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UFC Fight Night 176 is down to eight bouts after Thiago Moises tested positive for COVID-19.

Moises’ proposed lightweight scrap against Jalin Turner has been canceled as a result. Combate was first to report the news. UFC Fight Night 176 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a heavyweight duel between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai. The card will stream on ESPN+.

A former Resurrection Fighting Alliance titlist, Moises has gone 2-2 thus far during his promotional tenure. Most recently, the American Top Team representative submitted Michael Johnson 25 seconds into the second roud at UFC Fight Night 171 on May 13.

Turner is also 2-2 in UFC competition. “The Tarantula” is coming off a second-round TKO triumph against Joshua Culibao at UFC Fight Night 168 on Feb. 23.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wORk9Qhr-8&w=560&h=315]

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Brian Kelleher has yet another new opponent at UFC Fight Night 176.

Kevin Natividad, who was a replacement for original opponent Ricky Simon, has been pulled from the matchup with Kelleher for undisclosed reasons. As a result, Ray Rodriguez, who weighed in as a backup fighter on Friday, will get the call to square off against the featherweight known as “Boom.” MMAFighting.com was first to report the change.

Rodriguez competed on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Tony Gravely in August 2019. The 32-year-old Texan returned to the win column with a submission triumph over Andrew Perez at Combat Americas “San Antonio” this past November.

UFC Fight Night 175 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas …

The Demolition Man!

We're OFFICIAL for #UFCVegas9 - Streaming LIVE on #ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/BYlUc6Fn0T

— UFC (@ufc) September 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. Fans can breathe a sigh of relief as every fighter for Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship card hit their proper marks, including a backup competitor.

The UFC will hold its first of four events in September this Saturday as heavyweight contenders Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai clash in the main event of UFC Fight Night 176. The latest card from the UFC Apex features nine bouts in total, and one fighter was also called in to make weight as a potential replacement in case the coronavirus struck.

After a big TKO win over Walt Harris earlier this year, Overeem (46-18, 1 NC) will look to prove that he still has one more run left in him. The 40…

It took Zviad Lazishvili less than four minutes to dismantle Ricky Steele.

The unbeaten Georgian captured the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight championship, as he submitted Steele with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their LFA 90 headliner on Friday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Lazishvili (6-0, 2-0 LFA) closed the deal 3:42 into Round 1.

Steele (6-1, 0-1 LFA) went nowhere despite five-inch height and reach advantages. Lazisvhili corralled the SBG Idaho product along the fence, secured a takedown and immediately scrambled to the back. From there, he pestered Steele with punches, hunted for openings and cinched the choke, setting his hooks once his arms were in place. The tapout followed soon after.

Meanwhile, surging Black House export Maycon Mendonca cut down Devin Smyth with punches in the second round of their welterweight co-main event. Mendonca (10-4, 4-3 LFA) brought it to a close 4:21 into Round 2, as he extended hi…

Bangers & Mash!! UK Heavyweight @StuartAustinMMAthrowing them bombs!!

He takes on Satoshi Ishii in the main event of #EMC5 on Saturday!! pic.twitter.com/ZdzIctT7Y1

— EMC MMA(@EMC_Promotion) September 3, 2020 Former BAMMA champion and Bellator MMA veteran Stuart Austin has bad intentions for his opponent at EMC 5. On Saturday night, Austin (14-6) will lock horns with Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii (23-11-1) for the inaugural EMC heavyweight title atop EMC 5. Even though he was preparing for a different opponent, Austin didn't refuse the offer to face Ishii. He and his upcoming foe share some common ground. Not only they started their martial career with judo, but they also took part in some of the same tournaments when they were younger.

“I competed in judo tournaments until I was 19,” Austin told Sherdog.com. “I took part in some of the same ones like him, but we never got to compete against each other before he went on to beco…

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Demian Maia anyone? That's the plan for Fight Island per Dana White, after he competes in the APEX pic.twitter.com/WbSTRB4RMV

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) September 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. Ultimate Fighting Championship wunderkind Khamzat Chimaev has not one but two fights potentially lined up. On Friday, UFC President Dana White spoke at a press conference about upcoming matches for Sweden’s Chimaev. The rising star is expected to appear at UFC Fight Night 178 on Sept. 19 at the UFC Apex, now that the fighter has cleared his visa issues. An opponent has not yet been named, and the bout is still in the works.

“Yes,” White responded simply to a question about a September booking for Chimaev. “He’ll fight here [at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas] and he’ll fight in ‘Fight Island.’ Yeah, this guy wan…

Now y’all really tryna make me act nasty! Let’s get this bag. #MainEventAnge https://t.co/CcatIzNcOu

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) September 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. An upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship card has an unexpected new main event. On Wednesday night, Glover Teixeira was forced to withdraw from his headliner against Thiago Santos. The two light heavyweights topped UFC Fight Night 177 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 12, and the promotion briefly searched for a new main event. In its stead will be former co-main matchup Michelle Waterson (17-8) vs. Angela Hill (12-8) at strawweight, per ESPN.

Unlike other recent short-notice replacement main events like Anthony Smith-Aleksandar Rakic and Edmen Shahbazyan-Derek Brunson, this bout will be a five-round affair. Both women former Invicta Fighting…

In the COVID-19 era, it is always a relief when every fighter on the card makes weight without issue.

The Legacy Fighting Alliance kicks off a busy September of mixed martial arts action with LFA 90. The event will see the promotion crown a new bantamweight king as it pits undefeated prospects Zviad Lazishvili and Ricky Steele up against one other.

Lazishvili (5-0) impressed in his LFA debut last year as he won a decision over Josh Huber. His victory over “The Hellboy” was the biggest of his career to date and broke a six-fight win streak for the surging Huber. Although the promotion bills the Georgian at 12-0, several of those victories cannot currently be authenticated. Lazishvili will look to continue his perfection inside the cage by capturing LFA gold. The Georgian fighter had no issue making weight and officially came in at 133.8 pounds.

Making his promotional debut is Steele (6-0), who is coming off a split decision win over Phil Caracappa on Dana White's Cont…

Karol Rosa passa mal, é levada para o hospital e deixa luta contra Sijara Eubanks no UFC de sábado https://t.co/8IbreH8d8w pic.twitter.com/MXcK4N2pys

— Combate (@canalCombate) September 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. Two hard weight cuts in the span of a few months got the better of Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Karol Rosa. Combate was the first to break the news on Thursday that Rosa has been knocked out of her UFC Fight Night 176 matchup with Sijara Eubanks due to a bad weight cut. Rosa has been hospitalized, and her condition is currently unknown. The bout will be removed from the bill, per MMA Fighting, and Eubanks will take on Julia Avila at UFC Fight Night 177 on Sept. 12. Avila's management team confirmed this new bout shortly after the news broke, and it is unclear if Avila's October matchup with Ni…

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. Ultimate Fighting Championship staple Ed Herman just wants to fight someone. On Thursday, MMA Fighting reported that Herman (25-14, 1 NC) will be facing a new opponent at UFC Fight Night 177, this time in the form of Mike Rodriguez (11-4, 1 NC). Herman was originally set to lock horns with John Allan Arte, but the Brazilian was forced to pull out due to visa issues. An exasperated Herman confirmed the opponent change on his Instagram page.

“Short Fuse” has seen five matchups fall through in 2020, with two cancellations ahead of his matchup against Da Un Jung in May and then August. Gerald Meerschaert was set to replace the South Korean in August, but a positive COVID-19 test pushed the bout to September. Arte then stepped up after Meerschaert withdrew again, only to be pulled for an issue related to his visa. The 14-year U…

SWEET DREAMS!!

It only takes round for @JamahalH

#UFCVegas continues on @ESPN and E+ pic.twitter.com/XSiLSKQMhm — UFC (@ufc) May 30, 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. Several Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters have received official sentences after failing drug tests.

Per ESPN on Thursday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has handed down numerous suspensions for competitors that failed drug tests. Jamahal Hill appeared at UFC on ESPN 9 in May, and his first-round win over Klidson Abreu was overturned to a no contest after failing a post-fight drug test for marijuana. He has been fined 15 percent of his purse and given a suspension for six months retroactive to the date of the test.

Like Hill, Tim Elliott and Luis Pena also were flagged in their post-fight tests for marijuana. The substance is only banned …

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. Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Ji Yeon Kim may have suffered more than just a loss at UFC Fight Night 175. According to promotional paperwork provided to mixedmartialarts.com on Thursday, three different competitors from the recent Fight Night card face lengthy suspensions. Headlining the event was a three-round light heavyweight bout, where Aleksandar Rakic captured a one-sided unanimous verdict against Anthony Smith. For his overwhelming defeat, Smith has been handed a 45-day suspension with no contact for one month by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Main card participant Kim dropped a unanimous decision to Alexa Grasso earlier on the card, and she may have broken her right orbital bone in the process. Absorbing 51 blows to the head caused a potential fracture, although Kim can be cleared by an oral and maxill…

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A pivotal light heavyweight clash pitting Glover Teixeira against Thiago Santos will no longer take place at UFC Fight Night 177 on Sept. 12.

Teixeira has tested positive for COVID-19, and as a result, the bout vs. Santos will be postponed until Oct. 3. Multiple outlets confirmed the news following an initial report from Combate.

UFC Fight Night 177 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a strawweight co-main event between Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill. It’s currently unclear if Waterson vs. Hill will be elevated to the new headliner.

Teixeira vs. Santos is now slated for UFC on ESPN 16, which will be held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. That card is currently headlined by a women’s bantamweight tilt between Holly Holm and Irene Aldana. According to ESPN, the light heavyweight bout will now be …

Former UFC competitor Abel Trujillo was sentenced to two years’ probation in a child exploitation case in Castle Rock, Colorado, on Wednesday, according to 9News.

Trujillo was originally arrested in July 2019 and charged with with attempted sexual exploitation of a child, promotion of obscenity to a minor and sexual exploitation of a child – self/publish – all of which are felonies. Trujillo accepted a plea agreement in March and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of promoting obscenity.

Had the felony charges remained, Trujillo would have faced up to 18 months in jail.

Castle Rock police were initially notified in October 2018 that the victim received inappropriate messages via social media from Trujillo. The girl first made contact with Trujillo in March 2018 and received a follow request from him on Instagram. According to an affidavit, she accepted the request “because Abel is a celebrity.”

Shortly thereafter, the girl began receiving direct mess…

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Bobby Green will step in for Rodrigo Vargas and square off against Alan Patrick Silva Alves at UFC Fight Night 177.

Promotion officials announced the change in the lightweight bout on Wednesday. Vargas withdrew from the contest for undisclosed reasons. UFC Fight Night 177 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept. 12 and is headlined by a light heavyweight scrap pitting Thiago Santos against Glover Teixeira.

Green is 2-0 thus far during his 2020 campaign after earning unanimous decision triumphs against Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 11 and against Lando Vannata at UFC Fight Night 173. Prior to that, the former King of the Cage champion had been victorious in just one of his previous seven promotional appearances.

Patrick had a three-bout winning streak snapped at UFC 229, where he was knocked out by Scott Ho…

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

Would-be UFC competitor Aleksander Doskalchuk has accepted a 14-month suspension from USADA for a violation of the promotion’s anti-doping policy.

Doskalchuk tested positive for mesterolone metabolites in an out-of-competition sample collected on June 6. Mesterolone is a banned substance in the anabolic agents category. The flyweight fighter will not be eligible to compete until August 2021.

Doskalchuk received a reduced sanction after providing evidence that a doctor mistakenly provided him medication containing mesterolone. The 30-year-old Ukrainian received an additional reduction in his sanction thanks to his complete cooperation in the investigation.

A former M-1 Global flyweight champion, Doskalchuk was expected to compete at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18 in Abu Dhabi but withdrew from a proposed bout against Malcolm Gordon. He owns a 10-1 professional record.

The full USADA statement …

The Bellator women’s flyweight division has another interesting contender.

The California-based promotion has signed former Invicta Fighting Championships 125-pound title holder Vanessa Porto to an exclusive, multi-fight contract. Sherdog.com confirmed the signing with a promotion official following an initial report from ESPN.

A date for Porto’s Bellator debut is currently unknown. Porto has vacated the Invicta FC belt as a result, and the all-female promotion will crown a new champion in November.

Porto claimed the Invicta FC crown with a victory over Pearl Gonzalez in February 2019 and then defeated Karina Rodriguez in a non-title affair in her last appearance at Invicta FC 38. The 36-year-old Brazilian owns a 22-8 career mark that includes wins over the likes of Roxanne Modafferi, Jennifer Maia, Germaine de Randamie and Tonya Evinger.

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Sean Strickland will make his first Octagon appearance in two years when he locks horns with Wellington Turman in a welterweight bout on Oct. 31.

Combate was first to report the booking. The UFC event is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall and is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Strickland hasn’t competed since he was injured and underwent knee surgery following a motorcycle accident in December 2018. Strickland last appeared at UFC Fight Night 138, where he scored a second-round TKO of Nordine Taleb in October 2018. “Tarzan” is 7-3 over the course of his promotional tenure.

Turman has lost two of his first three bouts in the Octagon. Most recently, the 24-year-old Brazilian suffered a first-round knockout loss at the hands of Andrew Sanchez at UFC Fig…

Two title belts will be up for grabs at Invicta Fighting Championships 43.

The promotion announced Wednesday that Invicta FC 43 will be headlined by a showdown for the vacant flyweight championship between Pearl Gonzalez and Erin Blanchfield, while Emily Ducote and Montserrat Ruiz will vie for strawweight gold in the evening’s co-main event.

Invicta FC 43 takes place on Nov. 20 in Kansas City and will stream on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event takes place behind closed doors and will utilize open scoring. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.

A two-time UFC veteran, Gonzalez previously challenged for the flyweight crown at Invicta FC 34, where she fell to Vanessa Porto via technical decision. “The Chi-Town Princess” rebounded to outpoint Brogan Walker-Sanchez at Invicta FC 37 before dropping a unanimous verdict to Miranda Maverick at Invicta FC 39.

Blanchfield has been victorious in six of her first seven profess…

A women’s featherweight clash pitting Leslie Smith against Amanda Bell has been added to the Bellator 245 lineup.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bout with a promotion official on Wednesday. Bellator 245 takes place on Sept. 11 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and is headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida. Smith vs. Bell will take place on the preliminary card.

After a seven-bout stint with the UFC, Smith fought twice for Bellator in 2019. After earning a majority decision against Sinead Kavanagh in her promotional debut, Smith dropped a unanimous verdict to Arlene Blencowe in her most recent outing at Bellator 233. The 38-year-old is 11-8-1 over the course of a professional career that includes victories over the likes of Irene Aldana, Jennifer Maia and Raquel Pennington.

Bell, meanwhile, has compiled a 3-2 mark while competing for the Scott Coker-led organization. Most recently, “The Lady Killer” defeated Janay…

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Ever since reports surfaced that Brock Lesnar was no longer under contract with the WWE, speculation has run rampant regarding the massive superstar’s next move.

Though Lesnar himself has been quiet, a return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been a popular topic of conversation and more specifically, a showdown with former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones made it clear he was aware of Lesnar’s free agency when he directed a tweet at the former heavyweight king earlier this week.

While Jones vs. Lesnar is far from becoming a reality, UFC president Dana White would make the fight if Lesnar wanted to step into the Octagon again.

“If they both want to fight each other, I’m sure it’s a fight the fans want to see and it would be a good introduction for Jones into the heavyweight division,” White …

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 on Tuesday brought in more reinforcements through Dana White’s Contender Series, as flyweight Jimmy Flick, light heavyweight William Knight and bantamweight Ronnie Lawrence joined the roster on the strength of impressive Week 5 performances at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Flick submitted Nate Smith with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their flyweight encounter. Smith (6-1) conceded defeat 3:15 into Round 3, the Elevation Fight Team prospect beaten for the first time as a professional.

Flick (15-5) was masterful on the ground. The Oklahoma-based Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt settled in top position in all three rounds and made passes at a variety of submissions throughout the first 10-plus minutes: a straight armbar, a brabo choke, a triangle choke, an armbar, an omoplata and multipl…

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Sherdog's live DWCS 2020 Week 5 coverage kicks off Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

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

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores…

Bellator MMA has bolstered its talent pool by signing light heavyweight Viktor Nemkov and featherweight Cody Law.

Sherdog.com confirmed the Nemkov signing with a promotion official following an initial report from Tass, while the promotion announced the addition of Law via social media. A date for the Bellator debuts of Nemkov and Law has not been revealed.

Nemkov is the older brother of Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov. A former M-1 Global champion, Viktor Nemkov last competed under the Professional Fighters League banner, where he was eliminated from the light heavyweight tournament following a draw against Bozigit Ataev . The elder Nemkov is a gold medalist in the Russian Combat Sambo championships and owns notable wins over UFC veterans Gadzhimurad Antigulov and Ronny Markes.

Hello @BellatorMMA pic.twitter.com/chDZA4Zp8S

— Cody Law (@codylaw_160) September 1, 2020

Law, meanwhile, is a former Division I wrestler at…