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When Cheick Kongo was excluded from Bellator’s heavyweight grand prix – a bracket that featured a few natural light heavyweights – many believed that his penchant for less-than-thrilling performances was a factor.

The way things are going now, it’s getting more and more difficult to deny the 43-year-old Frenchman his shot at Bellator gold. Kongo earned his second consecutive first-round knockout at Bellator 208 on Saturday, as he polished off fellow UFC veteran Timothy Johnson in just 68 seconds. That win comes on the heels of a 2:29 stoppage of Javy Ayala at Bellator 199 in May.

Kong doesn’t deny being angry about being left out of the heavyweight bracket. However, he remained in the background as the tournament played out over the past few months.

“I never got the chance to say anything (about not being in the tournament),” Kongo said after Bellator 208 video courtesy of MMAjunkie.com. “I used to be quiet because I was pretty angry, but what could I say? …

Undefeated middleweight Fabian Edwards has signed with Bellator MMA.

The promotion revealed the signing during an interview with Edwards on the Bellator 208 broadcast Saturday night. Edwards is the younger brother of UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards.

“The daddy of the middleweight division has now become the daddy of [Bellator MMA],” Edwards wrote on Instagram. “I would like to announce that I have signed a multi-fight contract deal with [one] of the world’s leading [MMA shows]. I look forward to collecting chins and cashing checks.”

to the liver1R TKO by Fabian Edwards (BCMMA) pic.twitter.com/oGVCrSsz2C

— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) May 12, 2018

End of Days from Fabian "The Assassin" Edwards #BAMMA30 #MMA #Dublin pic.twitter.com/Rzg4aVpgSQ

— BAMMA (@BAMMA) July 7, 2017

Edwards is 5-0 as a professional, including four straight triumphs with the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts promotion.…

Vinny Magalhaes has the look of a runaway train.

The longtime Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt submitted Bozigit Ataev with a kimura in the Professional Fighters League light heavyweight tournament semifinals at PFL 9 on Saturday at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California. Ataev (19-3) -- who had earlier eliminated Emiliano Sordi (17-8) on a first-round technical knockout -- conceded defeat 1:58 into Round 1, his modest two-fight winning streak having run its course.

Magalhaes (18-9) closed the distance and pulled guard inside the opening minute. The 2011 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist then swept into top position, settled in half guard and transitioned to side control before framing the fight-ending kimura. Given the tap-or-snap option, Ataev made the wise choice.

The 34-year-old Magalhaes earlier needed just 80 seconds to submit the eighth-seeded Rakim Cleveland (19-11-1) with a first-round kimura. He will lock …

Fedor Emelianenko (38-5, 1 NC) eliminates Chael Sonnen in the first round! Advancing to the Heavyweight GP finals, "The Last Emperor" is 7-1 in his last eight. #Bellator208 pic.twitter.com/syrplSyXfJ

— Kyle Johnson (@Maldobabo) October 14, 2018

One of the greatest fighters to ever compete in the sport of mixed martial arts is one step away from claiming another world title.

Fedor Emelianenko turned in a solid performance as he not only kept Father Time at bay for the time being, he vanquished legendary trash talker Chael Sonnen in the first round at Bellator 208. “The Last Emperor” nearly ended the brawl in the first 10 seconds when he almost decapitated Sonnen with a massive left hook to the jaw that sent him to the canvas, but the Russian legend backed away and allowed Sonnen back up to his feet.

Emelianenko had his hands full with the American throughout, though, as Sonnen (30-16-1) never gave up and tried relentlessly to take his…

Sherdog’s live Bellator 208 coverage kicks off Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 The Official Result

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Ronda Rousey generally hasn’t discussed much regarding mixed martial arts since her departure from the UFC to World Wrestling Entertainment.

However, the former women’s bantamweight champion offered some insight to TMZ Sports about the post-fight brawl involving UFC 229 main event competitors Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. After Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor with a neck crank in the fourth round of their Oct. 6 lightweight title bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., the champion jumped out of the Octagon to fight with McGregor’s cornerman. Meanwhile, some of Nurmagomedov’s team entered the cage to scuffle with McGregor.

That melee came on the heels of an incident in April in which McGregor threw a dolly through the window of a bus carrying Nurmagomedov and other fighters a couple days prior to UFC 223. McGregor was arrested but ultimately reached a plea deal to avoid jail time. V…

Ryan Bader punched his ticket to the Bellator MMA heavyweight grand prix final, and he took virtually no damage in the process.

Bader outclassed former NFL player Matt Mitrione over three rounds, taking him down whenever he wanted before dishing out a steady stream of ground-and-pound from start to finish. Mitrione (13-6) looked like a fish out of water on the canvas and was never afforded the opportunity to establish an offensive rhythm, as Bader cruised to victory in the Bellator 207 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Bader nearly submitted “Meathead” in the second round with a cross-body kimura. The joint lock elicited a shriek from Mitrione, but Bader (26-5) could not finish him off. Instead, the Power MMA fighter maintained a sustained attack until the end, winning nearly every frame by a 10-8 score. In the end, Bader was given the judges’ nod via tallies of 30-24, 30-25 and 30-25. He now awaits the winner of the Fedor Emeliane…

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Poland’s Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki has bolstered its growing roster with another name that is famous for something other than fighting, as it announced the signing of titanic bodybuilder and actor Martyn Ford last weekend.

Ford, who cuts an imposing figure to say the least at 6-foot-8 and 320 pounds of shredded muscle, came to fame through social media for his bodybuilding exploits before turning his eye to acting. The 33 year-old Englishman has appeared in a number of TV shows and movies, including “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and “Boyka: Undisputed.”

At KSW 45 on Saturday, Ford stepped into the KSW cage in front of a packed SSE Arena in Wembley, announced his signing and stated that he plans to make his mixed martial arts debut with KSW in early 2019.

“I’m very, very excited to be here,” Ford said. “We have a huge announcement. It’s my first time when I came to this actual venue and watched…

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Bellator MMA returns for the second night in a row as Chael Sonnen takes on Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Bellator 208, atop a card featuring a host of big names as well as exciting matchups.

The main event is a semifinal of Bellator’s ongoing heavyweight tournament. Sonnen will look to keep the upsets coming, as he defeated the favored and significantly heavier Quinton Jackson in his opening-round match in January via decision. “The Last Emperor” advanced by knocking out former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Frank Mir in a wild 48-second slugfest in his quarterfinal match at Bellator 198 in April.

The co-main event sees former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson take on the heavy-hitting Saad Awad in a fight that may well determine the next challenger for the lightweight title. Before any of the 26 fighters on the card could set foot in the cage, however, all ha…

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With the increasing prevalence of fighters withdrawing from events due to injury, often on short notice, Bellator MMA has a backup plan to ensure its heavyweight Grand Prix goes as smoothly as possible.

Bellator President Scott Coker revealed that plan during Thursday’s press conference for Bellator 208, which takes place Saturday. Chael Sonnen and Fedor Emelianenko will battle it out in the tournament’s semifinals, while longtime Bellator and former UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo (28-10 2) will fight Timothy Johnson in a main card feature bout.

“[If] Cheick wins, and if there’s a hiccup (in the tournament), we should probably have those two alternates fight, and then the winner can fight in the finals,” said Coker.

By “those two alternates,” Coker referred to Kongo and Roy Nelson, who fights Sergei Kharitonov on Friday night. Nelson was eliminated from the Grand Prix by Matt Mitrion…

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One of mixed martial arts’ original trash talkers looks to draw attention away from the fracas that was UFC 229 as Chael Sonnen takes on Fedor Emelianenko in the semi-finals of Bellator MMA’s heavyweight grand prix.

Sonnen launched barbs on Thursday during a press conference for Saturday’s Bellator 208, and the former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger was in prime form.

“The American Gangster” will fight at heavyweight for the second time in his long and storied career, after defeating Quinton Jackson by decision in January to advance in the tournament. Despite the relatively new weight class, Sonnen says nothing will change in his approach to the fight against one of the most decorated and feared heavyweights in MMA history:

“My game plan is always the same. I’m gonna rush across that cage the minute that bell rings and dare him to throw that …

Ansgar Fighting League lightweight champion Joel Alvarez (14-1) of Spain will defend his title at AFL 17 on Nov. 24, against Italy’s Radu Maxim.

The matchup features two of Europe’s more intriguing up-and coming lightweights. The 25-year-old “El Fenomeno” has achieved all 14 of his career wins within the distance -- all but one of them by submission -- and is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak, with the last five coming within the AFL cage.

The Moldovan-born Maxim (9-1), who once held a spot on his native country’s national wrestling team, is on a six-fight tear of his own. Most recently, the 27-year-old won his Bellator MMA debut against Simone La Preziosa at Bellator 203, where he dominated his opponent with superior wrestling and pelted him with ground-and-pound for a first-round TKO.

AFL 17 "Coal and Blood" takes place on Nov. 24 at the Juan Carlos Beiro Sport Center in Langreo, Asturias, Spain. It will air on Fite.tv as a $9.99 pay-per-view.

A rematch between Kevin Lee and Al Iaquinta will headlined UFC on Fox 31.

Promotion officials confirmed the lightweight booking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday. UFC on Fox 31 takes place at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Dec. 15 and will also include a 155-pound clash between Dan Hooker and Edson Barboza.

Lee and Iaquinta initially fought at UFC 169, with Iaquinta taking a three-round verdict over “The Motown Phenom.” Lee has gone 11-2 in the Octagon since that defeat. Most recently, he stopped Barboza in the UFC Fight Night 128 headliner on April 28.

Iaquinta, meanwhile, is coming off a five-round loss to reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 in April. That snapped a five-bout winning streak for the Serra-Longo Fight Team product, who is 8-3 during his promotional tenure and 13-4-1 as a professional overall.

Sijara Eubanks will get to stay on the UFC 230 card – just not in the spot she had hoped.

The promotion confirmed to Newsday that Eubanks will face Roxanne Modafferi in a flyweight bout on Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Eubanks had previously been announced to headline the card against Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant 125-pound belt. That changed when Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis became the new UFC 230 main event, as Shevchenko was moved back to UFC 231 for a flyweight title tilt against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Eubanks, who lashed out at the UFC following the change, bested Modafferi to reach the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 26” against Nicco Montano. However, Eubanks was unable to make weight and was replaced by Modafferi at the “TUF 26” finale. The Team Lloyd Irvin product took a unanimous decision over Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night 131 in her Octagon debut on June 1.

Modafferi lost a decision to Montano for the UFC’s inaugural fema…

It appears that UFC 230 is down a fight, as Nate Diaz will not compete on the Madison Square Garden card following Dustin Poirier’s injury-related exit.

UFC President Dana White recently told the Los Angeles Times that “Diaz also will not fight on the card.” The Las Vegas-based promotion has not made a formal announcement regarding the lightweight bout, which was expected to serve as the UFC 230 co-main event.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani was able to reach Diaz following Poirier’s withdrawal, and the Stockton, Calif., native’s response was brief: “I’ll just fight Khabib [Nurmagomedov] when he’s ready.”

Diaz hasn’t competed since losing a majority decision to Conor McGregor in a rematch at UFC 202 in August 2016. Nurmagomedov just defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission to retain his lightweight crown in the UFC 229 headliner.

UFC 230 takes place on Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a heavyweight championship tilt between Da…

Just when things were looking up for UFC 230, some bad news has hit the Nov. 3 card scheduled for Madison Square Garden.

According to a report from ESPN, Dustin Poirier has withdrawn from his proposed co-main event clash with Nate Diaz due to an undisclosed injury. Multiple outlets have since confirmed the news.

Poirier has lost just once in his last 10 promotional appearances to establish himself as one of the top contenders in the lightweight division. In his last outing, “The Diamond” stopped Eddie Alvarez via technical knockout 4:05 into the second round at UFC on Fox 30.

Diaz hasn’t competed since August 2016, when he lost a majority decision in a rematch to Conor McGregor at UFC 202. The Stockton, Calif., native recently said he was "training to fight” at UFC 230 and “whoever want it can get it.”

UFC 230 is headlined by a recently announced heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis.

Sijara Eubanks is upset, and justifiably so, after being spurned by the UFC for a title shot.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently announced Eubanks would face Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant women’s flyweight title in the UFC 230 headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 3.

However, on Tuesday, the organization reversed course and revealed that Daniel Cormier would defend his heavyweight crown against Derrick Lewis in the new UFC 230 main event. Meanwhile, Shevchenko was moved back to UFC 231 against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a previously announced matchup.

Eubanks, at least for now, was left without an opponent. “The Ultimate Fighter 26” finalist lashed out UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Mick Maynard on Twitter.

Put me under card. Put me co main. I don’t care. But put me in for the Flyweight title shot! @danawhite @Mickmaynard2 IVE EARNED MY SHOT. THIS IS MY TIME. Quit running this thing like a circus

…

Despite his loss at UFC 229, Conor McGregor is still in high demand as an opponent.

Jose Aldo recently called out the Irishman on social media for a rematch. McGregor ended Aldo’s lengthy reign as featherweight champion with a 13-second knockout victory at UFC 194 in December 2015.

“You have nowhere to run,” Aldo wrote. “The time has come.”

The Brazilian angled for a rematch for some time after that UFC 194 defeat, but McGregor eventually moved on to bouts against Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez. Aldo has also considered moving up a weight class in the past but hasn’t yet competed at 155 pounds.

Including the aforementioned knockout loss to McGregor, Aldo is 2-3 in his last five Octagon appearances. He last appeared at UFC on Fox 30, where he earned a first-round technical knockout of Jeremy Stephens.

McGregor had his first fight in nearly two years at UFC 229, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov via fourth-round submission in a lightweight championship b…

Anthony Pettis is looking at a lengthy layoff following his loss to Tony Ferguson at UFC 229, but it isn’t for the injury that halted their lightweight fight.

Pettis told his corner that he broke his hand following the second round of Saturday’s co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which resulted in a technical knockout victory for Ferguson. However, according to medical suspensions released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday, “Showtime” is suspended 180 days for a nasal fracture unless he is cleared by a doctor. Ferguson, meanwhile, emerged with a clean bill of health following the event.

Four other competitors from UFC 229 are also facing possible six-month sits: Dominick Reyes (left leg); Jalin Turner (nasal fracture); Scott Holtzman (right hand, right foot) and Alan Patrick Silva Alves (left orbital fracture).

UFC 229 Medical Suspensions:

Conor McGregor: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.

Anthony Pettis: M…

Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t be the only one from the UFC 229 main event facing discipline from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The NSAC will file formal complaints against both Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor for their actions following this past Saturday’s headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN.com was first to report the news.

The NSAC is conducting a full investigation into the melee that occurred after Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the fourth round of their lightweight championship bout. According to the ESPN report, that will include film review and interviews with those involved.

Nurmagomedov jumped over the Octagon to brawl with members of McGregor’s corner at the conclusion of the fight. Meanwhile, McGregor appeared to throw a punch at one of Nurmagomedov’s teammates who was climbing the cage.

Because Nurmagomedov’s $2 million purse was withheld, NSAC chairman Anthony Marnell said the commission will “move expeditiously to…

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UFC 229 didn’t hit 3 million pay-per-view buys, but it still did pretty well, according to Dana White.

Just a few days before the blockbuster card headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, the UFC boss claimed the event was "trending close” to 3 million buys. Apparently UFC 229 did not reach that figure, but it was nonetheless a record-breaking card.

“The pay-per-view numbers are starting to roll in, so I’m in a much better mood than I was on Saturday,” White told TMZ Sports. “We didn’t do 3 million. But it’s so hard to crack 2 million in [combat sports]. Even [Mike] Tyson-[Evander] Holyfield was at like 1.995 [million]. Things like that didn’t crack 2 million. We’re way over 2 million, so I’m happy.”

If true, that would make it the biggest pay-per-view in company history. The Las Vegas-based promotion doesn’t release buy rates, but UFC 202 in August 2016 — headlined by a rematch be…

Lost in the chaos of UFC 229 is the fact that the co-main event had the fans out of their seats and the commentators covered in blood. Tony Ferguson wound up the winner of the fight when Anthony Pettis' corner waived off the bout after two rounds, citing a hand injury.

Ferguson, despite never having fought either man, has some history with both of Saturday’s headliners, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The former UFC interim lightweight champion was slated to fight Nurmagomedov a whopping four times, while McGregor has been in his sights since the Irishman moved up to lightweight in 2016.

“El Cucuy” didn't mince words when talking about McGregor following the event.

"Conor does not want to fight me," Ferguson told reporters at the post-fight press conference. "I saw him when we were walking out to the weigh-ins. He walked up, he did his strut, I turned around and he f--king stopped. He looked like a deer in headlights.

"Nobody wants to be trapp…

UFC 229 ended on a sour note as an all-out brawl broke out between Khabib Nurmagomedov's corner and Conor McGregor's corner. The ending brought a lot of controversy to what was supposed to be the biggest UFC card ever.

The fight ended with Nurmagomedov rag-dolling McGregor before eventually winning the fight via neck crank in the fourth round. What normally would have been the end of the beef between the two men only ended up sparking an even bigger feud, one that brought out the worst in everyone involved.

Nurmagomedov jumped out of the cage and immediately went after McGregor's training partner Dillon Danis. This led Nurmagomedov's corner to jump into the cage and attack McGregor. Eventually, the cage became the scene of a huge brawl with McGregor punching members of Nurmagomedov's camp and vice versa.

Currently, Nurmagomedov has yet to be paid for the event after Dana White said the Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld the Russian's purse until they…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3LPHH2Abck&w=560&h=315] UFC 229 will be remembered for many things: chaos, great fights and Derrick Lewis.

Everything about Lewis’ involvement in UFC 229 was peak “Black Beast.” The last-second Hail-Mary KO, the gassing early, the post-fight interview in his underwear and the unforgettable quotes.

Lewis was a mere seconds away from a forgettable decision loss before a stunning right hook put things back on the right track for the Black Beast. The fight has been deemed the greatest statistical comeback in UFC history after Lewis was caught with a -82 significant strike differential at the end of the bout.

Lewis was fighting on what was dubbed the biggest card in UFC history, and it would have been easy for him to be forgotten amongst the chaos of the main event. But as Lewis has shown time and time again, the man knows how to market himself.

Following the last second KO, Lewis removed his shorts inside the Octagon in …