Art of the deal: How UFC, ONE Championship pulled off historic Johnson-Askren 'trade'
(https:)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.
UFC Moncton bonuses: Anthony Smith picks up another $50k
(https:)Anthony Smith, Don Madge, Nasrat Haqparast and Thibault Gouti each earned $50,000 bonuses for their performances at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 138 event.
Haqparast and Gouti earned the “Fight of the Night,” while Smith and Madge each won “Performance of the Night” honors.
Bryce Mitchell considers himself ‘lucky’ despite horrific scrotum injury
(https:)Bryce Mitchell can laugh about it now, but it’s difficult to imagine anyone having a sense of humor about the injury he suffered this past August.
In a series of social media posts that would unsettle an iron stomach, the 24-year-old UFC featherweight shared the details of an accident that involved a drill, his scrotum, and a bloody pair of shorts. Suffice to say, fresh off of a stint on The Ultimate Fighter 27 and his first official UFC win — a majority decision nod over Tyler Diamond at the show’s finale — this wasn’t how Mitchell was looking to make headlines.
Miraculously, the damage to Mitchell has mostly been cosmetic and he was back in the gym training just three weeks after the accident occurred. Looking back, the undefeated fighter realizes how fortunate he was, and he recently spoke to MMA Fighting about the moment he thought his days were numbered...
Historic trade finalized: Ben Askren heads to UFC, Demetrious Johnson to ONE
(https:)An unprecedented deal was finalized Saturday which will bring an undefeated former world champion into the UFC while shipping one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts history off to compete in Asia.
Former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren will be released from his ONE contract to sign with the UFC, while Demetrious Johnson will be released from his UFC contract in order to sign a deal with ONE. ESPN first reported the news.
ONE announced the Johnson signing Saturday night...
Michael Johnson misses weight, but UFC Moncton fight vs. Artem Lobov still on
(https:) Michael Johnson weighed in one pound heavy for his featherweight bout against Artem Lobov. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that, if Lobov keeps his word, Johnson won’t lose any money for it.
Johnson was the last man to step on the scale Friday during official weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night 138 and came in at 147 pounds, one over the non-title fight limit. The FS1-televised co-headliner will go on as planned, however, after Johnson was fined 20 percent of his purse by the commission.
Frankie Edgar out of UFC Denver main event, Yair Rodriguez steps in against Chan Sung Jung
(https:)Frankie Edgar is injured and being forced to withdraw from the scheduled UFC Denver main event against Chan Sung Jung, his manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed Friday night with MMA Fighting. Jung will now fight Yair Rodriguez in the headliner, UFC president Dana White told ESPN.com.
The card, on Nov. 10, is scheduled to be the UFC’s 25th anniversary celebration in the city where it all started. In November 1993, the promotion held its very first event, in Denver.
Adam Wieczorek replaces Ruslan Magomedov, faces Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 230
(https:)The UFC 230 lineup continues to shuffle, and the latest change takes place in the heavyweight division.
UFC officials today announced that Poland’s Adam Wieczorek (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has stepped in on short notice to replace Russia’s Ruslan Magomedov and will now face Brazil’s Marcos Rogerio de Lima (15-5-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) on the night’s UFC Fight Pass-streamed early prelims, which precede the evening’s FS1 prelims and pay-per-view main card.
MMAjunkie confirmed with Magomedov’s team that visa issues were to blame for his withdrawal.
UFC, ONE close to trade involving Demetrious Johnson, Ben Askren
(espn.co.uk)According to multiple sources, there is a proposed deal on the table for the UFC to release former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson from his contract in order to allow him to sign with ONE. In return, ONE will release former welterweight champion Ben Askren from his contract so he can finally join the UFC.
Renato Moicano vs Mirsad Bektic added to UFC 231, Moicano expects to be main event alternate
(https:)It was reported earlier this month that the surging top featherweight contender Renato “Moicano” Carneiro (13-1-1) was to face Chad Mendes for his next time out. That, however, appears to no longer be the case.
Combate has now reported that the currently No. 4 ranked contender Moicano will now be facing off against a fellow rising contender, Bosnia’s Mirsad Bektic (13-1) at UFC 231 on December 8 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. According to the report, Moicano says he expects to act as the alternate fighter if needed in the case of an injury to either man in the night’s featherweight title fight main event between the champion Max Holloway and the unbeaten challenger Brian Ortega.
PFL 10 results and highlights: Cooper III TKOs Shields, Ferreira on way to welterweight final
(https:)The tenth edition of Professional Fighter’s league revealed the finalists for the welterweight and middleweight tournaments, in Washington, D.C.
The Professional Fighters League middleweight and welterweight tournaments have its official finalists.
Following a rather interesting event in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, October 20, the winning athletes are now just one fight away from the one million dollars prize. The tournaments’ finals will now be decided at PFL 11, on December 31, in New York City.
With 'Jacare' shifted to co-main event, David Branch gets Jared Cannonier at UFC 230
(https:)David Branch will fight at UFC 230. However, it won’t be against the ranked competition he desired. Instead, it will be against a divisional newcomer.
With Brach’s (22-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) originally scheduled opponent Ronaldo Souza shifted to the co-main event against Chris Weidman, the former two-division WSOF champ will now meet Jared Cannonier (10-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in a middleweight bout.
MMAjunkie verified the change with a person close to the situation following a report from ESPN.com. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
Ben Saunders steps in to face Lyman Good at UFC 230
(https:)Earlier this week, Lyman Good posted a photo on Instagram of him running through a park with headphones and a UFC sweatshirt on.
The caption said, “Focused.”
That focus may shift a little now that he has a new opponent.
Good, from Manhattan, will face Ben Saunders in a welterweight bout at UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 3, a UFC official said Friday. Good had been scheduled to face Sultan Aliev, who is off the card for an undisclosed reason.
Luke Rockhold out of UFC 230 bout with Chris Weidman; ‘Jacare’ Souza offered fight
(https:)A reported injury to Luke Rockhold has forced him out of UFC 230.
The former UFC middleweight champion was scheduled for a rematch with the man he defeated for the title, Chris Weidman, in the co-feature bout at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 3. But he’s out due to multiple injuries.
MMA Fighting confirmed an initial Friday report by ESPN. Additionally, MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz has learned the UFC has offered the bout to former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza. The fighter nicknamed “Jacare,” who is scheduled to fight former WSOF dual titleholder David Branch on the MSG card, is said to be considering the offer.
Eddie Alvarez Signs with ONE Championship
(https:)Eddie Alvarez’s free agency days are over. The former UFC lightweight champion has found a new home in ONE Championship. Eddie Alvarez announced the signing himself through ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong via Twitter Monday night, putting an end to speculation regarding his future.
Eddie Alvarez has had a storied MMA career, becoming the first-ever two-time Bellator lightweight champion and then going on to also become UFC lightweight champion with a victory over Rafael dos Anjos in July of 2016. Hailed as the “Underground King,” Alvarez will now return to defend his throne in ONE Championship and, in the process, seek to hoist the organization’s name up in contention with his former homes: Bellator MMA and the UFC. This signing marks arguably the biggest boon in the history of ONE FC. When signing his contract, Alvarez appeared eager to begin this new chapter of his career:
Michael Chiesa On Family Receiving Nasty Comments Over McGregor Lawsuit
(https:)Conor McGregor’s bus attack at UFC 223 media day this past April sparked a lot of storylines. The major one being his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. However, McGregor’s attack did injure fighters Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa. Both men were forced to pull from their respective contests on the UFC 223 card as a result.
Chiesa is currently suing “The Notorious” for what transpired that day. He was cut badly by the broken glass from McGregor tossing a dolly into the bus window. During a recent interview on “The MMA Hour,” Chiesa discussed the situation. While he couldn’t go into much detail, he noted he’s getting a lot of backlash for his decision to sue the Irishman.
Welterweight Clash Between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Li Jingliang added to UFC Beijing
(m.sherdog.com)A welterweight showdown between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Jingliang Li is in the works for UFC Fight Night 141. The news first broke on Thursday from Marcelo Barone and Raphael Marinho of Combate.
Zaleski dos Santos (20-5) is riding a six-fight win streak including back-to-back knockouts of Sean Strickland and Luigi Vendramini, and is unbeaten inside the Octagon dating back to 2016. Those last two victories made Zaleski dos Santos the only fighter in UFC history to ever earn a knockout with a flying strike as well as a knockout with a spinning strike.
Cat Zingano moves to featherweight, meets Megan Anderson at UFC 232
(https:)A women’s featherweight bout between Megan Anderson and Cat Zingano is the latest addition to December’s UFC 232 lineup.
UFC officials today announced the bout, which will see former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Zingano (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) move up a division tot are on former Invicta FC champ Anderson (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
UFC 232 takes place Dec. 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though broadcast plans and the bout order hasn’t been finalized.
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