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A welterweight clash pitting Matthew Frincu against Christian Aguilera will headline the Legacy Fighting Alliance 44 card in Phoenix on June 29.

The promotion announced the event on Wednesday. LFA 44 takes place at Comerica Theatre and will also see Casey Kenney face Roman Salazar at bantamweight in the co-main event. The card will be televised on AXS-TV at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

A native of Gold Coast, Australia, Frincu enters the matchup having won five of his last six appearances. Most recently, the 24-year-old Arizona Combat Sports product defeated Roman Alcantar via second-round TKO at LFA 31 on Jan. 19. Frincu owns a 12-3 career mark.

Aguilera, meanwhile, has defeated his last three foes via knockout or technical knockout, including a second-round stoppage of Ricardo Seixas at LFA 36 on March 23. The 26-year-old Californian is 11-4 as a pro, with nine victories via KO or TKO.

Coming January 2019 pic.twitter.com/wH8vXhIAZG

— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2018

While the UFC will be moving to a new broadcast home in 2019, don’t expect a drastically presentation when it transitions to ESPN.

According to UFC President Dana White, the Las Vegas-based promotion will still have production control over its live events on The Worldwide Leader.

"The fans are happy with the way our show is presented, and the networks are too, which is why we get these deals done,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Our production is incredible, we do an amazing job and we'll continue to."

On Wednesday, the UFC and ESPN made their deal official. Beginning in 2019, the promotion will show 20 events on ESPN+ and 10 on ESPN’s various cable networks. Additionally, preliminary bouts from the UFC’s 12 pay-per-view cards will also be shown on ESPN platforms. The entire package is reportedly worth $1.5 billion over the course of the five-year deal. Read more about Dana White: UFC to Retain Production Control of Live Events with New ESPN Deal

Fabricio Werdum believes his potential anti-doping violation is nothing more than a “misunderstanding,” and the former heavyweight champion hopes to be cleared to return to the UFC soon.

The 40-year-old Brazilian released a statement via Instagram regarding his failed drug test on Tuesday. The UFC announced that “Vai Cavalo” was flagged for an out-of-competition sample collected by USADA on April 25.

“Hey guys, I got up this morning to the news that one of my urine samples from April tested positive for a prohibited substance,” Werdum wrote. “I am working with my team, the UFC and USADA to understand what happened. I’ve always been careful with everything I take and I’ve always supported a clean sport. We will work hard to solve this misunderstanding, and I hope soon to be able to go back to the octagon and do what I love.”

Werdum was reportedly set to face Alexey Oleynik in the headliner of the UFC’s first-ever Russian event in Moscow on Sept. 15. The bout…

UFC Fight Night 129 averaged 870,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1 this past Saturday, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

The card took place at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile and saw Kamaru Usman take a five-round decision over Demian Maia in the evening’s welterweight headliner. Usman was originally scheduled to face Santiago Ponzinibbio, who withdrew from the card due to an injury.

UFC Fight Night 129 went head-to-head with the NBA playoff game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics as well as a Showtime boxing card headlined by Badou Jack vs. Adonis Stevenson. The playoff game drew 6.8 million viewers, while boxing attracted an average audience that peaked at 535,000.

Meanwhile, the preliminary card, which featured a welterweight clash between Zak Cummings and Michel Prazeres, averaged 254,000 viewers on FS2.

The targeted headliner for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut event in Russia may not come to fruition, as Fabricio Werdum has been flagged for a potential anti-doping violation.

The former UFC heavyweight champion failed a drug test stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on April 25. USADA will handle results management and adjudication of the case involving Werdum, who is entitled to a full review process before any sanctions are imposed.

Werdum was reportedly set to face Alexey Oleynik at UFC Fight Night in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 15, though the bout had not been formally announced by the Las Vegas-based promotion. The status of that fight depends on how the Brazilian’s USADA case is resolved.

Werdum last appeared at UFC Fight Night 127, where he suffered a fourth-round knockout loss to Alexander Volkov in the card’s main event on March 17. Prior to that defeat, the 40-year-old “Vai Cavalo” had posted back-to-back triumphs over Mar…

UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa is the latest fighter to try his hand as an analyst.

Fox announced Monday that Chiesa will join Michael Bisping, Jimmy Smith and Karyn Bryant in the FS1 studio during UFC Fight Night 130 in Liverpool, England on Sunday. Meanwhile, Dan Hardy and Brendan Fitzgerald will serve as the broadcast team for the event.

UFC Fight Night 130 takes place at Echo Arena and is headlined by a pivotal welterweight clash between Stephen Thompson and Darren Till. Early prelims begin on UFC Fight Pass at 9:30 a.m. ET/6:30 a.m. PT before transitioning to FS1 at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT. The main card kicks off on FS1 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

“I’m beyond excited for the opportunity to give my input and test my knowledge of the sport while sitting alongside my peers who have won world championships,” Chiesa wrote on Twitter. “People that know me know how much this means to me and is something I have wanted for a long time.”

Chiesa was scheduled to face A…

A heavyweight clash pitting Fabricio Werdum against Alexey Oleynik has been targeted to headline the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first-ever card in Russia on Sept. 15.

Multiple outlets have confirmed that the bout is in the works. MMAFighting.com was first to report the matchup on Monday. The promotion has not formally announced the contest, but Oleynik recently hinted in an Instagram post the he had signed a bout agreement to compete at the event. The card takes place at Olympic Stadium in Moscow.

Werdum last appeared at UFC Fight Night 127, where he had a two-bout winning streak halted in a fourth-round knockout loss against Alexander Volkov in the evening’s main event on March 17. The 40-year-old Brazilian owns wins over the likes of Cain Velasquez, Travis Browne, Mark Hunt, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Roy Nelson during his promotional tenure.

Oleynik, who is also 40 years old, is coming off a first-round submission triumph over Junior Albini at UF…

.@LFAfighting joins London Trust Media Holdings Grouphttps://t.co/2v5V9IlvZX#MMA#LFANation@AXSTVFights pic.twitter.com/oRam7L7ds2

— LFA (@LFAfighting) May 21, 2018

Legacy Fighting Alliance will be operating under new ownership going forward.

The Texas-based MMA promotion announced on Monday that London Trust Media, “a diversified corporation with a primary focus on the Internet, entertainment and media industries,” has acquired majority ownership of the organization.

According to a release, the new ownership is expected to benefit LFA through “revitalized branding and an expanded reach across all Internet and social platforms.”

"This is a great day for LFA and MMA," said LFA CEO Ed Soares said. "We now host thirty MMA events across the United States which makes LFA the fastest growing MMA promotion in the world. Our strategic partnership with London Trust Media ensures that LFA will continue to grow as we develop the top prospect…

A lightweight tilt pitting Dan Hooker against Gilbert Burns has been added to the UFC 226 lineup.

Multiple outlets recently confirmed the pairing following an initial report from stuff.co.nz. UFC 226 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 7 and is headlined by a heavyweight championship bout between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.

Hooker enters the matchup on the momentum of a three-bout finishing streak in the Octagon. “The Hangman” has stopped Jim Miller, Marc Diakiese and Ross Pearson inside the distance to raise his UFC record to 6-3. Hooker is 16-7 as a professional overall, with all but one of his triumphs coming via knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Burns, meanwhile, has been victorious in three of his last four promotional appearances. Most recently, “Durinho” scored a second-round knockout of Dan Moret at UFC on Fox 29 on April 14. Burns is 6-2 in the UFC and 13-2 as a pro. He has finished 12 of his 13 victories.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOJpAaxAT5k&w=560&h=315]

Kamaru Usman has compiled one of the quietest eight-bout UFC winning streaks in recent memory, but he has big plans after earning the signature victory of his career.

Usman cruised to a unanimous verdict over former title challenger Demian Maia in the UFC Fight Night 129 headliner in Santiago, Chile, on Saturday night. After a competitive opening stanza, Usman relied on his athleticism and sprawl to keep the fight standing, and from there, he used on his standup to batter the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for the better part of the final four rounds.

Usman believes his performance was enough to solidify himself as the division’s No. 1 contender.

“I think I should fight for the belt next. I just dominated [Maia] better than (UFC champion) Tyron Woodley,” Usman said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Tyron ran from him the whole fight. Tyron threw, what, the fewest strikes in a champi…

Prior to UFC Fight Night 129, Demian Maia revealed plans to retire upon the completion of his current contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Those plans haven’t changed despite what could have been a disheartening defeat to Kamaru Usman in Saturday’s main event at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Maia repeatedly failed on takedown attempts against a superior wrestler, and as a result he was battered on the feet en route to losing a clear-cut five-round verdict. Maia stepped in to replace Usman’s original foe, Santiago Ponzinibbio, on short notice.

“I still have three fights on my contract, I want to do those three fights,” Maia said at the post-fight press conference. “This was short notice for this fight. I only prepared three weeks and my last three fights were against wrestlers. My game plan is to take the fighters down, so these were tough fights. I still have the will to finish my contract.”

In his last three bouts, against Usman, Colby Covingt…

Well, Gabriel Benitez's night just opened up . pic.twitter.com/rpAx3E5E5V

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) May 20, 2018

Andrea Lee, Veronica Macedo, Gabriel Benitez and Claudio Puelles all earned $50,000 bonus checks at UFC Fight Night 129 in Santiago, Chile on Saturday night.

Lee and Macedo received “Fight of the Night” honors for their featured flyweight scrap. Lee took control thanks to clinch work and knees to the body, and she also threatened with submissions in rounds one and two. While Macedo was game throughout, “KGB” punctuated her victory by mounting her foe and landing elbows in the final stanza.

Elsewhere, Benitez slammed his way into a “Performance of the Night” bonus against Humberto Bandenay at featherweight. After rocking his foe with an uppercut early, Benitez swarmed for the finish, only to find himself trapped in an armbar. “Moggly” responded by slamming Bandenay into the canvas, and a few follow-up hammerfists clinched…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 129 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 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Round 2 Sherdog Scores Round 3 Sherdog Scores The Offici…

Brazilian powerhouse Michel Prazeres took to his new surroundings in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division.

Prazeres recorded his seventh consecutive victory, as he eked out a split decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 alum Zak Cummings in the featured UFC Fight Night 129 prelim on Saturday at the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Fabio Alves and Marcelo Vilhena for Prazeres, Chris Lee for Cummings.

They fought mostly in choppy standup exchanges, with Prazeres (25-2, 9-2 UFC) leaning on his overhand right and the American connecting with intermittent left hands. Cummings (21-6, 6-3 UFC) -- who was cut by an inadvertent head butt inside the first five minutes -- employed a stifling clinch but saw his gains there erased by well-timed tactical takedowns from “Trator” in all three rounds.

Pantoja Shuts Out Moreno Crisp combination punching and stinging leg kicks carried former Resurrection Fightin…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8R7UQocmVU&w=560&h=315]

Demian Maia has built his career on upending bigger, faster and stronger opposition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Can he do it one more time?

A short-notice fill-in for the injured Santiago Ponzinibbio, Maia clocked in at 171 pounds ahead of his five-round showdown with “The Ultimate Fighter 21” winner Kamaru Usman (170) in the UFC Fight Night 129 headliner at the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Meanwhile, Alexa Grasso (115) and Tatiana Suarez (115) also met the contracted weight requirements for their co-main event at Friday’s official weigh-in.

UFC Fight Night 129 “Maia vs. Usman” -- which airs live on Fox Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT -- will also feature a light heavyweight clash pairing Jared Cannonier (205) with Dominick Reyes (205), a bantamweight tilt pitting Diego Rivas (136) against Guido Cannetti (136), a women’s flyweight affair matching Andrea Lee (125) with Veronica Mac…

During a press conference ahead of ACB 87 on Friday in England, it was announced that Frank Mir would return to action in August against an undecided opponent under the Absolute Championship Berkut banner. An exact date was not revealed.

Mir will look to bounce back from a three-fight skid. In his last bout, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king was blitzed in the first round by Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 198.

Mir (18-12) also revealed that he aims to return to the Bellator MMA cage in October.

“Just anything to get more ring time,” said Mir. “My goal is to fight three times this year and I’m 39 in a few weeks, so I don’t have many competitions ahead of me. Between Bellator and ACB, I’ll fight (in England) in August and hopefully get a Bellator fight in October and just hope to keep it rolling, get back in form and then get back in title contention.”

Gangster alert!@TheGreat155 battles @OliAubin at #UFCCalgary! pic.twitter.com/qPxZfEm4qC

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) May 18, 2018

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has added a clash of lightweight prospects to its UFC Calgary card.

Alexander Hernandez and Olivier Aubin-Mercier will meet in the Octagon at UFC on Fox 30, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced Friday.

Hernandez is coming off a highlight-reel knockout in his major league debut against Beneil Dariush at UFC 222. The San Antonio, Texas, native has just one loss in his mixed martial arts career, in contrast to nine wins. He has won seven straight.

Aubin-Mercier (11-2) is riding a four-bout winning streak and defeated Evan Dunham in just 53 seconds at UFC 223 on April 7.

UFC on Fox 30 goes down at the Scotiabank Saddledome, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on July 28 and will be headlined by a rematch pitting lightweight conteners against each other in Dustin Poirier an…

+++ BREAKING NEWS +++#MMAIl nostro @andreabrenna98 ha avuto la conferma da parte di uno dei due protagonisti. Carlo Pedersoli Jr vola a #UFC Liverpoolhttps://t.co/MIci90sOux

— 4once.it (@4onceit) May 17, 2018

It seems that Bradley Scott has found an opponent for UFC Liverpool.

After Salim Touahri was removed from the bill due to injury, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has signed up-and-coming Italian fighter Carlo Pedersoli Jr. (10-1) to fight against Scott at UFC Fight Night 130. The British fighter has confirmed the report reported by Jim Edwards to the Italian website 4once.it.

Less than a month ago, Pedersoli defeated former UFC fighter Nicolas Dalby via split decision at Cage Warriors 93. The Gloria Fight Center representative is entering the UFC riding a seven-bout winning streak after competing in multiple organizations including Cage Warriors, Venator FC, RXF and Magnum FC. The Italian prospect is the nephew of Italian act…

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

Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier takes on current heavyweight king Stipe Miocic in the much anticipated heavyweight title at UFC 226 on July 7 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Cormier believes whoever comes out on top in the fight should be considered the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. The super fight between the two champions in their respective weight divisions will be a fitting end to “International Fight Week,” which is a week-long celebration of all combat sports.

“DC” talked with Damon Martin about his status at potentially becoming the best fighter in the world if he is able to get past the Ohio:

“That’s what it should be. Stipe and I are ranked like No. 3 and 4 or No. 4 and 5 in the pound-for-pound rankings right now. How much better does it get than that? This is as good as it gets in terms of sport, in terms of athletic comp…

Cian Cowley, who was arrested along with Conor McGregor for his role in an attack an a bus carry UFC fighters and employees last month ahead of UFC 223, has been booked for his next fight.

According to reports from MMAUK.net and MMAFighting.com, Cowley will square off against Daniel Olejniczak in a welterweight bout at Brave 13 in Dublin on June 9.

Cowley, one of McGregor’s training partners at SBG Ireland, was charged with one count of criminal mischief in Brooklyn and is due to return to court on June 14. McGregor is facing three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief after hurling a dolly through the bus window, injuring fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg as well as a UFC employee.

McGregor and Cowley were part of a large group of fighters involved in the incident, which is believed to be in response to a confrontation between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and SBG Ireland’s Artem Lobov earlier during UFC 223 fight week. N…

The UFC will officially make its debut in Russia this September.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Wednesday that it will travel to Moscow for a Fight Night event at Olimpiyskiy Arena on Sept. 15. No bouts were announced for the card.

“Russia is a key part of UFC’s international expansion strategy,” David Shaw, Senior Vice President, UFC International and Content, said in a release. “The demand from our fans to bring a live event to Russia has been overwhelming, and with the vast potential this market holds for us, we knew this was the perfect time to bring UFC Fight Night to Moscow.”

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov and featherweight prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov are currently some of the top stars hailing from Russia. It is unlikely that Nurmagomedov will compete at the debut event, as he recently revealed that he is targeting November or December for his first title defense.

The release …

Bellator 199 attracted a combined viewership of 605,000 to Paramount Network and CMT, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

The event drew 453,000 viewers to Paramount and 152,000 to CMT for a card that was headlined by the final heavyweight grand prix quarterfinal between Ryan Bader and Muhammed Lawal. Bader won the main event at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., via knockout just 15 seconds into the opening stanza.

The card also included the debut of former UFC welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch, who outpointed Paul Daley in the evening’s co-main event as well as the fourth professional appearance for bluechip prospect Aaron Pico, who knocked out Lee Morrison in 70 seconds.

Still, the event represented a step down from Bellator 198, which attracted 581,000 viewers to Paramount and 169,000 to CMT for a combined audience of 750,000. That card was headlined by a heavyweight grand prix contest pitting Fedor Emelianenko against Frank Mir.

Bellator 199 went…

Abu Azaitar will make his Octagon debut against Vitor Miranda in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg, Germany.

The promotion’s European branch announced the pairing via Instagram on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night 134 takes place on July 22 at the Barclaycard Arena and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown pitting Volkan Oezdemir against Mauricio Rua. The card airs on Fox Sports 1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

A veteran of the World Series of Fighting, Absolute Championship Berkut and Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki promotions, Azaitar enters his first promotional foray with a 13-1 career mark. The Cologne, Germany-based fighter hasn’t competed since October 2016, when he captured a decision win over Michael Arrant at WSOF 33. He has finished seven of his career triumphs by knockout or technical knockout.

The 39-year-old Miranda won three of his first four Octagon appearances but is currently looking to halt a two-bout skid. In his l…

After a few weeks of back-and-forth and speculation, the rematch between Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier is finally official for the UFC on Fox 30 headliner.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the lightweight pairing on Monday. UFC on Fox 30 takes place on July 28 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and will see former featherweight king Jose Aldo square off against Jeremy Stephens in the co-main event. The main card airs on Fox following prelims on Fox Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

main event at #UFCCalgary!@EAlvarezFight rematches @DustinPoirier. Who takes it? pic.twitter.com/UEMXmZ0GZj

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) May 14, 2018

Alvarez and Poirier initially square off at UFC 211. What was already shaping up to be an entertaining battle ended prematurely when Poirier was unable to continue after Alvarez landed an illegal knee. The bout was declared a no contest.

A former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion, Alv…