion’s debut in Kansas.

Martin has compiled a 3-0 mark since moving to 170 pounds, including a submission of Jake Matthews in his most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 142. Moraes has won four of his last five Octagon appearances and is com…

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

Fear not Colby Covington, Tyron Woodley still has you on his to-do list.

While Kamaru Usman has leapfrogged Covington on the list of welterweight contenders and will face Woodley for 170-pound gold at UFC 235, the reigning champion is planning an active first half of 2019 that includes a bout against his former American Top Team stablemate.

“I just recognized that at some point I’m gonna fight all these guys,” Woodley told TMZ Sports recently. “Obviously the world would like to see me f—k Colby up right quick but I think he’s trying to call shots and he’s not a champ so he can’t really do that. So I’m gonna go out there and fight Kamaru Usman and we’ll see what happens after that. Most likely I‘ll end up fighting Colby next up.”

Covington appeared to be next in line to face Woodley after claiming the interim welterweight belt with a win over Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 in June. However, “Chaos” was …

Alexander Gustafsson is looking for a quick turnaround following his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 232.

“The Mauler” took to Instagram on Monday to call out Corey Anderson for a showdown at UFC Fight Night in London on March 16. The card already features another interesting light heavyweight contest between Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir, but a headliner has not been confirmed for the event.

“Corey, everyone else at the top is taken,” Gustafsson wrote. “I am eager to get right back inside the cage and you just had a good fight with my brother, so I think it’s the perfect time for us to throw down. Let’s dance on the London card March 16.”

Anderson is climbing the ranks of the light heavyweight division on his current three-fight winning streak. Most recently, “Overtime” outpointed Ilir Latifi at UFC 232. He has also bested Glover Teixeira and Patrick Cummins during his current winning streak.

Gustafsson gave Jones the toughest battle of his career in their first …

A heavyweight clash pitting Junior dos Santos against Derrick Lewis has been targeted for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut in Kansas on March 9.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the matchup. UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ 4 — or UFC Fight Night 146 — takes place at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan., and streams on ESPN+. The bout has not been officially announced by the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Dos Santos is coming off a 2-0 campaign in 2018 in which he outpointed Blagoy Ivanov in the UFC Fight Night Boise headliner on July 14 before scoring a second-round TKO stoppage of Tai Tuivasa in the main event of UFC Fight Night Adelaide. The former heavyweight champion is 14-4 during his Octagon tenure.

Lewis, meanwhile, won nine of his 10 UFC appearances from October 2015 to October 2018 to earn a title shot against Daniel Cormier at UFC 230. “The Black Beast” came up short at Madison Square Garden, falling to Cormier by second-round submission.