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Chalk up another potential hit for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s third-party anti-doping partner.

On Thursday, USADA announced that UFC lightweight Marco Polo Reyes has allegedly tested positive for a yet-unnamed banned substance as a result of an out-of-competition test sample collected on March 8.

Mexico’s Reyes last fought on Jan. 14 at UFC Fight Night 124, knocking out Matt Frevolta in 60 seconds flat in St. Louis, Mo.

USADA’s official release reads as follows:

“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Marco Reyes of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on March 8, 2018.

“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Reyes. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair…

Outspoken Brazilian jiu-jitsu Dillon Danis finally has his mixed martial arts debut set when Bellator MMA returns to Chicagoland.

A black belt under BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia, Danis has made a name for himself as one of the grappling world’s outspoken and controversial competitors, the 24-year-old New Jersey native will make his pro MMA debut at Bellator 198 against 2-4 Illinois native Kyle Walker at a 175-pound catchweight.

Bellator 198 is scheduled for April 28 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., just outside of Chicago. The card is headlined by a quarterfinal showdown in the promotion’s ongoing heavyweight grand prix, pitting legendary former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko against past UFC champ Frank Mir.

Danis rose to a greater MMA recognition after becoming a training partner for UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor ahead of “The Notorious” one’s…

Mackenzie Dern’s sophomore Octagon appearance will come at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro, as she requested.

Multiple outlets confirmed the strawweight pairing on Wednesday following an initial report from MMA Brasil. UFC 224 takes place on May 12 at Jeunesse Arena and features a women’s bantamweight title bout between Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington.

The 24-year-old Dern earned a split verdict over Ashley Yoder in her promotional debut at UFC 222 on March 3. The MMA Lab Product improved to 6-0 with the victory. Her professional tenure has included stints with Legacy Fighting Alliance and Invicta FC.

Cooper, 26, is 2-2 in the Octagon. Most recently, she scored a second-round technical knockout win over Angela Magana at UFC 218. Cooper is 3-3 as a professional overall, and all three of her defeats have come via submission.

Fabricio Werdum recently had an interesting physical encounter with the boxer once recognized as “The Baddest Man on the Planet.”

The former UFC heavyweight champion had a role in the action film “Kickboxer: Retaliation,” and as a result, he got to work with former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. The results were a little bit painful.

“I saw him on TV all the time and now I fight with him in the movie. It’s amazing. Mike Tyson punched my nose, too, an accident, but he punched me and almost he broke my nose,” Werdum told TMZ Sports. “Because I’m an actor, he’s no actor too, but he’s good, he’s a funny guy, he’s a very nice guy, but he punch very hard.”

Considering the source of the punch, Werdum sounds almost honored that the incident occurred. And even at 51 years old, Tyson still apparently has some power.

“It almost knocked me down, but it’s good,” Werdum said. “I feel good because it’s Mike Tyson, no other guy. Maybe other guy, I don’t feel…

Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping continue to build toward a possible trilogy fight with their social media feud.

This time it was Rockhold who fired the first shot, posting a photo of their first bout with the caption: “Sign the contract or shut it.” Rockhold defeated Bisping via second-round submission in that bout at UFC Fight Night 55 on Nov. 7, 2014.

@bisping sign the contract or shut it. pic.twitter.com/LgOgQy7iF1

Bisping didn’t take long to respond, pointing out that he knocked out Rockhold in the first round at UFC 199 to claim the middleweight throne on June 4, 2016. The two rivals went back and forth from there, with Bisping denying that there has been a contract offer of any sort regarding a trilogy fight between the two men.

good one dipshit. But remember when I knocked you out cold, took your belt and you cried like a little bitch? In fact that's pr…

Promising knockout artist Paulo Henrique Costa won’t be able to compete at next month’s UFC Fight Night 128 card due to a biceps injury.

“Borrachinha” announced the news on Instagram. Canal Encarada was the first to report the news. Costa was reportedly scheduled to face Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout, although the contest had not been formally announced by the UFC.

“This is not good news for my fans... I had a serious injury, partial breaking of [biceps] ligament,” Costa wrote. “I know that you are excited to see me again and I am too , but I need some more time to return to show all my potential to you in the cage. Soon you will see me again. Probably in June. God bless. God bless.”

UFC Fight Night 128 takes place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on April 21 and is headlined by a lightweight showdown between Kevin Lee and Edson Barboza. It is unclear if Hall will remain on the c…

Cynthia Calvillo will have to wait a little bit longer to make her Octagon return following sanctions handed down by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

During a hearing on Tuesday, the NAC suspended Calvillo for nine months for a positive marijuana test at UFC 219. Last week, USADA announced a six-month sanction for the same offense, and that could have been reduced to three months if Calvillo completed a drug awareness and management program.

Initially, it appeared that Calvillo could return as soon as March 30. With the NAC penalty, the Team Alpha Male product will be out until September 30. Calvillo tested positive for the marijuana metabolite Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in an in-competition drug screening at UFC 219. Calvillo lost a unanimous decision to Carla Esparza at the event.

In addition to her suspension, Calvillo was fined $6,150 — 15 percent of her $41,000 purse. She must submit a clean drug test in order to be relicensed.

Prior to lo…

Thank you to @seanshelby and the @ufc for saving my spot on the #UFCLondon card. I really appreciate the effort. Now it’s time to put on a show @AliAbdelaziz00 @Firas_Zahabi @kings_mma

There has been a late change to the UFC Fight Night 127 lineup, as Nad Narimani will step in for the injured Alex Reyes and face Nasrat Haqparast on Saturday in London.

Promotion officials announced the new bout on Tuesday. UFC Fight Night 127 takes place at the O2 Arena and is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Fabricio Werdum and Alexander Volkov. The card will stream in its entirety on UFC Fight Pass.

Narimani captured the Cage Warriors featherweight crown with a five-round verdict over highly-regarded prospect Paddy Pimblett last April. The 30-year-old Englishman has won three straights overall and owns a 10-2 career mark.

Haqparast, meanwhile, saw an eight-bout winning streak come to an end…

News broke on the “MMA Hour” Monday that James Gallagher was injured and would not be able to fight at Bellator 196 against Adam Borics. Instead, Benson Henderson would face Roger Huerta as the new main event.

In a social media post Gallagher apologized to fans and let them know the details of his injury and when he expects to return to action.

This injury is coming after Gallagher had undergone knee surgery last October and worked his way back to training for competition. The 21-year-old featherweight is one of the younger rising stars on the Bellator MMA roster.

His last appearance against Chinzo Machida at Bellator 180 in Madison Square Garden this past June not only elevated the young man as a legit force of his own to be reckoned with, but put his submission game on full display. Five of Gallagher’s seven wins come by way of rear-naked choke.

Edward Carbajal serves as the lead MMA analyst for Frontproof Media and holds a black belt in Brazili…

Two bouts have been added to the UFC 224 lineup, as John Lineker will square off against Brian Kelleher at bantamweight, while Thales Leites will meet Jack Hermansson at middleweight in Rio de Janeiro on May 12.

Multiple outlets have confirmed the Lineker vs. Kelleher booking following an initial report by Combate. Meanwhile, the promotion officially announced the Leites vs. Hermansson showdown on Monday.

UFC 224 takes place at Jeunesse Arena and will feature a women’s bantamweight championship clash between Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington.

Lineker has won seven of his last eight Octagon appearances, including a unanimous decision triumph over Marlon Vera at UFC Fight Night 119 in his lone bout of 2017. Kelleher, meanwhile, has won three of his four in the promotion and is coming off a three-round verdict over ex-champ Renan Barao at UFC on Fox 28 on Feb. 24.

Leites is 2-5 in his last seven and most recently suffered a decision loss to Brad Tavares…

Roger Huerta will return to the Bellator cage for the first time since 2010 when he meets Benson Henderson in the new Bellator 196 headliner.

The matchup came about after James Gallagher, who was scheduled to meet Adam Borics in the original Bellator 196 main event, was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury. Henderson vs. Huerta was first announced on "The MMA Hour" Monday.

Henderson has dropped back-to-back split decisions to Patricky Friere and Michael Chandler in his last two Bellator appearances. The former UFC lightweight champion is 1-3 with the California-based organization overall, with his lone victory coming via injury TKO over Patricio Freire at Bellator 160.

The 34-year-old Huerta enters the bout on a two-fight winning streak, including a disqualification triumph against Hayder Hassan on Dec. 22 as a result of his opponent landing illegal elbows to the back of the head. “El Matador” has competed primarily for One Championship in recent …

Mirko Filipovic had some choice words for Roy Nelson after “Big Country” speculated that “Cro Cop” might be on performance enhancing drugs when they square off at Bellator 200.

Filipovic and Nelson will meet in a heavyweight tilt on May 25 at the SSE Arena in London. Shortly after the rematch was announced – Nelson defeated Filipovic via third-round TKO at UFC 137 – Nelson told MMAjunkie.com that he thought the 43-year-old Croatian knockout artist could be using “special supplements” to propel him to his current winning streak.

On Sunday, “Cro Cop” fired back in a Facebook post.

“Dear Roy Nelson, you don’t have to worry that I’m using any ‘special supplements’ as you claim,” Filipovic wrote. “The only ‘special supplements’ I’m using is [two] hard and bloody trainings per day, five days a week. And I will be tested, like all others, during preparations for the fight and before and right after the fight.

“So you can be calm and start thinking of some go…

I think I want to fight in the UFC

Not surprisingly, Davis’ statement got a lot of responses from active fighters on the UFC roster. Often, Davis had no qualms about firing right back.

@Gervontaa what weight class in the @ufc you lookin at

Any one ill beat all y’all ass https:/…

Ion Cutelaba recently accepted a six-month suspension from USADA for an anti-doping violation, but the UFC light heavyweight is denying that he knowingly cheated.

“I accepted the suspension from USADA for [six] months, and after May 3 I can participate,” Cutelaba wrote Sunday on Instagram. “I did not show anything positive. I'm an honest athlete! Now we're looking for a fight! The Hulk is ready to fight again!

“I’m a true sportsman and have never cheated the rules, it’s been a long way to justice but now we’re here!”

Cutelaba was flagged for an anti-doping violation after admitting he underwent ozone therapy on paperwork associated with two out-of-competition drug tests conducted on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19 of last year. His suspension is retroactive to Nov. 3. As a result, Cutelaba was pulled from a proposed bout with Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 217.

The 24-year-old Cirkunov is 2-2 in the Octagon since making his promotional debut in June 2016. He last app…

On Friday, it was reported that Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Mairbek Taisumov was forced out of his slated 155-pound contest with Evan Dunham due to his ongoing struggles to secure an American visa. By evening’s end, Dunham was blessed with a new dance partner, as the Oregon native posted on Twitter that Olivier Aubin-Mercier would take the Chechen’s spot.

UFC 223 is scheduled for April 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., headlined by a UFC championship doubleheader, with a lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov in the headlining slot, as well as a co-feature that sees Rose Namajunas run it back against previously-undefeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk, whom she captured the UFC women’s 115-pound crown from at UFC 217 last November.

“Thanks to @oliaubin for taking this fight. I will see you in the middle,” Dunham wrote.

Read more about Evan Dunham Says Olivier Aubin-Mercier is in For Mairbek Taisumov as UFC 223 Dance Partner

The promotion announced Thursday evening that its line-up for April 13 will feature a 125-pound contest between Rebecca Ruth and undefeated prospect Juliana Velasquez.

Bellator 197 emanates from the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., headlined by a lightweight title rematch between unbeaten Brent Primus and former titlist Michael Chandler.

Ruth, 39, hasn’t fought since succumbing to the now-promotional champion Macfarlane herself. After ripping off four wins, three of which by stoppage, Ruth was halted by “The Ilimanator” at Bellator 187, falling prey to a rear-naked choke at Bellator 157 in June 2016.

Velasquez, 31, was one of the most sought-after flyweight prospects before Bellator inked her to a contract late last year. After putting her first five professional opponents away, the Brazilian made her promotional debut for Bellator on Dec. 1 of last year, ar…

The promotion announced Thursday evening that its line-up for April 13 will feature a 125-pound contest between Rebecca Ruth and undefeated prospect Juliana Velasquez.

Bellator 197 emanates from the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., headlined by a lightweight title rematch between unbeaten Brent Primus and former titlist Michael Chandler.

Ruth, 39, hasn’t fought since succumbing to the now-promotional champion Macfarlane herself. After ripping off four wins, three of which by stoppage, Ruth was halted by “The Ilimanator” at Bellator 187, falling prey to a rear-naked choke at Bellator 157 in June 2016.

Velasquez, 31, was one of the most sought-after flyweight prospects before Bellator inked her to a contract late last year. After putting her first five professional opponents away, the Brazilian made her promotional debut for Bellator on Dec. 1 of last year, ar…

He may not be the favorite of Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, but UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is shrewdly understanding how to stay in the spotlight.

In the latest edition of his “Hollywood Beatdown” segment with TMZ, the 170-pound kingpin revealed that he has been training boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. under mixed martial arts pretenses, hinting that “Money Mayweather” may legitimately be interested in stepping into the cage.

“I saw him at the [Michael] Jordan party during [NBA] All-Star weekend, we started chatting about training MMA and we decided hey, let’s connect, let’s hook up in Vegas and do some training and get ready for MMA,” Woodley said.

Mayweather, 41, last fought on Aug. 26 of last year, knocking out UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor in their blockbuster “Money Fight.” After bringing his pro boxing record to 50-0, Mayweather has since…

Friday, Poland’s preeminent MMA company announced that KSW 43 will feature a 155-pound contest between recent promotional title challenger Norman Parke and Polish veteran Lukasz Chlewicki. KSW 43 is scheduled for April 14 at Centennial Hall in Wroclaw, Poland, headlined by Olympic wrestling bronze medalist squaring off with Yannick Bahati.

Parke, 30, is fresh off a highly controversial two-fight series with KSW lightweight champion Mateusz Gamrot. In their first confrontation this past May, “Stormin’ Norman” dropped a contentious unanimous verdict to “Gamer,” which led to a rematch at KSW 40 in October. In the second go-around, after missing weight, was repeatedly eye poked by Gamrot, leading referee Marc Goddard to declare a No Contest in the second round

After the bout officially ended, things got uglier as one of Gamrot’s cornermen, …

The bantamweight title is on the line in May! @Amanda_Leoa takes on @RockyPMMA in the main event at #UFC224 in Rio! pic.twitter.com/yB8Gu4BEzJ

Despite Dana White all but confirming a super fight between Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg, that bout, for now, will have to wait after the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced that Nunes will instead defend her bantamweight belt against No. 8 ranked Raquel Pennington.

Pennington (9-5) has slowly worked her way up the bantamweight rankings and is currently on a four-fight winning streak. She has notable wins against Miesha Tate and Jessica Andrade. Pennington hasn’t fought since November 2016 at UFC 205, where she earned a unanimous decision victory against Tate.

Nunes (15-4) has won six fights in a row and will return to her homeland of Brazil to fight for the first time since 2015. Nunes is coming off a split decision nod over Valentina Shevchenko in h…

Thursday, USADA unveiled a press release that the promotion will pull “The Hulk” on the sidelines for half of a calendar year. According to the statement released by USADA, Cutelaba admitted that he underwent ozone therapy on paperwork associated with two separate of out-of-competition drug tests conducted Oct. 18 and 19 of last year.

“The WADA Prohibited List prohibits the administration or reintroduction of blood or red blood cell products of any origin or quantity in the circulatory system, unless a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption has been obtained,” USADA’s official release wrote. “While Cutelaba was unaware of the violation and declared the treatment on his doping control paperwork, he was unable to refute the documentation provided.”

Due to his admission, the Moldovan native’s sus…

BAMMA 34 goes down tomorrow, March 9, at the SSE Arena, Wembley, in London.

Both main eventers, promotional welterweight champ Alex Lohore (168.6) and challenger Terry Brazier (169) easily tipped the beam in fashion, while predictably in the heavyweight co-feature, undefeated prospect Chi Lewis-Parry (249) and veteran brawler Stav Economou (263) both came in under the limit for their interim title bout. The injured Brett McDermott remains BAMMA’s heavyweight champion.

Elsewhere, unbeaten Tim Barnett (155) and opponent Rhys McKee (154.6) both clocked in appropriately for their lightweight title clash.

BAMMA 34 also features the fourth pro bout of highly-touted Fabian Edwards (186), the yo…

French prospect Salahdine Parnasse will meet Artur Sowinski in his sophomore KSW appearance, Sherdog.com confirmed with a promotion official.

KSW 43 takes place in Wroclaw, Poland, on April 14, and will see hometown favorite Damian Janikowski headline the card against Yannick Bahati. Additionally, Roberto Soldic will defend the welterweight strap against Dricus Du Plessis.

Parnasse was successful in his first promotional foray, as he took a majority verdict over Lukasz Rajewski at KSW 41 on Dec. 23. The 20-year-old owns a 10-0-1 career mark since beginning his professional tenure in 2015.

Sowinski, a longtime KSW veteran, is coming off a third-round submission defeat to Kleber Koike Erbst at KSW 41. The 30-year-old Pole is 18-9 with two no contests over the course of his pro tenure.