Ricky Rainey in for Abdul Razak Alhassan, meets Muslim Salikhov at UFC on FOX 29
(mmajunkie.com)A couple weeks out from the UFC’s return to Arizona, an injury has changed a bout and opened the door for a fighter to make his promotional debut.
Abdul Razak Alhassan (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is out of his welterweight fight against Muslim Salikhov (13-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC on FOX 29. In Alhassan’s place will be Ricky Rainey (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the promotion today announced.
UFC on FOX 29 will take place April 14 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The main card will air on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Jessica Eye vs. Jessica-Rose Clark targeted for UFC Singapore
(https:)Jessica Eye will continue her UFC flyweight run this summer.
The promotion is targeting a women’s flyweight contest between Eye and Jessica-Rose Clark for UFC Singapore, which is set to go down on June 23 at a yet-to-be-announced venue in Singapore, sources told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
USADA suspends UFC’s Amanda Lemos two years for testing positive for steroid
(https:)Amanda Lemos is the latest fighter to be suspended by USADA for a UFC anti-doping policy violation.
USADA suspended the women’s bantamweight athlete two years for testing positive for the steroid stanozolol and its metabolite, stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected Nov. 8, 2017, the UFC’s anti-doping partner announced Wednesday. Lemos won’t be eligible to fight again in the UFC until November 2019.
UFC returns to Hamburg on July 22
(https:)The UFC will host its second event at The Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg when the promotion returns to the German city on July 22.
The event was announced by the promotion on Tuesday morning via press release and through the European team’s social media feeds.
Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson targeted for UFC Liverpool
(https:)With hometown hero and rising welterweight star Darren Till set to headline UFC Liverpool in May, it seems that two more top 170-pounders could be making an appearance on the card.
According to a report by Farah Hannoun, a fight between Gunnar Nelson and Neil Magny is in the works for UFC Liverpool. Shortly after the news, Magny revealed he had signed a bout agreement on his Instagram account, and that a fight announcement would be “coming soon.”
Ed Ruth Gets New Oppoment, Weight Class For Bellator 196 Bout In Budapest
(sherdog.com)Ed Ruth’s welterweight debut will have to wait.
After original Bellator 196 foe Laszlo Furko withdrew from the 170-pound bout due to injury, Ruth will now face Ion Pascu in a 175-pound catchweight affair on April 6. A promotion official confirmed the change to Sherdog.com following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.
Bellator 196 takes place at Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, and is headlined by a lightweight tilt between Benson Henderson and Roger Huerta. The card airs on the Paramount Network in the United States via tape delay at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel slated for UFC Utica
(https:)Jessica Aguilar finally has a fight lined up.
The veteran fighter has been booked to fight Jodie Esquibel in a women’s strawweight contest at UFC Utica (UFC Fight Night 131). The ever is set to take palce on June 1 at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, N.Y.
Antonina Shevchenko booking in the works for Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series
(https:)The Shevchenkos are a fighting family and now it’s Antonina’s turn to get a chance to shine on a bigger platform.
Sources confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that Antonina Shevchenko — the older sister of UFC flyweight contender Valentina Shevchenko — will be competing at 125 pounds in the upcoming season of Dana White’s Contender Series, which is expected to take place in the summer.
Video: Drew Chatman flips off of KO’d opponent’s back, gets disqualified at LFA 36
(https:)This is a new one.
Following the main event of Legacy Fighting Alliance 36 on Friday, one of the amateur “postlims” saw heavyweight Irvins Ayala knock himself out by attempting to land a hammerfist on grounded opponent Drew Chatman.
And yet that isn’t the strangest part of this story.
For some reason, Chatman decided to celebrate the dubious win by standing on Ayala’s back and doing a front flip that ended with him landing partially on his opponent and partially with his butt on the canvas:
Per the LFA Twitter account, Ayala KO’d himself by slamming his own chin into Chatman’s knee and Chatman was subsequently disqualified for his post-match antics,
