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Things might get a little “Touchy” in Portland, with Andre Fili (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) stepping in to replace an injured Brian Ortega (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC).
Fili now faces Brazilian grappling standout Hacran Dias (23-4-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 96. Dias is currently ranked No. 14 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings.
The new booking was first announced by the Oregonian, and MMAjunkie subsequently confirmed the new contest with UFC officials. MMAjunkie first reported Ortega’s withdrawal.
UFC Fight Night 96 takes place Oct. 1 at Moda Center in Portland. The card will air on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
With the change to the card, UFC Fight Night 96 now includes:
John Lineker vs. John Dodson
Will Brooks vs. Alex Oliveira
Sergio Pettis vs. Louis Smolka
Josh Burkman vs. opponent TBA
Joachim Christensen vs. Luis Henrique da Silva
Kelly Faszholz vs. Ketlen Vieira
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Walt Harris
Nate Marquardt vs. Tamdan McCrory
Hacran Dias vs. Andre Fili
Yushin Okami will be back competing in the states.
After two bouts in his native Japan, the UFC veteran will take on Paul Bradley at World Series of Fighting 34 on Nov. 12 in Loveland, Colo., the promotion announced Tuesday. Also added to the card was a heavyweight bout between Josh Copeland and Smealinho Rama.
The UFC returns to the Philippines on Oct. 15, and a local fighter is set to make his promotional debut. Riding a four-fight win streak, Jenel Lausa enters the Octagon for the first time against TUF China alum Yao Zhikui, sources told MMA Fighting.
One of the most exciting fighters in the welterweight division is back.
Jordan Mein is coming out of retirement, his father and coach Lee confirmed Tuesday with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani. MMA legend Bas Rutten mentioned the comeback on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Mein (29-10) is hoping to fight again in the UFC as early as next month, Lee said. The all-action fighter from Canada hung up the gloves at just 25 years old in August 2015.
"I am happy he is enjoying training and wants to fight again," his father said. "I feel he is one of the best out there.
"As long as he is having fun and feels healthy, I will support and help him any way I can."
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson says he is unable to retire right now off of the money he has made in the UFC and is about to start chasing bigger paydays.
Over the last few months, one of the major points of discussion in the MMA community has been the onset of fighters, specifically champions, seeking "money fights." Conor McGregor made the phrase "red panty night" part of the MMA lexicon back in September and since then champions like Tyron Woodley, Dominick Cruz, and Eddie Alvarez have been angling for the highest profile fights possible, eschewing the more established contenders in their respective divisions.
One champion who has been absent from this shift though has been Demetrious Johnson. Johnson is one of the few fighters fans have been actively hoping would make a jump up in weight, having throttled the rest of the 125-pound division. But despite this, the flyweight kingpin has made no real overtures towards a superfight rematch with Dominick Cruz. That may be about to change soon though. Speaking with Submission Radio recently, Johnson discussed why he hasn't been aggressive in seeking bigger name fights and his thoughts on the recent trend of champions avoiding presumed challengers.
"Doesn't matter to me. My paycheck is exactly the same. I think you see a lot of guys who are starting to come out and say, 'no I'm not going to fight that guy, even though he's the number one contender because I want a better pay check,' and you're starting to see a lot of champions do it. I understand why they're doing it; because the UFC have made it a point - champions don't get paid the top dollars.
"And you've got a guy who can come out, who's never lost - I have nothing against GSP, but I like to keep it real - you have a guy that hasn't been active in three years and he's (probably going to make) way more money than any champion on the roster - probably same as Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz - but that's what the UFC has started to do.
"And you're starting to see a lot of people say, 'if I don't get this title shot, this is not a sport at all,' and I think we're starting to lose that mystique to where you have two of the best fighters in the world, going out to fight each other to become the champion. But now, everybody is like, 'I don't want to fight the number one contender, I want to fight the guy who everybody likes to watch fight, so that I get that big pay check.' Trust me, I'm about to jump in that boat too, but I will never turn down a fight and I'll just fight anybody."
The UFC has announced a bantamweight clash between Erik Perez and Felipe Arantes for its Fight Night card at Mexico City’s Arena Ciudad de Mexico on Nov. 5.
On Saturday night, after almost two years of buildup, CM Punk finally made his walk to the Octagon to fight Mickey Gall. The walk lasted longer than the fight itself. When the opening bell sounded, Punk charged across the cage; Gall changed levels, took him down, and choked him out in just a touch over two minutes. It was a complete drubbing. Though Punk did successfully avoid one submission, he landed no significant strikes and absorbed a healthy number of them in return. And it looks like he may never get to land one.
Speaking with Fight Network's John Pollock after the event, UFC President Dana White said that the UFC "probably" won't have Punk fight again.
The UFC’s next trip to Australia has a big time middleweight bout set when former champ Luke Rockhold rematches Ronaldo Souza.
The bout was announced on UFC Australia’s twitter account.
UFC Fight Night 101 takes place Nov. 26 (Nov. 27 in Australia) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event will air on FS1. The bout between Rockhold and Souza is the first to be announced for the card.
It’s been a hectic 2015/2016 for Jon Jones. The former light heavyweight champion has found himself involved in hit-and-run incidents, altercations with police offers, and a dispute with the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
The former pound-for-pound #1 was pulled out of UFC 200’s main event with Daniel Cormier after testing positive for two banned substances. ‘Bones’ is reported to have failed for Hydroxy-clomiphene, an anti-estrogenic agent, and Letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor.
However, it’s likely that Jones will receive a reduced suspension -- or none at all -- and Dana White recently teased at a Jones vs. ‘Rumble’ showdown in the near-future.
Jones posted a thank you message on social media to all of his fans for sticking with him, and seems optimistic about a return.
So grateful for my amazing fans & team for sticking with me through the thick and thin. Can't wait to pick up better than we left off @gatsupplements @everlast @monsterenergy #GatAthlete #CompetesHarder @postmanlife #unbroken
The post-fight skirmish between Fabricio Werdum and Edmond Tarverdyan was an ugly sight, but that's where the story ends.
The Ohio Athletic Commission will not discipline anyone involved in the strange post-fight incident at UFC 203 in Cleveland, executive director Bernie Profato told MMA Fighting on Saturday night. Profato said he spoke with all involved and they apologized to the commission.
"Everyone left on a positive note," Profato said. "They said they respected the commission and assured this would never happen again."
Cleveland, Ohio was home to a night of bizarre night of fights, with four (T)KOs, three submissions and three decisions. We had a fighter get taken out by an elevator, a coach get front kicked post-fight, A pro-wrestler get wrestled by a pro, and a main event that was more track and field contest than fight. Here's who got $50,000 bonuses for their participation in the madness.
Performances of the the Night: Yancy Medeiros and Jessica Andrade
Fight of the Night: Alistair Overeem vs. Stipe Miocic
Those Cleveland elevators strike again.
C.B. Dollaway won’t be able to fight Francimar Barroso tonight at UFC 203 because he was injured while riding a faulty elevator.
According to multiple sources, Dolloway suffered a back injury while riding an elevator that malfunctioned Friday afternoon. It is unclear at this time how serious Dolloway's back injury is but after consulting with doctors and the UFC afterwards he was ultimately ruled out of the fight. One source classified it as a "strain."
"I’m really upset," Barroso said. "That sucks." The Brazilian was looking to return to the win column following a submission loss to Nikita Krylov in May, while Dolloway was hoping to snap a three-fight losing streak.
The UFC has released the following statement:
UFC announced that CB Dollaway has had to withdraw from his scheduled bout at UFC 203 due to an injury he suffered last night as a result of an elevator accident at a hotel in Cleveland.
UFC officials have been in communication with hotel management, and the hotel is currently evaluating and investigating the issues surrounding the incident.
TMZ is reporting that former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler has pulled out of his scheduled UFC 205 bout with Donald Cerrone. No reason was given for Lawler’s withdrawal from the bout.
Citing personal issues, Bobby Green (23-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has withdrawn from next month’s UFC Fight Night 96 event.
MMAjunkie today confirmed the move with UFC officials. The promotion now seeks a lightweight to face Josh Burkman (28-13 MMA, 6-8 UFC).
UFC Fight Night 96 takes place Oct. 1 at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. While the bout order has yet to be confirmed, the evening’s main card airs on FS1. Prelims are expected to air on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Stefan Struve needs a new heavyweight opponent for next month’s UFC 204 event.
Struve’s (27-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) original opponent, Ruslan Magomedov (14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), has been sidelined with a staph infection, a UFC official confirmed with MMAjunkie. A time table for his recovery wasn’t immediately known.
A replacement search is underway.
UFC officials are currently seeking a featherweight to step in on three weeks’ notice and face Hacran Dias (23-4-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 96.
MMAjunkie today confirmed with UFC officials that injury has forced Brian Ortega (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) out of the planned contest.
UFC Fight Night 96 takes place Oct. 1 at Moda Center in Portland. The card will air on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
The Dias vs. Ortega matchup was expected to feature on the night’s main card. A timetable for Ortega’s return wasn’t immediately established.
Another fight is close to being added to UFC 205.
Rashad Evans (19-5-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (18-5) at middleweight is slated for the UFC's debut show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 12, MMA Fighting has confirmed.
Flo Combat first reported the booking last month.
The fight will mark Evans' first as a middleweight and the third weight class he'll compete in as a UFC fighter. Evans, the former light heavyweight champion, entered the UFC as a heavyweight when he won The Ultimate Fighter season 2 in 2005. He'll look to pick up his first win since 2013 against Kennedy, a former JacksonWink teammate in Albuquerque, N.M.
Mickey Gall thought that walking out to “Mickey,” a popular 1980s pop song, at UFC 203 this weekend would have made perfect sense. But UFC president Dana White wasn’t so down for that idea.
"I was going to do my walkout song, 'Hey, Mickey, you're so fine,’ ‘cause that would have been awesome. But he wants something harder," Gall said.
Gall did not reveal what song he will instead walk out to at UFC 203.
Although they had the biggest rivalry in MMA in 2015, Jose Aldo says he actually doesn't dislike Conor McGregor. As he revealed to TV show "Revista Combate", the former UFC featherweight champion says he even has a friendly relationship with Conor.
"It's a friendly relationship. I don't have a problem with him trying to promote himself. If we take a look at it money-wise, it was pretty good. I think there should be more fighters like him at featherweight. I'm not his friend, though. He can go his way and I can go mine."
Furthermore, Aldo says McGregor is usually a mellow person, and only becomes his outgoing self when in front of the cameras or around his own countrymen.
"I've seen him staring at a wall, looking at nothing with everyone around him trying to taunt him and he would just stand there, gazing. He's a regular, mellow guy, but if he sees a camera or some Irish people, he transforms in a such way that makes you say to yourself 'son of a bitch'".
"One day we were hanging out and he said he was going to get the coffee and I said I wanted mine with sugar and he said something like 'nice'. Most of the times we met, there was always someone recording us, though, so he had to keep his persona up. With no cameras, he changes completely."
Former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion and one-time WAMMA punchline Fedor Emelianenko is gearing up for his next mixed martial arts (MMA) fight, targeted for late 2016 or early 2017, depending on negotiations.
Where he fights, as of now, is a mystery.
"Fedor has gathered in Stary Oskol with the team," Coach Vladimir Voronov told TASS.ru (via Bloody Elbow). "It is not only for physical fitness, but also to complete a camp. He is negotiating with all international organizations about the future of his career."
