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The brief glimmer of hope that Nick Diaz would compete in the Octagon in 2019 seems to be growing more faint by the day.

Not long ago, Dana White revealed that the promotion was close to finalizing a fight between Diaz and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 235 before eventually announcing that the bout was off. More recently, training partner Gilbert Melendez had this to say about Diaz’s status: “I would love to see him come back, but last time I checked, he’s retired.”

On Sunday, Diaz himself squashed the notion of a potential comeback at this point in time. Of course, everything would change if the right offer was presented to the Stockton, Calif., native, but at this point it remains a mystery as to what it would take to get the former Strikeforce champion back into the Octagon.

“I’m no role model, I’m 35 years old,” Diaz wrote on Instagram, “but I definitely wouldn’t advise anybody to take a fight for less than their worth or fight for free. Which is practically what I w…

If his fights weren’t proof enough, no there is now even more evidence that Paul Felder is as tough as they come.

According to a statement released by Felder’s management, Sucker Punch Entertainment, “The Irish Dragon” suffered a “small collapse” to his lung during his win over James Vick at UFC on ESPN 1 on Sunday night. According to a report from ESPN, the injury was sustained when Felder took a blow to the ribs late in the third round of the lightweight fight at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.

The fighter is being held at an area hospital an extra day for observation. As a result of his injury, Felder has been removed from commentary duties at the upcoming UFC Prague event on Saturday. The man himself seems to be taking everything in stride:

I got two lungs... I just want a beer for shitsake

— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) February 18, 2019

The Philadelphia native scored a unanimous verdict over Vick in Sunday’s co-main event for…

There may have been several more bouts remaining when Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberena concluded their wild welterweight duel, but it was clear that one post-fight award was already secured.

Luque and Barberena received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their featured clash at UFC on ESPN 1 in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday, and when all is said and done, it may be a contender for “Fight of the Year” as well. The combatants traded punches liberally, combining to land a whopping 332 significant strikes before Luque ended the contest with knees and punches at the 4:54 mark of the third round.

Elsewhere, Kron Gracie garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his first-round submission of Alex Caceres in a featured featherweight tilt. Gracie didn’t wait long to get Caceres down, move to his foe’s back and sink in a rear-naked choke, forcing a tapout 2:06 into the period.

Finally, Luke Sanders captured the evening’s other $50,000 “Performanc…

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

Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 1 kicks off Sunday at 5:30 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:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:The Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the round:Jordan Colbert scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Ant Walker scores the ro…

On the attack!@FunkMaster_UFC is applying the pressure! #UFCPhoenix pic.twitter.com/owzq46ssYd

— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2019

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

Aljamain Sterling could not have fought smarter.

The Serra-Longo Fight Team star on Sunday made his latest move in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division, as he cruised to a unanimous decision over Jimmie Rivera in the featured UFC on ESPN 1 prelim at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. All three cageside judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Sterling (17-3, 9-3 UFC).

Rivera (22-3, 6-2 UFC) never got in gear. Sterling kept the former King of the Cage champion off-balance with a hyperactive kicking game -- he fired at the legs, body and head -- while luring him in to clinch and takedown range, at which point he pre…

.@Michaelpage247 advances to the next round of the #BellatorWGP to take on @PhenomLima! #Bellator216 pic.twitter.com/XV8mBar9Hu

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 17, 2019

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

Michael Page and his supporters can breathe a sigh of relief.

The undefeated London Shootfighters export advanced to the semifinals of the Bellator MMA welterweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over Paul Daley in the five-round Bellator 216 headliner on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Page (14-0, 10-0 Bellator) carried 48-47 scores on all three cards.

After an uneventful first five minutes, Daley (40-17-2, 6-4 Bellator) turned to takedowns and enjoyed success with the tactic. He grounded Page in the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds but did not do enough with advantageous positions. Daley appeared to hit a wall once it becam…

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

Sherdog's live Bellator 216 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 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy sco…

Renan Barao comes in heavy at 138 pounds for his bantamweight bout #UFCPhoenix pic.twitter.com/vSLF91VLwc

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 16, 2019

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

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is ready to host its first event on the flagship network of ESPN, bringing an exciting card headlined by a major heavyweight clash between Francis Ngannou and Cain Velasquez.

Ngannou hit the scales at 258 pounds, as he prepares to face former UFC heavyweight champion Velasquez (248) in the UFC on ESPN 1 main event this Sunday at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Co-headlining the card will be a lightweight bout between Paul Felder (155.5) and James Vick (156), and all four made weight easily at Saturday's weigh-ins.

UFC on ESPN 1 "Ngannou vs. Velasquez," which airs …

Liu Peng Shuai (6-4) ends it in the third, subbing Elipitua Siregar with a clutch kimura! Now 3-1 in his last four, Liu has finished all six of his wins. #ClashOfLegends pic.twitter.com/AO3KHqwvJz

— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) February 16, 2019

After a short pause of three weeks in its scheduled events agenda, One Championship came back with “Clash of Legends.” Since the bill went down in the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, all the bouts were fought in a ring and not in the traditional One circular cage.

In the main MMA attraction, Dae Hwan Kim faced Shuya Kamikubo. The script of the bout is quite easy to describe, as the 25-year-old from Japan kept the Korean on the canvas all three rounds. Even when Kim made his opponent bleed thanks to some blows landed while being on his back, the superiority of Kamikubo was evident.

Thanks to the impressive dominance, the judges awarded Kamikubo (10-1-1) an unanimous decision victory, putting an end t…

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The Invicta Fighting Championships flyweight title that was left open last July when Jennifer Maia bolted for the Ultimate Fighting Championship is vacant no more.

A former two-time title challenger for the promotion, Vanessa Porto finally cashed in and captured the title in the main event of Invicta 34 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, on Friday night. The Brazilian was masterful against Pearl Gonzalez, but her triumph was anticlimactic.

Porto picked “The Chi-Town Princess” apart on the feet with sizzling leg kicks and timely punching upstairs, and whenever she took the Illinois native down, Porto (21-8) dominated her. Gonzalez never folded under the intense pressure from the Brazilian but was a step behind of her from the start both in terms of striking and takedowns. However, an errant eye poke from Gonzalez (9-4) in the fourth ended the fracas when the cageside physician deemed the damage was …

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The Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles will serve as the host location for an intriguing world championship bout and since both combatants made weight on Friday, it’s all systems go.

Leo Santa Cruz is set to defend his WBA featherweight title against late-replacement opponent Rafael Rivera in the main event of a Fox-televised card on Saturday. The featherweight division is stacked from top to bottom and Santa Cruz rules the roost and is a massive betting favorite going in.

Rivera (26-2-2, 17 KOs) was the first of the featured fighters to weigh in and he nailed it. The Tijuana fighter stepped to the scale and clocked in at 125.25 pounds, setting the stage for the biggest fight of his career. “Big Bang” recently bounced back from back-to-back losses by knocking out Jose Ramos in October, but he’s never faced anybody even close to the caliber of Santa Cruz. As of this writing, Rivera is a +1600 under…

its played out, Colby. Its not funny anymore. Stop throwing shade at my fight. Also, I heard you have a issue with me getting a title fight... next time I see you, we should talk about that. Or you gonna tuck your tail and hide in the corner of the gym like you did in Chicago?

— Anthony Smith (@lionheartasmith) February 14, 2019

Colby Covington is at it again on Twitter this time taking aim at Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for his history of failed drug tests.

Jones is set to defend his belt at UFC 235 on March 2 against the surging Anthony Smith at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-main event features a welterweight title bout between Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman.

Replying to a recent post on Twitter by the UFC to promote UFC 235, Covington took aim at Jones, stating, “Hey @JonnyBones. Nobody’s looking. Go snort a few picograms.”

Jones’ opponent at UFC 235, Smith, wasn’t too impr…

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Friday’s WBA middleweight world championship between Rob Brant and Khasan Baysangurov is set in stone. The two men will collide in the main event of an ESPN-televised card inside the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minn. Both combatants made weight at Thursday’s official weigh-ins, giving the contest the expected greenlight.

Baysangurov (17-0, 7 KOs) is a Russian-born contender who hails from the Ukraine. He’s torn apart the regional scene in Kiev and Moscow and has captured a few minor championship belts already. However, he hasn’t yet faced an opponent with the overall skill set of Brant and is a sizeable +550 underdog coming in. Baysangurov tipped the scale at 158.8 pounds.

Brant (24-1, 16 KOs) is making the first defense of the title he won by outpointing Ryota Murata last October. The St. Paul native has dominated the lower ranks of the middleweight division since turning pro seven years ago and is …

Breaking: Michael Chandler and Patricio “Pitbull” will finally get a chance to settle their 3+ year feud on May 11. It’s champ vs. champ with Chandler’s 155 belt on the line. Also, the return of Swagger, A.J. McKee v Pat Curran and more — https://t.co/dhVz2ZEvX6

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 14, 2019

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

The era of champion vs. champion is still underway at Bellator MMA, as featherweight champ Patricio Freire is reportedly moving to lightweight to face bitter rival Michael Chandler for the lightweight strap at Bellator 221 in May.

According to sources telling ESPN on Thursday, featherweight kingpin Freire (28-4) will be going up in weight to challenge lightweight king Chandler (19-4) for the lightweight belt at Bellator 221 in May at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The two have feuded on social media for a long time, so it appea…

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After Robert Whittaker was forced to pull out of the main event at UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia due to a hernia issue, his opponent Kelvin Gastelum sent out a classy statement wishing the champ a fast recovery. Gastelum didn’t end up fighting on the card but was an interested observer cageside, with a UFC belt draped over his shoulder.

The 27-year-old had borrowed the belt from UFC flyweight king Henry Cejudo for the event but made sure he told everyone that since Whittaker was out of the fight it made him the champion. Some fans saw the funny side to it but former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping had a different view.

On the latest episode of his “Believe You Me” podcast, Bisping said that Gastelum’s actions were “a little bit cringe” as everyone was aware that Whittaker was still the champion (transcribed by MMA News):

“Kelvin said, ‘well Robert pulled out so therefore that make…

UFC 234 main event competitors Israel Adesanya and Anderson Silva are both facing potential 180-day suspensions following their bout this past Saturday.

Record keeper mixedmartialarts.com released medical suspensions from the event on Wednesday to MMAjunkie.com.

Adesanya and Silva both need ophthalmologist clearance or they will be sidelined for six months. Adesanya defeated “The Spider” via unanimous decision at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Adesanya needs clearance for his left eye, while Silva needs clearance for his right eye.

Five other fighters from UFC 234 are facing potential 180-day sits: Ricky Simon (right shoulder and right hand); Dong Hyun Ma (left shin), Shane Young (right foot), Kai Kara-France (right wrist) and Jonathan Martinez (left elbow)

UFC 234 Medical Suspensions:

Israel Adesanya: suspended 180 days or until cleared by ophthalmologist for left eye; suspended a minimum of seven days.

Anderson Silva: suspended 1…

Robert Whittaker was discharged from a Melbourne hospital on Tuesday following emergency hernia surgery, the fighter’s manager, Titus Day, told ESPN.com.

The middleweight champion was forced to withdraw from his title defense against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234 on the day of the event after suffering a collapsed bowel and internal hernia. According to Day, Whittaker remains in a great deal of pain following the procedure.

Whittaker was told by doctors that he won’t be able to do much beyond walking for the first four to six weeks of his recovery. After that, he may be cleared to begin light training.

"I'd say he'll be able to fight next sometime between June and August depending on recovery," Day told ESPN. "Hopefully closer to June.”

That would seem to align with Gastelum’s timetable. Gastelum’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN that he was hoping to have the fight vs. Whittaker rebooked in June or July. Whittaker, who has won nine fights in a row, has not …

Kelvin Gastelum may have left Melbourne without the middleweight belt after his title bout with Robert Whittaker was cancelled last weekend, but he didn't leave completely empty-handed.

Gastelum was set to challenge Whittaker in the main event of UFC 234 on Saturday, but Whittaker was unable to fight due to a hernia injury and their title bout was scrapped the day before the event. Gastelum made the trip down under and fulfilled all of his media duties and it seems that the UFC has compensated the title challenger for those efforts, according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz.

Abdelaziz spoke with ESPN about the compensation and said the UFC assured him that his fighter would be looked after.

“I just talked to Dana White and they are taking care of Kelvin, financially,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “He’s very happy.”

According to Abdelaziz, the amount Gastelum will receive is in the “six figures” but didn’t confirm the exact amount. Gastelum is now hoping to rebook the …

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Cain Velasquez will return to the Octagon for the first time in more than two years on Sunday when he faces Francis Ngannou in the UFC on ESPN 1 main event.

Once regarded as a fighter who had the potential to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, injuries have robbed Velasquez of many of his prime years. The former UFC champion has only competed twice since 2013, and his American Kickboxing Academy training partner, Daniel Cormier, has claimed the heavyweight throne in his absence.

While Cormier has secured his legacy with a historic 2018 that saw him become a simultaneous two-division champion, Jon Jones remains the only man to beat “DC” in an MMA bout. Although he has been out of action for a while, Velasquez is confident that he would fare well against “Bones.”

“I think I’m good enough,” Velasquez told TMZ Sports. “Jon Jones is an amazing athlete. I’ve watched him in all his fights. I …

Saturday’s UFC 234 preliminary card drew an average of 1.339 million viewers to ESPN, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That’s the highest figure for a UFC pay-per-view preliminary card since the UFC 207 prelims averaged 1.5 million viewers for the lead-in to the Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey event. The UFC 234 prelims were likely boosted due to following the men’s basketball broadcast of Duke vs. Virginia on ESPN, which averaged 3.3 million viewers. The card drew an overall market share of 0.82.

The four-bout UFC 234 prelims weren’t high on star power. In the featured bout, Devonte Smith stopped Dong Hyun Ma via technical knockout 3:53 into the opening round of their lightweight bout. The card’s early prelims streamed on ESPN+.

Despite the promising ratings for the preliminary card, UFC 234 isn’t expected to draw a large number of pay-per-view buys. The middleweight championship headliner between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum was canceled on the day of the eve…

Bellator has made a couple of updates to its weekend doubleheader.

Towering heavyweight Steve Mowry will face professional debutante Darion Abbey at Bellator 215 after original opponent Ahmed Samir Hefny was unable to compete on the card. Meanwhile, Tyrell Fortune will square off against Ryan Pokryfky in a late addition to the Bellator 216 lineup. Sherdog.com confirmed the bookings with a promotion official following separate reports from MMAjunkie.com. Both bouts are scheduled for the preliminary portion of their respective cards.

Bellator 215 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Feb. 15 and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Matt Mitrione and Sergei Kharitonov. The main card airs on Paramount and DAZN, while prelims stream on Bellator.com and DAZN. Bellator 216 takes place at the same venue on Feb. 16 and features a welterweight tournament bout between Paul Daley and Michael Page. The main card streams exclusively on DAZN, with prelims av…

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More and more Russian fighters are trying to reach the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Among them: Nikolay Aleksakhin, he of the 22-5 record and five-fight winning streak.

What do we know about him? The 28-year-old welterweight started his martial arts career in combat sambo, where he became a multiple-time national champion and developed his technique and distance control while acquiring a taste for hand-to-hand competition. Aleksakhin made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2011 -- he was 20 at the time -- and has since competed in the ProFC, M-1 Global, Absolute Championship Berkut, Fight Nights Global and One Championship organizations.

Aleksakhin won the 2014 ProFC welterweight grand prix with a unanimous decision over Dimitri Zebrowski, then locked horns with Jose de Ribamar Machado Gomes at ACB 21 on Aug. 29, 2015. Their encounter did not last long, as he stopped Gomes with punches 4:12 …

Daniel Cormier hoped to retire by his 40th birthday. With nagging injuries piling up, the UFC heavyweight champion admits that he will have to fight on beyond March 20.

During an appearance on "The MMA Hour" on Monday, Cormier revealed that he doesn’t yet have a fight booked due to the back issues that have continued to plague him since UFC 230 this past November. Cormier nearly pulled out of his fight with Derrick Lewis after injuring his back while sneezing hours before the event.

“I hurt my back in New York City when I sneezed. This was no joke and it’s just still trying to rehab it and get better,” Cormier said on Monday. “It was just me hurting my back. I put a lot of miles on myself in my life with the wrestling, but then last year was a big year and you don’t get to have that type of year at my age and not really feel the effects of it and I’m still going through that right now.”

Cormier added that a thumb injury that nearly prevented him from fighting at …

Johnny Walker is looking for a quick turnaround following his technical knockout of Justin Ledet at UFC Fortaleza on Feb. 2.

Over the weekend, Ovince St. Preux’s management revealed that the light heavyweight had been forced to pulled out of a proposed clash with Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235 due to injury. Walker has since offered his services.

#ufc235 takes a hit as OSP has been forced to pull out due to injury. He should not be sidelined for an extended period of time. #ufc

— KOreps (@ko_reps) February 10, 2019

“Hey [Misha Cirkunov], I heard you need a new opponent for UFC 235?” Walker wrote on Instagram. “I might know someone. [UFC and Dana White] I am waiting for your call.”

Walker generated some buzz at UFC Fight Night 144, where he dropped Ledet with a spinning back fist and finished him with follow-up punches in just 15 seconds. That win came on the heels of Walker’s elbow knockout of Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 140 this past…