In case there was any doubt left at all, McKee is legit. And you can remove the phrase “prospect” before his name once and for all.

McKee found himself facing both a former Bellator bantamweight champion and an NCAA champion wrestler in Caldwell in a high-stakes main event.

And the undefeated McKee wasted little time showing he was up to the biggest challenge of his career in Bellator’s featherweight grand prix in the semifinals. A textbook neck crank got the job done in just 1:11.

That puts McKee in the final against the winner of the other semifinal, between champion Patricio Freire and Emmanuel Sanchez, which will be held at a date to be determined.

Caldwell went to his wrestling early in the fight and scored a takedown, but McKee didn’t panic. He slipped one arm under Caldwell’s, got him to move his head where he wanted it, wrapped up a body triangle, and it was a mere formality from that point on.

“He popped his head off to the side and I locked up the body triangle and I hooked him up deep, and that’s all she wrote,” McKee said post-fight.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/submission-of-the-month-november-aj-mckee-choke-bellator

Making his way to the national stage for the first time at LFA 90 this past September, bantamweight Mo Miller was able to announce his presence in a strong way with a second round submission of Mando Gutierrez.

Though more of a spotlight was on him that he’d previously had in his three previous bouts, Miller showed no signs of inexperience in his win.

“I was excited to perform my skills on a bigger platform, so I was thankful to the LFA for that,” Miller told MMAWeekly.com. “Leading up to that I was pretty much trained the same. Nothing I would say was too big for me once I got there. I was pretty much more excited than anything.

“The fight I thought I would be a tough opponent with a really good grappling game, so I figured if I nullified that that I could win the fight or would have a better chance of me winning the fight, and that’s how it went.”

Though many things were shut down during the first wave of the novel coronavirus over the summer, Miller kept working as hard as he could, and was subsequently ready for his LFA debut.

“Once I got in there I felt like no time had passed,” said Miller. “The pandemic didn’t slow me down. I had other places to train outside of the public gyms, so I’ve been training from March all the way on. I didn’t really slow down.

“In September and once I was back in the cage and the first punch was thrown it was back to normal.”

This Friday in Park City, Kansas, Miller (4-0) will look to keep his undefeated streak going when he faces Regivaldo Carvalho (5-2) in a main card 135-pound bout at LFA 96.

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“I think Carvalho is a tough fight. He always comes to fight,” Miller said. “Our skillsets are different. I think what I bring to the table I think is going to force him to deal with, and I want to see how he reacts to that.

“I’m always coming. I’m always going to bring the same Mo, the same intensity, so he will have to match that. I think it will be a good fight, but I think I can get the finish.”

With 2021 right around the corner, the goal for Miller is to continue to move his career forward with whatever the best opportunities that are afforded him.

“I want to either do a bigger promotion or fight all the way to the top of the LFA for the title,” said Miller. “I definitely want to get bigger opponents, bigger names, on my resume. Whichever route that’s possible that’s where I’m going.”

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/mo-miller-regivaldo-carvalho-will-have-to-match-my-intensity-at-lfa-96

The UFC’s final event of a pandemic plagued 2020 could not go unscathed by COVID-19. Leon Edwards and his UFC Vegas 17 headlining bout opposite Khamzat Chimaev became the latest casualties of a trying year.

Edwards contracted COVID-19, which negated his ability to train for the fight and resulted in him losing 12 pounds over four days. He was subsequently removed from the UFC Vegas 17 main event, which the fight promotion hopes to reschedule in early 2021, possibly as soon as January.

While readily identifying the fight’s postponement as a hit to him, Edwards was quick to acknowledge that things could have been much worse for him, and things are much worse for many other people.

“Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective. This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes.”

Leon Edwards on Twitter

The UFC updated its website on Wednesday showing a welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal elevated to the UFC Vegas 17 headlining spot. The bout was already slated for the UFC Vegas 17 fight card.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/leon-edwards-releases-statement-after-covid-19-kos-him-from-ufc-vegas-17

UFC welterweight Niko Price is the most recent fighter disciplined by the Nevada Athletic Commission for traces of marijuana (carboxy-THC) being found in his system.

On Wednesday, Price was handed a six-month suspension and fined $8,500, prosecution fees of $145.36, and had the result of his UFC Fight Night 178 fight against Donald Cerrone overturned from a draw to a no contest.

Since the suspension results from his Sept. 19 bout, the duration will be implemented retroactively. Price will be eligible to compete on March 19, 2021. The disciplinary action marks the second time Price has been suspended for marijuana.

After he knocked out Alex Morono at UFC Fight Night 104 in February 2017, Price tested positive for carboxy-THC. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversaw the event, suspended Price 90 days and fined him $1,000. Additionally, his win was overturned to a no contest.

UPDATE: Price later issued this statement on Instagram.

A post shared by Niko “The Hybrid” Price •UFC• (@hybridufc)

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-news-niko-price-suspended-fined-nac-marijuana

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards is staying in good spirits despite his most recent career setback.

Edwards was forced to withdraw from his main event bout against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Fight Night 183 after testing positive for the coronavirus and dealing with a severe case of COVID-19.

Edwards, who’s lost 12 pounds because of the virus, is looking at things on the positive side and is hopeful for a quick return against Chimaev in the near future.

“Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective.” Edwards wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes.”

Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective. This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes

— Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) December 2, 2020

The UFC plans to rebook Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) against Chimaev (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in early 2021. A welterweight bout pitting former two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal will serve as the new main event for UFC Fight Night 183.

Edwards’ oppoennt, Chimaev, who recently entered the UFC rankings at No. 15 on the heels of his dominant 3-0 start in the promotion, wished Edwards a speedy recovery.

“Fast recovery and hope (to) see you soon,” he tweeted.

Below is the updated lineup for UFC Fight Night 183:

• Geoff Neal vs. Stephen Thompson
• Greg Hardy vs. Marcin Tybura
• Rob Font vs. Marlon Moraes
• Misha Cirkunov vs. Ryan Spann
• Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
• Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams
• Manel Kape vs. Alexandre Pantoja
• Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima
• Antonio Arroyo vs. Deron Winn
• Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
• Drako Rodriguez vs. Aiemann Zahabi
• Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
• Rick Glenn vs. Carlton Minus
• Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-fight-night-leon-edwards-issues-statement-khamzat-chimaev-withdrawal-covid