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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 …

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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…

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There’s a different angle now available in the Conor McGregor cell phone case.

TMZ Sports recently published new surveillance footage of McGregor allegedly destroying a man’s cell phone outside a Miami nightclub, and the video seems to support Ahmed Abdirzak’s claims that the Irish star pretended to go in for a handshake before snatching his device.

In the footage, McGregor appears to extended his hand before taking Abdirzak’s phone. He then stomps on the phone before picking it up and walking away. The phone is reportedly valued at $1,000.

McGregor’s attorney, Sam Rabin, entered a not guilty plea on the fighter’s behalf at an arraignment on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Dublin native was not present at the hearing. McGregor’s next court date is set for April 30, and if a plea deal isn’t reached, a trial will begin on May 13.

McGregor was initially arrested and charged with felony strong-armed ro…

UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn has been accused of verbal, physical and sexual abuse in a restraining order filed by his partner of 10 years, Shealen Uaiwa.

According to a statement obtained by MMAjunkie.com , Uaiwa writes, “During our 10-year relationship, I [endured] verbal abuse, physical abuse…sexual abuse.

“..B.J. has been a drug addict since he was 14. He has patterns of up and down drug use and uses his training camps to try and stay sober.”

Uaiwa initially obtained a restraining order against Penn in October in Hawaii family court, and the order was extended until Oct. 8, 2021 following a February hearing. Penn was required to stay at least 100 feet away from Uaiawa in the initial order, but he is allowed supervised visits with the couple’s two children and some interaction with Uaiawa through their attorneys, according to the report.

Penn’s attorney, John Schmidtke Jr., couldn’t comment on the allegations but told MMAjunkie that the records contained …

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Alistair Overeem has spent well over a decade as a top-10 fighter across two weight classes, and attributes that longevity to periodic changes in scenery.

The former Strikeforce champion and Pride Fighting Championships standout has trained in some of the very best gyms including the likes of the Blackzilians, Jackson-Wink MMA and his current gym he calls home, Team Elevation.

Overeem is a veteran of 62 MMA fights (44-17, 1 NC) and was a guest on “The MMA Hour” this week, where he told host Luke Thomas that if he didn’t change up camps, particularly after some of his losses, he might have retired from the sport by now.

“If I had stayed in one or two places, I’d probably be retired by now,” Overeem said. “Because as a fighter, you can get compromised. It’s not for everybody, but I have been compromised a couple times in my career, and to me, it was do or die time. I had to make some changes.

“…

Sergey Spivak will be making his Octagon debut on short notice when he faces Walt Harris at UFC Ottawa on May 4.

The promotion announced the new heavyweight pairing on Tuesday. Spivak steps in for Alexey Oleynik, who was transported to face Alistair Overeem at UFC St. Petersburg on April 20 after Alexander Volkov was pulled from that card.

A 24-year-old native of Kiev, Ukraine, Spivak is unbeaten in nine professional appearances. “The Polar Bear” last appeared at World Warriors Fighting Championship 12 on Sept. 29, where he submitted well-traveled veteran Tony Lopez with a neck crank in the opening stanza. Spivak has finished all of his victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Harris, meanwhile, had a recent win over Andrei Arlovski at UFC 232 overturned to a no contest due to an anti-doping violation. Prior to that bout, “The Big Ticket” is 3-2 in his last five appearances with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

UFC Fight Night 150 takes place …

USADA came down twice as hard on T.J. Dillashaw as the New York State Athletic Commission did, handing the champion a two-year suspension for a failed drug test at UFC Brooklyn.

The UFC’s anti-doping body announced the sanction in a statement on Tuesday, revealing that Dillashaw tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO). The banned substance is a synthetic hormone that increases the body’s production of red blood cells, which as a result improves oxygen transport and aerobic power.

Dillashaw is just the second UFC fighter to test positive for EPO under USADA jurisdiction. Lightweight veteran Gleison Tibau twice tested positive for the substance and was suspended for two years in 2015. Prior to the USADA era, Chael Sonnen and Ali Bagautinov were notable fighters to have been flagged for EPO use. Cycling star Lance Armstrong is perhaps the most-well known offender to have taken EPO in the athletic realm.

Dillashaw’s sanction is retroactive to Jan. …

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship signee Artem Lobov made his bare-knuckle boxing debut this past weekend when he took on another former UFC fighter in Jason Knight at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 5 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

“The Russian Hammer” and Knight delivered a fight-of-the-year performance putting everything on the line until the final bell rang with the judges awarding the win to Lobov via unanimous decision. Lobov and Knight have both been praised for their toughness and durability after the fight with images of their busted-up faces making the rounds on social media.

Despite the images, Lobov believes Bareknuckle boxing “is a lot safer” than boxing, MMA and American Football especially when it comes to long-term injuries such as brain damage. The injuries as he puts it will go away “in a week or two” and are cosmetic compared to serious injuries like brain damage, which is pe…

Ross Pearson is retiring from mixed martial arts following a 37-bout career.

The 34-year-old Englishman announced his decision Monday via Instagram. “The Real Deal” left the door open to compete in combat sports outside the realm of MMA.

“After some long hard talks, and careful consideration with my family, friends and team,  I’ve decided it's time to retire as an MMA fighter,” Pearson wrote. “As hard as that is to say, it’s not the end of my career as a competitor. I’ve always been a fighter, and right now I am keeping my mind open as to what's next for me.

“I'd like take this time to thank everyone at the [UFC] for having me for the past 10 years [and Dana White] for seeing something in me and believing in me for all these years ago.”

Pearson exits the sport in an extended slump, as he is 1-6 in the Octagon dating back to July 2016. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Desmond Green on March 30.…

Conor McGregor is reportedly once again on the wrong side of the law.

According to the Irish Mirror, McGregor is under investigation for allegedly punching a man in a Dublin bar. The former UFC champion was reportedly at the Marble Arch pub on Saturday after attending an amateur fight card at the Green Isle Hotel in Clondalkin, Dublin, one day prior.

According to a Mirror source, the incident occurred due to because “McGregor was being a show off in the pub and one man didn’t like it and went up to have a word with him.” Another source claims that prior to the incident McGregor was approached by a patron who commented on the fighter’s loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, saying, “The Russian battered you.” It is unclear if that is the same man McGregor allegedly hit.

A Garda (Irish police) spokesperson released the following statement: “Gardaí are investigating an incident at a pub in Drimnagh, Dublin on April 6, 2019. No arrests have been made. Investigations…

Anthony Pettis is fresh off his come-from-behind victory over former two-time welterweight title contender Stephen Thompson last month at UFC Nashville and his longtime coach is already eyeing another exciting stylistic match-up for his next fight.

The fight against “Wonderboy” was Pettis’ first welterweight bout under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner and the win immediately propelled the former lightweight champion up to eighth according to the official UFC welterweight rankings.

Now, at 32 years of age and already a previous champion of the 155-pound division, Pettis’ head coach Duke Roufus told MMAFighting.com that they’re looking at making interesting fights in the latter parts of Pettis’ career starting with a high profile bout against another former lightweight champion in Conor McGregor:

“The fight honestly that’s trippin’ my trigger, Conor commended Anthony after the fight and then said, ‘Who wants it?’ You know what, we want it. No disrespect, I…

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After knocking out rival Chuck Liddell in the main event of Golden Boy MMA’s debut card this past November, Tito Ortiz sounded as he might finally be ready to call it a career.

“You get that feeling of, ‘Is this the last one?’ I want it to be,” Ortiz said. “It’s a lot of pressure; to impose your will on someone like that every single fight is really, really hard. There’s so much pressure to do that. And I’ve been doing it for 21 years. Now, if I just step out of that game and do it the right way of being a promoter and helping fighters, help them [grow]. And grow the next Tito Ortiz, grow the next Chuck Liddells, grow the next ‘Rampage’ Jacksons, Royce Gracies, Ken Shamrocks, Conor McGregors. And give them an opportunity to make the real money to make.”

Now, however, it seems like “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will put his promotional work on hold in order to compete in the cage one more time. Ortiz did …

Jack Hermansson will look to continue his momentum built in recent bouts, as he will step in on short notice to face Ronald Souza in the UFC on ESPN 3 main event.

Hermansson replaces Yoel Romero, who withdrew from the middleweight contest due to illness. Multiple outlets have confirmed the new booking following an initial report from ESPN. Souza will reportedly receive a 185-pound title shot if he wins. UFC on ESPN 3 takes place at the BB&T Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 27 and also includes the sophomore Octagon appearance for controversial former NFL star Greg Hardy.

Hermansson last fought at UFC on ESPN 2, where he submitted former World Series of Fighting two-division titlist David Branch with a guillotine choke in just 49 seconds. “The Joker” has won five of his last six UFC bouts, finishing all of his wins inside the distance – including four in the opening round.

A former Strikeforce champion, Souza is coming off a third-round knockout of Ch…

Shawne Merriman announced that he’s starting a mixed martial arts promotion called Lights Out Xtreme Fighting. The former San Diego Chargers linebacker has been a longtime fan of the sport and trains in martial arts himself. Merriman already has a television deal in place and will be holding the first event on May 11 in Burbank, California.

The former football star isn’t just trying to jump into the business of MMA because he's a fan. According to TMZ, he wants to fight as well. He even called out World Wrestling Entertainment star and “Guardians of the Galaxy” actor Dave Bautista, who has a 1-0 MMA record and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Merriman believes a bout between the two would bring in a lot of casual fans to the new promotion. Given the commercial success of other WWE stars crossing over to MMA, there’s merit to his claim. Merriman was also briefly signed to the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation but they allegedly had issues with the contract. Read more about Shawne Merriman Launches MMA Promotion, Challenges Dave Bautista to Fight

Bellator is adding a welterweight title fight to its MSG return on June 14. More: https://t.co/hREejF5kk0

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 5, 2019

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

Bellator MMA is rapidly adding to its recently announced event in New York City this summer, placing a combined welterweight Grand Prix semifinal match and title fight on the card.

According to ESPN late Thursday, Neiman Gracie (9-0) will be competing in the welterweight Grand Prix semifinal as well as for the welterweight title on June 14 at a Bellator event in Madison Square Garden in New York. Gracie will face off against the winner of Rory MacDonald (20-5) and Jon Fitch (31-7-1, 1 NC), where MacDonald will be defending his belt in the last quarterfinal of the tournament against Fitch at Bellator 220 in April. As the turnaround will be less than two months, if the winner is not cleared to comp…