UFC News - Page 44

Matt Mitrione is scheduled to undergo surgery on his broken right orbital bone early next week. Mitrione, who lost in controversial fashion to Travis Browne via TKO on Sunday following two eye pokes, told MMAFighting.com that he is unsure how long he'll be sidelined for following surgery, however according to Mitrione, the good news is the injury is "non-weight bearing and has significant blood flow."

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Just a week before his third fight in the promotion, rising UFC lightweight star Sage Northcutt has a new opponent – and a chance to fight in a new division. With Andrew Holbrook (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) out with an injury, Northcutt (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) now will face Bryan Barberena (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a welterweight bout to open up the main card at UFC on FOX 18. UFC officials today announced the change. UFC on FOX 18 takes place Jan. 30 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on FOX following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. With the change, the new UFC on FOX 18 lineup includes: MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Anthony Johnson vs. Ryan Bader Josh Barnett vs. Ben Rothwell Iuri Alcantara vs. Jimmie Rivera Bryan Barberena vs. Sage Northcutt PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. ET) Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Diego Ferreira Kevin Casey vs. Rafael Natal Dustin Ortiz vs. Wilson Reis George Sullivan vs. Alexander Yakovlev Alex Caceres vs. Masio Fullen PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 3:30 p.m. ET) Damon Jackson vs. Levan Makashvili Tony Martin vs. Felipe Olivieri Randy Brown vs. Matt Dwyer

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One of London’s favorite fighting sons has a new opponent for his homecoming next month. With Henry Briones (16-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) forced out of his bantamweight bout against England’s own Brad Pickett (24-11 MMA, 4-6 UFC), Francisco Rivera (11-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will answer the call to fight “One Punch” at UFC Fight Night 83. The news first was reported by Simon Head of The Sun newspaper in England. The UFC has yet to make an official announcement of the switch. With the change, the UFC Fight Night 83 lineup includes: MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass) Michael Bisping vs. Anderson Silva Thales Leites vs. Gegard Mousasi Tom Breese vs. Keita Nakamura Brad Pickett vs. Francisco Rivera PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass) Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Wilkinson Davey Grant vs. Marlon Vera Scott Askham vs. Chris Dempsey Arnold Allen vs. Yaotzin Meza Krzysztof Jotko vs. Brad Scott Rustam Khabilov vs. Norman Parke Jarjis Danho vs. Daniel Omielanczuk Teemu Packalen vs. Lukasz Sajewski Martin Svensson vs. David Teymur

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A key lightweight matchup has been added to a star-studded UFC 197 lineup, as Tony Ferguson (20-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) meets Michael Johnson (16-10 MMA, 8-6 UFC). With the addition to the lineup, UFC 197 now includes: Champ Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor – for lightweight title Champ Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate – for women’s bantamweight title Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Johnson Erick Silva vs. Nordine Taleb Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly Jim Miller vs. Diego Sanchez

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A women’s strawweight fight between Seo Hee Ham (16-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Bec Rawlings (6-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is the latest addition to March’s UFC Fight Night 84 event in Australia. The new contest was first reported by the Brisbane Times and subsequently confirmed by UFC officials. With the addition to the card, UFC Fight Night 84 now includes: Mark Hunt vs. Frank Mir Hector Lombard vs. Neil Magny Steve Bosse vs. James Te Huna Alan Jouban vs. Brendan O’Reilly Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Daniel Kelly Johnny Case vs. Jake Matthews Viscardi Andrade vs. Richard Walsh Seo Hee Ham vs. Bec Rawlings

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has increased the depth of its heavyweight talent pool by signing former M-1 Challenge titlist Marcin Tybura to a multi-fight contract. Tybura’s management announced the deal, and the fighter confirmed the news on his Facebook page. Exact terms of the contract were not disclosed, and the UFC has not officially announced the signing.

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The UFC’s new strategy of putting highly marketable bouts on the Fight Pass-streamed portion of its cards will continue in March. A lightweight tilt between former title challenger Diego Sanchez (25-8 MMA, 14-8 UFC) and fellow veteran Jim Miller (25-7 MMA, 14-6 UFC) will be the featured bout on Fight Pass at UFC 197, the promotion today announced. With the addition, the latest UFC 197 card now includes: Champ Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor – for lightweight title Champ Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate – for women’s bantamweight title Erick Silva vs. Nordine Taleb Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly Jim Miller vs. Diego Sanchez

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A featherweight fight between Darren Elkins (19-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Chas Skelly (15-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is the latest addition to March’s UFC 197 lineup. Officials recently announced the bout. The latest UFC 197 card now includes: Champ Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor – for lightweight title Champ Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate – for women’s bantamweight title Erick Silva vs. Nordine Taleb Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly

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March’s UFC Fight Night 84 event in Australia has two new fight-card additions. The bouts include lightweights Jake Matthews (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) vs. Johnny Case (22-4 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and welterweights Richard Walsh (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. Viscardi Andrade (18-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC). Officials recently announced the bouts, which CombatPress.com first reported. The current UFC Fight Night 84 lineup includes: Mark Hunt vs. Frank Mir Hector Lombard vs. Neil Magny Steve Bosse vs. James Te Huna Alan Jouban vs. Brendan O’Reilly Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Daniel Kelly Johnny Case vs. Jake Matthews Viscardi Andrade vs. Richard Walsh

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UFC Fight Night 87 takes place in Brazil on May 14 and two of the biggest superstars in the country will headline the event when Vitor Belfort faces Ronaldo Souza in a middleweight showdown with significant potential impact on the title picture. The event was announced by UFC officials. Belfort (25-11 MMA, 14-7 UFC), the No. 5 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, is looking to fight his way back to a shot at the middleweight championship and new belt-holder Luke Rockhold. Belfort scored a knockout of Rockhold in May 2013. That loss is the only defeat Rockhold has suffered in his 15 most recent fights.

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UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion BJ Penn officially announced his return to the Octagon on Tuesday.

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The UFC plans another hectic and loaded schedule this year, and during that time, hundreds of fighters will enter and exit the octagon. While pre-fight hype is an enjoyable aspect of the sport, it’s ultimately the in-cage performances that speak most to fans. For the majority of fighters, the opportunity to present their skills to the world only comes along a few times per year. A total of 26 fighters got the chance on Sunday as part of UFC Fight Night 81 at Boston’s TD Garden. Now that the FOX Sports 1-televised event is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony...

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UFC Fight Night 84 is beginning to come together with the announcement of four bouts for the event, which is already scheduled to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Frank Mir. UFC Fight Night 84 will take place at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia. The event, which is expected to air on FOX Sports 1, takes place on Sunday, March 20, in Australia, but airs on Saturday, March 19, in North America due to the time difference. The current UFC Fight Night 84 lineup includes: Mark Hunt vs. Frank Mir Hector Lombard vs. Neil Magny Steve Bosse vs. James Te Huna Alan Jouban vs. Brendan O’Reilly Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Daniel Kelly

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Fresh off an impressive performance on Sunday at UFC Fight Night 81, Patrick Cote is again aiming his sights at the welterweight division’s top 15. Although Nick Diaz falls short of that mark, being absent on the UFC’s list and the MMAjunkie/USA TODAY Sports MMA welterweight rankings, he’s of course a big fight for any veteran looking for a break. And that’s why Cote wants the onetime welterweight title challenger if he can’t get an opponent with a number next to his name. “I’m 35 years old, so I’m not getting younger,” Cote (23-9 MMA, 10-9 UFC) told UFC.com following a second-round TKO of Ben Saunders (19-7-2 MMA, 7-6 UFC) on the FOX Sports 1-televised prelims of the event at Boston’s TD Garden. “I want to move up the rankings as soon as possible, and with two good performances, I want a top-15 (opponent) – or there’s a guy coming back in August, and it’s Nick Diaz.”

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MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET) -T.J. Dillashaw (135) vs. Dominick Cruz (135) – for bantamweight title -Eddie Alvarez (155.5) vs. Anthony Pettis (155.5) -Travis Browne (238) vs. Matt Mitrione (249) -Ross Pearson (155) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (155.5) PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET) -Patrick Cote (171) vs. Ben Saunders (170) -Medhi Baghdad (156) vs. Chris Wade (155.5) -Tim Boetsch (206) vs. Ed Herman (204.5) -Maximo Blanco (146) vs. Luke Sanders (145.5) PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET) -Daron Cruickshank (155) vs. Paul Felder (155.5) -Ilir Latifi (205) vs. Sean O’Connell (205.5) -Kyle Bochniak (145) vs. Charles Rosa (145.5) -Rob Font (135) vs. Joey Gomez (135) -Francimar Barroso (205) vs. Elvis Mutapcic (201)

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The Nevada Athletic Commission is about to have another UFC marijuana case on its hands. The UFC announced Friday that Diego Brandao tested positive for a marijuana metabolite at UFC 195 earlier this month in Las Vegas. The positive sample came from an in-competition test, which means Brandao faces a penalty. Marijuana is not prohibited under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code out of competition. In-competition is defined as the 12 hours before and after a fight. (Courtesy of on Twitter)

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Undefeated promotional newcomer Kyle Bochniak is a late addition to this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 81 lineup. Officials today announced Bochniak (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has replaced injured Augusto Mendes (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), himself a recent late replacement, and meets featherweight Charles Rosa (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at the event. With the change, UFC Fight Night 81 now includes: MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET) Champ T.J. Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz – for bantamweight title Eddie Alvarez vs. Anthony Pettis Travis Browne vs. Matt Mitrione Ross Pearson vs. Francisco Trinaldo PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET) Patrick Cote vs. Ben Saunders Medhi Baghdad vs. Chris Wade Tim Boetsch vs. Ed Herman Maximo Blanco vs. Luke Sanders PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET) Daron Cruickshank vs. Paul Felder Ilir Latifi vs. Sean O’Connell Augusto Mendes vs. Charles Rosa Rob Font vs. Joey Gomez Francimar Barroso vs. Elvis Mutapcic

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BOSTON -- Matt Mitrione talks about his long history with Travis Browne, finally fighting Browne at UFC Fight Night 81, whether Browne's best days are behind him, how long it took to get over his loss to Ben Rothwell, what he learned from the setback, his upcoming free agency, and much more.

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After apologizing for "fight fixing "comments Ufc officially released Wanderlei Silva from his contract freeing him to fight for other promotions.

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Two days after signing with the UFC to fight Charles Rosa on short notice in Boston, Augusto Mendes is already out of the featherweight bout. A multiple time jiu-jitsu world champion, "Tanquinho" signed with the promotion to replace injured Jimy Hettes. However, right after signing a deal with the UFC, the Brazilian suffered a rib injured in training and was forced off the card.

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