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Per sources, UFC close to finalizing a welterweight bout between Gunnar Nelson and Alex 'Cowboy' Oliveira for UFC 231 on Dec. 8 in Toronto. Fun addition to a card I'm already in love with between Holloway/Ortega and Valentina/Joanna.

Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight contender Gunnar Nelson is finally set to make his Octagon return at UFC 231 against Alex Oliveira following a 17-month lay-off due to injuries. The pairing was first reported by ESPN.

Nelson (16-3-1) hasn’t fought since a first-round knockout loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio back in July 2017. A knee injury forced him out of a scheduled bout with Neil Magny back in May.

Meanwhile, “Cowboy” Oliveira (19-5-1 2 NC) has had an outstanding year thus far, fighting two times and notching a submission victory over Carlos Condit in April and a first-round knockout of Carlo Perdersoli Jr. last month.

UFC 231 ta…

Bellator MMA’s recent wave of European fighter signings continues to make its presence felt, as a Sherdog source reports that SBG Ireland representative Luka Jelcic is ready to lock horns against Italy’s Luca Vitali at Bellator 211.

Jelcic (10-3) is coming off a loss by first-round TKO to Brandon Girtz in his promotional debut at Bellator 190. That loss snapped Jelcic’s four-bout winning streak.

Luca “The Ace” Vitali (11-4) is riding high, making his Bellator debut with a five-bouts winning streak. He also has the help of a bit of advance scouting: Vitali trains with Danilo Belluardo, who faced Jelcic at FFC 27.

Sherdog’s source also reports that the Genoa card will also feature a welterweight bout between Walter Pugliesi and Andrea Fusi. Bellator 211 is headlined by the light heavyweight contest between Italy’s Alessio Sakara and Kent Kauppinen.

Adam Wieczorek will replace Ruslan Magomedov and face Marcos Rogerio de Lima in a heavyweight bout at UFC 230.

The promotion recently confirmed the change. Magomedov was unable to compete on the Nov. 3 card at Madison Square Garden due to visa issues, according to MMAjunkie.com. UFC 230 is headlined by a heavyweight championship fight between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis.

A 26-year-old native of Chorzow, Poland, Wieczorek is currently on a nine-bout winning streak. “Siwy” kicked off his Octagon tenure with back-to-back triumphs over Anthony Hamilton and Arjan Singh Bhullar. Wieczorek’s only career setback came against UFC talent Marcin Tybura in November 2011.

De Lima has alternated wins and losses in his last six bouts. In his last outing, the 33-year-old Brazilian was submitted in the second round by Ovince St. Preux at UFC Fight Night 108.

The first mixed martial arts trade in the sport's history is nearly a done deal, as the UFC will send Demetrious Johnson to One Championship in exchange for Ben Askren.

ESPN.com reported the trade on Monday , and the news has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. The proposed transaction is close to being finalized and would release Johnson from his UFC contract to fight for One, while Askren would be released from his contract with the Singapore-based promotion to compete in the Octagon. Both fighters have multiple fights left on their current deal, according to the report.

Johnson was the UFC’s inaugural flyweight champion and broke Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive title defenses last year. “Mighty Mouse” saw a 13-bout winning streak come to an end in a split-decision defeat to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. Johnson’s coach at AMC Pankration, Matt Hume, is One’s vice president of operations.

Askren is unbeaten in 19 professional bouts, including 170-…

On Saturday night, UFC Moncton plays host to two of the heaviest hitters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division when Volkan Oezdemir battles with the surging Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC Fight Night 138.

Oezdemir is making his first appearance inside the Octagon since his one-sided loss to 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier back in January. The 29 year-old Swiss fighter went into the fight against “DC” at UFC 220 high on confidence after knocking his previous two opponents out in under a minute.

Despite those quick fire knockout wins, Oezdemir was unable to replicate that success against Cormier with the former Olympic wrestler masterfully dispatching the heavy hitter. Oezdemir will now go back to the drawing board to prepare himself for another title run which starts this weekend against Smith.

As “DC” is no longer the 205 pound champion after the UFC decided to strip the title from him, a rematch bout for the vacant tit…

Count Ali Abdelaziz among those who was unimpressed by Conor McGregor’s breakdown of the UFC 229 main event.

Abdelaziz, who manages lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, called McGregor a “weak soul” and claimed that the Irishman “and his sorry ass team [are] already making some stupid ass excuses” for his fourth-round submission defeat on Oct. 6. The Instagram post is presumably in response to McGregor’s round-by-round analysis of the fight that he posted on social media.

A seemingly humbled McGregor also added that it would be “no problem” if he couldn’t get an immediate rematch with Nurmagomedov, as he would be more than willing to “face the next in line.”

Abdelaziz scoffed at the notion of a rematch and hinted that it would only be worthwhile for Nurmagomedov if he could earn $100 million. The Dagestani earned a disclosed $2 million purse at UFC 229, but that doesn’t include pay-per-view points or any other type of income.

“If you can’t make u…

UFC veteran and current One Championship heavyweight titlist Brandon Vera will reportedly defend his strap very soon.

“The Truth” hasn’t fought since December 2016, but he is expected to defend his belt against Italian newcomer Mauro Cerilli at an as-yet-to-be determined event. The news was first reported by MMA-Today.

Vera, a 16-time UFC competitor, has experienced something of a resurgence since joining the Singapore-based promotion. He is currently on a three-bout winning streak under the One banner, with all three victories coming inside of a round.

Cerilli, 35, has never lost while fighting in the heavyweight division. His only two defeats came during a brief stint at 205 pounds. Most recently, “The Hammer” knocked out Irish star Karl Moore in 15 seconds at Cage Warriors 92 on March 24. He is currently riding a five-bout winning streak.

Sean O'Malley will undergo surgery on his right hip, a procedure he estimates will keep him sidelined for approximately four months.

The rising bantamweight star announced his plans via Twitter on Tuesday. The timing works out well for O’Malley, as he is awaiting a ruling from USADA on a potential anti-doping violation that resulted in him being pulled from a proposed UFC 229 matchup against Jose Quinonez.

“Surgery on Thursday on my right hip,” O’Malley wrote. “This will put me off the mats for about [four] months. Still waiting on the USADA situation to get sorted out. This year has been the best year and toughest year of my life.”

Surgery on Thursday on my right hip. This will put me off the Mats for about 4 months. Still waiting on the USADA situation to get sorted out . This year has been the best year,…

Conor McGregor isn’t dead set on an immediate return date with Khabib Nurmagomedov following his setback to the Dagestani lightweight champion in the UFC 229 headliner.

The Irishman took to Instagram to offer a lengthy breakdown of the Oct. 6 fight, which ended with Nurmagomedov winning via tapout in the fourth stanza. McGregor analyzed each round in the post, pointing out both the good and bad in his performance.

Perhaps more noteworthy, the former two-division champion claimed he would be willing to fight the “next man in line,” and that it would be no problem if he wasn’t granted a rematch in his next Octagon appearance.

“It was a great fight and it was my pleasure. I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared,” McGregor wrote. “If it is not the rematch right away, no problem. I will face the next in line. It’s all me always, anyway. See you soon my fighting fans I love you all.”

McGregor did not mention the post-fight brawl that ensued b…

David Branch will get to remain on the UFC 230 bill, as Jared Cannonier has agreed to face the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product on short notice.

The promotion announced the new middleweight matchup on Monday. Branch’s original foe, Ronaldo Souza, was elevated to the co-main event against Chris Weidman after Luke Rockhold pulled out of the card due to injury.

UFC 230 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 3 and is headlined by a heavyweight championship clash between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis.

Cannonier was previously scheduled to square off against Alessio Di Chirico at UFC Fight Night 140 in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Nov. 17. It is unclear if Di Chirico will get a new opponent for that card. “The Killa Gorilla” will attempt to halt a two-fight skid at UFC 230 after dropping back-to-back fights at the hands of Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz at 205 pounds. Cannonier is 3-4 in the Octagon and 10-4 as a professional overall.

A …

According to a report from MMAjunkie.com on Monday, Anik has signed a four-year extension to remain the lead play-by-play man for the Las Vegas-based organization. Anik later cconfirmed the deal via social media.

“It’s a multi-year extension, and it’s very exciting for me to be able to be a part of this new era with ESPN,” Anik told MMAjunkie. “I think, as a lot of people know, that’s where I sort of cut my teeth in television and radio, and that’s where I really starting covering mixed martial arts back in 2007 and 2008, so it sort of feels like we’re coming full-circle a little bit.

“…“This has become the foremost passion in my life, and I just couldn’t imagine my life without UFC being a big part of it. I’m thankful that it got done and just excited to continue to hit the ground running.”

Anik joined the U…

Cooper III (17-5) steamrolled everybody in his path St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena, as the powerhouse Hawaiian vanquished two men he had fought previously. In the welterweight quarterfinals, he took on former Strikeforce, Shooto and EliteXC champion Jake Shields (33-11-1) -- a man he put away with second-round punches at PFL 3 in July. Cooper III was even more impressive in the rematch.

Shields tried to use his guile and grappling prowess to stem the tide of violence coming his way, but they were of no use. The Californian was rocked by a right to the head during a scramble to his feet, and Cooper III kept punching until referee Kevin Mulhall intervened 3:10 into the first round.

Cooper III was like a man possessed in his semifinal match with Brazil’s Handesson Ferreira (13-2-1), who forced Rick Story …

Respect #CW98 pic.twitter.com/y59jtsUYrl

It was a magical night in Birmingham, England, as the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship promotion hit the stage on Saturday at the Genting Arena. The Cage Warriors 98 main event gave rise to a new welterweight champion, as Ross Houston dethroned Stefano Paterno by split decision after five dramatic rounds.

The Scotsman dictated the pace of the match with early takedowns and third-round knockdown, though Paterno clipped him with a right hand that had him reeling for a few seconds. The shot could have changed the course of the fight, but Houston displayed a champion’s heart and withstood the adversity.

Meanwhile, Aiden Lee displayed amazing jiu-jitsu skills in the co-feature, as he submitted Paull McBain with only 18 secs remaining in Round 1. The Birmingham native closed the deal with a slick rear-naked choke and improved to 5-1 in his last six…

Weidman vs. Jacare is done, per Dana White. UFC trying to keep David Branch, who was scheduled to fight Jacare, on the card. Jared Cannonier is a possibility, but not done.

After the dust settled following Luke Rockhold’s injury withdrawal from UFC 230 rematch against Chris Weidman, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has stepped in to face Weidman.

Following his initial report this evening, Brett Okamoto of ESPN confirmed that ‘Jacare’ would be elevated from his middleweight bout against David Branch into the co-main event against Weidman. Branch currently has no opponent at UFC 230, although the Ultimate Fighting Championship is attempting to secure a replacement for Souza.

Coming off a “Fight of the Night” split-decision loss to current middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum last May, Souza has earned four post-fight bonuses in his last five fights.

Facing a major opponent change is…

The Bellator MMA and World Series of Fighting alum dazzled in his Legacy Fighting Alliance debut, as he submitted Rodriguez with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their LFA 52 headliner on Friday at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas. Rodriguez (13-5) raised the white flag 4:47 into Round 1, the defeat snapping his run of eight straight victories.

Gutierrez (12-3-1) executed a takedown, maintained his composure despite being reversed and freed himself from an attempted kimura. The Factory X standout assumed top position, applied his ground-and-pound and made a slick transition to Rodriguez’s back. Gutierrez then snaked his arms in place, closed off potential avenues for escape and elicited the tapout.

In the co-main event, Jimmy Flick dispatched C.J. Hamilton with a second-round arm-triangle choke. Flick (11-4) sealed the deal 4:09 into Round 2, having secured back-to-back victories fo…

Luke Rockhold is out of UFC 230 versus Chris Weidman due to leg injuries. First reported by my colleague @bokamotoESPN.

Plan is to keep Weidman on the card. One name that is being discussed, per sources, is Jacare Souza, who was scheduled to fight David Branch on the same card.

The hits keep coming for UFC 230, where the Nov. 3 card in Madison Square Garden has lost another huge fight.

According to Brett Okamoto from ESPN, middleweight Luke Rockhold has been forced to withdraw from his newly-appointed co-main event against Chris Weidman due to injury. Shortly afterward, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani added the report that one potential solution involved pulling Ronaldo Souza from his main-card tilt with David Branch, and making Weidman vs. “Jacare” the new co-main event.

Rockhold was making his return after suffering a knockout at the hands of Yoel Romero this February, and every one of hi…

It’s a card loaded with Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans, from Jake Shields to Rick Story. Shields is set to rematch Ray Cooper III, who battered him en route to a second round TKO in July.

Since the Shields victory, Cooper III (15-5) has since gone on to score an 18-second knockout of Pavlo Kusch. Elsewhere on the card, Story takes on Handesson Ferreira and John Howard fights Eddie Gordon.

PFL 10 will feature the semi-final round bouts for the 2018 welterweight and middleweight playoffs, under the tournament-like structure of the organization.

“This is it, we’re almost set for the 2018 Championship,” said Ray Sefo, PFL President of Fighting Operations. “All 12 fighters who make the finals will have had to win two fights in one night to get there. It is a true test of these guys hearts and now they get to fight for $1 million and the PFL ti…

The talk is over. All that's left to do is fight!

Birmingham, see you Saturday night!

Full #CW98 weigh-in results https://t.co/QdbfXtqeXB pic.twitter.com/ZrtVZR8fmn

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship weekend kicked off Friday afternoon in Birmingham, England, with the official CW 98 weigh-ins. On Saturday, CW welterweight champion Stefano Paterno will put his belt on the line at the Genting Arena, where he will face undefeated Ross Houston.

An undisclosed reason forced the British promotion to change its co-main event at the last minute. Alan Carlos was declared not able to compete and his bout with Yannick Bahati was removed from the bill.

A featherweight title eliminator bout between Scotland’s Paull McBain and hometown hero Aiden Lee has now gained the co-main event spot. On the other side of the tournament draw, Dean Truman meets Lewis Monarch for a shot at the belt. Read more about Cage Warriors 98 Weigh-in Results: Welterweight Title Fight Official in Birmingham

So here's what's up for everybody asking

I do not have to have surgery!! I'm going to stay in LA and get stem cell injections in my hip on Monday. From that point I will have a 3 week recovery. After that I will be able to go back to training 100%.

It appears to be good news for Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, who recently had to pull out of his high profile fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 230 due to a hip injury.

The Louisianan said he couldn’t train as effectively as he wanted in the lead up to the fight and had to withdraw. His opponent, Diaz, didn’t want the UFC to find him another opponent and decided to withdraw as well.

Poirier originally tweeted that he would be seeing a specialist in Los Angeles to get a second opinion on the nagging hip issue and found out that the injury is not as bad as originally thought and won’t require surgery. Read more about Dustin Poirier’s Hip Injury Will Not Require Surgery

Derrick Lewis continues to build his brand in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and that brand is about to impact his bottom line in a big way.

The popular heavyweight, who boasts nearly a million and a half followers on Instagram, has now earned himself a shot at the title against champion Daniel Cormier after his come-from-behind knockout victory over Alexander Volkov earlier this month at UFC 229. His post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan where he claimed his “balls [were] hot” definitely earned himself more followers going into the high-profile bout with Cormier.

According to “The Black Beast,” he stands to earn a substantial amount on Nov. 3.

“It’s probably more than I made this year already,” Lewis said.

That is impressive, considering Lewis has made around $880,000 in disclosed earnings so far in 2018: $320,000 against Volkov at UFC 229, $260,000 against Francis Ngannou at UFC 226 and $320,000 against Marcin Tybura at UFC…

.@ElizeuCapoeira é escalado para o UFC Pequim, dia 24 de novembro, para enfrentar @UfcJingliang https://t.co/NAkKT0HKJz parceria com @marbarone

A welterweight showdown between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Jingliang Li is in the works for UFC Fight Night 141. The news first broke on Thursday from Marcelo Barone and Raphael Marinho of Combate.

Zaleski dos Santos (20-5) is riding a six-fight win streak including back-to-back knockouts of Sean Strickland and Luigi Vendramini, and is unbeaten inside the Octagon dating back to 2016. Those last two victories made Zaleski dos Santos the only fighter in UFC history to ever earn a knockout with a flying strike as well as a knockout with a spinning strike.

On the other side, Li (15-5) bounced back from a “Fight of the Night” decision loss to Jake Matthews earlier this year by beating Daichi Abe on the scorecards in Singapore this June. Jinglia…

Battle of Europe!

@TomFirekid vs. @TheProspectMMA at #UFC232! pic.twitter.com/cfQfAe18nf

Bantamweights Tom Duquesnoy and Nathaniel Wood have been added to UFC 232 in a pivotal bout between divisional prospects, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Thursday.

Duquesnoy (16-2) has lost just once over a 14-fight span, dropping a split decision to Cody Stamann last year. The 25-year-old Frenchman rebounded from the loss with a victory over Terrion Ware in March.

Meanwhile, former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship bantamweight king Wood (14-3) scored a slick, second-round submission over Johnny Eduardo in his Octagon debut back in June, extending his winning streak to six.

UFC 232 will take place Dec. 29 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be feature a rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson in the main event.

A gold medalist in judo at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Kayla Harrison debuts successfully with a first-round armbar on Brittney Elkin. Ronda would be proud. #PFL2 pic.twitter.com/UNcHSFTU3w

Professional Fighters League has announced an event in New York City for New Year’s Eve, which will feature six title fights and Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison’s third professional mixed martial arts bout. An opponent has yet to be revealed.

The New Year’s Eve card will hold the tournament finals to crown six new PFL champions after the playoffs end in their bracket-style format. Those newly-crowned champions will also walk away with $1 million.

League President Carlos Silva likened the tournament finals to March Madness, which will ultimately cap off the first season of PFL’s format:

“Fighters and fans love our March Madness meets MMA format. We’re excited to continue this momentous first seas…

Off to Vegas!@CatZingano faces off with @MeganA_MMA in a featherweight matchup. #UFC232 pic.twitter.com/iUHKhq9Ohz

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has officially added another women’s featherweight fight to an already-stacked card at UFC 232, in the form of Cat Zingano vs. Megan Anderson. The official announcement came on Wednesday through the UFC’s Twitter account.

It is an interesting announcement, as the card already features a women’s featherweight champion bout between Cristiane Justino and Amanda Nunes. Last month, “Cyborg” said she wanted a backup fighter ready, as the UFC has done for UFC 228 when Tyron Woodley took on Darren Till and it seems those calls were answered with the intriguing bout at 145 pounds announced between Zingano and Anderson.

The @ufc had an extra welterweight make weight when @TWooodley fought @darrentill2 just in case anyone got injured I would like …