Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas set for March 11 UFC event

Derrick Lewis isn’t in danger of losing his UFC spot. “The Black Beast” suffered his third consecutive loss and fourth in his past five fights on Saturday when he succumbed to a first-round arm-triangle choke at the hands of Serghei Spivac in the main event of UFC Vegas 68. It was a literal flawless victory for Spivac, as the 37-year-old Lewis landed zero strikes on just three attempts en route to one of the most lopsided setbacks of his 26-fight octagon career.

Conor McGregor always feels one win away from a title shot. “The Notorious” former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion hasn’t fought since July 2021 when suffering a nasty broken leg opposite Dustin Poirier. Seemingly all healed up and good to go, McGregor’s return is set for the second half of 2023, coming at the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter 31’s finale.

Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen have a new site for their highly anticipated clash and that means a new official poster. On Monday, the UFC released the poster for UFC San Antonio, which takes place March 25 at AT&T Center is headlined by a contenders’ clash between “Chito” and Sandhagen, currently Nos. 6 and No. 4 respectively in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.

Doo Ho Choi would have won his fight with Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 68 were it not for a point deduction he received for an illegal headbutt. UFC President Dana White didn’t agree with the resulting majority draw, however, so he took matters into his own hands after a call he felt was “absolutely not” justified.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan Francis Ngannou back in the octagon, but the can’t fault the ex-UFC champ for seeking a big payday in boxing. Rogan expects Ngannou to take a boxing match and believes a bout with heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury is in the works. Rogan hopes that after Ngannou cashes in, he can return to the UFC to face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane.

There have been a number of sad reports coming out of the world of professional wrestling in recent weeks, with former stars passing away, both during their career and following it.

The wrestling world suffered a significant loss on Monday, February 6, 2023, when it was announced that a former professional wrestler has passed away. According to Shantel Potter Brun on Facebook, her uncle, and five-time Heavyweight Champion, "Thunderblood" Charles Norris passed away at age 57.

The upcoming UFC 284 pay-per-view will have a different broadcast team than usual with both Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier sitting out the card in Perth, Australia. UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping and ex-bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will instead call the fights alongside play-by-play man Jon Anik on Saturday. Megan Olivi will serve as the onsite reporter.

Jon Jones has packed on some extra muscle, and according to the former UFC light heavyweight champion, his bank account is about to as well. Jones is set to return to the octagon for the first time in over three years, and as a heavyweight, as he faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 285, which takes place March 4 in Las Vegas. Recently, UFC president Dana White revealed Jones signed a new eight-fight deal with the promotion. On Monday during a Twitter Spaces with Kanpai Pandas, “Bones” said the deal he already had was for the same amount of fights, but when asked if White was paying him more, Jones emphatically confirmed.

One-time interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee is once again a UFC fighter. Lee, 30, has re-signed with the promotion one year after being released from contract, a person with knowledge of his new deal confirmed to MMA Fighting after an initial report from ESPN.com. In a statement to ESPN.com,...

Michael Chandler has already been a part of some huge fights since joining the UFC roster, but he’ll reach a new stratosphere with his upcoming showdown against Conor McGregor. The ex-Bellator lightweight champion is preparing to film the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite McGregor, then the two...

Bellator 290, the promotion’s first-ever card on CBS, averaged 1.068 million viewers for its two-plus hour broadcast. The card, which took place at 9 p.m. ET this past Saturday and featured Fedor Emelianenko’s retirement fight, averaged 1.068 million viewers. That was good enough for a .18 rating in the coveted 18-49 year old demographic, ahead of college basketball but well behind the NBA.

Even with all eyes on his opponent, Ryan Bader knew he had a job to do at Bellator 290. Bader faced Fedor Emelianenko for the second time in Saturday’s main event in Inglewood, Calif., and just like their first meeting, Bader won via first-round knockout. The win marked Bader’s third straight successful heavyweight championship defense as well as the final fight of Emelianenko’s illustrious career.

Robert Whittaker thinks Israel Adesanya’s second knockout loss to Alex Pereira could take some pressure off the former champion for their rematch. Or it could add even more. Pereira and Adesanya have a storied history in combat sports, with Pereira twice beating Adesanya in kickboxing, the second time by devastating knockout. That pair of fights led to Pereira getting fast-tracked to Adesanya in MMA, where at UFC 281, it happened again. Pereira scored a fifth-round comeback TKO over “The Last Stylebender” in one of the best fights of 2022, and even Whittaker, who has his own history with Adesanya, was left impressed.

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time. 1 p.m. ET: We recap another wild weekend in combat sports. 1:30 p.m.: Michael Chandler returns to...

Glover Teixeira entered the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 21 with one goal in mind: Beat Jamahal Hill and reclaim the UFC light heavyweight championship. Win or lose, he didn’t plan on laying down his gloves and retiring that night — until he realized that a 25-minute war for the belt was the perfect way to end a legendary career.

It took Alexander Volkanovski three tries to put Max Holloway behind him for good, but the UFC featherweight champion saved his best for last. Volkanovski and Holloway met for their third and final time in July 2022 at UFC 276. Heading into the match, Volkanovski held a 2-0 edge in the series, winning decisions in both 2019 and 2020. Their second fight was mired in controversy, however, with many believing that Holloway was robbed on the judges’ scorecards.

Ryan Bader is doing quite well for himself as the Bellator heavyweight champion, much better than his disclosed pay would indicate in his most recent title defense. Bader finished the now retired Fedor Emelianenko in the first round of the main event this past Saturday at Bellator 290 to retain his championship. Following the event, the California State Athletic Commission disclosed fighter pay for the event to MMA Fighting, which revealed that Bader made $150,000 for the title fight on CBS, while Emelianenko made $100,000.

Michael Chandler has called for a fight against Conor McGregor since the day he signed with the UFC and now he’ll get his wish. The former Bellator lightweight champion will face off with McGregor while coaching The Ultimate Fighter 31. Then they’ll clash in what will likely be one of the biggest fights in 2023, though an exact date and location are still to be determined. While there’s still a lot of time to pass before they get in the octagon together, Chandler already has a pretty good idea of what to expect from McGregor.