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Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will attempt to return to the win column against Casey Kenney at UFC 259.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 259 takes place on March 6 and also includes a light heavyweight clash pitting Thiago Santos against Aleksandar Rakic. A location and venue for the card have yet to be officially confirmed.

Cruz returned to the Octagon after a three-and-a-half-year absence at UFC 249, where he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Henry Cejudo on May 9. Prior to that, the two-time former 135-pound relinquished his belt to Cody Garbrandt in a five-round decision loss at UFC 207 in December 2016.

A former interim bantamweight and flyweight title holder with Legacy Fighting Alliance, Kenney has been victorious in five of his six UFC appearances. Kenney’s run includes a pair of victories this past October, as he earned decisions over Heili Alateng at UFC on ESPN 16 and against Nathaniel Wood at UFC 254.

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. Multiple-time Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Yoel Romero has been unexpectedly released by the promotion. On Friday night, ESPN reported that Romero (13-5) is no longer part of the UFC roster. According to ESPN, Romero had three fights left on his contract, but the 43-year-old is moving on. Romero is already speaking with other promoters to negotiate potential contracts, per his management team.

“While we didn’t expect Romero’s time in the UFC to end like this,” Romero’s manager Malki Kawa said to ESPN, “we are grateful for the opportunities Dana White, Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard gave him over the years. He’s ready to move on now and resume his career, and we are already talking to other promotions as we speak.”

Romero leaves the promotion on a three-fight skid, with a trio of decision defeats to Rob…

No quit in either of these two! #LFA96 pic.twitter.com/8XnWtPmx6L

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 5, 2020 The Legacy Fighting Alliance crowned a new welterweight champion during its final event of 2020. In the end, it was the hand of Maycon Mendonca that was raised after the main event of LFA 96. The title win came after a hard-fought battle with Batsumberel Dagvadorj that delivered plenty of fireworks.

The action started early as Mendonca (11-4) rocked Dagvadorj (7-1) shortly after the fight began and followed-up with huge knees that visibly hurt the Mongolian. Mendonca kept up the pressure, but that wound up backfiring as Dagvadorj landed a big right hand that floored the Brazilian. Mendonca would bounce back in a big way in Round 2 as he bloodied up "The Mongolian Falcon" and end the round with a flying knee. Dagvadorj continued getting tagged in the third frame, yet walked forward like a zombie and managed to snag a few takedow…

Independent Arbitrator Imposes Four-Year Sanction on Chi Lewis-Parry for UFC Anti-Doping Policy Violations https://t.co/Yj5PAUFJiN

— USADA (@usantidoping) December 4, 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 massive heavyweight and one-time prospective Ultimate Fighting Championship signee has been issued a lengthy suspension after an arbitration process. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced on Friday that Chi Lewis-Parry (9-0-2, 2 NC) has been suspended for four years for failing multiple out-of-competition tests as well as providing false evidence to the agency. Due to his numerous violations, an independent arbitration body ruled that Lewis-Parry should be suspended for four years from competition. Lewis-Parry was briefly part of the USADA pool under the UFC, and he was released from the promotion following his failed tests on Se…

Finally a game opponent!!! February 13 #ufc258The Cuban Missile Crisis vsCoconut bombsAn explosive match up to spark off a PPV event @ufc @Coconut_bombz #ufc258 pic.twitter.com/nHQeOCb666

— Julian marquez (@JMarquezMMA) December 4, 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 fun brawl between excellently nicknamed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweights has been added to the February pay-per-view card. MMA Junkie first announced on Friday that Julian Marquez (7-2) would be taking on Maki Pitolo (13-7) at UFC 258 on Feb. 13. According to Marquez, who confirmed the pairing on Twitter shortly after the news broke, the battle will take place on the main card opener. The two will meet presumably on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, although that destination has not yet been confirmed by the promotion.

Marquez is chompin…

iKon Fighting Federation is going all-in on Bella Mir, giving the 17-year-old her first headlining spot in her second career match.

iKon FF 4 will take place on Dec. 11 at the Marinaterra Hotel Spa in San Carlos, Mexico, where it will air on UFC Fight Pass. Per a press release sent out on Friday, the event will be capped off by what should be a featherweight tilt between Mir (1-0) and MMA debutant Amanda Quesia Braqae Silva (0-0) – although the organization released conflicting information on its Instagram page the same day. The iKon Instagram account claims that Mir will be facing Alma Cespedes Flores (0-2) instead of Silva.

“We will close out the year with, by far, our best iKon Fighting Federation card,” said the promotion’s president Keith Veltre. “Bella is the future face of women’s MMA. She’s only 17 but already an incredible athlete and a rising MMA star. The co-feature could be the main event on just about any other card, and the rest of this card is stacke…

Another title fight

@AntunRacic (24-8-1) defends his KSW bantamweight title against Bruno 'Garanhoto' Santos (9-1) #KSW57 pic.twitter.com/TVrRGtEmfQ

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 4, 2020 KSW is ending the year in style with a trio of title fights on tap at KSW 57. The organization sent out a press release on Friday morning announcing the full eight-fight lineup of KSW 57 on Dec. 19. The event will in Lodz, Poland, likely at the Wytwornia Club, with COVID-19 regulations in place. The two championship bouts already announced include a heavyweight headliner of divisional kingpin Philip De Fries vs. Michal Kita, and a vacant lightweight title tilt between Marian Ziolkowski and Roman Szymanski. The third fight for gold is a bantamweight scrap between champ Antun Racic (24-8-1) and KSW newcomer Bruno Augusto dos Santos (9-1).

Racic has yet to taste defeat in the KSW cage, winning five consecutive decisions including a unanimous verdict over Damia…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EGQUyCbBb4&w=585&h=329] A lot can change in one year. When boxing fans last saw Errol Spence Jr. in action, he had defeated Shawn Porter in a "Fight of the Year" nominee in September 2019. However, a nasty car crash and the coronavirus pandemic kept the pound-for-pound talent out of the ring for over 365 days. He’ll return to pay-per-view on Saturday night as he looks to defend his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight belts against Danny Garcia.

Perfect in his professional career, Spence (26-0) has established himself alongside Terence Crawford as the best boxer at 147 pounds. Spence faced some adversity in his last outing as an aggressive Porter took one judge’s scorecard in their memorable bout. Before that, Spence had little issue defeating the likes of Mikey Garcia, Kell Brook and Chris Algieri. Spence looked great on the scales and came in at 146.5 pounds.

Looking to dethrone Spence is form…

Marat Grigorian avoids a monumental upset, coming back in Round 2 to KO Ivan Kondratev! @MaratGrigorian #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/grbNp2N9po

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 4, 2020 One Championship returned to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for its final live event of the year titled “Big Bang.”

In the main event of this massively restructured card, Marat Grigorian locked horns with Ivan Kondratev in a kickboxing contest at featherweight. The fight was close to being a major shocker as Kondratev dropped Grigorian with a nasty left hook in the opening frame. Grigorian gathered himself, and found the key to open Kondratev’s defense, landing a vicious liver punch in the next round that folded his opponent in half. The official stoppage time indicated 1:52 into the second stanza.

Has Garry Tonon earned a shot at Thanh Le? @Garry_Tonon @ThanhLeMMA #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEC…

Your main event is OFFICIAL

@JackTheJokerMMA hits the scales at 185.5 for #UFCVegas16

[ Tomorrow | LIVE on #ESPNPlus and ESPN2 ] pic.twitter.com/8MKyYUFDMz — UFC (@ufc) December 4, 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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its stretch of Las Vegas events with UFC on ESPN 19. The card is headlined by middleweight contenders Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori, who will both be looking to enter the title picture with a statement win. All 11 fights on the card are now official, although Ovince St. Preux missed weight for the first time in his career by coming in 1.5 pounds over the light heavyweight limit.

The pride of Sweden, Hermansson (21-5) looked impressive in his last bout by submitting Kelvin Gastelum with a heel hook in less than 90 seconds. Besides TKO defeats to Jared Cannonie…

Now that the #LFA96 weigh-in is in the books, which fight are you looking forward to the most tonight?

https://t.co/szGPn6bN87

https://t.co/EWxu0lmf4M@ShellsDotCom@USENDmoney@Krushmatized@PsoRite@GLCDirect2000@AthleticCBD@IncaKolaUSA@HartmanArena@UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/MJKqAZuXaG — LFA (@LFAfighting) December 4, 2020 The final Legacy Fighting Alliance event of the year is upon us. Maycon Mendonca will face Batsumberel Dagvadorj for the promotion's vacant welterweight title in the main event of LFA 96. The seven-fight card is now official after the weigh-ins took place and there wasn't much drama as only Mitzi Merry missed weight.

Brazil's Mendonca sports a 10-4 record and struggled early on in his LFA career. Despite suffering three straight defeats, including knockouts to Christian Aguilera and Matthew Frincu, Mendonca never lost his fighting spirit. His full potential is finally coming out as he's bounced back with a four-fight…

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 highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight matchup is on ice for the time being. First reported by MMA Fighting on Thursday, Alexandre Pantoja (22-5) will no longer be competing at UFC Fight Night 183 against Manel Kape (15-4). The reason for Pantoja’s withdrawal is currently undisclosed, but the promotion is looking to re-book the pair in February if possible. It is unclear if Kape will remain on this card with a fresh opponent and make a short turnaround for the Pantoja re-booking, or simply wait a few months longer to make his UFC debut.

Pantoja was looking to rebound from a decision loss to the unbeaten Askar Askarov in July. With alternating wins and losses in his last four, “The Cannibal” has dropped decisions to Askarov and current champ Deiveson Figueiredo, while knocking out Wilson Reis and Matt Schn…

let's go baby!!

— Lerone Murphy (@LeroneMurphy) December 3, 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. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is now starting the new year off with three events in a week. The news first broke from MMA Fighting on Wednesday night that the promotion is adding an event to its early 2021 calendar. The Jan. 20 Fight Night event is expected to take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, between the card headlined by Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar and UFC 257 topped by Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2. Three bouts have been reported, with two confirmed by other outlets, including a flyweight encounter initially reported by Combate between newly signed Francisco Figueiredo (11-3-1, 1 NC) and Jerome Rivera (10-3).

Figueiredo, brother of flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo, will make his way do…

Yair Rodriguez Accepts Sanction for Violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy https://t.co/ClyCcmIgdP

— USADA (@usantidoping) December 3, 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 prominent Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight contender will be out of action until early 2021. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced on Thursday that Yair Rodriguez (13-2, 1 NC) has been suspended for six months after three Whereabouts violations. USADA requires that every fighter on the UFC roster notify them when they relocate or travel, and should the agency come to test a fighter only to find no one there, they get a Whereabouts failure marked. Three Whereabouts failures within one year flags the fighter as if they tested positive, and USADA responds accordingly.

USADA claimed that none of his violations were “suspicious” or that he was trying to de…

It wasn’t the promotion’s most star-studded card to date, but UFC on ESPN 18 still drew solid ratings.

According to Showbuzz Daily, UFC on ESPN 18 averaged 1.055 million viewers during the two-hour broadcast on ESPN. The event aired on the network following the conclusion of a college football game between Texas A&M and LSU. UFC on ESPN 18 averaged 245,000 viewers during the earlier portion of the card that was broadcast on ESPN2.

That initial figure ranks as the fourth-highest rating for a UFC on ESPN card in 2020. The highest rated event this year remains UFC on ESPN 8, which averaged 1.198 million viewers for a card headlined by a heavyweight clash between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris on May 16. The numbers are even more impressive considering UFC on ESPN 18 was going head to head with the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. pay-per-view, which reportedly drew more than 1 million buys.

UFC on ESPN 18 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw Anthony S…

Though it may have been an exhibition, there was apparently a great deal of interest in the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.

According to multiple reports, the pay-per-view event drew more 1 million buys. Boxing journalist Dan Rafael revealed that the card drew in the neighborhood of 1.2 million buys, while MMAFighting.com received estimates that the show could even exceed the figure provided by Rafael.

Tyson vs. Jones was promoted by social media company Triller with a price point of $49.95. It was available through Fite TV as well as various television and satellite providers. If those figures are accurate, that would make the fight the highest-selling boxing event of 2020 — the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch reportedly drew between 800,000 and 850,000 buys — and puts it on pair with UFC 251 (1.3 million) as the top-drawing combat sports card overall.

The card also drew interest thanks to a matchup between YouTube star Jake Paul and form…

It’s been a disappointing 2020 for Leon Edwards, to say the least.

A scheduled headlining clash with Tyron Woodley on home soil in March was canceled, and more recently, Edwards was forced to withdraw from a main event showdown with red-hot prospect Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19. In both cases, COVID-19 was to blame. In the first instance, the onset of the pandemic brought the UFC’s slate of events to a screeching halt, and the second time around, the a difficult bout with the virus itself left Edwards no choice but to exit the card.

The welterweight contender released a statement regarding the cancellation of the UFC Fight Night 183 headliner on Twitter.

“Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective,” Edwards wrote. “This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes.”

An…

Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Niko Price has been suspended six months and fined $8,500 for a positive marijuana test in relation to his welterweight bout against Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 178 on Sept. 19.

The Nevada Athletic Commission issued the sanction during a meeting on Wednesday. Additionally, Price’s draw with Cerrone was overturned to a no contest.

Price’s suspension is retroactive to the date of his positive test, so he will be eligible to compete again on March 19. Price was previously sanctioned for marijuana in relation to a victory over Alex Morono at UFC Fight Night 104 in Houston. That win was also changed to a no contest.

“Thank you for all the kind words,” Price wrote on Twitter. “I’ll be back and ready to throw down right away after this suspension in March/April.”

Thank you all for the kind words. I’ll be back a…

Khabib Nurmagomedov may very well return to the Octagon to pursue a 30-0 record, but he doesn’t appear to be interested in a rematch with either Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier.

Nurmagomedov held a press conference in Russia on Wednesday to announce the launch of his own MMA promotion, Eagle Fighting Championships. During that session, he addressed the possibility of a UFC return and what will happen when he meets with Dana White. The UFC president has said he expects the lightweight champion to return for one more fight and plans to meet with Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi in the coming weeks. Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in the cage following a victory over Justin Gaethje in the UFC 254 headliner on Oct. 24.

Nurmagomedov, who already owns submission wins over McGregor and Poirier, doesn’t believe he has much incentive to face either man again. McGregor and Poirier will meet in a rematch at UFC 257 on Jan. 23.

“First, he will probably offer money,” Nurmago…

It's Official

Roman Szymanski vs. Marian ZiolkowskiVacant KSW Lightweight Title #KSW57

A new KSW Lightweight Champion will be crowned pic.twitter.com/7n8US7oS4y — KSW (@KSW_MMA) December 1, 2020

Marian Ziolkowski and Roman Szymanski will vie for the vacant lightweight championship at KSW 57.

The Polish promotion announced the matchup on Tuesday. The 155-pound belt was vacated after former champ Mateusz Gamrot recently signed with the UFC. KSW 57 takes place in Lodz, Poland, on Dec. 19 and is headlined by a heavyweight championship tilt pitting Phil De Fries against Michal Kita. The card airs via pay-per-view on KSWTV.com. Also confirmed for KSW 57 is a lightweight showdown between Artur Sowinski and Borys Mankowski.

Ziolkowski was the most recent title challenger for Gamrot, losing a five-round verdict at KSW 54 on Aug. 29. That halted a two-bout winning streak for the Warsaw native, who is 21-8-1 over the course of a career t…

Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.26

RIZIN Women's Super Atomweight Title Match

Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Miyuu Yamamoto#RIZIN #RIZIN26 pic.twitter.com/6W1Fmzru7I — RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) December 2, 2020

An atomweight championship clash pitting Ayaka Hamasaki against Miyuu Yamamoto is among several additions to the Rizin Fighting Federation 26 lineup on New Year’s Eve.

Yamamoto and Ham initially squared off in October 2019, with Ham winning by second round technical knockout at Rizin 19.

“Miuyuu Yamamoto has been an idol of mine for such a long time. I am very excited to be facing her on such a great stage," Ham said. "Please look forward to a great masterpiece on a great night and great stage against a great opponent. Miyuu’s physical strength is outstanding and she has grown as a fighter, I don’t think I will be able to beat her easily.”

In other noteworthy action, 113-fight veteran Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minow…

HEADKICK TO THE SUB!! @SabinaMazo with a HUGE finish to open the show! #UFCVegas10 pic.twitter.com/ihroyF1WvB

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) September 12, 2020

Sabina Mazo will make her bantamweight debut against Alexis Davis at a UFC card on Feb. 27.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Milenio. A location has not been officially announced for the event, which will be topped by a light heavyweight scrap pitting Dominick Reyes against Jiri Prochazka.

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight champion, Mazo has won three consecutive UFC appearances after losing her debut. In her last outing, “Colombian Queen” submitted Justine Kish with a rear-naked choke in the third round at UFC Fight Night 177 on Sept. 12. Mazo also owns victories over J.J. Aldrich and Shana Dobson within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Davis, meanwhile, is currently mired in the first three-fight skid of her professional tenure after …

There are a couple key updates to the UFC Fight Night 183 card in the wake of Leon Edwards’ positive COVID-19 test and the subsequent cancellation of his headlining bout against Khamzat Chimaev.

First, a welterweight clash pitting Anthony Pettis against Alex Morono is a late addition to the Dec. 19 card. ESPN was first to report that both fighters have agreed to meet at the event.

As a result of the loss of the original main event, a 170-pound showdown between Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal has been elevated to the featured attraction. Thompson vs. Neal will now be a five-round fight.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and ranks as one of the promotion’s most stacked Fight Night offerings of the year — even without Edwards vs. Chimaev. In addition to Thompson vs. Neal, the card also includes notable fights such as Marlon Moraes vs. Rob Font, Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera, Misha Cirkunov vs. Ryan Spann and Alexandre Pantoja vs. Manel Kape,…

The Women's P4P #1 Boxer - @Claressashields is now a PFL athlete! pic.twitter.com/NMqA3MQdCF

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) December 1, 2020

Claressa Shields has designs on being a two-combat sport superstar.

Shields, who has already won multiple world championships and two gold medals as a boxer, recently signed a contract to make her professional MMA debut with Professional Fighters League in 2021. Shields won’t be part of the PFL season next year — she will compete in one-off fights — but is targeting 2022 for her shot at a 155-pound championship run in the promotion’s season format.

As Shields begins her MMA journey, she will continue her career in the Sweet Science, PFL CEO Peter Murray and her management revealed in a release on Tuesday.

“I want to thank Professional Fighters League and Peter Murray for believing in me and giving me this amazing opportunity. What drew me to the PFL is that it is definitely a fighter-first organiza…