PFL reveals rosters, event schedule for 2018 season
(https:)The Professional Fighters League is starting over in a big way.
After holding three small shows in 2017, the former World Series of Fighting promotion announced Monday that it will kick off its inaugural PFL season on June 7 at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in what is scheduled to be the first of 11 events this year culminating in a year-end card on Dec. 31 that will see six fighters walk away with $1,000,000 in prize money.
Why Invicta FC flyweight champion Jennifer Maia turned down TUF 26 opportunity
(https:)Jennifer Maia is one of the top flyweights in the world, so why wasn’t she on the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter?
The UFC recently crowned its first women’s flyweight champion with a special edition of the company’s reality show, and Maia, the current Invicta FC 125-pound champion, was not listed as one of the contestants.
Set to defend her Invicta FC belt just seven days after Nicco Montaño won the inaugural UFC title with a decision win over Roxanne Modafferi, Maia said that she got a call from the promotion to be on the reality show, but turned down the opportunity.
"They invited me to be on The Ultimate Fighter, but since I’m the Invicta champion I thought that I don’t need to go through TUF to be in the UFC,” Maia told MMA Fighting. "Sometimes you’re not in a good day there and end up losing, and it’s not smart to leave a promotion where I’m the champion to try something.
TUF 26 Finale Ratings Deliver Lowest-Watched UFC Live Show Ever
(lowkickmma.com)The UFC and Bellator MMA went up against each other on Friday night. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise to see that both events turned out poorly in the ratings.
What’s interesting is that the two promotions held events on the same night, with the women’s flyweight championship fight as the main event of the UFC’s TUF 26 Finale.
TUF 26 Finale bonuses: Nicco Montaño vs. Roxanne Modafferi wins ‘Fight of the Night’
(https:)Nicco Montano will get some extra cash to go along with her golden UFC belt.
Montaño, the first-ever UFC women’s flyweight champion, took ‘Fight of the Night’ honors alongside her opponent, Roxanne Modafferi, for the pair’s main event battle at Friday’s The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale.
Montaño defeated Modafferi via unanimous decision to capture the inaugural women’s 125-pound title. Both fighters earned $50,000 in bonus money for their efforts.
The evening’s two ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses were awarded to Gerald Meerschaert and Brett Johns, both of whom scored highlight-reel finishes on the TUF 26 Finale main card.
Rachael Ostovich vs. Karine Gevorgyan Set to Collide at TUF 26 Finale
(https:)Along with the addition of DeAnna Bennett vs. Melinda Fabian, multiple sources confirm that December 1st’s The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale has a new matchup in the form of Hawaii’s Rachael Ostovich vs. Armenia’s Karine Gevorgyan.
Ostovich came up short in the quarterfinals of the TUF tournament, losing her bout to former Invicta FC flyweight champion Barb Honchak. Gevorgyan, on the other hand, was eliminated in the first round of the tournament, suffering a TKO against the aforementioned Bennett. Ostovich vs. Gevorgyan will be serving on the preliminary card portion of the evening, though yet unknown whether it will be on Fight Pass or FOX Sports 1.
Ariel Beck vs Shana Dobson added to #TUF26 Finale on Friday
(https:)Per a report by MMA Brasil (@mmabrasil) and The MMA Kings (@mma_kings), a flyweight bout between TUF contestants Ariel Beck and Shana Dobson has been added to the TUF 26 Finale this Friday.
Ariel Beck (4-4) fought on Team Alvarez and was seeded number eleven in the TUF house. She was eliminated from the bracket on the sixth episode when she was submitted by the number six seed, Montana Stewart. Prior to entering the house, Beck fought for various promotions, including Invicta FC and LFA. Beck has an aggressive style that built around her boxing.
Jesse Taylor flagged for USADA violation, bout vs. Belal Muhammad removed from UFC Sydney
(https:)Jesse Taylor’s UFC return has hit a snag.
On Wednesday, the USADA announced that the Ultimate Fighter 25 winner Jesse Taylor has been flagged for an Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample taken on Aug. 22, two months after a submission win over Dhiego Lima at The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale earned him a new contract with the UFC.
Taylor’s upcoming bout with Belal Muhammad at UFC Sydney on Nov. 18 has been removed from that card and the promotion is currently looking for a replacement to fight Muhammad.
Barb Honchak, Roxanne Modafferi among TUF 26 cast members revealed
(https:)The cast members for the latest installment of The Ultimate Fighter have been revealed.
Former Invicta FC flyweight champion Barb Honchak, TUF 18 contestant Roxanne Modafferi and veteran UFC fighter Lauren Murphy are just some of the more familiar faces that will be participating on the show. The full cast was revealed by the UFC on Saturday night during the broadcast of UFC Fight Night 114 in Mexico City.
The 26th season of TUF is composed of 16 female flyweight fighters who will be competing for the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title.
Dana White Confirms TUF 26 Will Crown Women’s Flyweight Champion
(mmaweekly.com)After a recent false start, UFC president Dana White on Tuesday confirmed that the next season of The Ultimate Fighter will, in fact, launch the women’s 125-pound weight class and crown its first champion.
The UFC issued a press release stating as much last week, announcing open tryouts for women in the 125-pound weight class, including fighters currently on the UFC’s roster. Just as quickly, however, the promotion stated that the press release was released prematurely.
White on Tuesday confirmed to ESPNW that the promotion was moving forward with the idea.
Aspen Ladd set for UFC debut vs. Jessica Eye at TUF 25 Finale in July
(https:)The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale appears to have a women’s bantamweight bout headed for the card, including an unbeaten Invicta FC prospect.
According to reports, Aspen Ladd (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make her UFC debut at the TUF 25 Finale against Jessica Eye (11-6 MMA, 1-4 UFC). The booking recently was reported by BJPenn.com and WMMARankings.com, though UFC officials have not made a formal announcement.
Both fighters teased news in the near future on their Twitter accounts, though. Eye promised an “epic” July, and Ladd said she would have a big announcement on Monday.
TUF 25 Premieres on Wednesday with 5-1/2 Hours of Programming
(mmaweekly.com)The mixed martial arts reality series THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER returns to FS1 on Wednesday, April 19 in a big way, with five-and-a-half hours of evening programming dedicated to the show. The schedule includes the Season 25 premiere of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER, this season called THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: REDEMPTION, as well as the return of the late-night companion show TUF TALK, a BEST OF 25th SEASON ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL and additional coverage on the weekly news show UFC TONIGHT.
'TUF: Latin American 3' final set with Martin Bravo vs. Claudio Puelles at UFC Fight Night 98
(mmajunkie.com)“The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3” has finished airing, and the matchup that will determine the next winner of the reality series is now official.
Martin Bravo (10-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Claudio Puelles (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will face off in the lightweight tournament final with a UFC contract on the line at next week’s UFC Fight Night 98 event.
UFC Fight Night 98 takes place Nov. 5 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico. The event airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, though the bout order hasn’t been finalized.
“TUF: Latin America 3” was coached by former UFC champions and UFC Hall-of-Famers Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. Each side will have a representative in the final. Bravo hails from Team Griffin, while Puelles spent the season with Team Liddell.
Bravo defeated Leonardo Rodriguez, Ilianovich Chalo and Javier Ganin en route to the final, going the the scorecards in two of those fights. Outside of the show, however, “Toro” has stopped eight opponents out of 10 professional wins.
‘TUF Brazil 3’ vet Ricardo Abreu receives 2-year ban following failed drug test
(mmajunkie.com)UFC anti-doping partner USADA today announced that middleweight and “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3” veteran Ricardo Abreu has received a two-year suspension for failing an out-of-competition drug test.
Abreu, 32, tested positive for 19-norandrosterone (19-NA) and 19-noretiocholanolone – both metabolites of banned anabolic steroids listed by WADA as “non-specified substances” – following a test performed June 3, USADA officials stated in a press release.
Abreu (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was above the “decision limit of 3 ng/mL” for 19-norandrosterone, USADA officials stated. The metabolite previously has been connected “andro” supplements, which contain the banned muscle-building hormone androstenedione.
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