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Bellator MMA’s heavyweight division has a new addition.

On Wednesday, the California-based promotion announced the signing of Russian wrestling machine Ali Isaev. The 38-year-old features an eye-catching 9-0 record composed of four knockouts and five decisions. Notably, the Russian competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as a freestyle wrestler. After transitioning to mixed martial arts, Isaev had a successful run in the Professional Fighters League that ended with him capturing the heavyweight championship following a stoppage over Jared Rosholt on Dec. 31, 2019.

“I am very pleased to have a fighter the caliber of Ali Isaev join our heavyweight division, a weight class filled with world class fighters and elite prospects alike. Isaev’s elite wrestling pedigree includes an appearance in the 2008 Olympics, and he has achieved great success in MMA as evidenced by championship run at his prior promotion,” said Bellator MMA president Scott Coker in a press release…

🚨 OFFICIAL: @TheAspenLadd is PFL bound! pic.twitter.com/8WzWx3fSD5

— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 4, 2022

Aspen Ladd will open a new chapter in her mixed martial arts career.

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On Tuesday morning, the Professional Fighters League announced that it had signed Ladd to its roster. Ladd, an Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran, will take part in the 2023 PFL Regular Season. She will make her promotional debut with a 9-3 record, including seven finishes. The PFL didn’t disclose in which weight division Ladd will compete in.

“The Professional Fighters League continues to grow its global talent roster by seeking the best talent from around the globe,” said President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo, in a press release. “We are excited to welcome Aspen to the PFL’s women's division. Aspen will continue the PFL mission of bringing women's MMA to the forefront of our sport.”

Ladd ended her stint in the UFC after several struggl…

A fourth battle between two of the world’s premier flyweights is just a few months away.

Antoher meeting featuring one of the greatest rivalries in Ultimate Fighting Championship history will go down at UFC 283 as Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno clash to unify the flyweight championship. Both fighters confirmed the matchup on their social media accounts. The event will go down in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21.

In his last three assignments, two-time UFC flyweight titleholder Figueiredo (21-2-1, 10-2-1 UFC) has faced Moreno, alternating a majority draw, a submission loss and a decision victory over the Mexican rival. Interim flyweight champion Moreno (21-6-2, 9-3-2 UFC) has recently crushed Kai Kara France with a combination of body kick and punches in their UFC 277 championship encounter.

The upcoming UFC Rio event will also feature a 170-pound clash between Gabriel Bonfim and Mounir Lazzez, a middleweight affair between Brad Tavares and Gregory Ro…

An absolute 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑, John Castaneda vs Daniel Santos is your #UFCVegas61 Fight of the Night 👏

[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/E9RdiOLIAW

— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2022 The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded six fighters performance bonuses on the UFC Fight Night 211 card.

Despite Sodiq Yusuff picking up his first submission victory in just 30 seconds, all four performance of the night bonuses went to preliminary card fighters. Receiving $50,000 were Brendan Allen, Chelsea Chandler, Guido Cannetti and Joaquim Silva. Cannetti and Allen both scored rear-naked choke victories in the first round, while Chandler and Silva both picked up impressive TKO wins.

Finally, fight of the night honors went to John Castaneda and Daniel Gustavo Santos. The two had a back-and-forth battle that ended after Santos landed a spectacular flying knee and finished the fight with punches in Round 2.

Xiaonan Yan could not have fought any smarter.

The Team Alpha Male standout outstruck and outfoxed Mackenzie Dern, as she took a significant step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division with a majority decision in their five-round UFC Fight Night 211 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 47-47.

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Yan (16-3, 7-2 UFC) managed to stay on her feet long enough to bank the requisite points across 25 minutes, denying repeated takedown attempts and cutting loose with crisp combinations to the head, all while attacking the body and legs with kicks. Dern (12-3, 7-3 UFC) made her moves in the second and fifth rounds, where she dragged her counterpart to the canvas and went to work with her world-class jiu-jitsu skills. The 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist threatened with an arm-triangle choke in Round 2 and an armbar in Round 5. Yan surv…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 211 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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Round 1 ‘Twas the night of Fightmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mighty mouse. The UFC Apex is awkwardly quiet, with no fans or media allowed in attendance for this fight night offering, so the dozen matches set to take place before and during the tentpole Bellator offering will allow those watching on screens to hear every minute detail. The parade of fights begins in the bantamweight division between two men desperately seeking a win. Fourteen years older than his opponent, Argentina’s Cannetti (9-6, 3-5 UFC) will look to show he has something left in the tank at the expense of 28-year-old knockout artist Costa (6-3, 2-3 UFC). Before the fight starts, there is no mention on the broadcast as to why the Apex is empty and devoid of media or fans…

THE SOUND OF THIS KNEE 🔊 #UFCVegas61 pic.twitter.com/asHYf7xYWK

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 1, 2022

Daniel Gustavo Santos established his foothold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, as he cut down John Castaneda with a knee strike in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 211 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos (9-2, 1-1 UFC) closed it out 4:28 into Round 2, the action-packed battle having been contested at a catchweight of 140 pounds.

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The Brazilian’s pace, pressure and power—along with his remarkable recuperative abilities—were too much for Castaneda (19-6, 2-2 UFC). Santos withstood nearly being finished twice with head kicks in the first round. Castaneda appeared winded when he emerged for the middle stanza, and his Chute Boxe-trained adversary capitalized. Santos tore into him with a relentless string of punches, kicks and knees to the head and body, pin…

📊 By The Numbers#AndStill Featherweight World Champion, @PatricioPitbull dominates over @AdamBorics in the #Bellator286 main event. pic.twitter.com/lUEzlIKKA3

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 2, 2022

There’s no question that Patricio Freire is one of the greatest featherweights in the history of mixed martial arts and on Saturday night in the Bellator 286 main event, he added another win to his tally.

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Freire (34-5) outclassed No. 2 ranked featherweight contender Adam Borics and he did it with incredible ease, wining nearly every single minute of the five-round affair. “Pitbull” landed thudding leg kicks and scattered jabs and hooks while on the feet, relegating Borics to single strikes for much of their fight. Borics had apparently fallen in love with his flying knee since he’s scored three knockouts with it; he tried it over and over against the defending Bellator featherweight king, only to miss and be taken dow…

Sherdog's live Bellator 286 coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

Check out the Sherdog forums’ official Bellator 286 Watch Party to discuss the card in real-time, or enter your comments and predictions below.

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Round 1 Palencia and Hamilton face off, with Jonathan Romero the third man in the cage. Palencia is in orthodox, Hamilton southpaw. They bounce around the center of the cage, and Hamilton goes upstairs with a glancing left high kick. Hamilton slips, but pops right back up. Two minutes in, both men have switched stances. Palencia charges in, clinches and pushes Hamilton to the fence. Hamilton reverses him there and they exchange knees before separating. They reset in the center of the cage. It’s Palencia’s turn to slip, but he too pops right back up. Palencia catches a body kick by Hamilton, keeps the leg and runs him to the fence once more. 90 seconds left and Palencia is working for a takedown against the fence. Hamilton reverses positi…

In which Antonio Inoki slaps everyone at Inoki Bom Ba Ye on New Year's Eve 2000 to transfer his fighting spirit to them. pic.twitter.com/5hHZS9nQYC

— David Bixenspan (@davidbix) October 1, 2022 A legend of both pro wrestling and MMA has died at the age of 79 after battling with illnesses that confined him to a wheelchair.

Late Friday night, Japanese outlet Sponichi Annex first reported that Antonio Inoki, born Kanji Inoki, had died. The report claimed the cause of death was related to systemic amyloidosis that led to hypoglycemia, but that specific ailment could not be confirmed. His passing has since been multiple sources, including his own pro wrestling promotion of New Japan Pro Wrestling, as well as the WWE and ESPN.

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[embedded content] While a famed pro wrestler, Inoki’s involvement in sports stretched into mixed martial arts. In 1976, Inoki faced off against boxer Muhammad Ali in an exhibition match that would se…

The trilogy fight between Xiong and Lee lived up to its billing. #ONEonPrimeVideo2 pic.twitter.com/iSBsiWw1Ki

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) October 1, 2022

Jingnan Xiong retained the One Championship women’s strawweight title with a unanimous decision over archrival Angela Lee in the ONE on Prime Video 2 headliner on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang Singapore. Xiong (18-2, 9-1 ONE) won the approval of all three cageside judges, improving to 2-1 in her head-to-head series with the “Unstoppable” Hawaiian.

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In many regards, it was all about the first round. There, Xiong had her challenger on skates more than once with punishing right hands and follow-up attacks. Referee Herb Dean appeared to be on the verge of calling for the stoppage on multiple occasions, only to allow Lee (11-3, 11-3 ONE) to continue forward. Nowhere else in the bout were the exchanges between the two women more profound.

Lee had her momen…

Sherdog's live ONE on Prime Video 2 “Xiong vs. Lee III” coverage kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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Round 1 Reffing the heavyweight kickboxing grand prix alternate bout is Olivier Coste. Opacic lands a nice body kick to start but Stoforidis lands several leg kicks. Both men are staying in kicking range early. Opacic continues to eat leg kicks. Stoforidis lands a solid left hook to the body. An Opacic head kick is blocked. Opacic lands a nice step-in knee. Stoforidis throwing more combinations as Opacic largely throws single shots. They clinch and are separated by the referee. Opacic continues throwing the head kick but isn't landing cleanly. Stoforidis lands several leg kicks and then follows up with a well-timed left hook to the head. A close round but the action leans toward Stoforidis, who is reddening the legs of Opacic with leg kicks. 10-9 Stoforidis.Round 2 Opacic…

Prominent Brazilian manager Jorge Guimaraes has a lot of irons in the fire, ranging from those in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to Bellator MMA.

With five fighters competing for belts in the UFC and Bellator in the next three months, “Joinha” Guimaraes has quite a full dance card. His first of those will spring into action on Saturday, when Patricio Freire looks to defend his 145-pound title against Adam Borics in the main event of Bellator 286. Guimaraes spoke to Sherdog about this fight and several others that are coming down the line for his athletes.

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“Patricio made a perfect camp for this fight. No injuries at all,” “Joinha” explained. “Besides being a great striker, Borics also improved his wrestling and ground skills [at] Sanford MMA, but [the experience of] ‘Pitbull’ will be the turning point for him to return to Brazil with his belt.”

After Freire defends the strap, Guimaraes will need to help prepare Alex Pereira for his battle wi…

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Raoni Barcelos is not looking past his next opponent, but he has a very clear plan for the near future.

Once considered by some to be another version of Jose Aldo at bantamweight, Barcelos finds himself in a tough place now. The Brazilian is coming from two losses in a row, with defeats to Timur Valiev and Victor Henry in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Those setbacks put a nine-fight win streak in the rear-view mirror. On Saturday at UFC Fight Night 211, Barcelos will have the opportunity to get back to his winning ways in Las Vegas. The 35-year-old, in an interview with Sherdog, shrugged off any pressure about his place on the roster with a losing streak.

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“I'm not feeling pressured to win, it hinders the athlete,” Barcelos explained. “I know I trained well and studied my opponent. I intend to go there, take [Trevin Jones] down and submit [him].”

Barcelos knows the next event he would like to fight at: UFC …

#Bellator286 Official Weigh-In Result: @PatricioPitbull 144.6-pounds pic.twitter.com/7x6hlcF0y0

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) September 30, 2022 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2:40 p.m. ET on Sept. 30 to include additional information.

The Bellator MMA featherweight championship is on the line in the main event of Bellator 286.

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Featherweight champion Patricio Freire will put his belt on the line against top contender Adam Borics. The fight is now official with both fighters making weight. However, multiple other fighters failed to make weight as Spike Carlyle weighed in at 156.6 pounds for his lightweight co-headliner against A.J. McKee. Additionally, Dominic Clark came in at 158.2 pounds for his lightweight preliminary contest against Lance Gibson, and the bantamweight bout between Juan Archuleta and Enrique Barzola was shifted to a 141-pound catchweight.

"Pitbull" recently bounced back f…

The woman around whom this fight card was built - @MackenzieDern is in at 115.5 pounds ⚖️

[ #UFCVegas61 | TOMORROW | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ypMrW1WmfD

— UFC (@ufc) September 30, 2022 After a rare week off, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a card topped by a strawweight clash.

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UFC Fight Night 211 now features 12 fights, with Mackenzie Dern vs. Xiaonan Yan at the top of the card. Both women successfully made weight, along with the remainder of the card that hit the scales. However, Jessica Penne succumbed to an illness unrelated to her weight cut, and her scheduled contest against Tabatha Ricci has been removed from the lineup.

This marks the second UFC main event for Dern (12-2), who previously came up short against Marina Rodriguez over five rounds. Besides that setback, the American has won six of her last seven bouts. The grappler most recently defeated Teci…

5 fights in 1 year. 5 first round finishes. 0 strikes absorbed. Nobody can do it like me. We headed to the top! Much love to all my supporters, bigger things on the way!

— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) September 28, 2022 When many expected that Ultimate Fighting Championship pickup Bo Nickal would be thrown to the proverbial wolves in his debut, most did not realize just how right they were.

Fresh off a contract-winning performance on the final episode of the 2022 season of Dana White's Contender Series, Nickal (3-0) has his first UFC fight booked. The middleweight wrestling standout will be toeing the line against “The Nightwolf” Jamie Pickett (13-8) at UFC 282 on Dec. 10. The organization’s broadcast partner of ESPN first announced this booking on Thursday.

Three-time NCAA Division I national champion wrestler Nickal made his professional debut in the sport against John Noland in June. It took Nickal 33 seconds to demolish his opponent with pu…

Only one of these two Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweights will have a number next to their name when the dust settles.

On Wednesday, Brazilian outlet Super Lutas reported that the Jan. 21 pay-per-view offering in Rio de Janeiro had its first big fight lined up. In the middleweight category, Brad Tavares (19-7) will square off against rising talent Gregory Rodrigues (13-4) at UFC 283. In addition to other outlets, Rodrigues has confirmed this matchup on his Instagram on Thursday. While there is no headliner on the billing as of yet, another scrap at 145 pounds was also announced earlier this week and confirmed by one of its competitors on Thursday, at 145 pounds between Josiane Nunes and Zarah Fairn dos Santos.

While he is ranked among the top 15, Tavares has won three and lost three dating back to 2018. Most recently, the Hawaiian fell short to Dricus Du Plessis in a thrilling three-round affair. That defeat put an end to a short win streak amassed in 2021 …

We've got ourselves a FIGHT! 🔥#ONE161 | #ONEChampionship🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧🇹🇭 Watch live on ONE YouTube 👉 https://t.co/8qWJXePa0w🌍 Watch live 👉 https://t.co/8MeKhRMtjy pic.twitter.com/2Trzn1HsVC

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 29, 2022 The upsets were frequent and frenetic at the latest One Championship event, culminating with a challenger unexpectedly capturing a throne.

The One 161 headliner featured a featherweight muay thai championship affair between defending titleholder Petchmorakot Petchyindee and Tawanchai PK.Saenchai. The challenger quickly imposed his pace, attacking with his well-known nasty kicks. In turn, Petchmorakot put his fast hands to work. The pair went to battle in Round 3 with a flurry of punches and elbows. Petchmorakot relied on his experience in the championship rounds, but the challenger appeared fresher than his foe down the line. While Petchmorakot adopted a hit-and-run strategy, Tawanchai hunted down his opponen…

Jessica Correa Delboni provided an opportunity, and Jillian DeCoursey took full advantage.

The Queens, N.Y., native claimed atomweight gold with a submission of Delboni in the Invicta FC 49 headliner at Sugar Creek Casino in Hinton, Okla., on Wednesday night. DeCoursey (6-3, 5-2 Invicta) brought the show to a close with a rear-naked choke 4:49 into Round 1, forcing Delboni (12-4, 4-3 Invicta) to tap for the first time in her professional career.

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“Never let anyone doubt you. If you put a goal in mind and you work hard enough, anything is possible,” DeCoursey said. “I definitely proved that tonight.”

It was a measured beginning for both fighters, but Delboni appeared to control the majority of exchanges in the early going with quick punching combinations and kicks to the legs of her opponent. However, momentum shifted when Delboni punched her way into the clinch and changed levels for a takedown late in the round. The Brazilian was able to ground her…

If manager Jorge Guimaraes gets his way, Lyoto Machida will return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship to settle some unfinished business with Mauricio Rua.

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Guimaraes revealed to Sherdog.com that he is in the process of negotiating with the Las Vegas-based promotion to bring Machida back to the Octagon for a trilogy bout against “Shogun” at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro.

“When I heard ‘Shogun was doing his last fight at UFC Rio, I immediately called (UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell) offering Lyoto for a trilogy,” Guimaraes said. “Hunter told me they initially were planning on someone like Tyson Pedro to fight Shogun, but he liked the idea and told me he was going to talk to Dana [White] about it.

“I have no doubt the Brazilian audience would love that match up. Two champions, two legends of the sport, one win for each, doing their rubber match on the night of both of their retirement fights. Shogun is already a Hall of Famer, Lyoto a…

A matchup of lightweight contenders is on tap for the UFC’s Dec. 17 event, as Arman Tsarukyan will lock horns with Damir Ismagulov.

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Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from EuropSport. The UFC Fight Night card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight scrap between Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland.

Tsarukyan had a five-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a five-round verdict against Mateusz Gamrot in the UFC on ESPN 38 headliner on June 25. The 25-year-old Russian owns an 18-3 career mark, with 12 victories coming inside the distance.

A former M-1 Global champion, Ismagulov has tasted defeat just once in 25 professional outings. He is 5-0 in UFC competition, with victories over the likes of Guram Kutateladze, Thiago Moises and Joel Alvarez.

Bellator will continue to be in the tournament business in 2023.

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During an appearance on "The MMA Hour," Bellator president Scott Coker revealed that the promotion will hold a lightweight grand prix sometime next year. While the participants have yet to be determined, Coker is targeting February for the beginning of the 155-pound bracket.

“We’re going to finish our light heavyweight tournament in November, the [bantamweight] semifinals in December,” Coker said. “I feel like we want to set this off in February. February would be a good month and the bantamweight tournament [finals] sometime in March.”

Some of the athletes Coker mentioned who could take part in the eight-man tournament include Patricky Freire, Usman Nurmagomedov, Tofiq Musayev, Benson Henderson, Brent Primus and A.J. McKee. Signing free agent Eddie Alvarez for the grand prix is also a possibility, Coker admitted.

The Bellator light heavyweight grand prix was delayed afte…

A middleweight clash pitting Nassourdine Imavov against Kelvin Gastelum is expected to serve as the headliner for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 14.

The booking was initially reported by La Sueur on Twitter, and Gastelum has since confirmed the bout on social media. The card will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Imavov and Gastelum were initially slated to meet at UFC 273, but visa issues for Imavov resulted in the contest being canceled.

Anchored at the MMA Factory in France, Imavov enters the matchup with Gastelum on a three-bout winning streak. Most recently, the 27-year-old outpointed Joaquin Buckley at UFC Fight Night 209 on Sept. 3. He is 4-1 in the Octagon overall, with his lone setback coming against Phil Hawes in February 2021.

Gastelum, meanwhile, is just 1-5 in his last six promotional appearances and did not compete at all in 2022 after proposed bouts against Dricus Du Plessis and Imavov fell through. His last appearan…