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John Lineker and Cory Sandhagen will square off at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in Brooklyn on Dec. 23.

ESPN.com was first to report the bantamweight booking. UFC on ESPN+ 1 – also known as UFC Fight Night 143 – takes place at the Barclays Center and is headlined by a flyweight title clash between Henry Cejudo and T.J. Dillashaw.

Lineker was briefly slated to face Dominick Cruz at the recently-canceled UFC 233 card before Cruz withdrew due to injury. “Hands of Stone” has been victorious in eight of his last nine Octagon appearances, with his lone defeat during that time coming at the hands of Dillashaw, the reigning bantamweight king.

Sandhagen, who was briefly rumored to face Thomas Almeida in Brooklyn, has kicked off his promotional tenure with back-to-back TKO wins against Austin Arnett and Iuri Alcantara. The Elevation Fight Team representative is 9-1 over the course of a pro tenure that began in 2015.

Play the PFL 2018 World Championship Pick 'Em on @DraftKings.

Come out swinging and compete for your share of $25,000!

FREE ENTRY: https://t.co/byQeRGitZJ pic.twitter.com/hH8qkJEQkm— #PFLmma (@ProFightLeague) December 21, 2018

The PFL finalists are not the only ones in the running for big money, as the Professional Fighters League, along with Draft Kings, is giving fans a chance to win $25,000.

The league announced Friday that they will be partnering with Draft Kings to run a pick-em contest for the PFL 2018 World Championship on Dec. 31 in New York City.

The rules are simple: Register or sign in to your account with Draft Kings, pick your fighters, decide on the outcomes including rounds and time, and get them right to earn points and win your share of $25,000. You must make picks for all six tournament finals in order to be eligible.

PFL 2018 World Championship will take place on Dec. 31 at the Hulu Theater at Madison S…

The veteran vs the rising star!@HollyHolm meets @AspenLaddMMA at #UFC235 in Las Vegas! pic.twitter.com/p8UAplhboi

— UFC (@ufc) December 21, 2018

Coming off a first-round knockout of Tonya Evinger in October, Aspen Ladd has earned herself a fight against the elites of the division, as she will face Holly Holm at UFC 235.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Friday that bantamweights Holm (12-4) and Ladd (7-0) will battle it out at UFC 235 in Las Vegas in March.

Former bantamweight champion Holm has alternated wins and losses in her last four bouts, most recently prevailing over Megan Anderson at featherweight. The two losses in that run were both featherweight title fights with Cristiane Justino and Germaine de Randamie, where she dropped both by decision. She has won post-fight bonuses in two of her last three outings. Holm celebrates arguably the biggest knockout in women’s divisional history when she lamped Ronda Rousey in 2015 t…

Your #UFCPrague main event is here and it has fireworks all over it! @JanBlachowicz vs @TMarretaMMA pic.twitter.com/sSXcbjndVy

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 21, 2018

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will be giving fans in the Czech Republic plenty to cheer about, booking what is sure to be a slugfest between Jan Blachowicz and Thiago Santos.

On Friday, the UFC announced the headliner for their first trip to the Czech Republic in the capital city of Prague, where light heavyweight Blachowicz (23-7) will square off against Santos (20-6) at UFC on ESPN+ 3 in February.

Polish powerhouse and former KSW light heavyweight kingpin Blachowicz has had a bit of a career revival since mid-2017, starting 2-4 inside the promotion but rebounding in a big way to win his last four. Most recently, Blachowicz submitted Nikita Krylov with an arm-triangle choke in September. In those last four outings, Blachowicz has earned himself three post-fight bonu…

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Karate Combat burst on the scene in 2018 in a nondescript building in Budapest, Hungary, but with a unique production style, to rave reviews. Once that event aired, it was not long before they upgraded to the docks of Miami, Florida; a coliseum in Athens, Greece; and ended the year in style atop the One World Trade Center in New York City. Karate Combat blended the centuries-old martial art of Karate with the technology of today, and in 2019 they plan on taking their promotion to the next level.

According to press release from Karate Combat, the organization’s new structure will include championships and qualifying bouts to fight for those titles. CEO of Karate Combat Michael DePietro said, “We’re excited to expand Karate Combat in its second season with a more defined and expansive structure.”

In keeping with the unique and exotic locations that fans enjoyed in 2018, the promotion intends on going even …

Credit: Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com Credit: Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com Credit: Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com Credit: Jason Burgos/Sherdog.com

When Israel Adesanya takes on Anderson Silva at UFC 234 in February, he will be meeting one of his longtime idols. In a way, he feels that is an advantage.

“The Last Stylebender” continues to impress during his short career so far with his latest victory over Derek Brunson confirming his status as a genuine threat to the middleweight belt. The undefeated 29-year-old knows victory over Silva will likely secure him the No. 1contender spot in the 185-pound division and a shot at the title sometime next year.

Although standing in his way is a unique challenge in the form of “The Spider,” who dominated the middleweight division for nearly six years, dispatching opponent after opponent to cement his name as best 185 pound fighter ever. While at 43 years of age, Silva’s best days are well and truly behind him, Adesanya maintains that Silva is sti…

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By almost any measure, Michael Bisping had a very successful mixed martial arts career. Nonetheless, the first Englishman to win an Ultimate Fighting Championship title says there are a lot of things he’d change if he could.

Having officially hung up the gloves in May, the former middleweight champ has been enjoying retirement and his transition into life after fighting by securing an analyst role during the UFC on Fox fight cards. However, with the UFC’s pending move to ESPN next year, “The Count” revealed recently that he’ll be commentating UFC events going forward although nothing official has been announced yet.

The 39-year-old sat down with current UFC color commentator Joe Rogan on the “Joe Rogan Experience” and was asked by his host if there’s anything he would change if he could have a do-over in his career.

“A lot of things,” Bisping said. “If I could do it all over again, I’d d…

The undefeated Gregor Gillespie gets his next test in a bout all but guaranteed to result in fireworks against Yancy Medeiros this January.

According to Mark La Monica of Newsday on Thursday, Gillespie (12-0) will face off against Medeiros (15-5, 1 NC) at UFC on ESPN+ 1 on Jan. 19 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The two appear to be meeting at lightweight, as Gillespie always competes at that weight class, but Medeiros has made his last four appearances up a division at welterweight.

Unbeaten as a professional dating back to 2014, Gillespie has finished his last four opponents all within two rounds, earning three post-fight bonuses in those last four bouts. Throughout his career, Gillespie has stopped ten of his twelve foes, with all ten of those finishes coming within the first two rounds.

Medeiros will be looking to rebound off a knockout loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 126 in February as the headliner. Medeiros was originally scheduled to face Mi…

Bellator 214 on Jan. 26 is down a title fight. Gegard Mousasi is out due to injury. More: https://t.co/gICGtYZJnP

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 20, 2018

Eleven days before the start of the new year and 2019 has already lost a big fight, with Gegard Mousasi pulling out of his title bout against Rafael Lovato Jr. at Bellator 214 due to injury.

ESPN broke the news on Thursday, reporting that Bellator MMA middleweight champ Mousasi has been forced to withdraw from his bout at Bellator 214 on Jan. 26 due to a back injury. The promotion has not yet announced whether he will be replaced or if Lovato Jr. will stay on the card.

Mousasi won the middleweight belt when he became the first man to knock out Rafael Carvalho at Bellator 200. A veteran of 53 professional bouts, Mousasi celebrates a finish rate of about 85% across 45 victories. Mousasi is currently riding an eight-fight win streak dating back to 2016. This marks the first time Mo…

Hello @ufc middleweights. My name is Deron Winn.

Happy to announce I just signed with the big leagues! pic.twitter.com/rELQF7bJsK

— Deron Winn (@DeronWinn) December 20, 2018 Perhaps the best prospect to compete at Golden Boy MMA, Deron Winn just signed with the ultimate proving ground in mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The 29-year old Winn (5-0) announced on Thursday via social media that he has now signed with the UFC, and put other fighters on notice. He also announced his presence will be at middleweight, a weight class the 5-foot-7 wrestler will drop down to for the first time in his career.

All five of American Kickboxing Academy standout Winn’s previous bouts took place either at light heavyweight or at catchweights around 190 pounds, never taking the plunge lower. A one-time veteran of Bellator MMA, Winn knocked out Ahmed White in May 2018 at Bellator 199 before appearing at Golden Boy MMA: Liddell vs. O…

Future FC: Evento com proposta tecnológica promete resgatar protagonismo do Brasil no MMA https://t.co/vdlBW80H9m pic.twitter.com/ICPGPmjMWa

— Portal do Vale Tudo (@portaldovt) December 19, 2018

A new Brazilian mixed martial arts promotion is set to emerge starting in 2019, with its eyes firmly focused on the future of the sport.

The organization, titled Future Fighting Championship and helmed by former fighter and current Legacy Fighting Alliance manager Jorge Oliveira, intends on hosting over 20 events in their first year.

In their official press release, the promotion announced that it plans on being a different kind of promotion, whether it comes to above-average fighter pay, open contracts, another level of interaction between the fans and the athletes, or with additional weight classes. Future FC President Oliveira claimed “…we don’t have exclusive contracts…If [a] fighter has a better proposal, even if he has a fight scheduled in ou…

Despite Colby Covington’s apparent best efforts to make himself Public Enemy No. 1 in Brazil, there’s at least one prominent Brazilian in the fight game who claims to have no beef with him.

Covington made headlines and ruffled feathers after his fight against Demian Maia in Sao Paulo last October, referring to the natives of his host country as “filthy animals”. Covington had to be escorted out of his hotel building in Brazil by armed security when he left due to his comments.

As a result of those comments towards the people of Brazil, there had been rumors that the Brazilians at his gym at American Top Team in Florida, including Amanda Nunes and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, didn’t take kindly to the insults directed towards their homeland.

However, longtime UFC lightweight contender Edson Barboza, who also trains at ATT, spoke to reporters after his recent win over Dan Hooker and said he doesn’t have an issue with the way “Chaos” conducts himself (courtesy of MMA Ju…

Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez will make their highly-anticipated One Championship debuts in Tokyo on March 31.

The Singapore-based promotion revealed to the Associated Press on Wednesday that Johnson will face Yuya Wakamatsu in a flyweight bout, while Eddie Alvarez will meet Timofey Nastyukhin at lightweight. The matchups are expected to be part of One’s flyweight and lightweight grand prix tournaments.

One Championship’s Japanese debut takes place at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and will also see atomweight champion Angela Lee move up to challenge 115-pound queen Xiong Jing Nan. Additionally, middleweight champion Aung La N Sang and lightweight king Eduard Folayang will defend their titles against Japanese opponents.

Johnson set a UFC record with 11 consecutive title defenses before relinquishing his belt in a split decision loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 in August. “Mighty Mouse” was then “traded” to One for former welterweight champion Ben Askren.

…

While Jon Jones remains in the USADA drug testing pool, he will not submit to Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing prior to UFC 232.

According to a report from MMAjunkie.com, Jones and his team declined to submit to additional testing ahead of his Dec. 29 title bout against Alexander Gustafsson. The California State Athletic Commission recommended the VADA testing during a hearing in which it unanimously voted to reinstate the former light heavyweight champion’s license.

At that hearing, Jones agreed in principle to participate in the program, in which all expenses of the testing would have been covered by CSAC. It was not mandatory as part of his licensure, however. Jones’ attorney, Howard Jacobs, told MMAjunkie.com that there were “some issues” with the VADA testing. The screenings would have been only for performance enhancing drugs.

Jones has twice been sanctioned by USADA for failed drug tests. The Jackson-Wink MMA product tested positive for the…

I am launching rockets in 19’ #staystrapped pic.twitter.com/1rI4F3fwtz

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 18, 2018

Conor McGregor has a history of keeping fans guessing about his career, and a recent tweet continues that trend.

“The Notorious” posted on Twitter on Monday night that “I am launching rockets in 19’ #staystrapped” beneath photos of him wearing an Ultimate Fighting Championship beanie and punching a heavy bag, the “launching rockets” line a likely reference to the man in a NASA sweatshirt appearing to be taping McGregor’s hands in one of the photos.

The post suggests that the Irish superstar may be planning on returning to the Octagon in 2019 although no opponent has been named. While fans will get excited about the tweet, his head coach John Kavanagh stated recently that he hadn’t had heard from McGregor since UFC 229.

McGregor last competed inside the Octagon in October when he challenged lightweight champion …

Stefan Sekulic has accepted a two-year suspension from USADA after failing an in-competition drug test in relation to UFC Fight Night Moscow on Sept. 15.

The 26-year-old Sekulic tested positive for two different anabolic steroids: drostanolone and its metabolites and a metabolite of metandienone. Sekulic’s sanction is retroactive to Oct. 31, meaning that he will not be eligible to return to UFC competition until Oct. 31, 2020.

Sekulic made his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 136, where he lost a unanimous decision to Ramazan Emeev in a welterweight bout.

The Serbian fighter owns a 12-3 career mark. Prior to his first UFC foray, Sekulic competed exclusively for the Serbian Battle Championship promotion.

Kevin Lee only needed to be a couple days removed from his loss to Al Iaquinta to regain his trademark confidence.

“The Motown Phenom” entered the UFC on Fox 31 headliner having won 10 of his last 12 Octagon appearances. Following a dominant stoppage of Edson Barboza in April, Lee was viewed by many as a serious threat to reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, Lee’s momentum was derailed in his rematch with Iaquinta, as he lost a five-round decision to Iaquinta in a fight that was still up for grabs heading into the final stanza.

However, while Lee acknowledged Iaquinta’s performance in victory, he continues to maintain that he believes he did enough to win the fight.

“The fight on Saturday, I still feel like we won it,” Lee said in a video posted on his Instagram account. “I fought a lot off my back foot as a southpaw and against my natural fighting style. My explosiveness and coming forward and being aggressive. I tried to show something a …

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Before his MMA career, Sage Northcutt came from a background in traditional martial arts. As One Championship’s newest high-profile signing, he sees an opportunity to revisit his roots.

Northcutt made headlines recently when he decided against re-signing with the UFC, exploring other promotions including Bellator MMA before eventually signing with One Championship.

Or particular interest to “Super Sage” is One’s practice of promoting MMA, kickboxing, muay Thai and Western boxing bouts, often on the same cards. The 22-year old Texan was a recent guest on “The MMA Hour” and revealed that he’s open to exploring other combat sports which he believes will make him a better fighter.

“I think it’s just gonna make me a better athlete all around,” Northcutt said. “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to spread myself too thin. I think if my kickboxing and muay Thai gets better, then my MMA’s gonna be …

Vitor Belfort’s brief retirement from mixed martial arts isn’t going to stick.

The former UFC champion revealed during an interview on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday that he is in talks with various organizations in hopes of a comeback next year.

“I’m going to keep going — not stopping. I am a free agent," Belfort said. "We are in conversation [with promotions]. In 2019 I will come back.”

“The Phenom” stated prior to his UFC 224 meeting with Lyoto Machida in May that it would be his last fight. Belfort lost to Machida via second-round knockout in Rio Janeiro to conclude his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 41-year-old had won just two of his last seven Octagon appearances.

Belfort didn’t rule out signing a new UFC contract, but the Brazilian also expressed interest in organizations such as One Championship, Bellator and Rizin.

“I could not choose a better time for me to be a free agent and what I can bring to the table,” Belfort said…

Dominick Cruz just can’t seem to stay healthy.

The former UFC bantamweight champion revealed on Monday during Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show that he tore two ligaments in his shoulder while sparring and will require surgery. The overall process — including recovery — will keep him out of action for a year.

Cruz, who called the injury “basically an ACL of the shoulder,” had been booked to face John Lineker at the now-canceled UFC 233 event on Jan. 26. Prior to that, “The Dominator” was scheduled to meet Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219 last December but had to withdraw due to a broken arm.

He also endured an extended absence from 2011 to 2014 due to multiple ACL surgeries. Cruz regained the bantamweight crown with a split decision win over T.J. Dillashaw in January 2016 and defended the belt against Urijah Faber at UFC 199. He relinquished the strap to Cody Garbrandt in a decision defeat at UFC 207, his third fight of 2016.

“It’s part of my journey, and it’s going to be a…

Lyoto Machida made his much-anticipated Bellator MMA debut on Saturday at Bellator 213, earning a close split-decision win over former middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho.

The 40-year old former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion parted ways with his former employers earlier this year after 11 years and was excited to be making his debut for Bellator against a tough opponent like Carvalho.

After the fight, “The Dragon” admitted the feeling was different than what he was used to under the UFC and despite some debut jitters, he managed to get the job done against his opponent (via MMAJunkie.com):

“Tough opponent, tough fight,” Machida said. “I believe because it was my first fight in Bellator, in the beginning, I was kind of lost. Even though I have a lot of fights under my belt, many years in the UFC and other events, Bellator is different. Every time you step in a different cage, you can feel the difference, and that’s what I felt at the …

Sean Strickland could be out for a few months after recently being injured in a motorcycle accident.

The UFC welterweight posted a pair of video updates on his Instagram account regarding the incident, in which he said he was hit by a car while leaving Kings MMA in California.

“I was riding back from Kings, and I got in an accident. It wasn’t my fault, but I’ve been blacked out for a good minute. I just came to after surgery,” Strickland said in his first video. “It’s going to be a long road back, but I love fighting, so I’ll get back on the ball and make it happen. Thanks for the support.”

After that initial prognosis, Strickland revealed that he underwent knee surgery following the accident and that he expects to be back within a “few months.”

“I was going straight and a car turned into me, and I got into an accident going 45 miles per hour. I was unconscious for about three hours. I got knee surgery last night,” he said. “The doctor said it’s not that bad. I sh…

Kevin Lee entered UFC on Fox 31 as a sizable favorite to avenge a previous loss to Al Iaquinta. He left Saturday’s headliner at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee a little bit confused regarding the judges’ verdict and contemplating his future at 155 pounds.

Lee dropped a close five-round verdict to Iaquinta in their lightweight battle, as he was consistently outstruck on the feet and was unable to capitalize on taking his opponent’s back in both the second and third frames. Still, “The Motown Phenom” believes he won three rounds, even with strong finish from Iaquinta down the stretch.

“I thought for sure [I won] the first three rounds,” Lee said in a post-fight media scrum (video via MMAjunkie.com). “I don’t know what the judges were seeing the first round. I don’t know if they were giving him points for attempted takedowns that weren’t even….I honestly don’t know. I have to rewatch the fight in order to see, but he didn’t hit me with anything in the first three rounds.

…

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Edson Barboza unleashed a savage beating on Dan Hooker in the UFC on Fox 31 co-main event, but “The Hangman” showed incredible toughness for surviving as long as he did.

While Barboza finished the fight with a left hook to the liver at the 2:19 mark of round three, it was all the damage that Hooker absorbed leading up to that point that was truly concerning. The Brazilian battered his opponent with wicked kicks to the legs and body while attacking at various levels with his punches, as well. The body blows were especially brutal, but somehow Hooker seemed inhuman as he continued coming forward.

“Dan is a really tough guy, he is top 15 in the world for a reason. He’s young and has a great future. I landed good, clean shots, but I fight the best guys in the world, so I just had to keep going,” Barboza said.

After the bout, UFC president Dana White followed Hooker backstage to check on the New Zealand …