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RNC’s for The Strabanimal!@StrabanimalMMA gets another first round submission victory at #BellatorMilan! pic.twitter.com/ONtnB3Wjby

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 3, 2020

After being rescheduled three times, the grudge match between James Gallagher and Callum Ellenor finally went down at Bellator Milan.

It took less than one round for "The Strabanimal" to overcome his opponent thanks to a vicious submission that ended the bitter rivalry in Saturday’s bantamweight headliner at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy. Gallagher (11-1) took his opponent on the canvas early in the fight and trapped him in a body lock. Once there, the Irish fighter took his time to expose his opponent's gaps in the grappling. Gallagher teased Ellenor (8-3) with a neck crank before sinking a deep rear-naked choke. "Cal Pacino" tapped at the 4:31 mark in the opening stanza. 

"Give me anyone, everyone, and a big bag of money, and I'll f…

No surprise here! @HollyHolm on weight at

#UFCFightIsland4 is on @ESPN and ESPN+ | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/TXyREqf0IS

— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. UFC on ESPN 16 is full steam ahead after every fighter on the card made weight.

The Ultiamte Fighting Championship returns to ESPN airwaves with a card from Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, this weekend. Headlining the event is a women’s bantamweight bout between former champion Holly Holm and rising contender Irene Aldana.

While Holm (13-5) has lost five times since dethroning Ronda Rousey with a sensational head kick, she remains a top contender having challenged for both the bantamweight and featherweight belts since then. “The Preacher’s Daughter” has won two of her last three having earned decisions over Megan Anderson an…

Askar Askar did not give Kevin Wirth a moment to breath.

Merciless forward pressure, hyperaggressive standup and effective grappling carried the former Hoosier Fight Club titleholder to a unanimous decision over Kevin Wirth in the Legacy Fighting Alliance 92 headliner on Friday at Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Askar (11-1, 2-0 LFA) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the judges, as he rebounded from his Feb. 7 knockout loss to Saidyokub Kakhramonov.

Wirth (8-2, 2-2 LFA) spent almost the entire fight moving backward and playing defense. Askar floored him with an overhand right in the first round, opened a cut near his left eye in the second and paired his takedowns with ground-and-pound and positional control at various times in the fight. He tied a bow on his latest victory midway through Round 3, when he executed a high-amplitude takedown, settled in half guard and continued to pile up points with short punches and elbows.

In the three-roun…

With Alex Perez stepping in to face Deiveson Figueiredo, multiple sources tell me the UFC is now targeting Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval at #UFC255 in what has to be a number one contender fight. https://t.co/PFInRd6WQc

— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) October 2, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. An all-Brandon flyweight battle for the ages is coming to a Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view. Fresh off Alex Perez stepping out of his match with Brandon Moreno (17-5-1) to face Deiveson Figueiredo for the belt, the UFC has found a replacement, according to BJPenn.com on Friday. The promotion is looking to book Brandon Royval (12-4) against Moreno on UFC 255, which will be taking place on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It has since been confirmed by other outlets. This will be the first match in UFC history pitting…

BREAKING: AlejandroPerez Vs Thomas Almeida out of next week card #UFCFightIsland5 https://t.co/Qmim6dStGJ

— C. Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) October 2, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. COVID-19 has claimed another thrilling Ultimate Fighting Championship matchup. Mexican outlet Milenio first reported on Friday that Alejandro Perez (21-8-1) has been forced to withdraw from his bantamweight battle against Thomas Almeida (21-3) after testing positive for COVID-19. The two were set to square off at UFC Fight Night 179 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 10. It is not clear if the promotion will elect to replace Perez or simply reschedule the match for a later date.

Perez was looking to snap a two-fight skid from 2019, where he dropped a decision to Cody Stamann and was later knocked out by Yadong Song. Th…

Per an @arielhelwani report, add UFC vet Brett Johns (17-2) to this list! Leaves UFC on a 2W streak. https://t.co/YwHEjJWe4s

— Michael Fiedel (@MichaelFiedel) October 2, 2020 Bellator MMA is making some big moves lately.

On Friday, the promotion sent out a press release to announce that it had signed Usman Nurmagomedov (11-0), the cousin of Ultimate Fighting Championship star Khabib Nurmagomedov. This signing of the lightweight joins several other recent high-profile acquisitions from the California-based organization. ESPN reported that several UFC vets have joined the ranks including Brett Johns (17-2), along with Rustam Khabilov (24-4) and featherweight Jeremy Kennedy (15-2, 1 NC).

Nurmagomedov has yet to taste defeat as a professional, much like his cousin. Across his 11 career bouts, the Dagestan native has finished 10 of his opponents within two rounds. Competing three times in 2020 with knockouts of Svyatoslav Shabanov, Jerry Kvar…

Ahah thank you brother, fuckin tore my bicep on Monday. Title shot in 2021.

— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) October 2, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. A November Ultimate Fighting Championship title fight has undergone a significant change. On Friday morning, Combate first reported that Cody Garbrandt (12-3) has been forced to pull out of his UFC 255 flyweight championship bout against Deiveson Figueiredo (19-1). A torn bicep the reason for Garbrandt’s withdrawal, although “No Love” confirmed his withdrawal and asked for a December date, the promotion elected to replace him. Facing Figueiredo will be Alex Perez (24-5), who was already booked on the card against Brandon Moreno.

Garbrandt snapped a three-fight knockout loss skid by laying waste to Raphael Assuncao in June with one punch. The former bantamweight champ began his…

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Weigh ins complete! I’m more then ready! Thank you to the sponsors that are behind me for this fight @pso_rite @phalanx_usa @compexusa @laddersport Friday I main event @lfafighting on @ufcfightpass make sure you tune in!

A post shared by Askar Askar (@akmma94) on Oct 1, 2020 at 3:04pm PDT

Phase three of the Legacy Fighting Alliance’s return is on track with every fighter making weight for the first fight card.

LFA 92 is headlined by a bantamweight bout between Kevin Wirth and Askar Askar. Looking to extend his three-fight win streak is Wirth (8-1). "Mr. Nice Guy" has gone 2-1 inside the promotion and most recently won a decision over Ryan Lilley. While he has five decision wins on his record, Wirth showed his finishing ability in his promotional debut as he knocked out Isaiah Gutierrez with a head kick and punches. The Colorado fighter had no issue making weight and officially came in at 134.…

Acclaimed British knockout artist Paul Daley is planning on taking one final Bellator MMA fight before he says goodbye to the sport.

On Thursday, Daley (41-17-2) posted an announcement on Instagram that his next fight will be his final bout, and that it will take place at a 175-pound catchweight. There is no date, location or opponent currently scheduled for the retirement match. Daley was originally booked to headline Bellator 247 on Oct. 1 in Milan, Italy, against Derek Anderson. On fight week, the boisterous Brit was hospitalized due to a bad weight cut.

“Forever a samurai,” Daley wrote on Instagram. “But soon we will put the blade to rest. After discussions and careful consideration with my family, it has been decided that my next fight @bellatormma will be my last. To be fought at a catch weight of 175lbs. Opponent and location to be confirmed. Health before Wealth, and NEVER COMPROMISE YOURSELF.”

Daley’s career has been littered with examples where the welt…

seconds was all it took!@BellatorKB champ @DeniseKielholtz gets the first-round KO!#Bellator247 pic.twitter.com/Cno0Ztcpl6

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 1, 2020 Given the challenges that Bellator MMA had to overcome on fight week, it couldn’t have asked for a better start to the CBS Sports era.

Bellator 247 was unexpectedly headlined by a women’s flyweight clash between Denise Kielholtz (6-2) and Kate Jackson (11-5-1). Like in the spaghetti western films of old, the duel ended in less than one minute. After a few tense exchanges, Kielholtz landed a violent left hook that sent her opponent crashing face-first to the canvas. With ground-and-pound that could be viewed as unnecessary, Kielholtz followed up with several shots including one after the stoppage to draw the ire of referee Dan Miragliotta. The official end of the fight came in just 43 seconds.

“Every time I step in the cage, my plan works. It was amazing [to headline Bellator…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. One week after a big Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight match was announced, it has been pulled. The news first breaking from RTSport on Thursday, Volkan Oezdemir (17-5) has since confirmed on his Instagram that he has been forced to pull out of his UFC Fight Night 180 co-headliner. He was set to face Nikita Krylov (27-7), but a knee injury has prohibited that contest from going forward. It is unclear at this time whether the promotion will elect to book a new opponent for Krylov or reschedule the fighters for a later date.

Oezdemir was looking to bounce back from a dramatic knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka in July. The defeat his first by clean knockout throughout his career, the heavy-handed striker has doled out several of his own throughout the years with his knockout rate of 71 percent. The loss snapped a t…

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Josh Barnett’s latest combat sports appearance will take place under the bare-knuckle rule set.

The former UFC heavyweight champion will square off against KSW veteran Marcin Rozalski at at an event called “Genesis” in Poland on Oct. 23. The bare-knuckle card is promoted by KSW co-founder Maciej Kawulski. “Genesis” will be available via online pay-per-view.

Barnett hasn’t fought in MMA since a submission victory over Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 93 on Sept. 3, 2016. He recently signed with Bellator MMA but on two occasions a proposed matchup with Ronny Markes was nixed — once due to illness and once due to a faile drug test. The 42-year-old owns a 35-8 career mark that includes triumphs over the likes of Roy Nelson, Frank Mir, Sergei Kharitonov, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Hunt, Randy Couture and Dan Severn, to name a few.

A former KSW heavyweight title holder, Rozalski hasn’t competed sin…

Unbeaten prospects Christian Edwards and Kyle Crutchmer are among the notable additions to the Bellator 249 preliminary lineup.

A promotion official confirmed the following four contests to Sherdog.com on Wednesday: Edwards vs. Hamza Salim at light heavyweight; Crutchmer vs. Kemran Lachinov at welterweight; Tony Johnson vs. Joseph Creer at middleweight and Mike Kimbel vs. Da’mon Blackshear at 140 pounds.

Bellator 249 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on Oct. 15 and is headlined by a women’s featherweight title clash between Cristiane Justino and Arlene Blencowe. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream immediately prior on Bellator’s YouTube channel.

Edwards, who trains at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is unbeaten in three Bellator appearances – including a pair of KO/TKO finishes in less than a minute. He last fought at Bellator 239, where he took a unanimous decision over…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

While Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier recently discussed a charity exhibition bout on Twitter, the two fighters will apparently have the opportunity to square off in the UFC if they so choose.

UFC president Dana White recently told Barstool Sports that the promotion is attempting to book a rematch between McGregor and Poirier. White also claimed that the rumored boxing match between McGregor and Manny Pacquiao is nowhere close to being finalized.

“I don’t know if you just saw, the Saudis went after Conor, basically said that’s a lie that fight [with Manny Pacquiao] is happening and you better take that down in the next 15 minutes and we’re going to sue you. He took it down. You don’t see the poster anymore about him and Pacquiao that he posted.

“Then he called out Poirier with Conor in Dublin for charity. So…

Deron Winn will return to the Octagon to square off against Antonio Braga Neto at a UFC event on Dec. 19.

Winn announced the middleweight contest on his Instagram account. The UFC Fight Night event is likely to be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card does not yet have a headliner.

Winn was suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for amphetamines in relation to a submission loss to Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 248 on March 7. The American Kickboxing Academy product began his professional tenure with six straight triumphs before dropping consecutive fights to Darren Stewart and Meerschaert.

Neto, meanwhile, has competed just three times since joining the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2013. After beginning his UFC career with a victory over Anthony Smith, the 32-year-old Brazilian fell to Clint Hester and Trevin Giles in his next two appearances. His most recent outing, a KO loss to Giles, occurred at UFC Fight Ni…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg-shGuTqoU&w=560&h=315]

Bellator 247 has a new headliner.

Paul Daley was hospitalized after missing weight ahead of his proposed welterweight clash with Derek Anderson, resulting in the cancellation of Thursday’s original main event. Sherdog.com confirmed the news with a promotion official following an initial report from Gareth Davies.

“Paul Daley weighed in at 172.6 during the official window,” a Bellator statement read. “He was unable to make it to the stage during the ceremonial weigh-ins shortly after and was subsequently transported. Fight is off and we will have a a new main event shortly.”

Anderson, meanwhile, tipped the scales at 170.4 pounds.

As a result, a women’s flyweight clash between Kate Jackson (125.6) and Denise Kielholtz (123.4) will serve as the card’s new featured bout.

Bellator 247 takes place at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy on Thursday and airs on CBS Sports Network at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m.…

The lineup for the Bellator 249 main card is now complete, as Ricky Bandejas will square off against Leandro Higo at bantamweight, while Saad Awad meets Mandel Nallo at lightweight.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bouts with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 249 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Oct. 15 and is headlined by a women’s featherweight title bout between Cristiane Justino and Arlene Blencowe.

Additionally, a middleweight clash pitting Curtis Millender against Joe Schilling has been booked for the preliminary draw. That contest was initially reported by The Orange County Register.

Bandejas had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing, when he dropped a three-round verdict to Sergio Pettis at Bellator 242 on July 24. Higo, meanwhile, halted a two-fight skid with a second-round submission of Shawn Bunch at Bellator 228 in September 2019.

The 37-year-old Awad ha…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

A featherweight tilt pitting Darren Elkins against Luiz Eduardo Garagorri is slated for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Nov. 7.

Combate was first to report the booking. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira.

Elkins is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Nate Landwehr at UFC on ESPN 8 on May 16. That was the fourth consecutive defeat for “The Damage,” who has also fallen to Ryan Hall, Ricardo Lamas and Alexander Volkanovski during his current skid.

Uruguay’s Garagorri suffered his first defeat in 14 professional outings at UFC Fight Night 164, where he was submitted in the opening stanza by Ricardo Ramos this past November. The 31-year-old began his promotional tenure with a three-ro…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEpkttouF6o&w=560&h=315]

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

“The Ultimate Fighter” franchise could have been resurrected in a major way with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor as coaches, but the reigning lightweight king turned that opportunity down, according to manager Ali Abdelaziz.

“Last week Dana White called me,” Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports. “He said, ‘Ali, what do you think if Khabib win, him and Conor do ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ on ESPN?’ This is breaking news. I said, ‘I don’t know. I’ll think about it.’ And he said, of course, [vice versa] if Justin win.

“It would be Khabib vs. Conor on The Ultimate Fighter, coaching. It would have been f—ing huge. Probably would have went to the hospital because he would have beat his ass and his whole team. Or Justin Gaethje vs. [McGregor].”

However, Abdelaziz …

Patricky Freire will square off against former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Jaleel Willis in the Bellator 249 co-headliner on Oct. 15.

Sherdog.com confirmed the matchup with a promotion official on Tuesday following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 249 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and is headlined by a women’s featherweight title tilt between Cristiane Justino and Arlene Blencowe.

Freire has been victorious in his last five Bellator appearances and seven of his last eight bouts overall. Most recently, the elder “Pitbull” brother suffered a decision loss against Tofiq Musayev in the finals of Rizin’s lightweight grand prix on Dec. 31.

The 28-year-old Willis claimed welterweight gold with a five-round verdict against Vinicius de Jesus at LFA 88 on Aug. 21. Willis owns a 13-2 professional mark overall and has earned five of his victories by KO/TKO and eight via decision.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Jon Jones is only a slight betting favorite in a potential matchup with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, according to online oddsmaker BetOnline.

Jones opened as a -150 favorite in the bout, while Adesanya checks in as a +130 underdog. Odds are subject to change, and Jones vs. Adesanya must take place by Sept. 1, 2021 for bets to be viable. It's worth noting that there is a significant disparity between online oddsmakers, as Bovada lists Jones as a -375 favorite and Adesanya as a +285 underdog.

Jones and Adesanya have taken shots at one another in recent months, and that didn’t change following the Nigerian-born Kiwi’s second-round stoppage of Paulo Henrique Costa in the UFC 253 headliner this past Saturday.

At the UFC 253 post-fight press conference, Adesanya mentioned still wanting to face Jones but …

Our global stars are BACK for ONE: REIGN OF DYNASTIES, as Sam-A puts his Strawweight Muay Thai World Title on the line against top contender Josh Tonna! @ReeceMclaren91 @amirkhanmma #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/tK06guo0za

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 29, 2020

One Championship is set to return with a card featuring a muay Thai title bout and five mixed martial arts contests on Oct. 9.

The Singapore-based promotion unveiled the full card for the event, entitled "Reign of Dynasties,” on Tuesday. The headliner will feature a strawweight championship clash pitting Sam-A Gaiyanghadao against Josh Tonna, while Aleksi Toivonen will lock horns with Reece McLaren in the evening’s featured MMA matchup at flyweight.

Four other MMA bouts will round out the card: Amir Khan vs. Rahul K. Raju at lightweight; Eko Roni Saputra vs. Murugan Silvarajoo at a 140-pound catchweight; Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke vs. Getu Hexi…

DC calls Jon Jones "out of touch" after his tweets about the #UFC253 light heavyweight title fight and then predicts how Jones vs. Blachowicz would go if they fought.

(via @dc_mma) pic.twitter.com/oCfnr9X1Nc

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 28, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Shortly after Jan Blachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 to claim the vacant light heavyweight throne, Jon Jones dropped a hint that he might be interested in returning to the division he only recently left.

“Would you guys be annoyed if I went back and grabbed my belt real quick?” Jones wrote on Twitter.

Jones hasn’t competed since a controversial decision triumph over Reyes at UFC 247 in February. Many observers felt that Reyes deserved to win the fight, but rather than grant “The Devastator” an immediate rematch, “Bones” ultimately ele…

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier have already squared off within the confines of the Octagon. Now the two UFC stars seem interested in stepping outside the jurisdiction of the Las Vegas-based promotion to fight for charity.

McGregor and Poirier on Monday engaged in a discussion on Twitter regarding a potential MMA exhibition in Ireland on Dec. 12. Proceeds would go toward Poirier’s charity, The Good Fight Foundation and some other organizations of McGregor’s choosing.

“Hey bro! You want to do an MMA charity fight? Zero to do with the UFC,” McGregor wrote. “I will donate half a mill towards your charity for it. Sell it on PPV or work a TV deal and we work out other charities that are close to my heart also. I am engaged in many. Strictly a charity ‘exhibition.’

“December 12th in the Point Depot, Ireland. No weigh ins. Open weight, unified rules. I will arrange all travel fare for you and family. McGregor Sports and Entertainment MMA, in association with The Good…