The lightweight division will move forward with some massive fights in 2021 – with or without Khabib Nurmagomedov in the picture. UFC 257 will feature a highly anticipated rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in the main event, as well as the octagon debut of former Bellator champ Michael Chandler as he takes on
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Ask — and make history inside the octagon — and you shall receive. UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo kicked off 2021 with two special requests in mind. First, he wanted to get paid an extra going forward, making dollars based on pay-per-view sales. Second, he called for a catchweight fight with Henry Cejudo for a
After their first bout was cancelled, heavyweight rivals Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes have been rescheduled to a UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 20. MMA Fighting confirmed the news with multiple people close to the fighters, who spoke on condition of anonymity following an initial report from ESPN. The Feb. 20 event does not
2020 was a wild year for MMA that feels like it lasted a lifetime. With all the action that took place over the year, it’s hard to remember what took place. This series looks to help out with that, providing an overview on what happened in each weight class and a look at what we
Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje full fight video to see what could be Nurmagomedov’s final octagon appearance. At UFC 254 on Oct. 24, Nurmagomedov unified the UFC lightweight title with a dominating performance against Gaethje. Nurmagomedov won the fight via triangle choke in the second round. Nurmagomedov is still the UFC lightweight champion, but
Like every MMA promotion, Invicta FC had a challenging year in 2020. Forced to shutter amid the COVID-19 pandemic, live events were out of reach. But the all-female fight promotion eventually got back on its feet, restarting its schedule in July with a pair of events. At the end of the year, Invicta had promoted
Watch Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell full fight video highlights from the boxing showdown above, courtesy of DAZN. Garcia vs. Campbell took place Jan. 2 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) battled Campbell (20-4, 16 KOs) for a vacant WBC interim lightweight title in the main event, which aired live on
2020 was a wild year for MMA, that feels like it lasted a lifetime. With all the action that took place over the year, it’s hard to remember what took place. This series looks to help out with that, providing an overview on what happened in each weight class, and a look at what we
The UFC’s first event of 2021 has lost a bantamweight fight. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed on Friday to MMA Fighting that a positive COVID-19 test has forced Brian Kelleher to withdraw from his scheduled matchup with Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Island 7, which takes place Jan. 16 in Abu
Deiveson Figueiredo is eager for more fights and money in 2021. The flyweight king aims to once again enter the octagon four times next year after going 3-0-1 under the bright lights of the UFC in 2020, but would appreciate a bump in pay for his next title defenses. Figueiredo successfully defended his throne with
Watch Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade 2 full fight video to see the former strawweight champions battle it out in a Fight of the Year rematch at UFC 251 on July 12 in Abu Dhabi. The first meeting between Namajunas and Andrade at UFC 237 ended with Andrade claiming a UFC championship after dropping Namajunas
Tibetan flyweight Su Mudaerji has agreed to replace Jeff Molina against Zarrukh Adashev at UFC Fight Island 8 on Jan. 20, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting following a report from Instagram user bigpunches. Mudaerji (13-4) went 2-0 in the octagon after dropping his UFC debut to Louis Smolka in 2018,
The UFC’s Jan. 20 event officially has a new headliner. Following Khamzat Chimaev’s scratch from his scheduled UFC Fight Island 8 main event against Leon Edwards due to lingering effects of COVID-19, MMA Fighting confirmed with multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans that Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny’s welterweight matchup will now headline
In a way, Kleber Koike feels like he lives in a no man’s land. Born in Brazil and promoted as Japanese in his days as a KSW featherweight champion in Poland, Koike isn’t seen as Brazilian in his native country nor a Japanese in the country he calls home for 17 years. Koike hopes to
A featherweight bout has been added to the upcoming February slate of events. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Alex Caceres and Kevin Croom will take place at the UFC’s Feb. 27 event. As of now, a location hasn’t been revealed for the card. MMA
If the UFC matchmakers need a replacement for the promotion’s Jan. 20 main event, they have plenty of options. Not long after it was reported that Khamzat Chimaev has been forced out of his headlining bout opposite Leon Edwards scheduled for UFC Fight Island 8, a slew of welterweight contenders announced their candidacy to serve
UFC lightweight Jordan Leavitt is proof that things can change in the world of MMA very, very quickly. “The Monkey King” went from averaging one fight per year due to scarce opponents to more than doubling his pro appearances since December 2019, including a successful appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC
Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t expect to be holding his UFC lightweight title for much longer, according to a recent interview. The UFC lightweight champion retired in October following a successful defense of his belt against Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254. Since then, he’s spoken publicly about sticking to his plan to not