Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out which veterans of the UFC are in MMA and boxing action this weekend across the globe.
The UFC is on pay-per-view this week for UFC 284, a massive event that takes place in Perth, Australia.
Elsewhere, many other MMA events are taking place that feature familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.
These 13 veterans of the global MMA leader are competing in MMA boxing this week from Feb. 10-12.
Check out the names and details about their bouts below.
Upcoming event information from Tapology.
As a result of their UFC 271 bouts, all 28 fighters were handed medical suspensions of varying durations by the Texas commission.
Two fighters are facing indefinite suspensions as a result of their UFC 271 bouts.
UFC 271 took place Saturday at Toyota Center and featured 14 bouts, including a middleweight title rematch between champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag].
Of the 10 main card competitors, hometown favorite Derrick Lewis received the longest suspension from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) for his upset knockout loss to Tai Tuivasa. He now faces two months on the shelf.
Two preliminary card fighters, Marcelo Rojo and Maxim Grishin, were suspended indefinitely. Unlike many other commissions, TDLR does not release injury details, so specific causes for their suspensions are not known.
On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the official record keeper of the Association of Boxing Commissions. All fighters’ suspensions can terminate sooner should they be cleared by a doctor.
Check out the full UFC 271 medical suspensions below.
Two of City Kickboxing’s rising stars will compete at UFC 271.
Two of City Kickboxing’s rising stars will compete at UFC 271.
The Feb. 12 event, which is expected to be headlined by the Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker title fight rematch, does not yet have a publicly known venue or location.
But two fighters from New Zealand’s famed City Kickboxing team have been confirmed for the card. [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will meet [autotag]Fabio Cherant[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout and [autotag]Mike Diamond[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his promotional debut when he takes on [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a welterweight bout.
Two people with knowledge of the matchups recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Cageside Press was first to report the Ulberg fight, whereas MMA Fighting was first to report the Diamond booking.
Ulberg will look to rebound from his UFC debut loss in March. The accomplished kickboxer, who earned a UFC deal on the Contender Series, was stopped by Kennedy Nzechukwu in the second round at UFC 259, earning the “Fight of the Night” honors for his efforts. Meanwhile, Cherant will also be in search of his first octagon win. The former LFA champion dropped his first two octagon bouts to Alonzo Menifield, and most recently William Knight in August.
Two-time King in the Ring kickboxing tournament winner “Blood” Diamond was signed to a four-fight UFC deal in July. The Zimbabwe-born fighter is unbeaten in his MMA career, most recently scoring a unanimous decision win over Dimps Gillies in February 2020. His opponent Cosce punched his ticket to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2020 when he rallied to TKO Matt Dixon. However, Cosce would suffer his first-career defeat in his promotional debut when he was stopped by Phil Rowe in July.
With the additions, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:
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Check out the list of medical suspensions from UFC on ESPN 29 in Las Vegas.
[autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] exited UFC on ESPN 29 on a wave of momentum after their wins – but they didn’t do so unscathed.
Both Cannonier and Pantoja were handed 180-day suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC), according to a list MMA Junkie acquired Wednesday from MixedMartialArts.com, the ABC’s official database.
In his main event win over [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag], Cannonier suffered a right foot injury. As for Pantoja, a win in a potential title eliminator battle with [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] resulted in a left knee injury. Depending on the severity of the fighters’ injuries, they could be ineligible to compete until February.
Also receiving 180-day suspensions were the aforementioned Royval, [autotag]Luis Saldana[/autotag], [autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag], and [autotag]Josiane Nunes[/autotag].
It’s important to note fighters’ suspensions may terminate sooner than the date listed if their injury is cleared by a medical doctor.
The UFC on ESPN 29 medical suspensions include:
William Knight showed off his knockout power once more on Saturday when he shut the lights off on Fabio Cherant at UFC on ESPN 29.
[autotag]William Knight[/autotag] showed off his knockout power once more on Saturday when he shut the lights off on [autotag]Fabio Cherant[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 29.
Knight (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) rebounded from his first octagon loss in emphatic fashion when he landed a short shot on an incoming Cherant (7-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) early in the light heavyweight contest, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Cherant went down in a heap when the blow landed, and Knight jumped on top and pounded away on his opponent’s skull to force the referee to step in at the 3:58 mark of Round 1.
Check out the highlight of the finish below (via Twitter):
The Knightmare is ALIVE AND WELL 🤯🤯🤯 @Knightmare205 #UFCVegas34 pic.twitter.com/NJExLh6sB7
— UFC (@ufc) August 22, 2021
Knight was enthusiastic about his performance after the fact and said the short left hook was a testament to his power.
“My coach said not to use so much power,” Knight said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “To use my speed, and the power will be there. … It just landed. It’s timing.”
The up-to-date UFC on ESPN 29 results include:
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Massachusetts vs. Connecticut. Who takes it?
A light heavyweight scrap that pins two New Englanders against one another is the first addition to the UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 21.
Massachusetts’ [autotag]Fabio Cherant[/autotag] will seek his first promotional victory when he fights Connecticut’s William Knight. The card doesn’t currently have a publicly-known location or venue.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Cherant (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) won the LFA light heavyweight championship in February when he defeated Myron Dennis via unanimous decision. In March, he took a short-notice UFC debut fight against Alonzo Menifield and was submitted in 71 seconds. Cherant suffered broken ribs in the fight.
Meanwhile, Knight has split his UFC outings to date. Following a dominant unanimous decision win over Aleksa Camur in September, Knight was grinded en route to a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Da Un Jung in April.
Both fighters rose through similar regional ranks in New England, but have never crossed paths. Cherant competed four times for notable Rhode Island-based promotion CES MMA. Knight did so three times.
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Stipe Miocic is facing two months on the shelf after his knockout at UFC 260.
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[autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] has received a two-month suspension as a result of his second-round knockout loss to [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 260.
MMA Junkie obtained the full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com for UFC 260, which took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Miocic, 38, is among eight fighters to receive a medical suspension of 60 days or greater. Five fighters, [autotag]Gillian Robertson[/autotag], [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag], [autotag]Fabio Cherant[/autotag], [autotag]Omar Morales[/autotag], and [autotag]Shane Young[/autotag], were handed 180-day suspensions as a result of their respective UFC 260 bouts.
Additionally, former UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] faces 45 days away from competition. [autotag]Thomas Almeida[/autotag], who was knocked out by [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] on the pay-per-view main card, received a 60-day medical suspension.
Four fighters, [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag], [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag], [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag], and [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] received no suspension. All four fighters won their fights at UFC 260.
The full UFC 260 medical suspensions include:
UFC 260 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield marks the second fight week cancellation UFC 260 has faced due to COVID-19.
For the second time in as many bookings, [autotag]William Knight[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alonzo Menifield [/autotag] has been canceled.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, Knight (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has been removed from UFC 260 and will be replaced by promotional newcomer and LFA light heavyweight champion [autotag]Fabio Cherant[/autotag], the promotion announced Wednesday.
Knight has been rebooked for UFC on ABC 2 card on April 10. He’ll fight [autotag]Da Un Jung[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC) in place of [autotag]Shamil Gamzatov[/autotag], who has withdrawn from the event due to visa issues.
UFC 260 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Knight vs. Menifield (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) originally was scheduled for UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 27. However, Menifield tested positive for COVID-19, and the fight was rebooked for UFC 260.
Massachusetts’ Cherant (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) enters his UFC debut on the heels of a Feb. 12 title-clinching victory at LFA 99. He extended his winning streak to three when he defeated Myron Dennis via unanimous decision to claim the vacant LFA light heavyweight championship.
With the change, the complete UFC 260 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
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