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UFC welterweight contender Santiago Ponzinibbio recently spent a week in the hospital to recover from a bacterial infection in his blood.

The Argentina native revealed the news of his hospitalization on Instagram. The 32-year-old told MMAjunkie.com that he will see a specialist to continue treatment, but he doesn’t have a timetable to make his next Octagon appearance.

“Hello friends, I have been absent from social media recently because I had emergency surgery and had to spend a week in the hospital, but I’m in recovery mode,” Ponzinibbio wrote.

“Gente Boa” is currently on a seven-fight winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 140, where he knocked out Neil Magny in the fourth round of the evening’s headliner in Buenos Aires. The American Top Team representative owns a 27-3 professional mark that includes triumphs over the likes of Mike Perry, Gunnar Nelson, Court McGee and Zak Cummings.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has a new Ultimate Fighting Championship deal, and the contract comes with one especially noteworthy clause.

According to a report from ESPN.com, Nurmagomedov signed a multi-fight contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion before his title defense against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 was officially confirmed. The champion’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, revealed that the deal includes a stipulation in the event a bout with retired former two-division champion Georges St. Pierre ever comes to fruition.

The exact terms involving the St. Pierre clause are unknown, but it could involve reworking the financial aspects of the contract if the Canadian star were to come out of retirement again.

When St. Pierre announced his retirement earlier this year, he confirmed that there were talks to put together a bout against Nurmagomedov.

“We tried to organize the fight with Khabib, I know Khabib want it and I want it, but the UFC had other plan[s],” St. Pierr…

After a brief and successful stint in bareknuckle boxing, Bec Rawlings is returning to the mixed martial arts arena.

Sherdog.com confirmed with a promotion official on Tuesday that the seven-time UFC veteran is close to signing a deal with Bellator MMA. A date and opponent for Rawlings’ promotional debut have not been determined. ESPN first reported the signing.

Rawlings went 3-0 while competing under the Bare Knuckle FC banner following her UFC release in 2018. The 30-year-old Brisbane, Australia, native exited the Las Vegas-based promotion on a four-bout skid after falling to Paige VanZant, Tecia Torres, Jessica-Rose Clark and Ashlee Evans-Smith.

The Alliance MMA representative owns a 7-8 career mark in MMA that includes a three-bout stint in Invicta Fighting Championships. She will compete in Bellator’s flyweight division.

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.Jimi Manuwa suffered his fourth loss in a row at UFC Fight Night 153 on June 1 as surging prospect Aleksandar Rakic knocked him out in the opening period with a brutal head kick. Now, after spending a few days to consider his options, the Englishman announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in an Instagram post.

“I’ve had a great martial arts career and the last 4 fights have been tough losses to take not only for myself but for my family who is always first,” part of the statement read. “I’ve given out mostly knockouts and taken a few myself; that’s my fan loving style but it takes a toll on the body especially concussions which are not visible to the eye.”

Manuwa finished his Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure with four “Performance of the Night” or “Fight of the Night” bonuses, and end…

The lineup for UFC on ESPN 4 is nearly complete, James Vick will meet Dan Hooker at lightweight and Ray Borg will face Gabriel Silva in a bantamweight contest in San Antonio on July 20.

The promotion revealed the pairings to the San Antonio Express-News on Monday. A previously reported heavyweight rematch pitting Andrei Arlovski against Ben Rothwell was also confirmed. UFC on ESPN 4 takes place at the AT&T Center and features a heavyweight contest pitting former NFL Pro Bowler Greg Hardy against Juan Adams. A main event for the card has not been formally announced.

After winning nine of his first 10 UFC appearances, Vick will attempt to rebound from back-to-back losses against Paul Felder and Justin Gaethje. Hooker, meanwhile, had a four-fight winning streak snapped in a brutal third-round knockout loss to Edson Barboza at UFC on Fox 31 this past December.

A former flyweight title challenger, Borg returned from a lengthy hiatus at UFC on ESPN 2, where he miss…

Nate Diaz is finally set to return to the Octagon when he takes on Anthony Pettis in the co-main event of UFC 241.

It has been nearly three years since his last appearance, a majority decision loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 202 in August 2016. And although many are reluctant to believe that the Stockton, Calif., native will actually return, he assures everyone he is indeed fighting on Aug. 17 in Anaheim.

Not only is he excited to return to the Octagon, but Diaz explained why Pettis is an ideal opponent.

“I think it is the best fight. He is coming off of a good win and he’s one of the top guys, one of the better guys in the division. Most entertaining fighter in the UFC, I like that,” Diaz said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.

“It’s a guy I actually enjoy watching over the rest of these fighters. Everyone is getting boring, the fight game. If I’m going to take part in any fights, I want a fight that is interesting to not only me but to the fight fan. If I’m a fig…

Paige VanZant’s return to the Octagon will have to be delayed once again. 


The Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight is set for surgery after re-injuring her broken arm, according to ESPN. This will be the third time VanZant will have surgery on her arm. 


"I actually sparred last month and was doing strength and conditioning," the 25-year-old said. "I wanted to be on the UFC card on July 20 in Texas, but my chiropractor wanted me to get my arm checked out again before accepting a fight. I saw a surgeon who works with the Portland Trail Blazers, and he told me, 'Yes, you 100 percent need surgery.’”


According to the report, VanZant says she will miss approximately three months but hopes to return to the Octagon later this year. She is currently on the final fight of her contract and is coming off a triumph over Rachael Ostovich at UFC Brooklyn this past January. She believes a two-fight winning streak would show the Las Vegas-based promotion sh…

Aside from capturing a world championship inside the UFC’s famed Octagon, there isn’t much more that Anthony Smith needs to achieve in his career.

On Saturday in enemy territory, “Lionheart” scored arguably the biggest win of his MMA tenure when he vanquished local hero Alexander Gustafsson. The Nebraska native travelled to Sweden, reportedly broke his hand and eventually forced Gustafsson to submit to a textbook rear-naked choke in the fourth round. His triumph headlined UFC Fight Night 153, but it wasn’t easy.

After tearing through the likes of Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua – two former world champions – and then Volkan Oezdemir, Smith (32-14) was dominated by reigning light heavyweight king Jon Jones in his most recent appearance at UFC 235 this past March. He didn’t look like his typically savage self in the cage and he began his fight with “The Mauler” in a similarly sluggish way.

“To be honest, I kind of started off similar to how I went through the Jones f…

Aleksandar Rakic was on the fringe of the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings coming into his co-headlining bout with Jimi Manuwa on Saturday. Now he’s just outside the Top 10.

Rakic sent the capacity crowd inside the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, into a frenzy when he destroyed Manuwa in just 42 seconds at UFC Fight Night 153. The Austrian shattered Manuwa’s consciousness with a crushing left head kick that would make Mirko Filipovic proud, and it was something he has worked on tirelessly for many years.

“This was a short fight and I do this combination a lot because of my kickboxing background,” Rakic said after his triumph. “I worked on that left kick after the right uppercut. I guess I hit him in the right place at the right time. It was the beginning of the end.”

It was the end, all right. Manuwa fell violently and lifelessly onto his back, his head bouncing off the canvas like a basketball. It was the biggest win of Rakic’s MMA career thus far, one that…

Andy F—ING RUIZ JR. #JoshuaRuiz pic.twitter.com/bjjNhWlbTD

— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) June 2, 2019 In a matchup that many boxing experts expected to be a virtual waste of everybody's time, Andy Ruiz Jr. threw mud at them all.

Ruiz sent shockwaves throughout the boxing world on Saturday night by knocking previously-unbeaten heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua four times before finally stopping him in the seventh. A massive betting underdog coming in and a much smaller fighter physically, Ruiz never doubted his abilities and wound up becoming the first ever Mexican heavyweight champion in boxing, and he did it in the most historic venue the sport has ever seen; Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Ruiz (33-1, 22 KO) was dropped early in the third from a beautiful right uppercut-left hook combo, but his Aztec heart prevented him from folding. Instead, "Destroyer" picked himself up and went right after the 2012 Olympic gold medalist.…

Shortly after Alexander Gustafsson suffered a disappointing defeat to Anthony Smith in the UFC Stockholm headliner, he took his gloves off in the Octagon and exited with a simple message: “The show is over, guys.”

At first, Gustafsson’s announcement could be attributed to the heat of the moment. Give the Swedish star some time to think, and his perspective might change. At least for now, “The Mauler” appears to be resolute in his decision.

“Yeah, I am [retired]. I’m done,” Gustafsson said in an interview on ESPN+. “I’m disappointed with the outcome of the fight. I was ready. I was in my zone and it felt good.

“I don’t do this for the money. I do this because I want to be the best and beat the best. If I can’t do that, it is what it is.”

Gustafsson appeared to be heading in the right direction 15 minutes into Saturday’s matchup with Smith, as he hurt his opponent with a body kick in the third stanza in the most decisive moment of the fight to that point. How…

Aleksandar Rakic needed less than a minute to leave no doubt that a post-fight bonus check would be in his possession when UFC Stockholm reached its conclusion.

The surging Austrian contender received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his vicious knockout of Jimi Manuwa in Saturday’s light heavyweight co-main event at Ericcson Globe, his fourth consecutive victory at 205 pounds. Rakic followed a straight right hand with a left high kick that bounced his opponent’s head off the canvas, ending the contest 42 seconds after it began.

Meanwhile, Anthony Smith garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus by virtue of his fourth-round submission of hometown favorite Alexander Gustafsson in the evening’s headliner. After enduring a difficult round three, Smith found an opening to land a takedown and move to his adversary’s back. From there, “Lionheart” flattened his man out and dropped some elbows before securing a rear-naked choke at the 2:38 mark of round…

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 153 coverage kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.

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

Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:John Brannigan scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Adam Martin scores the round:…

Join Dazn now to live stream 100+ fight nights a year

Sherdog's live Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. play-by-play will begin at approximately 11:20 p.m. ET Saturday evening.

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

Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10 Round 11 Round 12 The Official Result

A lovely combo punctuates round !

How do you have it scored? #UFCStockholm pic.twitter.com/lGtT7OGF8d

— UFC (@ufc) June 1, 2019 You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The debuting Sergey Khandozhko (27-5-1, 1-0 UFC) handed the Swedish crowd its first loss of the night by taking a competitive decision over fellow Octagon debutant Rostem Akman (6-1, 0-1 UFC) in the featured UFC Fight Night 153 preliminary bout.

The men went strike for strike over three hard-fought rounds, with the commentary team noting that their significant strikes were equal heading into the final stanza. Khandozhko varied his attack more, landing a few spinning kicks on the Swede and stymying many of Akman's takedown attempts. Khandozhko dropped Akman in the second and had his foe hurt at the end of the third, doing enough …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_JjXGqytOs&w=640&h=360] Tonya Evinger is an Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight whose 2017 Octagon debut took place 10 pounds up against the legendary Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino. Losing to her opponent by TKO in the third round kicked off a disappointing start to Evinger's UFC career.

After a devastating leg injury that saw "Triple Threat's" UFC journey halted for a year, Evinger returned in October 2018 at UFC 229 to face rising prospect Aspen Ladd. Ladd defeated the Houston wrestler with a ground-and-pound onslaught in round one.

The 37-year-old is a former Invicta Fighting Championship bantamweight champion who defended her title multiple times before departing the female-only league for the big show. But being on a two-fight losing streak in the UFC has left Evinger facing questions about her future with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Evinger (19-8) told John Hyon Ko of Kumite TV that she still has a few fights left …

¡ESTAMOS EN VIVO! No te pierdas el pesaje de #CombatePeru desde Lima, por nuestra página de Facebook https://t.co/P9JKieZKXe

— Combate Americas (@combateamericas) May 30, 2019

Combate Americas heads to Lima, Peru, for the first time with Combate 38, this Friday, May 31.

In the main event, two undefeated lightweights square off as Daniel Zellhuber (154.8) prepares to fight Peru’s own Gian Franco Cortez (155.1). The co-main event sees another Peruvian fighter in Luis Marlon Gonzales Campos (145.6) take on Pablo Villaseca (148.9) at a 150-pound catchweight bout.

Combate Americas 38 takes place on Friday, May 31, in Lima, Peru, where it will air live in English on Dazn and in Spanish on Univision and UDN. In the featherweight division, Kevin Moreya (145.6) collides with Bruno Pereira da Silva (145.6). In a women's strawweight scrap, Maria Paula Buzaglo (114.4) takes on undefeated Alitzel Mariscal (113.3). While in the bantamweigh…

The main and co-main events at #LFA68 are going to be! @rkruck previews the matchups! @patmiletich @microphonephoen @nastynatemma @RaufeonStots pic.twitter.com/rBSXaPTpzM

— AXS TV Fights (@AXSTVFights) May 30, 2019

The Legacy Fighting Alliance is back this Friday, May 31, in Prior Lake, Minnesota, for LFA 68.

In the main event, Nate Jennerman hit the scales at 146 pounds as he prepares to take on Rafael Barbosa (*147) in a featherweight tilt. Co-headlining the card, Raufeon Stots (136) will meet Ralph Acosta (134.4) in a bantamweight bout.

LFA 68, which airs live on AXS TV on Friday, May 31, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, also features a welterweight scrap between Bobby Lee (170) and Maicon Mendonca (170). At light heavyweight, former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA veteran Mike Rhodes (206) returns to the cage to fight Cristhian Torres (206). In the lightweight division, Leville Simpson (155.6) collides with Lucas C…

Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight queen Jessica Andrade and her wife were robbed at gunpoint early Thursday morning.

First reported by Brazilian news site Ag. Fight on Thursday, newly minted champion Andrade (20-6) and her wife Fernanda Gomes Andrade were robbed in Niteroi, a municipality within Rio de Janeiro.

According to Fernanda's social media, their car -- a grey Honda HRV -- and cellphones were taken, but they are safe and unharmed. Reportedly, the whereabouts of the robber are unknown. Speaking with MMAFighting.com, Andrade's coach Gilliard Parana reaffirmed that the two were not hurt during the robbery.

Andrade recently won the strawweight belt when she knocked out Rose Namajunas with a second-round slam at UFC 237 earlier this month. In doing so, she became the first female UFC fighter to ever record a slam knockout, and also earned the distinction as the only strawweight to ever earn multiple knockouts in the division's history. With 11 victori…

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

Last week the UFC released four fighters, including two well-known veterans in Elias Theodorou and Wilson Reis. While it came as less of a surprise that the promotion decided to cut the Reis, given his record of 1-4 in his last five fights, eyebrows were raised when Theodorou’s name was listed.

The decision to cut the 30-year-old “Spartan” on the back of a single decision loss to Derek Brunson hasn’t sat too well with some as the Canadian held a respectable 8-3 record during his time in the UFC including a three-fight winning streak coming into that bout. Theodorou’s performance against Brunson was met with great frustration from the home crowd as he kept moving away from his opponent rather than engaging, which apparently sealed his fate in the promotion.

This week, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan stated on his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that he didn’t agree with the decision to cut Theodorou …

It appears that UFC 240 has its co-headliner, as Cristiane Justino and Felicia Spencer are likely to meet at the July 27 event in Edmonton.

UFC president Dana White confirmed to ESPN.com on Wednesday that the fight has been offered to both “Cyborg” and Spencer. UFC 240 will be held at Rogers Place and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash pitting Max Holloway against Frankie Edgar. The main card is available on pay-per-view through ESPN+.

Justino hasn’t fought since losing the featherweight title in a first-round knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 on Dec. 29. That ended a 21-fight unbeaten streak for the 33-year-old Brazilian, who has finished 17 of her career triumphs by KO or TKO. Justino is reportedly on the final bout of her UFC deal.

Spencer, meanwhile, scored a first-round submission of fellow former Invicta FC queen Megan Anderson in her Octagon debut at UFC Rochester. “FeeNom” is now 7-0 as a professional, with four wins via submission …

A women’s bantamweight clash between Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd is expected to serve as the headliner for UFC Sacramento.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the 135-pound pairing. UFC Sacramento takes place at Golden1 Center on July 13 and will also include the return of Urijah Faber, as he faces Ricky Simon in a featured bantamweight contest. The evening’s main card will air on ESPN+.

A former UFC featherweight champion, De Randamie enters the contest on a four-bout winning streak in the Octagon. “The Iron Lady” last appeared at UFC Fight Night 139, where she outpointed Raquel Pennington on Nov. 10.

A five-time Invicta FC veteran, Ladd is unbeaten in eight professional outings. That includes triumphs over Lina Lansberg, Tonya Evinger and Sijara Eubanks in UFC competition. The 24-year-old has finished five of her victories by KO/TKO and one via submission.

Felicia Spencer made her Octagon debut against Megan Anderson at UFC Rochester on May 18, maintaining her undefeated record with a first-round submission victory. For the ex-Invicta titlist, it was about as perfect as a fight could go. 


“Yeah, it really did. Everything we trained for happened. It really did go down perfect,” Spencer said to Sherdog.com.

Not only was it a dominant win for Spencer, but it was even more satisfying considering the fact that “Feenom” entered the fight as the underdog. However, Spencer enjoys proving everyone wrong.

“She deserved to be the favorite, she was already in the UFC,” Spencer said. “I love to be in that situation.”


After the fight, talks of Spencer facing Cristiane Justino next began almost immediately. Many thought the two could fight for an interim title, and “Cyborg” has even changed her Twitter handle to read Spencer vs. Cyborg #UFC240. But, according to Spencer, she is unsure what is next for her.


"I …