A pair of bantamweights will look to make it three wins in a row when they square off on March 13.

Davey Grant and Jonathan Martinez will face off at the event, which currently does not have a confirmed location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Friday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Just two months after stopping Frankie Saenz in the third round at UFC on ESPN+ 31, Martinez (13-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) stepped in on short notice to defeat Thomas Almeida via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN+ 38 in October.

Starting out his UFC career at 1-3, Season 18 finalist of “The Ultimate Fighter” Grant (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has since rebounced by scoring back-to-back wins over Grigorii Popov and, most recently, a “Performance of the Night” knockout of Martin Day at UFC 251 in July.

With the addition, the March 13 lineup includes:

• Irwin Rivera vs. Ray Rodriguez
• Davey Grant vs. Jonathan Martinez

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-news-davey-grant-jonathan-martinez-ufc-fight-night-march-13

Episode No. 298 of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan” podcast is now available for streaming and download.

MMA Junkie lead staff reporter John Morgan hosts the show while traveling the world to cover the sport.

John Morgan and Cold Coffee talk about the UFC’s latest roster moves and what they mean to the organization before discussing this weekend’s UFC 256 event. Morgan also shares interviews with ONE grand prix winner Demetrious Johnson and UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori.

Check it out on iTunes or at themmaroadshow.com. You can also subscribe via RSS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/the-mma-road-show-with-john-morgan-no-298-demetrious-johnson-marvin-vettori

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-256-countdown-full-episode

Bellator MMA closed out their 2020 events schedule on Thursday with Bellator 254: Macfarlane vs. Velasquez at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The eight-bout fight card was headlined by a women’s flyweight title bout between champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez. Both women entered the cage with undefeated records.

The bout went the distance. The title changed hands, and Macfarlane’s championship reign came to an end. Velasquez put in a dominating performance, kept her undefeated record intact and walked out with the women’s flyweight belt.

Macfarlane had difficulty getting inside Velasquez’ reach advantage. She was left with having to rush in with a flurry to close the distance. Velasquez landed her jab and kept Macfarlane on the outside.

The biggest moment of the fight came at the end of the third round when Velasquez connected with a jumping knee in the closing seconds of the frame.

In the fourth and fifth rounds, Macfarlane was able to successfully close the distance and secure takedowns, but it wasn’t enough. All three judges scored the fight for Velasquez. The scorecards read 48-47, 49-46, and 48-47.

“I’m very excited to finally be the champion,” Velasquez following the win. “My goal is to not only be a champion inside the ring, but also a champion outside of the ring.”

“For me, this is like a gold medal. I didn’t get to win a gold medal in Judo.”

Macfarlane defned the title four times before losing it on Thursday. With the win, Velasquez became only the second woman to hold the flyweight title. Following the loss, Macfarlane congratulated the new champion.

“At the end of the day, she just out performed me,” said Macfarlane. “She’s the champion. She deserves it.”

The co-main event featured a match between two of the top bantamweights in the world, Magomed Magomedov and Matheus Mattos. Magomedov holds a win over UFC champion Petr Yan, but he was defeated by Yan in a rematch. Mattos’ only career loss heading into Thursday’s bout was also to Yan. Both fighters were making their promotional debuts on Thursday.

Mattos now has two losses in his career. Magomedov put on a grappling clinic and dominated Mattos with relentless pressure. In each round, Magomedov took Mattos to the ground and controlled him. Mattos had no answer for Magomedov’s stifling style. It was a one-sided unanimous decision win for Magomedov.

Following the win, Magomedov admitted that he was nervous to be competign in Bellator for the first time.

“I was really nervous to fight in a big promotion like this. I didn’t sleep for a couple of days,” Magomedov said. “I’m happy to be here.”

Magomedov solidified his place as a contender in the bantamweight division. He didn’t say who he’d like to face next, but put the Bellator roster on notice.

“I don’t want to say names. I just want to say to everybody in Bellator, the jungle has a new king,” he said.

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In heavyweight action, former light heavyweight title contender Linton Vassell welcomed Ronny Markes to the fight promotion by handing him a second-round defeat.

In the opening round, Markes tried to take the fight to the ground, but lost top position. Vassell spent most of the round in top position landing short punches to the body and head.

In the second frame, Markes again tried to take Vassell down. As soon as the fighters hit the canvas, Vassell reversed Markes to gain top position. He mounted Markes and hammered away with punches and hammer fists until the referee stepped in to stop it.

“I was a bit disappointed in my stand up. Obviously, I planed to land a lot more than I did,” said Vassell after the win. “He took the fight to the ground. Obviously, I reversed it. My confidence kept growing and kept growing.”

During his post-fight interview, Vassell called for a rematch against Valentin Moldavsky. The two fought at Belator 2018 in in March 2019 with Moldavsky defeating Vassell by unanimous decision.

“I want that rematch with Moldavsky, Valentin Moldavsky. You know who you are. We had that fight a couple of years ago now. I want that rematch,” he said.

Bellator 254 Full Results:

• Juliana Velasquez def. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47)
• Magomed Magomedov def. Matheus Mattos by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Linton Vassell def. Ronny Markes by TKO (strikes) at 3:37, R2
• Romero Cotton def. Justin Sumter by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:36, R1
• Shamil Nikaev def. Kemran Lachinov by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
• Grant Neal def. Maurice Jackson by submission (rear-naked choke)
• Cody Law def. Kenny Champion by TKO (punches) at 4:44, R3
• Billy Goff def. Robson Gracie Jr. by TKO (punches) at 1:46, R2

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/juliana-velasquez-dethrones-ilima-lei-macfarlane-in-bellator-254-main-event

Long known as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, Mackenzie Dern said her work with new coach Jason Parillo is paying immediate dividends, and she believes a UFC title shot could be coming soon.

“Definitely in 2021, I want to try and pick a little bit more my fights to really get me one step closer to the belt, not just fight anyone for anytime for anything,” Dern said Thursday during a virtual media day ahead of UFC 256. “I really want to fight the top fighters and show that I have the level to be the champion. I don’t want to get there by just fighting anyone. I want to get there by proving myself, and I think the best way to prove it is by fighting the top contenders.”

Dern (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will take a step in that direction at Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where she takes on former Invicta FC strawweight champion Virna Jandiroba (16-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC). The main-card bout streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

It’s a meaningful fight at 115 pounds, with Jandiroba sitting at No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie strawweight rankings, and Dern checking in at No. 13. It’s also an intriguing matchup stylistically, with both fighters being sensational grapplers. However, Dern believes her game is a bit more well rounded.

“I think her grappling is a lot of pressure and passing and things like that, and people see me doing these crazy armbars and leglocks and kind of a little bit looser and stuff like that, but man, I’m a complete fighter,” Dern said.

A lifelong jiu-jitsu practitioner, grappling is second nature to the 27-year-old at this point in her career. But recent work with Parillo, which started ahead of her September win over Randa Markos, made her much more confident in her standup game, as well.

Dern said her strategy is certainly not built primarily around striking but thinks her improvements on the feet will prove beneficial.

“Of course my plan is not to win the fight striking, but I definitely think it’s going to give a lot more opportunities to show and maybe hurt her a little bit on my striking so the jiu-jitsu will be even easier, but I think it’s going to be a great fight,” Dern said.

The winner will certainly take a big step forward in the UFC’s increasingly deep strawweight division, which is expected to feature some marquee matchups early in 2021. With a two-fight winning streak built since suffering the lone loss of her career, Dern wants to be a part of those fights and believes Saturday is her chance to get her name in the mix.

“I’m seeing such a big evolution on my game, my striking,” Dern said. “I’m training more my boxing than my jiu-jitsu, and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m seeing such a big evolution’ and everything, so I really want to try to take advantage of this momentum that I have for my last two fights, take advantage of my training with (Parillo) and how much potential he’s showing me that I have. So I’m really happy, and I’m excited to see if I can show everyone with this fight.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-256-mackenzie-dern-rounding-out-skills-eyes-title-shot