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Something wasn’t right with Max Holloway this week, and Michael Bisping noticed it before the featherweight champion pulled out of UFC 226.

During an interview on UFC Tonight, the retired former middleweight champion notices that Holloway doesn’t seem like his usual self.

“You say you feel great, and don’t be offended when I say this, but you look like you just got out of bed,” Bisping said. “Are you tired, what’s going on, how’s the weight cut? Are you drained? You look a little sleepy.”

Holloway denied that anything was amiss in his response.

“I’m good man. A little bit tired. They got me doing a bunch of media stuff, but I’ll be fine, Holloway said. “I can’t wait. I can’t wait to go out there and do the damn thing.”

Of course, that wasn’t actually the case, as Holloway was hospitalized earlier this week due to concussion symptoms before withdrawing from his title defense agains…

Max Holloway can’t seem to catch a break.

For the third time this year, the featherweight champion has been forced to withdraw from a fight — this time the UFC 226 co-main event against Brian Ortega. According to multiple reports, Holloway was struggling with concussion-like symptoms throughout the week, which eventually led to him being pulled from the card. ESPN was first to report the news of Holloway’s exit on Wednesday evening.

Holloway was hospitalized on Monday due to concussion symptoms before beginning his weight cut. Although he was released on Tuesday, his condition didn’t improve enough for him to go through with the fight.

Holloway’s management released the following statement regarding the 145-pound champion’s status:

Max’s team and UFC staff noticed Max was not normal since late last week. This became obvious to many watching his interviews and public appearances the past few days.

“He was showing concussion-like symptoms before h…

Brad Pickett’s brief retirement will officially come to an end when he locks horns with Jesse Brock at Absolute Championship Berkut 91 in London.

The promotion announced the pairing on Wednesday. ACB 91 takes place at Copper Box Arena on Aug. 11 and is headlined by a middleweight title tilt between reigning champion Albert Duraev and Piotr Strus.

Pickett announced his retirement following a third-round technical knockout loss against Marlon Vera at UFC Fight Night 107 in March 2017. The London native had lost six of his last six bouts within the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 39-year-old known as “One Punch” recently signed a multi-fight contract ACB. Pickett owns notable wins over the likes of Demetrious Johnson, Francisco Rivera, Damacio Page, Ivan Menjivar and Neil Seery, to name a few.

The 36-year-old Brock has won seven of his last eight fights while competing for a number of promotions including Bellator, World Series of Fighting and Resurrection Figh…

Bellator 201 drew an audience of 466,000 viewers to Paramount Network this past Friday night, according to figures released by ShowBuzz Daily.

That figure represents an increase over the previous two Bellator cards, both of which featured some high-profile stars, including Gegard Mousasi, Michael Page, Muhammad Lawal, Ryan Bader and Paul Daley, to name a few. Bellator 200, a tape-delayed offering, averaged 421,000 viewers, while Bellator 199 attracted 453,000 viewers to Paramount network (the card also averaged 152,000 viewers on CMT).

Bellator 201 took place at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., and saw Ilima-Lei Macfarlane retain her flyweight crown with a third-round submission of Alejandra Lara in the evening’s main event.

Despite the slight upward trend, Bellator 201 is the eighth of 10 cards held by the California-based promotion to do less than 500,000 viewers in 2018. From 2013 to 2016, three Bellator cards total fell short of the 500,0…

UFC welterweight Bradley Scott is facing a USADA anti-doping violation stemming from an in-competition drug collected on May 27.

The Las Vegas-based promotion released a statement regarding Bradley’s status on Tuesday. The full statement is as follows:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed athlete Bradley Scott of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected on May 27, 2018.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Bradley Scott. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.  Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”

Bradley’s positive test occurred in conjunction with UFC Fight Night 130, where …

ONE Championship has conducted an official review of the controversial bout between Ma Jia Wen and Sagetdao Petpayathai at ONE: SPIRIT OF A WARRIOR. The decision has been formally overturned by the ONE Competition Committee and Ma Jia Wen is now declared the rightful winner. pic.twitter.com/8po2uwFJ1z

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 30, 2018

This past weekend, it appeared that Sagetdao Petpayathai had taken a unanimous decision victory against Jia Wen Ma in a featherweight bout at One Championship ‘Spirit of a Warrior’ at Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.

However, upon further review, the One Championship Competition Committee has reviewed that verdict and overturned the decision, giving Ma the win. The Singpore-based promotion released a statement on the ruling:

The ONE Championship team led by Matt Hume and the official cageside judges have conducted an official review of the controversial bout between Jia Wen Ma…

Both LeBron James and Stipe Miocic brought championships to Cleveland, a long-suffering sports city, in the same year.

That’s why Miocic can’t be mad at his fellow Ohio native for leaving the city for greener pastures. For the second time in his NBA career, James departed the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent — this time for the Los Angeles Lakers. However, during his second tenure with the Cavs, James brought a title to Ohio in an improbable series victory against the Golden State Warriors in June 2016.

Miocic, who captured heavyweight gold with an upset victory over Fabricio Werdum just one month prior at UFC 198, believes James had a right to make the decision he made.

“Good for him. Whatever’s best for him and his family,” Miocic said on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

“He came back, said what he was gonna do and got a title back to Cleveland. Can’t be mad at the man.”

Miocic hasn’t had a lot of interaction with James, but he did get to meet some o…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has moved quickly in finding a new opponent for Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night Hamburg.

Anthony Smith will step in for Volkan Oezdemir and face “Shogun” at the July 22 event. Multiple outlets have confirmed the new UFC Fight Night 134 headliner following an initial report from ESPN. Oezdemir was transported to UFC 227 to face Alexander Gustafsson in a featured light heavyweight bout in Los Angeles on Aug. 4.

UFC Fight Night 134 takes place at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany and will also feature a pivotal light heavyweight matchup between Ilir Latifi and Glover Teixeira in the co-main event. The card will air in its entirety on Fox Sports 1.

Smith has been victorious in four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Lionheart” scored a 53-second knockout of Rashad Evans at UFC 225 on June 9. The Omaha, Neb., native owns a 29-13 career mark that includes 26 triumphs inside the distance.

Rua, a forme…

UFC 226 is now available on Amazon Prime.

Many mixed martial artists are quite vocal about their desire to stay as active as possible and would prefer to fight as often as four times per year, if not more.

Brian Ortega, on the other hand, has a slightly different philosophy.

“Two good large fights a year is good enough for me,” Ortega said during a recent media call. “Training full on year around is great and I love to stay in shape and always being ready but, you know, I feel sometimes I don’t have a life. All I do is just live in the gym. There’s a lot of time. There’s sacrifice from my family and everyone and pretty much I haven’t had a life in a year man. I’ve just been training, working and just trying to climb to the top. If I got it my way I’d work hard, get two crazy fights in a year and then just relax a little bit.”

Ortega will get one of those “crazy fights” in the UFC 226 co-main event, when he squares off against reigning featherweight ch…

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway isn’t the only prominent fighter with Hawaii roots who wants to see a major mixed martial arts card held in the Aloha State.

Following her submission victory against Alejandra Lara in the Bellator 201 headliner on Friday night, reigning flyweight queen Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – also a Hawaii native – called for a trip to the island down the road. However, the Team Hurricane Awesome product also recognizes there are issues that make it more challenging to hold an event there than in other venues.

“I’ve talked to some of the staff at Bellator, and of course everyone wants to go to Hawaii,” Macfarlane told reporters during a post-fight scrum after Bellator 201 (video via MMAjunkie.com). “I think it just comes down to logistics. Everyone wants to figure it out. The tourism bureau is giving problems. The UFC tried doing it, so I think it just comes down to the logistics. There’s no doubt in my mind that everyone wants to do a Bella…

So to recap.. Johnathan Ivey fakes a heart attack, drops Travis Fulton, proceeds to follow up with GNP... then decides he can't punch his idol in the face anymore and taps out. #mmathings pic.twitter.com/grK54YhOe0

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 1, 2018

When heavyweight veterans with more than 400 professional fights between them square off, virtually anything is fair game.

At least that seemed to be the case in the heavyweight title bout between Johnathan Ivey and Travis Fulton at Colosseum Combat 45 this past Saturday night in Kokomo, Ind. After Fulton landed a body kick, Ivey briefly acted as though he was experiencing chest pain before going on the offensive. “Big John” then dropped his opponent near the fence and proceeded to unload with a barrage of ground-and-pound from top position.

Fulton defends himself just enough to avoid a stoppage, and eventually Ivey gives up on his assault. After spending a few more moments in Fulton’s…

Ed Ruth continues to make waves in Bellator MMA, and he’s about ready to set his sights on some bigger-name opposition.

The former three-time NCAA wrestling champion from Penn State University was impressive in his official 170-pound debut as he stopped Andy Murad via technical knockout in the second round of their bout at Bellator 201 on Friday night. Ruth, who began his career at middleweight, made a smooth transition to the welterweight division.

“I feel great,” Ruth told reporters in a post-fight interview (video via MMAjunkie.com). “Honestly this is probably the easiest weight cut.”

Ruth improved to 6-0 with the victory, and he has finished all but one of his opponents via knockout or technical knockout. The 27-year-old Dethrone Base Camp representative is hoping his performance was enough to merit consideration for Bellator’s welterweight grand prix, which kicks off on Sept. 29 in San Jose, Calif.

“I think that tonight has put me in the running,…

A battle of struggling veterans is set for Rizin Fighting Federation 11, as Melvin Guillard will square off against Takanori Gomi on July 29.

Guillard replaces Andy Souwer, who was pulled from the card after entering into an exclusive contract with One Championship, according to Yahoo! Japan. Rizin 11 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and is headlined by a showdown between Kyoji Horiguchi and Hiromasa Ogikubo.

Guillard, 35, has fallen on hard times of late. “The Young Assassin” squared off with rising UFC middleweight prospect Israel Adesanya last July, losing via first-round TKO at Australian Fighting Championship 20. The former UFC and Bellator competitor has tasted victory just once in his last 10 MMA appearances.

The 39-year-old Gomi has experienced his own difficulties of late. “The Fireball Kid” is currently on a six-bout skid that includes his last five appearances in the UFC. He debuted with Rizin on Dec. 31, falling to Yusuke Ya…

Andre Pederneiras will step down as head trainer at Brazilian camp Nova Uniao after more than two decades in that role.

Pederneiras announced his decision via Instagram on Saturday. During his tenure with Nova Uniao, “Dede” cornered the likes of longtime former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, ex-UFC bantamweight king Renan Barao and former Bellator 135-pound tiltist Eduardo Dantas, among others.

Pederneiras revealed that he will turn his focus to working with Upper Arena, which he say has “worked as a training center for Nova Uniao for two years.”

“My idea is to turn Upper Arena in a neutral place for high-level training for athletes from other teams as well, not only Nova Uniao,” Pederneiras wrote. “I want to build the best and biggest martial arts training center of the country, helping the evolution of the sport, and also work on a social side, passing along my knowledge of 30 years dedicated to the sport, both fighting and administrative sides, to…

Hawaiian-born Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defends her flyweight title for the first time, submitting Colombia's Alejandra Lara in the third after a long struggle for the armbar. Also the first female EBI Combat Jiu-Jitsu champ, Macfarlane has subs in five of her eight wins. #Bellator201 pic.twitter.com/pYMaTTpJPG

— Kyle Johnson (@Maldobabo) June 30, 2018

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane rose to the occasion yet again.

The undefeated Hawaiian submitted Alejandra Lara with a third-round armbar to retain the Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship in the Bellator 201 headliner on Friday at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. Lara (7-2, 1-1 Bellator) conceded defeat 3:55 into Round 3, her three-fight winning streak at an end.

Macfarlane (8-0, 7-0 Bellator) navigated some considerable difficulty in the first round, where the challenger scrambled into top position, withstood an attempted triangle and wheeled behind her before transiti…

Sherdog's live Bellator 201 coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. ET.

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

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

Paul Daley has signed a new contract with Bellator MMA despite very vocal issues he’s had with the promotion lately, and already has an opponent in mind.

Fellow Bellator fighter Joe Schilling also happened to sign a new contract with Bellator this week, and suggested a move down to welterweight to take on the British striker, which Daley immediately accepted.

“Semtex” voiced his frustrations with the promotion while literally in the middle of fighting Jon Fitch at Bellator 199 in May. Fitch used his suffocating style of wrestling to nullify Daley’s lethal stand-up game en route to a unanimous decision victory, which enraged the brash kickboxer. During the third round of the fight, with Fitch controlling him on the floor against the fence, Daley began booing loudly at Fitch as well as at Bellator brass within earshot. Afterwards, Daley excoriated Bellator for the “boring” match-up and demanded a release from his contract with the Viacom-backed promotion. Howev…

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UFC 226 is now available on Amazon Prime.

Eyebrows were raised after Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Max Holloway was deemed medically unfit to fight lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov on short notice at UFC 223.

Fans and media alike were left to wonder: How could it be that the 145 pound champ wouldn’t be able to make the 155 pound limit? How much weight, exactly, does Holloway cut?

“Blessed” touched on that subject during Thursday’s UFC 226 conference call, and was extremely clear about what the future holds:

“I’m definitely going up to 155 pounds; it’s just a matter time,” Holloway said. “I got business to handle at 145 pounds right now.”

Holloway famously stepped up to fight Nurmagomedov after Tony Ferguson was forced out of the fight just days ahead of UFC 223, only to be turned away at the last minute by the New York State Athletic Commission. The featherw…

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UFC 226 is now available on Amazon Prime.

American Kickboxing Academy training partners and longtime friends Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez may train hard in the gym against each other, but don’t expect the two to ever throw down in the Octagon.

That camaraderie and deep familiarity is why Cormier opted to move down to light heavyweight in 2014, a year after signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as Velasquez held court over the heavyweight division. Now, with Velasquez no longer heavyweight champion, Cormier says his friend and training partner gave him his blessing to take a heavyweight title fight against current champion Stipe Miocic.

“When I asked Cain about [me moving to HW], he was like, ‘You got the chance to do something special,’ so we decided to go for it,” Cormier told the LA Times. “This is the biggest fight in my career, it’s the heavyweight championship, against th…

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Bellator MMA’s women flyweight title will be on the line Friday when champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane faces Colombia’s Alejandra Lara in the Bellator 201 main event in Temecula, California.

Macfarlane won the inaugural flyweight title in Bellator 186 on 2017, after defeating Emily Ducote via armbar in the fifth round. The Hawaiian champion tipped the scales today at 125 pounds and will look forward to her title defense. Across the cage will be Lara (124.6), who will compete for Bellator gold for the first time after having impressive performances on all her 8 professional bouts.

Bellator 201: “Macfarlane vs. Lara” will take place Friday at the Pechanga Resort and Casino and will air live on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET.

Bellator 201 Weigh-in Results: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (125) vs. Alejandra Lara (124.6)Saad Awad (159.8) vs. Ryan Couture (159.9)Valerie Letourneau (126) vs. Kristina Williams (125.4…

Maybe Al Iaquinta never really was completely on board for the proposed UFC Fight Night 135 headlining bout against Justin Gaethje.

According to multiple reports, Iaquinta has withdrawn from his scheduled lightweight bout against Gaethje at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb. on Aug. 25. ESPN was the first to report Iaquinta’s exit. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement opponent for Gaethje.

"I can't question Al's heart," Gaethje's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN. "But at the end of the day, when you fight Justin, people have to think about it. I got nothing against Al, but it's a tall order to fight Justin. When you go in there, you leave a piece of yourself in the cage. Some people don't want to do that. If I'm a fighter I don't want to fight that guy. I don't know if this is a negotiation tactic from Al, but he is out.

"For the record, he called out Justin, Justin took the fight, and then he pulled out. It's his business. UFC will find some…

SBG Ireland prospect James Gallagher will make his bantamweight debut when he faces promotional newcomer Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 204.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking with a promotion official following an announcement by the Sanford Pentagon, the event venue. Bellator 204 takes place in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Aug. 17 and is headlined by a featherweight duel pitting 135-pound champ Darrion Caldwell against Noad Lahat. In the co-main event, Logan Storley locks horns with A.J. Matthews at 170 pounds. The evening’s main card airs on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.

The 21-year-old Gallagher hasn’t competed since June 2017, when he choked out Chinzo Machida in the opening stanza at Bellator 180. After that, proposed bouts against Jeremiah Labiano at Bellator 187 and Adam Borics at Bellator 196 fell through when “The Strabanimal” had to withdraw due to injury. Gallagher is 7-0 as a professional, including six wins via submission.

Bandejas, meanwhile,…

Jessica Eye may have a new lease on life in the UFC at flyweight, but it could be a while before she gets her next opportunity in the division.

Eye has been suspended for 180 days pending medical clearance for a potential left foot injury suffered at UFC Fight Night 132 on Saturday. The Strong Style Fight Team representative must provide a negative X-ray before she can compete again. Eye earned a unanimous verdict over Jessica-Rose Clark to improve to 2-0 at 125 pounds after a 1-5 run at bantamweight.

Mixedmartialarts.com released a full list of medical suspensions from the event on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night 132 took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, and saw Leon Edwards take a five-round verdict over Donald Cerrone in the main event. Edwards was given a 30-day sit for mandatory rest, while Cerrone got 45 days due to right temple and scalp lacerations.

Two other fighters on the card received a potential six-month suspension. Daichi Abe…

Former UFC title challenger Nick Diaz remains free after a Nevada judge denied the prosecution’s request for a bail increase in the fighter’s domestic violence case.

MMAjunkie.com was the first to report the news on Tuesday. Las Vegas Justice Court judge Amy Chelini denied the request to increase Diaz’s bail from $18,000 to $100,000, saying she “can’t fathom” a reason to increase the figure initially set by the court.

The Stockton, Calif., native is charged with domestic battery by strangulation and misdemeanor domestic battery. Diaz was not in court on Tuesday, but was represented by attorney Ross Goodman. His next hearing is scheduled for July 10. Diaz made the $18,000 bond after he was arrested last month.

According to a domestic violence report, the victim, who claims to be Diaz’s sometimes girlfriend, was found at a Las Vegas house on May 24 “visibly in a large amount of pain” and unable to walk. The woman told police that Diaz slammed her to the groun…