‘Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung wants to fight Frankie Edgar next
(https:)Former UFC lightweight champion and current featherweight contender Frankie Edgar bounced back from his first career knockout loss by winning a clear-cut unanimous decision over Cub Swanson in front of his adoring fans in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
With Brian Ortega turning his KO of Edgar into a showdown against current champion Max Holloway, it’s a near certainty that Edgar will need at least another win to get back in position for a title shot, and Chan Sung Jung, aka “The Korean Zombie,” is very interested in being Edgar’s next opponent.
Julia Budd-Talita Nogueira title fight, Eduardo Dantas-Michael McDonald top Bellator 202 lineup
(mmajunkie.com)Bellator women’s featherweight champion Julia Budd has her next title defense lined up for July’s Bellator 202 event.
A Bellator official today confirmed the plans with MMAjunkie.
Budd (11-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is set to put her 145-pound belt up for grabs for the second time when she takes on Talita Nogueira (7-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in the July 13 event headliner at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on MMAjunkie, and the full fight card and bout order will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Also set for Bellator 202 is a bantamweight co-headliner between former two-time Bellator champ Eduardo Dantas (20-5 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) and Michael McDonald (18-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).
PFL 1 lineup is set; 24 familiar names and tourney hopefuls fill out 12-bout card
(mmajunkie.com)The lineup is set for the first event under PFL – the rebranded WSOF promotion that has relaunched with an ambitious yearlong tournament format with some major paydays.
PFL 1 takes place Thursday, June 7, at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main card airs on NBCSN following early fights on Facebook Watch, though the 12-bout lineup hasn’t yet been assigned broadcast slots.
The full PFL 1 lineup includes:
Andre Harrison vs. Jumabieke Tuerxun
Bekbulat Magomedov vs. Lance Palmer
Shawn Jordan vs. Mike Kyle
Max Coga vs. Timur Valiev
Denis Goltsov vs. Nick Rossborough
Alexandre Almeida vs. Lee Coville
Valdrin Istrefi vs. Jake Rosholt
Magomed Idrisov vs. Steven Siler
Caio Alencar vs. Jake Heun
Francimar Barroso vs. Daniel Gallemore
Josh Copeland vs. Jack May
Marcos Galvao vs. Nazareno Malegarie
Milestone Bellator 200 lineup finalized; Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson headlines
(mmajunkie.com)The milestone Bellator 200 card is all revved up and ready to go.
Officials today announced the finalized lineup for the event, which takes place May 25 at SSE Arena in London with a main card that airs via same-day tape delay on Paramount. And it’ll be a battle of big men getting top billing over a title fight.
The headliner features heavyweights Roy Nelson (23-15 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) and Mirko Cro Cop (36-11-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) doing battle. In the co-main event, middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho (15-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) puts his title on the line against Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).
The complete Bellator 200 lineup is as follows:
MAIN CARD (Paramount, 9 p.m. ET)
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson
Champ Rafael Carvalho vs. Gegard Mousasi – for middleweight title
Michael Page vs. David Rickels
Aaron Chalmers vs. Ash Griffiths – 163-pound catchweight
Phil Davis vs. Linton Vassell
PRELIMINARY CARD
Kate Jackson vs. Anastasia Yankova
Vladimir Filipovic vs. Anatoly Tokov
Pedro Carvalho vs. Daniel Crawford
Martyn Harris vs. Ryan Scope
Carl Noon vs. Mike Shipman
Louis King vs. Charlie Ward
Jeremy Petley vs. Saul Rogers
Kevin Fryer vs. Costello Van Steenis
Tom Green vs. Charlie Leary
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison announces MMA debut at PFL show on June 21
(https:)Olympic champion Kayla Harrison is ready to show the MMA world what she’s got.
A two-time gold medalist in judo, the 27-year-old Harrison joined the World Series of Fighting promotion as a commentator last year, with the understanding that she could potentially compete for the organization. The WSOF recently became the Professional Fighters League and released its schedule for the 2018 season.
Harrison announced Monday on The MMA Hour that she will make her professional MMA debut at a June 21 PFL show at the Chicago Theater in Chicago.
Khabib Nurmagomedov targeting return to defend UFC title toward end of 2018
(https:)The UFC lightweight division has no shortage of potential title contenders. And it seems like it’ll have plenty of time to sort itself out before the title gets defended again.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, the UFC’s 155-pound champion, wrote Sunday in an Instagram post that he’s not planning a return to the Octagon until November or December.
Volkan Oezdemir vs. ‘Shogun’ Rua pulled from UFC Chile
(https:)Volkan Oezdemir’s fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is off.
The light heavyweight duo was scheduled to meet at UFC Chile in Santiago on May 19. However, complications related to Oezdemir’s ongoing legal situation means the South Florida-based fighter won’t be able to leave the country and take the fight.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani confirmed an initial report by Combate. Additionally, MMA Fighting has learned the UFC is going to attempt to re-book the bout at a later date, preferably some time over the summer.
Santiago Ponzinibbio out of UFC Chile main event due to injury
(https:)UFC Chile is going to need a new main event.
Sources confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that Santiago Ponzinibbio has been forced to withdraw from his headlining bout opposite Kamaru Usman that was scheduled to take place on May 19 at the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile, due to a hand injury.
Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega title fight in the works for UFC 226 in Las Vegas
(mmajunkie.com)It appears Max Holloway will get his desired date and location for his next UFC featherweight title defense.
A matchup between Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) and top contender Brian Ortega (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is in the works for UFC 226, MMAjunkie learned from two people with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the UFC has yet to make anything public.
UFC 226 takes place July 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Holloway vs. Ortega is expected to co-headline the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis slated for UFC 226
(https:)A much-anticipated heavyweight fight is close to being added to UFC 226.
Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis is scheduled for the July 7 card in Las Vegas, MMA Fighting has learned. The promotion is expected to finalize the fight in the coming days.
Marion Reneau vs. Cat Zingano among three bookings slated for UFC Fight Night 133 in Boise
(mmajunkie.com)Among the first additions to UFC Fight Night 133 is a crucial women’s bantamweight bout between streaking contender Marion Reneau and former title challenger Cat Zingano.
Also set for the card are a pair of flyweight bouts. Former 135-pound title challenger Liz Carmouche meets former Invicta FC champ Jennifer Maia. And Justin Scoggins also takes on a promotional newcomer in Said Nurmagomedov, who is the cousin of the UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Roxanne Modafferi vs. Barb Honchak rebooked for TUF 27 Finale
(https:)Two of the best — and most well-known — women’s flyweight fighters in the world are set to collide this summer.
Roxanne Modafferi and Barb Honchak will meet at the TUF 27 Finale on July 6 in Las Vegas, MMA Fighting confirmed Thursday.
Also added to the TUF 27 Finale card, per the Review-Journal, was a bout between two other TUF 26 contestants — Rachael Ostovich vs. Montana de la Rosa. Former Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series star Julian Marquez will face Alessio Di Chirico as well.
Magomed Bibulatov off of UFC Atlantic City due to injury
(https:)UFC Fight Night Atlantic City could be down a bout.
Sources told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that flyweight Magomed Bibulatov has been forced to withdraw from his flyweight bout vs. Ulka Sasaki scheduled for Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., due to a back injury.
Rory MacDonald and Ben Askren tweet about fighting each other in Bellator, but how possible is that?
(mmajunkie.com)Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald vs. Ben Askren: Is this a matchup that piques your interest?
Because it’s been talked about now between the two fighters.
A Twitter user today asked MacDonald, who already said he wants to move up to middleweight, if he would be interested in facing Askren, the former ONE Championship and Bellator 170-pound titleholder, who retired undefeated last November.
MacDonald responded, and that got things going between him and Askren. Check it out:
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