A fight between top ten flyweights Rogerio Bontorin and Kai-Kara France has been slated for UFC 259, and much, much more — Fightful has all the latest fight announcements in one article.
Rogerio Bontorin vs. Kai Kara-France slated for UFC 259
A matchup between top ten flyweights is set to go down at UFC 259 on March 6 between Rogerio Bontorin and Kai Kara-France. Combate's Marcelo Barone reported the booking first, although the promotion hasn't made the fight official yet. Bontorin has been out for six months healing from ankle surgery and is 3-1 in the UFC, most recently losing a unanimous decision to Ray Borg at UFC Fight Night 167. Kara-France on the other hand is 4-2 in his stint with the promotion, losing to Brandy Royval at UFC 253 in the second-round via submission from a guillotine choke in his latest outing.
THIS IS MADNESS --@brandonroyval x @kaikarafrance at #UFC253 https://t.co/dHQ2KWEzdN pic.twitter.com/kqnLVWOPyb
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 27, 2020
Mike Grundy out due to COVID-19 on team, Lentz vs. Evolev now set for UFC 257
Featherweight Mike Grundy has been forced to withdraw from his bout against Nik Lentz at UFC on ABC 1 this weekend because of a positive COVID-19 test amongst someone on his team. Grundy posted the following statement to his Twitter account to announce the news.
— Mike Grundy (@MGWRESTLING) January 10, 2021
MMA DNA has reported that Movsar Evolev will step-in for Grundy to take on Lentz now and the matchup will be moved to UFC 257 next weekend on January 23. Evolev is a former M-1 bantamweight champion and currently is undefeated professionally at 13-0, ironically beating Mike Grundy in his last fight at UFC Fight Island 3 via a unanimous decision. Lentz has dropped back-to-back losses to Charles Oliveira and Arnold Allen, the latter in his return to 145 pounds. UFC 257 will be headlined by a rematch between former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
Turman off of UFC event on February 6, hospitalized with pneumonia
UFC middleweight Wellington Turman has pulled out of his bout with Aliaskhab Khzriev at UFC Fight Night 184 on February 6, after being hospitalized with pneumonia reported by Combate's Marcelo Barone. Turman dealt with COVID-19 back in September of 2020 and is now dealing with an atypical case of pneumonia that has had him in a hospital in Curitiba, Brazil since Wednesday.
A pulmonary infection caused by micro organisms not as common as the ones present in ordinary pneumonia cases makes Turman’s situation different from most examples of the sickness. (h/t BloodyElbow)
Du Plessis and Giles set to meet at UFC Fight Night on March 20
Middleweight prospects Dricus Du Plessis and Trevin Giles are being targeted to faceoff at UFC Fight Night 188 on March 20, MMAJunkie's Farah Hannoun and Nolan King first reported the matchup. Du Plessis is coming off an emphatic UFC debut back at UFC Fight Island 5 where he knocked out Markus Perez in the first round. Giles is 3-2 since moving back to 185 pounds, coming off consecutive victories over James Krause and Bevon Lewis. UFC Fight Night 188 is yet to be officially announced and has no location determined currently, but the event is expected to be headlined by middleweight contenders Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland.
FIGHT ISLAND HITS DIFFERENT!!!
— UFC (@ufc) October 11, 2020
What a debut for @DricusDuPlessis --
[ Main card is rolling on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/7QPTNwRLj3
Undefeated prospects Uros Jurisic and Shamil Musaev meet at KSW 58
Undefeated welterweights Uros Jurisic and Shamil Musaev will clash at KSW 58 on January 30 in Lodz, Poland the promotion announced in a recent tweet on their official Twitter account.
Official --
— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 7, 2021
The Silent Assassin ---- Shamil Musaev (14-0) welcomes newly signing ---- Uroš Jurišič (11-0) into the promotion at #KSW58
Someone's 'O' has got to go pic.twitter.com/QT4mHRgJU4
Jurisic will make his promotional debut after winning his last six fights, five of which came from first-round finishes. The Slovenian fighter competing on season 21 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and won his only fight in Bellator, defeating Walter Gahadza via a first-round submission due to a rear-naked choke at Bellator 247. Musaev will be also making his debut, not for the promotion but at a new weight class moving up to 170 pounds for the first time. He's riding an eight-fight streak of first-round finishes with his most recent victory coming over Grzegorz Szulakowski at KSW 58 via a spinning back fist knockout.
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