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A featherweight clash pitting Jeremy Stephens against Arnold Allen is in the works for the UFC’s card on Nov. 7.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the matchup. The card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweigh tilt pitting Thiago Santos against Glover Teixiera.

Stephens is currently on a five-bout winless streak dating back to a first-round TKO loss against Jose Aldo at UFC on Fox 30 on July 28, 2018. In his last outing, “Lil Heathen” suffered a KO setback to Calvin Kattar at UFC 249. Before his current slump, Stephens was on a three-bout winning streak that included triumphs over Gilbert Melendez, Doo Ho Choi and Josh Emmett.

Allen, meanwhile, has won his first seven UFC appearances and nine in a row overall. The Cage Warriors veteran kicked off his 2020 cam…

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The UFC on ESPN 16 main card averaged 1.097 million viewers on Saturday night, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That’s the second-highest figure for a UFC on ESPN card in 2020 behind only UFC on ESPN 8, which attracted an audience of 1.198 million viewers for a card headlined by Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris on May 16.

The ratings were likely bolstered by the presence of ex-bantamweight queen Holly Holm, who took a five-round verdict over Irene Aldana in the evening’s main event. Holm has been one of the promotion’s top female stars ever since she knocked out then champion Ronda Rousey in 2015.

The main card was also simulcast on ESPN+, while the UFC on ESPN 16 prelims streamed in their entirety on ESPN+. The card ranks No. 3 overall among all UFC on ESPN cards since the promotion began its partnership with the…

A lightweight clash between Nick Newell andt Zach Zane that was initially a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic has been rebooked for Bellator 250.

Sherdog.com confirmed the matchup with a promotion official on Tuesday following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Newell and Zane were initially slated to meet at Bellator 241 before the event was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

Bellator 250 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on Oct. 29 and is headlined by a middleweight title clash between Gegard Mousasi and Douglas Lima. The main card will be televised on CBS Sports Network following prelims on Bellator’s YouTube channel. Newell vs. Zane is expected to take place on the prelims.

Newell is 1-1 in Bellator after previous appearances with WSOF, LFA, Dana White’s Contender Series and XFC. Most recently, the 34-year-old dropped a split verdict to Luis Muro at Bellator 232.

Also an alum of the Contender Series, Zane outpointed …

Even with its 2020 season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Professional Fighters League is still looking to improve its roster.

The promotion on Tuesday announced eight new signings, including 15-time UFC veteran Cezar Ferreira (middleweight). The other additions include: “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” 3 cast member Joilton Lutterbach (lightweight), UFC and WSOF veteran Sheymon Moraes (featherweight), ex-KOK champ Hatef Moeil (heavyweight), one-time UFC competitor Sung Bin Jo (featherweight), LFA veteran and Team Nogueira product Renan Ferreira (heavyweight), ex-Cage Warriors title challenger Marthin Hamlet (light heavyweight) and three-promotion regional champ Brandon Sayles (heavyweight).

Cezar “Mutante” is the most notable of the signings, with a 9-6 UFC mark that included victories over the likes of Nate Marquardt, Jack Hermansson, Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos during his promotional tenure.

“We are extremely excited to welcome a diverse group of wor…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DUPdId0aKo&w=560&h=315]

Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight champion Bryce Logan has inked a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.

Sherdog.com confirmed the signing with a promotion official after Logan’s management team announced the news on social media. Logan is the latest in a slew of LFA title holders to sign with the California-based promotion, joining the likes of light heavyweight champion Alex Polizzi, featherweight king Justin Gonzales and welterweight ruler Jaleel Willis on the Bellator roster.

According to his management, Logan will make his second Bellator appearance on Nov. 5. He previously appeared at Bellator 204 in August 2018, falling to Damarques Jackson via split decision.

Logan rejoins Bellator after winning three consecutive bouts in LFA. Most recently, outpointed Jacob Rosales over five rounds to capture lightweight gold at LFA 87 on July 31. The Power MMA team representative is 12-4 as a profess…

One Championship will host its most stacked card since the COVID-19 pandemic hit with an event featuring four title fights on Oct. 30.

One “Inside the Matrix” will be headlined by a middleweight championship tilt between reigning titlist Aung La N Sang and Reinier de Ridder, while Christian Lee will defend his lightweight crown against Iuri Lapicus. Additionally, featherweight ruler Martin Nguyen will square off against Thanh Le, while strawweight queen Jingnan Xiong will face Tiffany Teo.

One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong recently announced the event, though a location and venue were not revealed.

Sang is currently on a seven-bout winning streak within the Singapore-based promotion and is coming off a second-round TKO of heavyweight champion Brandon Vera in light heavyweight title defense at One Championship “Century” Part 2 last October. The Netherlands’ Reinier is unbeaten in 12 professional appearances, including three under the One banner.

Lee la…

The hands of @pezao011 sent Sosoli to the canvas facefirst #UFCAuckland pic.twitter.com/HJmHvVOpub

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2020

UFC heavyweight Ben Sosoli could be in Australian jail for up to 22 months after punching a man outside a Melbourne bar in September 2019.

According to the Australian Associated Press, Sosoli was working at Jacksons Lounge Bar as a bouncer when he punched a man in the jaw after the patron twice snuck in to the establishment upon being refused entry for being too intoxicated. The man suffered a broken jaw as a result and was forced to undergo surgery.

Sosoli told police that the man had been “threatening to f—k him up” prior to the incident. However, Judge Gavan Meredith on Monday did not excuse the fighter for his actions.

"You are expected not to respond to provocation in the way you did,” Meredith said.

Sosoli pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury and must serve 11 months o…

A welterweight title bout between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns will not take place at UFC 256 as originally anticipated.

According to ESPN, the fight has been postponed because Usman needs more time to recover from undisclosed injuries, and it is unclear when the bout might be rescheduled. According to the report, the promotion has looked into booking Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou or Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington for the card, but neither fight is close to being finalized.

Usman and Burns were originally supposed to meet at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi on July 11, but Burns was forced to pull out of the contest after testing positive for COVID-19. Instead, Usman made his second successful title defense with a clear-cut five-round verdict against Masvidal in the evening’s main event. “The Nigerian Nightmare” has won 16 straight professional bouts – including 12 in the UFC.

Burns experienced mixed results at lightweight but has rattled off four consecutive vict…

Alexander Hernandez will square off against Chris Gruetzemacher in a lightweight clash at UFC Fight Night 181 on Oct. 31.

BJPenn.com was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 181 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown pitting Anderson Silva against Uriah Hall.

After beginning his promotional tenure with back-to-back triumphs over Beneil Dariush and Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Hernandez has dropped two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the San Antonio, Texas, native suffered a second-round TKO defeat against Drew Dober at UFC Fight Night 171 on May 13.

Gruetzemacher, meanwhile, halted a two-bout skid with a TKO of Joe Lauzon at UFC 223 in April 2018. The 34-year-old WSOF and Strikeforce veteran has not competed since that victory.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman was one of numerous male athletes victimized by Dr. Richard Strauss at Ohio State University, according to a report from Sports Illustrated.

In a piece entitled Why Aren’t More People Talking About the Ohio State Sex Abuse Scandal, Coleman recalls undergoing what seemed to be an inappropriate physical examination from Strauss upon his arrival on campus in 1986.

“He examined me pretty good. It was an eye-opener,” Coleman said. “I don’t want to go further than that.”

At that time, Strauss was the OSU doctor for five sports programs and the consulting physician for at least 10 others. According to the report, Strauss would not only fondle male athletes’ genitals during examinations — whether it was necessary or not — but he was also known to be present at practices, in locker rooms and would even shower with the athletes. Strauss’ bizarre and inappropriate antics earned him monikers like “Dr. Feel Good” or “Dr. Drop-You…

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson might be the most cursed bout in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, but there’s an outside chance the two lightweights could still meet in the Octagon.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, UFC president Dana White implied that the Nurmagomedov-Ferguson matchup might not be dead yet – provided a couple things happen. Nurmagomedov is currently slated to defend his lightweight crown against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on Oct. 24, while Ferguson has not fought since falling to Gaethje in an interim 155-pound title tilt at UFC 249 on May 9.

“If Khabib does beat Gaethe, you get Tony Ferguson another fight, which we’re working on right now,” White said. “And hopefully that fight with Khabib happens because I know people want to see it.”

The promotion has already tried to book Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson on five different occasions, and each time the bout has fallen through for various reasons. Most recently, the COVID-19 pand…

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Irene Aldana could have positioned herself as a top contender in the UFC women’s bantamweight division with a victory over Holly Holm on Saturday night.

Instead, the Lobo Gym MMA representative faltered at UFC on ESPN 16, losing a clear-cut unanimous verdict to Holm at Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. The former bantamweight queen kept Aldana off balance with movement, punching flurries, a variety of kicks and timely takedowns over the course of a frustrating 25 minutes.

Aldana reacted to the setback in a recent post on her Instagram account.

“Today things didn’t go my way,” she wrote. “First of all I want to apologize to my corner because we had a very specific fight plan that I could not execute. I felt that something was wrong with my left foot; it wasn’t responding since the beginning of the fight. No excuses, I s…

Five-time UFC veteran Jessica Aguilar has signed an exclusive deal with Xtreme Fighting Championships.

The promotion confirmed the signing following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com on Monday. Aguilar is expected to make her debut at XFC 43 on Nov. 11 in Atlanta. The card will be televised on NBC Sports Network, but Aguilar’s opponent was not revealed.

The 38-year-old American Top Team product last appeared at UFC on ESPN 2 in March 2019, when she suffered a unanimous decision loss against Marina Rodriguez. “Jag” entered the Las Vegas-based promotion on a 10-bout winning streak but was victorious in just one of her five UFC bouts.

Prior to that, she captured 115-pound gold in World Series of Fighting and also enjoyed a successful stint in Bellator MMA. Aguilar owns notable wins over the likes of Carla Esparza, Megumi Fuji (twice), Jodie Esquibel and Angela Magana.

It was a rough night at the office for Jordan Williams at UFC on ESPN 16.

Not only did the Dana White’s Contender Series alum drop a unanimous decision to Nassourdine Imavov in their preliminary middleweight bout, but he also suffered mutlple injuries in a contest that featured two headbutts and an accidental groin strike.

The first headbutt seemed to affect Imavov more than Williams, but the 25-year-old Frenchman was able to recover and pull away for a victory down the stretch. In additions to injuries suffered as a result of the fight, Williams also revealed that he entered the contest with a pre-existing neck ailment.

“Just got back from the hospital and the verdict is a broken nose, multiple fractures,” Williams said in a post-fight statement on Instagram. “I have a broken orbital bone from that illegal head butt — the second illegal head butt. This [cut on my head] is from the first illegal head butt. And, apparently, I broke my neck in the last fight. I…

Daniel Jubileu Oliveira defends his title! #andstill #ACA112 pic.twitter.com/vJoMPn9Ffl

— ACAMMA (@ACA_League) October 4, 2020

Deivi Daniel Oliveira de Almeida defended his 135-pound championship in spectacular fashion against Abdul-Rakhman Dudaev in the Absolute Championship Akhmat 112 headliner on Sunday.

It looked like Dudaev's time to shine in the early going, as the challenger put severe pressure on the champion in the opening stanza, scoring on multiple occasions with his notorious spinning shots. In the second round, Dudaev (25-5) continued to hit his opponent and nearly secured a finish after landing a left head kick. However, Oliveira (28-6-1) exploited his opponent's eagerness to end the fight and connected with a right overhand that dropped Dudaev in his tracks. The tune of the battle changed after that shot, even as Oliveira attempted unsuccessfully to close a rear-naked choke attempt.

Midway through the third round, the Br…

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Julianna Pena is taking her loss at UFC on ESPN 16 in stride.

“The Ultimate Fighter 18” winner released a statement via Instagram after being choked unconscious by Germaine de Randamie in the third round of their bantamweight clash in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. In her post, Pena included a video of her daughter while expressing a desire to set a good example for her child.

“You win some, you learn some. Wasn’t my night! Massive Congratulations to [Germaine de Randamie] it was an honor to compete against you and thank you for your service of upholding the #thinblueline Thank you [Dana White] and [UFC]for the experience,” she wrote.

“I can’t wait to get back to this little love of mine!! I’ve missed her so much! Your kids don’t always follow your advice, a lot of times they follow your example. I’m uninjured an…

Not just a striker @IronLadyMMA #UFCFightIsland4 live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/kxea3rHfIf

— UFC (@ufc) October 4, 2020

Germaine de Randamie has always been known for her standup acumen.

In addition to her MMA bouts, the Dutchwoman owns an impressive 46-0 record in kickboxing, which means that most UFC opponents won’t want to stand and trade with her. That was again the case at UFC on ESPN 16, where Julianna Pena did her best to ground “The Iron Lady” at any opportunity.

While that worked well early in the bantamweight bout, Pena paid the price for her strategy in Round 3, when de Randamie trapped her in a guillotine following a takedown and choked “The Venezuelan Vixen” unconscious. It was the first submission victory of de Randamie’s 14-bout MMA career.

“I said before this fight to my coaches, either I’ll get this guillotine—because if you give me your neck, I’m going to put you to sleep—or I’m going to knock her out,” de Randamie s…

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James Krause will step in for Muslim Salikhov and square off against Claudio Henrique da Silva at UFC Fight Night 180.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the change to the welterweight bout. UFC Fight Night 180 takes place at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung.

Krause is coming off another short notice appearance, when he dropped a split verdict against Trevin Giles at UFC 247 on Feb. 8. That setback snapped a six-bout winning streak for the Glory MMA & Fitness representative.

After losing his professional debut, da Silva has won 14 consecutive fights – including five in the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the 38-year-old Brazilian choked out Cole Williams in the opening stanza at UFC on ESPN 5 in August 2019.

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 was an opportunity for Irene Aldana to solidify herself as the bantamweight division’s No. 1 contender.

UFC president Dana White indicated as much when speaking to media last month following an episode of the Contender Series. However, Holly Holm had other ideas.

The former 135-pound champion, just a couple weeks shy of her 39th birthday, authored one of the most complete performances of her UFC career, as she dominated Aldana for five rounds in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. Once upon a time, Holm was the intriguing new talent, a boxing champion with a pedigree not often seen in women’s MMA.

“When I first came to MMA, a lot of people didn’t really know what to expect,” she said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “And then [eventually] they all knew who I was but there was this whole new ex…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhWytirby10&w=560&h=315]

Joshua da Silveira, the son of American Top Team coach Marcus "Conan" Silveira, has signed with Legacy Fighting Alliance.

The promotion announced the news on Sunday. Silveira will compete in the light heavyweight division, but a debut for his LFA debut is currently unknown.

The 27-year-old notably competed for Titan FC last year, scoring a first round submission of Jahsua Marsh in his professional debut. He followed that up with a head kick KO of Cody Rolling at a regional event on Aug. 13 in Florida.

His father, a longtime coach at ATT, went 6-4 with one no contest over the course of a professional career that began in 1995 and ended in 2007. “Conan” competed against the likes of Kazushi Sakuraba, Patrick Smith, Maurice Smith and Dan Severn.

.@LFAfighting is excited to announce that we have signed top prospect @JMDaSilv. @JMDaSilv is the son of @AmericanTopTeam head coac…

AT. THE. HORN. @CarlosCondit dropped Court McGee at the end of the first round at #UFCFightIsland4 pic.twitter.com/XR0UG1w11q

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 4, 2020

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There were probably quite a few fans watching UFC on ESPN 16 who never saw Carlos Condit at his peak.

One of the sport’s most reliable action fighters for most of his career, the New Mexico native is a former World Extreme Cagefighting titlist and ex-UFC interim champ who has a laundry list of memorable bouts on his resume. Heading into his matchup with Court McGee on Saturday, Condit had fallen on hard times, losing his last five Octagon appearances.

“The Natural Born Killer” shook off a slow start to end that skid, earning a unanimous decision victory over McGee in a preliminary welterweight bout at the Flash Forum in Abu Dh…

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Four fighters received $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their work at UFC on ESPN 16 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.

Former featherweight queen Germaine de Randamie’s first-ever submission triumph secured her a “Performance of the Night” bonus. The Dutch kickboxer ensnared Julianna Pena in a guillotine choke for a technical submission victory at the 3:25 mark of Round 3 in a featured bantamweight tilt.

Elsewhere, Kyler Phillips earned a “Performance of the Night” check thanks to a second-round technical knockout of Cameron Else in a bantamweight clash. The MMA Lab product brought an end to the contest with elbows and punches from mount 44 seconds into the period.

Unbeaten prospect Dusko Todorovic took home a “Performance of the Night” check for a dominant showing against Dequan Towns…

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. Holly Holm was not ready to pass the torch just yet. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight titleholder ran literal circles around Irene Aldana in the UFC on ESPN 16 headliner, where she cruised to a unanimous decision on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All three judges sided with Holm (14-5, 7-5 UFC): 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45.

A failure to cut off the cage proved costly for Aldana (12-6, 5-4 UFC), who grew increasingly frustrated as time went on. Holm was brilliant from a tactical perspective. The Jackson-Wink MMA mainstay steered clear of the lethal Aldana left hook, attacked the body with kicks and directed sharp punches at the head. Perhaps most importantly, she incorporated takedowns in all five rounds. When the fifth round arrived, Aldana appeared to be overcome by resi…

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. Sherdog's live UFC on ESPN 16 coverage will begin Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treeese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treeese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treeese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treeese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treeese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen …