Brian Foster, Ramsey Nijem forced to withdraw from PFL playoff race
(https:)Brian Foster and Ramsey Nijem are out of the 2018 Professional Fighters League playoff picture, opening the door for two unlikely candidates to claim a postseason spot.
MMA Fighting confirmed with league officials that Foster and Nijem have been forced to withdraw from the current season. Foster didn’t receive a license to compete from the athletic commission, and Ramsey wasn’t cleared by a physician after being placed on medical suspension following his loss to Foster at PFL 2 on June 21.
MMA pioneer Kid Yamamoto announces cancer diagnosis
(https:)The former K-1 Heroes 165 lb Grand Prix champion and Japanese MMA legend is battling cancer.
Over the first half of the 2000s Norifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto was unquestionably one of the greatest talents in MMA. Standing just 5’ 4”, he blitzed the K-1 Heroes 165lb Middleweight Grand Prix, defeating Royler Gracie, Caol Uno, and Genki Sudo all by KO. His knockout of Kazuyuki Miyata, via flying knee just four seconds into round 1, is one of the fastest in MMA history.
Ketlen Vieira out of UFC Sao Paulo fight with Tonya Evinger, will require surgery
(https:)UFC Sao Paulo got a new main event. Now it’s going to need a new co-headliner.
Ketlen Vieira is injured and out of her women’s bantamweight contender bout with Tonya Evinger, which was scheduled for Sept. 22 in Brazil, Vieira confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz on Monday.
Vieira said she has a knee injury and will require surgery. MMAjunkie was the first to report the news, including that the UFC is seeking a replacement to fight Evinger. Vieira said she is unsure how long she will be out.
UFC Fight Night 135 bonuses: No doubt, Justin Gaethje's massive KO was worth $50,000
(https:)Justin Gaethje, Eryk Anders, Cory Sandhagen and Iuri Alcantara each earned $50,000 bonuses for their performances at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 135 event.
Sandhagen and Alcantara earned the “Fight of the Night,” while Gaethje and Anders each won “Performance of the Night” honors.
UFC officials announced the winners following the event, which MMAjunkie attended.
In the main event, Gaethje (19-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) laid out James Vick (13-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) with a right hand that dropped the slight lightweight favorite instantly to the canvas. It got Gaethje, a former WSOF champion, back on track after back-to-back losses to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier.
Anders (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) struggled early against Tim Williams (15-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC), despite being a huge 10-1 favorite in the fight. With the fight even heading into the third round, Anders briefly took Williams off his feet, and when he got up, Anders landed a perfectly timed kick to the face to put him away with just 18 seconds left.
Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega agreed for UFC 231
(https:)It looks like UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway is returning to the Octagon this December in Toronto, Canada.
Just over a month following his removal from UFC 226 due to unexplained concussion-like symptoms, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway’s much-anticipated title defense vs. Brian Ortega has been rebooked.
Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis in the works for UFC 229
(https:)On a night in which the UFC lightweight championship will be decided in what could be the biggest event in UFC history, two other competitors who have held versions of 155-pound gold look highly likely to throw down.
A matchup between former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and former UFC and WEC lightweight titleholder Anthony Pettis is in the works for UFC 229 in Las Vegas on Oct. 6. MMA Fighting confirmed an initial Thursday night report by MMA Junkie.
Carlo Pedersoli Jr. Steps in for Neil Magny, Faces Alex Olivieira At UFC Sao Paulo
(m.sherdog.com)It didn’t take long for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to find a new opponent for Alex Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 137. Oliveira was originally scheduled to fight Neil Magny at a UFC event in Sao Paulo. Magny, however, pulled out of the bout to face Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC Fight Night 140 on Nov. 17. Now, Carlo Pedersoli Jr. has stepped up to face Oliveira on Sept. 22. The matchup was first reported by Brazilian website Combate, but Sherdog’s own source has confirmed the report.
Oliveira (19-4-1, 2 N/C) is coming off a second-round submission against Carlos Condit at UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje. The Brazilian “Cowboy” has won five of his last seven fights. His last three appearances were rewarded with two “Performance of the Night” bonuses and a “Fight of the Night” bonus. Carlo "Semento" Pedersoli Jr. (11-1) recently made his Octagon debut at UFC Liverpool. On that occasion, the Italian-American fighter defeated Bradley Scott by split decision.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Gilbert Burns announced for UFC 231
(https:)Be forewarned, Toronto: A Canadian Gangster is coming to town.
“The Canadian Gangster” Olivier-Aubin Mercier will meet Gilbert Burns in a lightweight matchup at UFC 231 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Centre on Dec. 8, the UFC announced Thursday.
Aubin-Mercier (11-3), from Montreal’s Tristar Gym, is looking to shake off his first loss in more than two years. Aubin-Mercier dropped a decision to Alex Hernandez at UFC on FOX 30. Previously, Aubin-Mercier won four straight fights and seven of eight.
Stevie Ray vs. Jessin Ayari set for UFC Moncton
(https:)An all-European lightweight matchup is heading to Canada.
Britain’s Stevie Ray will square off with Germany’s Jessin Ayari on the UFC Moncton show on Oct. 27, the company announced Thursday.
Ray (21-8), is looking to reignite the fire of the early portion of his UFC stint, in which he won five of his first six fights. Since then, he’s dropped two in a row, most recently a split-decision to Kajan Johnson at UFC London on March 17.
Karl Roberson vs. Jack Marshman announced for UFC 230
(https:)A Contender Series standout and a former Cage Warriors champion will clash at Madison Square Garden.
On Thursday, the UFC announced a middleweight bout between Karl Roberson (6-1) and Jack Marshman (22-7) for UFC 230, which takes place in New York on Nov. 3.
Roberson, 27, is coming off of the first setback of his career, a first-round technical submission loss to Cezar Ferreira at UFC 224. Before that, Roberson earned a contract on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series with a 15-second knockout of Ryan Spann followed by a successful UFC debut in November where he notched a first-round submission of Darren Stewart.
Jared Gordon meets Joaquim Silva at UFC on FOX 31
(https:)The last UFC on FOX card before the promotion moves to ESPN will feature a lightweight bout between Jared Gordon and Joaquim Silva, sources told MMA Fighting following a report by Combate.
UFC on FOX 31 takes place Dec. 15 at the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center in Milwaukee.
Both Gordon (14-2) and Silva (10-1) are looking to rebound from losses in the Octagon.
Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes set for UFC 232
(https:)UFC champions Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes will meet in the Octagon on Dec. 29, multiple sources confirmed to MMA Fighting following a report by ESPN. Cyborg’s featherweight title will be on the line when they meet in a 145-pound fight at Las Vegas’ UFC 232.
Cyborg (20-1, 1 no-contest) attempted to convince the UFC and Nunes to move the fight to September, complaining about the long layoff after a March title defense with Yana Kunitskaya, but the promotion ultimately booked it for the final card of the year.
The featherweight champion is 5-0 inside the Octagon with wins over Leslie Smith, Lina Lansberg, Tonya Evinger, Holly Holm and Kunitskaya.
UFC’s Desmond Green involved in fatal five-vehicle crash, suffers minor injuries
(https:)Four-fight Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran, Desmond Green, triggered a fatal five-vehicle crash this past weekend (Sat., Aug. 18, 2018), on Interstate 75 in Davie, Fla., according to ABC Local 10 News (click the link to watch video of the aftermath).
The good news for Green is that he suffered only minor injuries; however, two people were killed in the crash and another individual is currently in the hospital “fighting for her life” with “serious injuries.”
Here’s how the deadly crash apparently unfolded (via lvaro Feola, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol):
Yoel Romero says he’s not fighting at UFC 230: ‘I need 4-5 months to heal’
(https:)Despite an already-announced fight, Yoel Romero won’t be taking on Paulo Costa any time soon.
A few weeks ago, the UFC curiously announced a middleweight bout between Paulo Costa and Yoel Romero for UFC 230 in November. The bout didn’t make sense on multiple levels - the top two being that Romero had already announced a move to 205 pounds, and that he was injured.
Luis Pena to fight TUF winner Mike Trizano at UFC Denver
(https:)Luis Pena’s stint in The Ultimate Fighter house was cut short. Now he’s getting the chance to make up for lost time.
Nicknamed “Violent Bob Ross,” Pena (4-0) will fight TUF 27 lightweight champion Mike Trizano (6-0) at UFC Denver at the Pepsi Center on Nov. 10, according to a report from The Denver Post.
Though Pena gained plenty of notoriety on TUF 27 show for his fighting ability and resemblance to famous painter and television personality Bob Ross, it was Trizano who would go on to defeat Joe Giannetti at the Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale in July to win the season. Pena picked up a unanimous decision nod over Jose Martinez Jr. in the quarter-finals, but a foot injury forced him to withdraw from the competition.
Gray Maynard to fight Nik Lentz at UFC 229
(https:)Two of the UFC’s most experienced fighters will face off at UFC 229.
Gray Maynard meets Nik Lentz in a lightweight bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 6., per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Between the two of them, Maynard and Lentz have a combined 39 bouts inside the Octagon.
This will be Maynard’s first fight at 155 pounds since April 2015. A two-time UFC lightweight title challenger, the 39-year-old Maynard made his last three appearances at featherweight, going 2-1. Most recently he defeated Teruto Isihara by unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale to improve his professional record to 13-6-1 with one no contest.
Driver pleads guilty to manslaughter in relation to death of MMA fighter Jordan Parsons
(https:)Jordan Parsons, who fought for Bellator MMA, was 25-years-old at the time of his passing.
Last week, Dennis Michael Wright, 30, plead guilty to DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash involving death, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in connection to the 2016 hit-and-run killing of MMA fighter Jordan Parsons. Wright, who had been under house arrest until his bond was revoked this April, plead guilty as part of a plea deal.
Glover Teixeira injured, out of UFC Sao Paulo main event vs. Jimi Manuwa
(https:)UFC Sao Paulo has already lost its main event.
Less than two weeks after it was announced that light heavyweight veteran Glover Teixeira would headline UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo against Jimi Manuwa, Texieira has already been forced to withdraw.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani confirmed on Tuesday that Teixeira has pulled out due to a shoulder injury, and it’s reportedly the same one he’s been dealing with since his title fight loss vs. Jon Jones back in 2014. According to the report, there is concern that this injury could require surgery, but no decision has been made.
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