Erick Silva kicks off post-UFC run, headlines LFA 45 on July 20
(https:)After a 15-fight run in the UFC, Brazilian welterweight Erick Silva now headlines LFA 45.
Promotion officials today announced that Silva (19-9) will face Nick Barnes (12-3) in the featured bout of the card, which takes place July 20 at Morongo Casino Outdoor Pavilion in Cabazon, Calif. The night’s main card airs on AXS TV.
The current LFA 45 card includes:
Erick Silva vs. Nick Barnes
Moses Murrietta vs. Casey Ryan
James Cannon vs. Blake Troop
Luc Bondole vs. Taylor Johnson
Dana White's Contender Series 9 results: Menifield UFC-bound, Hardy scores developmental deal
(https:)In his second visit to Dana White’s Contender Series, Alonzo Menifield (7-0) made a statement against Dashawn Boatwright (3-1)
In the opening seconds, the two men clashed in the center, and a Boatwright high kick turned out to be his undoing. Menifield pushed forward, and an off-balance Boatwright fell to the canvas. Menifield immediately jumped on top and punched away until referee Mark Smith called a halt to the contest just eight seconds after it began.
Complete Dana White’s Contender Series 9 results include:
Alonzo Menifield def. Dashawn Boatwright via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:08
Chris Curtis def. Sean Lally TKO (kick, punches) – Round 3, 1:37
Greg Hardy def. Austen Lane via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:57
Montel Jackson def. Rico DiSciullo via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:15
Kevin Holland def. Will Santiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
James Nakashima to Defend Welterweight Crown vs. Kyle Stewart in LFA 46 Main Event
(m.sherdog.com)A pair of fighters with Arizona ties will vie for welterweight gold when James Nakashima defends his 170-pound title against Kyle Stewart at Legacy Fighting Alliance 46.
The promotion announced the championship headliner on Wednesday. LFA 46 takes place at U.S. military facility Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Newport News, Va., and airs on AXS-TV at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. In the co-main event, Alexandre Bezerra will face Mike Pope at featherweight.
Nakashima, who trains at the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., is 8-0 as a professional. The former University of Nebraska wrestler last appeared at LFA 23, where he took a five-round split decision against Derrick Krantz in September 2017. According to a release, Nakashima has been sidelined by injuries since then.
UFC vet Erick Silva to make LFA debut vs. Nick Barnes on July 20
(https:)Once one of the UFC’s most intriguing welterweight prospects, Erick Silva is set to make a fresh start.
The 33-year-old Brazilian makes his Legacy Fighting Alliance debut on July 20 when he fights Nick Barnes (12-3) in the main event of LFA 45 at the Morongo Casino Outdoor Pavilion in Cabazon, Calif.
Silva’s contract with the UFC expired following his unanimous decision loss to Jordan Mein last December and he was in talks with several promotions before Wednesday’s announcement by the LFA. He lost four of his last five fights inside the Octagon.
Rafael dos Anjos reacts to UFC 225 loss to Colby Covington: ‘Bad guys win sometimes in real life’
(https:)Rafael dos Anjos had the chance to join the club of fighters who managed to win UFC titles in two different weight classes, but was defeated by Colby Covington for the interim welterweight belt in the co-main event of UFC 225 in Chicago in Saturday night.
Two days after the defeat, dos Anjos’ first loss since moving up from 155 pounds, the Brazilian released a statement on his social media, promising to bounce back a better fighter, like he did after his 2014 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and losing to one of the “bad guys” in Chicago.
UFC 227 tickets: $362 gets you cageside for Dillashaw-Garbrandt, Johnson-Cejudo rematches
(https:)If you’re headed to Los Angeles for a pair of championship rematches, $362 will get on the floor for UFC 227.
Officials today announced UFC 227 ticket prices, which range from $62.10 for nosebleeds to $362.25 for floor/cageside seats.
UFC 227 takes place Aug. 4 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though the full fight card and bout order haven’t been finalized.
Tickets, which are capped at eight per order, go on sale to to the general public beginning Friday at 10 a.m. PT. However, UFC 226 ticket pre-sale periods begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT for UFC Fight Club members and Thursday at 10 a.m. PT for UFC.com e-newsletter subscribers.
USADA suspends Michal Oleksiejczuk one year for testing positive for clomiphene
(https:)Michal Oleksiejczuk now has his complete sanctions.
USADA suspended the UFC light heavyweight for one year after his positive test for clomiphene in December, the UFC’s anti-doping partner announced Tuesday. Oleksiejczuk was already suspended one year in March by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) and his win over Khalil Rountree was overturned to a no contest. The suspensions will run concurrently.
Rolando Dy vs. Shane Young completes 12-bout lineup at UFC Singapore
(https:)A featherweight contest between the Philippines’ Rolando Dy (9-6-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and New Zealand’s Shane Young (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is the 12th and final addition to the UFC’s upcoming return to Singapore.
UFC officials recently announced the contest for UFC Fight Night 132, which takes place June 23 at Singapore Indoor Stadium and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
X-ray shows hand injury suffered by Robert Whittaker at UFC 225
(https:)Robert Whittaker scored another decision victory over Yoel Romero in the main event of UFC 225 in Chicago, but it was a costly win.
“The Reaper”, who won a close split decision win in a five-round non-title bout Saturday night, fractured his right thumb early in the opening round, and his team released the X-ray on social media.
Michael Bisping’s on-air beef with Colby Covington was untimely (and unnecessary)
(https:)It’s exceedingly easy to hate on Colby Covington, especially after he vowed to take his newly won interim belt to the White House for Donald Trump to run a cold finger over. But it’s quite another to dress him down on a post-fight show right after he wins that belt, which Michael Bisping did late on Saturday night. If you expect high-road professionalism from Bisping in his role as an analyst, five words spring immediately to mind.
Good luck with that, booday.
In fact, the whole segment — which lasted five minutes and aired live on Fox Sports 1 after UFC 225 — took on the complexion of an SNL skit, with Covington on one half of the split screen sporting shades, his belt and his trademark smug smile, and Bisping on the other, taking umbrage at how Covington called the panel out for doubting his chances against Rafael dos Anjos. It was uncomfortable, weird, comical, even a little mortifying — and sometimes all of those things at once (like when poor Michelle Waterson forgot her question).
It was also untimely. Check it out for yourself.
Dana White says Rashad Evans told him that he’s retiring from MMA
(https:)Rashad Evans’ 53-second loss at UFC 225 could turn out to be the final Octagon appearance of his legendary career.
Evans suffered a nasty first-round knockout loss to Anthony Smith on Saturday night at UFC 225, a setback which extended his current losing streak to five straight. Afterward, UFC president Dana White said that he spoke to Evans in the aftermath of the Smith fight, and he indicated that Evans could be at the end of his 13-year run with the promotion.
UFC 225 bonuses: Robert Whittaker gets extra $50K over Romero weigh-in flub
(https:)The action certainly delivered last night (Sat., June 9, 2018) at UFC 225 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside United Center in Chicago, Ill., as UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker outlasted Cuban machine Yoel Romero in a five-round bloody classic.
In addition to the main event mayhem, Colby Covington walked away with the interim welterweight strap by suffocating Rafael dos Anjos, CM Punk got beat up by Mike Jackson for 15 minutes, Cutis Blaydes turned Alistair Overeem into a bloody mess, Anthony Smith kneed Rashad Evans into oblivion, and Charles Oliveira quickly choked out Clay Guida.
Ronda Rousey becomes first female UFC Hall of Famer
(https:)
Ronda Rousey was the first American woman to medal in the Olympics in judo.
She was the first women to be signed by the UFC.
She was the first to headline a UFC pay-per-view. She was the first to win a championship match. She was the first to sell out a major arena. She was the first woman in any combat sport to draw a $1 million live gate and nearly quadrupled the largest pay-per-view number for any kind of sporting event headlined by a woman. That was all on the same night.
She was the first woman to headline a combat sports event in front of 50,000 fans. She was the first to headline a 1 million pay-per-view buy show, and did so twice with no real undercard support.
She was the first MMA fighter to win an ESPY award, winning Best Female Athlete in both 2014 and 2015, and was the first MMA fighter to break the boxing stronghold on the Best Fighter award in voting among sports fans.
She won her first seven fights by armbar, all in less than 57 seconds.
She still has the fastest submission — 14 seconds against Cat Zingano — in modern UFC history. She has the third-fastest knockout — 16 seconds against Alexis Davis — in UFC title fight history.
Her six title defenses is still a women’s UFC record. In her 12 pro and three amateur wins, every single one was via stoppage. Only one of those opponents got out of the first round and only three lasted more than 66 seconds. They included wins over major organization champions Julia Budd, Sarah Kaufman, and two over Miesha Tate.
For all those reasons, Rousey had to be the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo 2 booked for UFC 227
(https:)For Demetrious Johnson to make it to a dozen successful title defenses, he’ll have to defeat one of his most decorated opponents — again.
On Saturday’s UFC 225 Fight Pass prelims broadcast, the promotion announced that Johnson will defend his flyweight championship in a rematch against Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 on Aug. 4 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Yoel Romero fails to make championship weight on second attempt for UFC 225 fight with Robert Whittaker
(https:)After two tries, Yoel Romero will not be competing for the UFC middleweight title on Saturday.
The would-be challenger was granted an extra two hours by the Illinois State Athletic Commission to make weight at Friday’s weigh-ins for UFC 225 in Chicago after coming in heavy on his first attempt for his championship rematch with Robert Whittaker. Clearance from a physician was also required for Romero to attempt a second weigh-in.
Romero initially weighed in at 186 pounds and he came in at 185.2 pounds on his second attempt, making him ineligible to win the title in Saturday’s main event. It is unclear whether the fight will proceed and if so what conditions will be negotiated by the fighters’ teams.
Brad Tavares out of TUF 27 Finale vs. Israel Adesanya; Thiago 'Marreta' Santos possible replacement
(https:)Brad Tavares’ long-awaited opportunity to headline a UFC card is going to have to wait a little longer; the middleweight contender is out of The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale headliner.
Tavares (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) was scheduled to fight unbeaten rising star Israel Adesanya (12-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at the July 6 event, which takes place at Pearl Theater in Las Vegas. The card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
According to UFC President Dana White, who today revealed the news to TMZ.com, Tavares suffered a broken foot in training that’s ruled him out of competition.
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