Morning Report: Paddy Pimblett fires back at Jake Paul: ‘He’ll never have it with someone on an even playing field’

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...

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.”

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,...

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...

UFC Vegas 68 has lost a fight just hours before the card is set to begin. According to UFC officials, flyweight Mandy Bohm has been forced out of her fight on Saturday due to illness. As a result her matchup against Ji Yeon Kim has been pulled from the card, which takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

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.

UFC Vegas 68 is an early front-runner for the promotion’s strangest event of the year. Originally set to take place in South Korea, Saturday’s card ended up back in the cozy confines of the UFC APEX after it was originally planned for Chan Sung Jung to have a triumphant homecoming. Unfortunately, an injury removed any chance of “The Korean Zombie” headlining what would have been UFC South Korea so the decision was made to just tack another lineup to the Vegas board, even though a glut of Asian fighters (including the Road to UFC tournament finalists) had already been booked for this date.

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.

Neiman Gracie went from being an undefeated Bellator title contender to only winning two of six bouts over a span of three and a half years. As much as Gracie is happy with his well-rounded MMA game, focusing on his main weapon could be the key to breaking out of his slump ahead of his Bellator 290 clash with Dante Schiro. Speaking on this week’s episode of Trocação Franca, Gracie said that taking his opponent to the ground at Inglewood’s Kia Forum this Saturday night is a no-brainer.

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...

UFC heavyweight prospect Hamdy Abdelwahab will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Abdelwahab, 30, has accepted a two-year suspension that stretches into the summer of 2024 for violations of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, USADA announced Friday. The Egyptian heavyweight tested positive for the anabolic agent metenolone and its metabolite in...

Undefeated Bellator heavyweight Steve Mowry was well aware that former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou entered free agency, and that there’s a chance Ngannou could enter the fray in the Bellator heavyweight division. As great as that could potentially be for the promotion, and possibly for Mowry, he’s focused on the task at hand.

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.

Lorenz Larkin made sure there was nothing illegal about his elbow this time. In a rematch of a Bellator 283 bout that ended in a no contest when Larkin landed an illegal strike to the back of the head of Mukhamed Berkhamov, Larkin crushed Berkhamov with a standing elbow at Bellator 290 on Saturday that left the Russian welterweight completely unconscious on the mat.

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.

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.

UFC Vegas 69 has a new headliner. The previously booked flyweight bout on Feb. 18 between Taila Santos and Erin Blanchfield has been elevated to a five-round main event, the UFC announced Friday. The news comes after UFC Vegas 69’s original main event, Cory Sandhagen vs. Marlon Vera, was rescheduled to headline the UFC’s March 25 event in San Antonio.

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.

Brennan Ward continued his career resurgence with a highlight reel finish for the first ever Bellator fight on CBS. After nearly being clobbered in the opening round, Ward came back with a ferocious head kick that floored opponent Sabah Homasi in the second frame. As soon as Homasi hit the ground, Ward followed up with a barrage of punches that left the referee no choice but to stop the fight with the end coming at 1:34 in the second round to kick off the Bellator 290 main card.

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.