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Ray Borg just can’t catch a break.
Undisclosed medical issues have ruled Borg out of a flyweight bout with Joseph Benavidez at UFC Fight Night 139, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person asked to remain anonymous because the news is not yet public.
The promotion will not replace Borg, and the final bout card order is being reshuffled as of this writing.
Submitted Nov 9, 2018 2:40PM by JLS - 3 comments Filed under: UFC
November 10, 2018
Venue: Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia
TV: YouTube
Fight Card:
265lbs- Mukhamad Vakhaev (6-4-1) vs. Sergey Belostenniy (5-1)
***Heavyweight Title Fight
155lbs- Eduard Vartanyan (18-4) vs. Ustarmagomed Gadzhidaudov (10-3)
155lbs- Andre Winner (22-11-2) vs. Yusup Raisov (13-1)
135lbs- Oleg Borisov (20-3-1) vs. Michinori Tanaka (12-3)
155lbs- Marcin Held (24-7) vs. Musa Khamanaev (18-5)
135lbs- Magomed Magomedov (15-2) vs. Walter Pereira Jr (14-3)
145lbs- Georgi Karakhanyan (28-8-1) vs. Timur Nagibin (14-3)
185lbs- Gamzat Khiramagomedov (6-0) vs. Jae Young Kim (23-11)
265lbs- Tanner Boser (15-4) vs. Salimgerey Rasulov (16-7)
145lbs- Gleristone Santos (34-9) vs. Rasul Mirzaev (17-1)
145lbs- Alexey Polpudnikov (24-5-1) vs. Alexander Peduson (13-2)
205lbs- Alexey Butorin (12-3) vs. Cory Hendricks (5-1)
155lbs- Alexander Sarnavskiy (35-7) vs. Herdeson Batista (12-3)
135lbs- Abdul-Rakhman Temirov (11-3) vs. Tural Ragimov (17-4)
170lbs- Umar Yankovskiy (12-2) vs. Sharaf Davlatmurodov (12-3-1)
As content as Anthony Johnson appears to be with his retirement, there are apparently certain conditions that would make him amenable to a comeback.
Johnson retired in April of last year after his second shot at light heavyweight gold, falling to defending champion Daniel Cormier, the same man who beat him for a vacant title back in May, 2015. The 34-year-old has stuck to his guns since, but on Tuesday he addressed a rumor started by his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show that he would “100 percent” fight again, this time as a heavyweight.
Submitted Nov 6, 2018 10:57PM by JLS - 3 comments Filed under: UFC
Two lightweight fights have been booked for UFC 233 in Anaheim.
The UFC is getting to work on its 2019 schedule, and the promotion’s first pay-per-view event of the upcoming year has just received a pair of lightweight matchups.
Submitted Nov 6, 2018 10:55PM by JLS - 1 comment Filed under: UFC
The UFC has added a “money” fight to UFC 232.
Chad “Money” Mendes will square off with rising Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 232 in Las Vegas. The company announced the fight on Tuesday.
Mendes (18-4) returned from a two-year absence on July 14 to score a first-round TKO of Myles Jury, snapping a two-fight losing streak. It was the 10th career stoppage win of the Team Alpha Male standout’s career.
Volkanovski (18-1), meanwhile, has put together one of the most low-key current hot streak in the UFC. The Australian has won 15 consecutive bouts, including all five since joining the UFC. He earned a unanimous decision over the always-tough Darren Elkins on the same Boise card in which Mendes defeated Jury for his most recent victory.
Submitted Nov 6, 2018 10:53PM by JLS - 3 comments Filed under: UFC
The UFC’s first card on ESPN+ is beginning to take shape.
Newsday reported Tuesday that Belal Muhammad and Geoff Neal have been booked to fight on the Jan. 19 card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the first UFC event that will be broadcast via the ESPN+ streaming service. A weight class was not specified, but Muhammad and Neal have regularly competed at 170 pounds.
Submitted Nov 6, 2018 10:51PM by JLS - 0 comments Filed under: UFC
Gilbert Melendez’s return to the octagon has been put on hold.
The UFC announced Monday that Melendez is injured and has been replaced by Rick Glenn, who will step in to fight Arnold Allen in a featherweight bout at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale, which takes place Nov. 30 in Las Vegas.
Submitted Nov 5, 2018 12:46PM by JLS - 1 comment Filed under: UFC
In a surprising bit of news, Floyd Mayweather will fight in Japanese MMA/kickboxing promotion RIZIN FF.
Word came tonight during a press conference (via Ariel Helwani) that Mayweather will face undefeated Japanese kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa at RIZIN FF 14 on December 31. The news was revealed in a press conference:
The UFC will be giving you eleven consecutive weeks of cards from mid-January to the end of March 2019.
During the UFC 230 broadcast, the promotion unveiled its event schedule for the first few months of 2019, aka the first few months of their broadcast partnership with ESPN. One major change coming next year compared to last year is that March, which has historically been a light month for the promotion, will see them run five events.
Submitted Nov 4, 2018 3:05PM by JLS - 1 comment Filed under: UFC
Last night (Sat. November 3, 2018) the UFC made their return to Madison Square Garden for UFC 230.
Opening up the main card of the show was a pivotal middleweight bout. Rising 185-pound star Israel Adesanya made quick work of Derek Brunson. Adesanya was able to knock Brunson out late in the first round, a finish worthy of a Performance Of The Night bonus worth an extra $50,000.
And finally, in the co-main event of the night, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza locked horns with former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Weidman looked like he was well on his way to winning the contest, however, the Brazilian pulled one out the hat with a last-minute knockout shot.
Submitted Nov 4, 2018 1:48PM by JLS - 3 comments Filed under: UFC
UFC 230 has lost a preliminary bout.
MMA Fighting has confirmed with sources that bantamweight Brian Kelleher has been forced out of his UFC Fight Pass prelim fight vs. Montel Jackson due to an illness. Kelleher will not be replaced and the bout has been removed from Saturday’s card in New York.
Submitted Nov 3, 2018 6:20PM by JLS - 0 comments Filed under: UFC
The title Ben Askren left behind at ONE Championship will be up for grabs later this month.
Promotion officials recently announced that Sweden’s Zebaztian Kadestam (10-4) will face undefeated American prospect Tyler McGuire (11-0) for the vacant title in the main event of ONE Championship 84, which takes place Nov. 17 at Stadium Istora in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Enrique Barzola has suffered an injury and has been pulled from UFC Fight Night Buenos Aires according to MMA Fusion, replacing him against Nad Narimani is going to be Sergio Giglio.
Narimani (11-2-0) is currently undefeated under the UFC banner, having defeated Khalid Taha by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night Hamburg. Narimani is a former Cage Warriors Lightweight Champion, defeating Paddy Pimblett to win the gold at Cage Warriors 82. Narimani hasn't suffered a defeat in almost four years, with that last loss coming to Alex Enlund at Cage Warriors 73.
Submitted Nov 3, 2018 12:23AM by JLS - 0 comments Filed under: UFC
A UFC middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum is being planned for UFC 234 in February.
UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker may finally get the chance to defend his title, as he is slated to fight Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234 in Australia.
Submitted Nov 2, 2018 10:54PM by JLS - 4 comments Filed under: UFC
Twenty-five years into the experiment that promised to determine the most effective martial art, the question is all but expired. Evolution has repeatedly proven that a melding of existing styles and a willingness toward adaptability will continually redefine the potent methods of the moment. It is always shifting, changing, developing; a living art form.
In that quarter-century, the UFC has welcomed thousands of fighters to the cage, all with the intent of rising to the top. A scant few have gotten there, able to call themselves a UFC champion. But an even smaller subset remain the best of the best; the most important fighters ever to step foot into the Octagon. While any list is subjective, in considering the measures necessary for inclusion, we focused on criteria including total body of work, strength of schedule, accomplishments, historical importance, and head-to-head results.
With the UFC celebrating its silver anniversary on Nov. 10, this multi-part series pays tributes to the key names that pushed the promotion’s rise, starting with Nos. 25-16...
Any current or former UFC fighters wondering about how the ongoing class-action antitrust lawsuit is going and how it might affect them will now be able to get some answers — directly.
The plaintiffs and the attorneys of the plaintiffs are inviting current and former UFC fighters to an information session. The meeting will be held Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. PT at the law offices of Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin, LLP in Las Vegas to “provide updates on the status of the lawsuit,” per a press release sent out Tuesday...
The more things go on, the less likely it appears that Tony Ferguson will get the next crack at Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Though Ferguson is, ostensibly, the No. 1 contender for Nurmagomedov’s lightweight belt, since submitting Conor McGregor at UFC 229, rumors have run amok that Nurmagomedov is chasing a superfight for his next bout, either with Georges St-Pierre or a boxing crossover with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Now Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has confirmed that they are looking for the biggest money fight possible for Khabib’s next fight.
A middleweight bout between Joe Schilling and Jose Leija is the latest addition to November’s Bellator 210 lineup.
MMAjunkie today verified the matchup between Schilling (2-5 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) and Leija (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) with a Bellator official.
Bellator 210 takes place Nov. 30 at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. Schilling vs. Leija is part of the MMAjunkie-streamed prelims prior to the main card, which airs on Paramount and streams on .
It’s been roughly 72 hours since news broke of the “trade” between the UFC and ONE Championship that allowed Demetrious Johnson and Ben Askren to flip promotions.
ONE Championship already held a conference call with Johnson, officially welcoming him to the promotion. Both Johnson and Askren made the rounds talking about the deal on Monday. So did Johnson’s agent, Malki Kawa.
Trades are common in the four major American sports. Teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball trade players for players, players for draft picks, players for cash. Trade deadlines are in place to make it all work.
No such practice exists in MMA. And yet, here we are in the wake of the first “trade” in the sport’s history, with two major promotions swapping high-profile fighters over the weekend.
