Losene Keita Credit: Oktagon MMA The lightweight division saw a major shake-up last year, with Charles Oliveira stripped of the title after missing weight (due to a miscalibrated backstage scale), and Islam Makhachev later defeating him for the vacant title. Who could join the ranks at 155lb in 2023? We’ve prepared our list of 10 … Read more
Benson Henderson, Bellator 273 Credit: Bellator MMA Usman Nurmagomedov (16-0) will attempt to make the first defense of his lightweight title at Bellator 292 this March. And that fight will come against former UFC champion Benson Henderson (30-11). Shortly after Bellator CEO Scott Coker announced the promotion’s launch of the lightweight grand prix, promotion officials … Read more
Usman Nurmagomedov, Bellator 283 Credit: Bellator MMA While Bellator makes its 2023 debut on Feb. 4, care of a card headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader 2, his lightweight major will begin next month. In an appearance Wednesday on The MMA Hour, Bellator CEO Scott Coker announced the participants for this eight-fighter grand prize, … Read more
HOLLYWOOD, FL – AUGUST 13: Hopeton Stewart and Alvin Espinoza in a featherweight bout during PFL 7 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on August 13, 2021 in Hollywood, Florida. (Cooper Neal/PFL) The 2023 edition of the PFL Challenger Series kicks off later this month, continuing into March – and on Thursday, promotion officials … Read more
Ilya Topuria, UFC 282 ceremonial weigh-ins Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press UFC featherweight Ilya Topuria was caught on camera getting into a fist fight in a Spanish bar – although it appears, based on newly released video, that the other party may have provoked the fighter. Topuria can be seen in a short video circulating on … Read more
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 22: (LR) Damir Ismagulov of Russia punches Rafael Alves of Brazil in their lightweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on May 22, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) UFC lightweight Damir Ismagulov announced his retirement due to health reasons from MMA … Read more
Sarah McMann, UFC Raleigh Weigh-In Credit: Bryson Hester/Cageside Press Former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Sarah McMann will have a new home moving forward. McMann (13-6), who faced Ronda Rousey at UFC 170 in 2014 in a bid to capture the promotion’s bantamweight title, has signed an exclusive deal with Bellator MMA, where she is … Read more
Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Stevie Ray, 2022 PFL Championship Ceremonial Weigh In at The Manhattan Center in New York, New York, Thursday, November 24, 2022. (Cooper Neal / PFL) Rounding out the 2022 PFL lightweight season was a pair of proven UFC veterans in Scotland’s Stevie Ray and “Canadian Gangster” Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Ray’s regular season took … Read more
Needless to say, Anthony Pettis’ 2022 didn’t end the way he wanted it to. After starting the 2022 PFL regular season strong with a win over Myles Price, Pettis declined his second fight with Stevie Ray, then lost an immediate rematch that eliminated him from the playoffs. So when it comes to the highlights of … Read more
There was a moment during Saturday’s Bellator 287 lightweight bout between Alfie Davis and UFC veteran Thibault Gouti when Davis believed he had broken his opponent’s arm. “I kicked him in the arm a lot and he went ‘aww’ as soon as I kicked him. So I assumed he was broken,” Davis (15-4-1) told media, … Read more