Paul Daley vs. Andrey Koreshkov set for Bellator London in May

It’s been a long, long time since Alexander Volkanovski has been a betting underdog. The reigning UFC featherweight champion has been one of the most dominant forces in MMA since joining the UFC in 2016, racking up a 12-0 record and four defenses of his 145-pound belt en route to becoming the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Naturally, he’s been the betting favorite for the majority of that run. But that will change on Feb. 12 when Volkanovski vaults up to 155 pounds to challenge UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for two-division glory in the main event of UFC 284.

Gilbert Burns hasn’t given up hope on a five-round fight against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287, though he concedes it probably won’t happen. Just days after their matchup was announced for the April 8 card, the one-time UFC welterweight title challenger requested a 25-minute co-headliner. Masvidal quickly shot down that idea, adding he’d already signed his bout agreement and wasn’t interested in a five-round fight unless the UFC pays him “BMF money.”

Fedor Emelianenko has the opportunity to have one of the best retirement stories in the history of MMA as he challenges for the Bellator heavyweight championship on Saturday. Ahead of Emelianenko’s final fight against champ Ryan Bader in the main event of Bellator 290, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Alexander K. Lee, and Jed Meshew preview the matchup and discuss why “The Last Emperor” could get it done in his swan song, Johnny Eblen’s opportunity to boost his star potential against Anatoly Tokov in the co-main event, the super-fun main card opener between Sabah Homasi and Brennan Ward, the impact of being on CBS, and more.

Fedor Emelianenko promises his fight at Bellator 290 will be his last, but unlike ex-UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, he knows he could never completely walk away from the sport. After retiring from competition in 2020, Nurmagomedov shocked the world when he effectively cut ties with MMA to return home to...

Who is Fedor Emelianenko and why is he so revered?. Ahead of Emelianenko’s retirement fight against Ryan Bader on Saturday night, MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti and E. Casey Leydon explain the legend of “The Last Emperor” and the story behind one of the most celebrated heavyweights in MMA history.

Darrion Caldwell didn’t realize it, but he needed to be humbled — and that’s exactly what happened ahead of his first fight in over a year. Caldwell will return to action at Bellator 290 when he faces Nikita Mikhailov in a bantamweight preliminary bout. The event takes place Feb. 4 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and the main will serve as the first promotional event to air on CBS.

On Saturday night, the MMA community will bid adieu to one of the all-time greats. Fedor Emelianenko will make his final walk to the cage in the main event of Bellator 290 when he challenges Ryan Bader for the heavyweight title. The event serves as the promotion’s first to air on CBS network television and takes place at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Conor McGregor still has some work to do before he can fight again. On Saturday, UFC president Dana White announced that McGregor was set to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler with the lightweights this expected to clash before the end of the year. Before he can fight, McGregor still needs to re-enter the UFC’s anti-doping program, which requires six months of drug testing before an athlete is allowed to compete again.

Dustin Poirier isn’t the only one to offer his thoughts to the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler announcement Saturday morning by UFC President Dana White.

It’s a heavyweight doubleheader this weekend with UFC Vegas 68 and Bellator 290 taking place on Saturday in Las Vegas and Inglewood, Calif., respectively. In the UFC, Derrick Lewis faces Sergey Spivac, while over in Bellator, heavyweight champion Ryan Bader puts his title on the line against the great Fedor Emelianenko in the final fight of the legend’s esteemed career. There’s no time to waste so let’s hop to it.

Jiri Prochazka is the truth. The now-former champion is waiting on the sidelines until his eventual return to action after a severe shoulder injury forced him out of action. Prochazka is chomping, at the bit, hoping a title return bout takes place sooner rather than later. Ideally, Prochazka would face...

On Saturday morning, UFC president Dana White returned to the promotion’s social media channels to announce a variety of news — including the return of Conor McGregor to face Michael Chandler, not only inside the octagon, but as opposing coaches on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Conor McGregor will return to fight this year, but he will coach The Ultimate Fighter first. The former UFC champion, who hasn’t fought since he broke this tibia against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10, 2021, will coach against Michael Chandler for the upcoming season of TUF 31, according to an announcement by UFC president Dana White on Saturday. morning.

Scott Coker sees Bellator as having a potential trump card in the Francis Ngannou free agency chase. As the president of a promotion that is part of the Showtime Sports family, Coker feels that Bellator is uniquely positioned to make a run at the former UFC heavyweight champion. Ngannou recently parted ways with the UFC after failing to agree on a new contract following a year-long negotiation period, with the company’s refusal to allow him to compete in boxing being one of the major sticking points.

DAMN! They Were Good celebrates the careers of the most exciting and influential fighters in MMA history, and on the second episode of 2023, the MMA Fighting crew remembers the best of Fedor Emelianenko as he prepares for the final fight of his legendary career. Starting his career in 2000,...

Fedor Emelianenko is one of the most beloved fighters in MMA history and could have the perfect end to his career Saturday at Bellator 290, when he faces Ryan Bader for the heavyweight crown in Inglewood, Calif. Bader’s head coach Jair Lourenço would’ve also loved to see “The Last Emperor”...

Originally set to headline UFC Vegas 69, Cory Sandhagen vs. Marlon Vera has been rescheduled to front a March 25 UFC event. UFC President Dana White confirmed a report from SI.com about the rebooking of the fight, which takes place at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. It’s unclear at...

Whattup fvckers. The only reason anything gets posted in this part is because there's a minimum word requirement. Dont really have shit to say this time, the last challengers card was uninspiring, and this week is only wmma, so, its just LUX & Uriah tonight. Also don't remember watching a...

Ryan Bader isn’t here to be part of someone else’s fairy tale ending. As wonderful as it has been to celebrate and show our respect and admiration for the great Fedor Emelianenko this week — and you know the heavyweight GOAT couldn’t care less about all that — the time has come for “The Last Emperor” to actually make that final walk to the cage at Bellator 290 on Saturday.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac are both official for Saturday’s main event. Though much was made of the slimmed down physique Lewis has sported in some recent social media posts, on Friday, “The Black Beast” still tipped the scales at the upper heavyweight limit of 265 pounds at the official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 68. Spivac, meanwhile, came in at 255.5 pounds.