Everyone has a fighting chance
After knocking out rival Chuck Liddell in the main event of Golden Boy MMA’s debut card this past November, Tito Ortiz sounded as he might finally be ready to call it a career.
Jack Hermansson will look to continue his momentum built in recent bouts, as he will step in on short notice to face Ronald Souza in the UFC on ESPN 3 main event.
Shawne Merriman announced that he’s starting a mixed martial arts promotion called Lights Out Xtreme Fighting. The former San Diego Chargers linebacker has been a longtime fan of the sport and trains in martial arts himself. Merriman already has a television deal in place and will be holding the first event on May 11 in Burbank, California.
Bellator MMA is rapidly adding to its recently announced event in New York City this summer, placing a combined welterweight Grand Prix semifinal match and title fight on the card.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships is making its return to the state of Mississippi, where it is putting a belt on the line, the lightweight tournament semifinals and a big headliner between ex-UFC fighters Jason Knight and Artem Lobov.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to be putting together a de facto tournament at bantamweight, adding two huge divisional matchups to UFC 238 in June.
Shinya Aoki is making a quick turnaround to defend his new One Championship lightweight strap, when he faces Christian Lee in the main event of One Championship: Enter the Dragon.
Colby Covington is back in the news as he waits for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to officially announce his welterweight title challenge against the newly-crowned champion Kamaru Usman later this year.
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum returns to the Octagon next weekend at UFC 236 to take on Israel Adesanya for the interim UFC middleweight title.
Cristiane Justino joins the list of fighters who believe the latest war-of-words between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor has crossed the line. “Cyborg” is calling for both fighters to be sanctioned for their involvement.