CombatSports.org

UFC

“Dangerous” Davey Grant is down but not out.

The popular English action fighter was supposed to fight this weekend (March 23, 2024) at UFC Vegas 89 opposite Cody Gibson, but he withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Miles Johns. As it turns out, the injury that forced him from the match up was more severe than anyone could have assumed.

While Grant doesn’t specify what specifically went wrong, he was suffering a nasty neck injury. Yesterday on Instagram, Grant revealed that multiple attempted treatments were unable to fix him. In “constant agony,” the Bantamweight was forced to go under the knife.

I should have been getting ready to weigh in tomorrow but now I’m awaiting surgery on my neck. These last few weeks were absolutely terrible in constant agony trying to make it to the fight but after a bunch of MRI and Cat scans, multiple doctors opinions, hours of treatment and 2 neck injections nothing could be done and surgery was the only option.

The threat of it being career ending scared the shit out of me as I’m far from done yet! Just a bump in the road to overcome again and I’ll be back in no time!

Again huge thank you to everyone who has been there for me it is greatly appreciated!

Home early next week to my beautiful family finally and I can’t wait

Today, Grant reported back that his surgery was a success. He’s now on the mend, though that will involve a long period of recovery and likely physical therapy. “Surgery all done and dusted with no complications considering and finally now I’m on the road to recovery,” Grant wrote. “In what can only be described as some of if not the worst few weeks of my life I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, although very long f—king tunnel.”

On Twitter, Grant also revealed that he’ll be back in six months, so perhaps a 2024 return isn’t impossible?

A veteran of The Ultimate Fighter, Grant has been on the UFC roster since 2013. His career didn’t really take off until 2020, however, when Grant gained popularity by fighting more actively and establishing himself as a brawling knockout artist. He’s since earned five performance bonuses in seven fights! Most recently, Grant coughed up a controversial split-decision loss to Daniel Marcos.

Here’s hoping Grant’s road to recovery runs smooth.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/secretbil [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Former UFC strawweight champ Rose Namajunas makes her second octagon appearance in the flyweight division as she faces Amanda Ribas in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 89 fight card in the hallowed APEX. With a couple of setbacks heading into this bout, is “Thug Rose” still considered a title contender, most notably with a win?

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee preview this weekend’s fight card, the main event between Ribas and Namajunas, and what’s at stake for the popular Namajunas in her second fight at 125. Additionally, they’ll discuss the rest of the card, Justin Tafa facing Karl Williams in the co-main event, the anticipated bantamweight prospect matchup between Cameron Saaiman and Payton Talbott, Billy Quarantillo facing the returning Youssef Zalal, plus, they’ll answer viewer questions live on the show.

Catch the UFC Vegas 89 preview show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Conor McGregor showed his appreciation for Nate Diaz’s message of solidarity on St. Paddy’s Day.

McGregor and the ‘Stockton Samurai’ are known for engaging in one of the fiercest rivalries in UFC history. But that didn’t stop Diaz from showing some support to his former foe after the Irishman expressed frustration surrounding his delayed return to the Octagon.

“This was me for years before Conor even got here,” Diaz wrote on X. “They want [you] to die before [you] get out these contracts. It’s up to you to make something pop. No one gonna help you but you. Free Conor, it’s [St.] Patty’s Day in this b*tch.”

Nate Diaz knows all too well what it’s like trying to book fights and make money within the confines of the UFC’s notoriously restrictive contracts. After 15 years with the promotion, he finally broke free and walked away to pursue some big-money matchups in the world of professional boxing. The TUF alumnus has since competed in a 10-round tussle with Jake Paul last August and is scheduled to run back his BMF title fight with Jorge Masivdal inside the squared circle on June 1.

Conor McGregor was admittedly surprised to see Diaz making calls to “free” him, but the former two-division champion was more than welcoming of the support.

“Nate is great. When you share back-to-back knocks — we had real, real fights. That’s a real fighting man, the two brothers are real fighting men,” McGregor said on The MMA Hour. I always had the highest respect for the two lads, and f***, I was a fan of the lad. I was a fan of them, and then I got to share the octagon with them — we had wars, we boxed each other around. And I appreciate it, appreciate [the support].

“I wish him well, always. I’ll always wish to see past opponents and future opponents — potential future opponents again — to see them do well. And what a monumental moment that will be, when we get that [trilogy fight] done. So I’m excited for it” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Conor McGregor reacts to Dana White nixing his trilogy fight with Nate diaz

With the UFC slated to make its debut inside The Sphere for this year’s Mexican Independence Day celebration in September, Conor McGregor believes it would be the perfect opportunity to close out his trilogy with Nate Diaz. Unfortunately, UFC CEO Dana White did not agree, and immediately squashed any possibility of the fight happening.

“The cold water, [White threw] cold water it instantly,” McGregor said. “That’s huge. That, to me, has The Sphere written all over it. Mexican Independence Day. Nate Diaz is an American Mexican and a beloved fighter and a real fighter. Now, he’s hard to deal with with the lads [UFC executives], and I don’t know all the ins and outs, to be honest — and I know the lads are hard to deal with also. So I think it’d be amazing and it would suit me lovely — the date in summer and into September, I believe I get my two fights in this year.”

McGregor and Diaz competed in back-to-back bouts between March and August in 2017. The first went down at UFC 196 when Diaz handed the Irishman his first career loss inside the Octagon via a second-round rear-naked choke submission. They ran it back five months later at UFC 202 with McGregor coming out on top the second time around via a majority decision.

Fans have been clamoring for a third fight between the two ever since. While both McGregor and Diaz have remained adamant that they will meet again, Dana White has expressed nothing, but disinterest in putting the contest together.

LowKickMMA.com

UFC

submitted by /u/secretbil [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Corey Anderson has his first world title belt, and Patricio Pitbull held onto his at Bellator Belfast.

The first independent Bellator event under the PFL banner took place Friday at the SSE Arena in Northern Ireland. Every event, per the promotion, will feature two title fights, along with a No. 1 contender bout, which were all on display in Belfast.

The Irish fans were ready to see their hometown fighter get the opportunity to fight for Bellator’s vacant light heavyweight championship, and Moore came out landing clean shots on the heavy favorite Anderson, including a head kick, before successfully defending Anderson’s first attempt at a takedown. That success didn’t last long, however, as Anderson was able to get to his bread and butter halfway through the first round, then dominate top position for the rest of the frame.

Anderson continued to clinch and grapple his way through Round 2 and certainly made the challenger work hard. After a warning from the referee for more action to start the third, Anderson landed an effortless takedown seconds in. Moore put a brief scare in the former UFC fighter with a near-miracle armbar, but Anderson escaped. The referee stood the fighters up and Moore landed some clean punches before the bell sounded.

The final two rounds were essentially the same as the first three — Moore was the better fighter on the feet for the most part, but Anderson’s grappling was too much, and “Overtime” can now call himself a world champion in his 24th pro fight after a dominant decision win. The final scores saw it 50-45, 49-46, and 49-46 in Anderson’s favor.

“We got it, but ‘Overtime’ is not satisfied,” Anderson said afterward.

“We’ve got more work to do and more names to beat.”

Patricio Pitbull mauls Jeremy Kennedy for brutal third-round finish

Patricio Pitbull put his Bellator featherweight title on the line for the first time since October 2022 in Friday’s co-main event against Canada’s Jeremy Kennedy, and entered the bout looking for his first win since December 2022.

And he accomplished just that to retain his championship with a third-round TKO stoppage win over Kennedy, who was starting to build quite a bit of momentum before the finish.

Pitbull established himself at the start of the fight with some nasty leg kicks that welted up the left ankle of Kennedy, which was the difference-maker in the opening round. The challenger picked up the pace a bit more in the second, although that leg continued to take damage from Pitbull’s hard kicks. An accidental low blow from Kennedy caused a delay with 12 seconds left in the second, but Kennedy was able to change momentum overall.

In the third, Kennedy stung Pitbull and sent the champ sitting to the mat with a gash on his head. The Xtreme Couture product’s confidence was visibly rising as each second of Round 3 ticked away — until Pitbull landed a big shot that badly hurt Kennedy, and led to the championship-retaining finish.

In the featured bout, Fabian Edwards earned a rematch with Johnny Eblen for the Bellator middleweight title with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Aaron Jeffery in a No. 1 contender fight.

Get full Bellator Belfast results below.

• Corey Anderson def. Karl Moore via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46 x2)
• Patricio Pitbull def. Jeremy Kennedy via third-round TKO (4:07)
• Fabian Edwards def. Aaron Jeffery via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Leandro Higo def. James Gallagher via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Manoel Sousa def. Tim Wilde via first-round KO (4:48) | Watch finish
• Ciaran Clarke def. Darius Mafi via submission (arm-triangle) (R3, 0:41)
• Alfie Davis def. Oscar Ownsworth via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Luke Trainer def. Grant Neal via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Nathan Kelly def. Vikas Singh Ruhil via first-round KO (0:40) | Watch finish
• Abraham Bably def. Isaiah Pinson via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Nate Kelly def. Jordan Elliott via submission (armbar) (R1, 1:48) (amateur)

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz have been involved in arguably the greatest rivalry in UFC history, but that hasn’t stopped them from supporting one another when the opportunity arises.

McGregor and Diaz battled in two Hall-of-Fame-worthy affairs, leaving fans clamoring for eight years in the hope of a trilogy bout. While the third fight between the pair could still take place, ‘The Notorious’ is seemingly being held in limbo by the promotion, prompting the Stockton native to speak out in support of his old nemesis.

As news surfaced that the Irishman may have been forcefully sidelined by the UFC, Nate Diaz chimed in. The former lightweight title challenger insisted that he too has been in the frustrating situation that his counterpart finds himself in.

“This was me for years before Conor even got here,” Diaz said in support of McGregor. “They want you to die before you get out [of] these contracts.”

“It’s up to you to make something pop, no one [is] gonna help you but you. Free Conor, it’s at Patty’s day in this b*tch.”

This was me for years before Conor even got here they want u to die before u get out these contracts it’s up to u to make something pop no one gonna help you but you
Free Conor it’s at pattys day in this bitch ☘️ pic.twitter.com/X4WQVNV79X

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 17, 2024

Responding to the message during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Conor McGregor labeled both Nate and Nick Diaz ‘real fighting men’.

“Nate is great. When you share back-to-back knocks—we had real, real fights. That’s a real fighting man. The two brothers are real fighting men.”

Related: Michael Chandler confirms summer showdown with Conor McGregor

“I always had the highest respect for the two lads, and f***, I was a fan of the lad. I was a fan of them, and I got to share the octagon with them. We had wars, we boxed each other around.”

“I appreciate it, appreciate [the support]. I wish him well, always… And what a monumental moment that will be, when we get that [trilogy fight] done. So, I’m excited for it.”

Check out Conor McGregor’s response to Nate Diaz below.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

UFC