Canadian featherweight Hakeem Dawodu’s plans to score a big win to kick off the new year have been dealt a blow, with injury forcing the 29-year-old Calgary native out of his scheduled bout at UFC 257.

A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to MMA Junkie that Dawodu (12-1-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has been forced to withdraw from his bout against Shane Burgos on Jan. 23 due to a shoulder injury.

The source requested anonymity as news of the bout’s cancellation has not been officially announced by the UFC.

It is currently unknown whether the UFC will seek a replacement opponent for Burgos (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), or whether the original matchup will be rescheduled to a later date.

The current bout lineup for UFC 257 includes:

• Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
• Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker
• Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye
• Marcin Prachnio vs. Khalil Rountree
• Amanda Ribas vs. Marina Rodriguez
• Sara McMann vs. Julianna Pena
• Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola
• Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares
• Sergey Morozov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
• Shane Burgos vs. TBA
• Nasrat Haqparast vs. Arman Tsarukyan
• Makhmud Muradov vs. Andrew Sanchez

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc257-hakeem-dawodu-ruled-out-shane-burgos-fight

The fan votes are in, and LFA has announced the winners of its best-of-2020 awards.

The promotion solicited votes from the fans inn eight separate categories for its best moments of an unprecedented 2020 calendar year that featured delayed cards, then a resumption of events without fans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Check out the results for all eight categories below, and don’t miss Ron Kruck’s video highlighting all the winners above.

LFA returns in a week with LFA 97 at Harman Arena in Park City, Kan., near Wichita. In the main event on UFC Fight Pass, the lightweight title is on the line between Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Nick Browne and Arthur Estrazulas.

The LFA 2020 Fans Choice Awards included:

• Female Fighter of the Year: Lupita Godinez
• Male Fighter of the Year: Josh Fremd
• Knockout of the Year: Alex Pereira (LFA 95)
• Submission of the Year: Vanessa Demopoulos (LFA 85)
• Fight of the Year: Maycon Mendonça vs. Batsumberel Dagvadorj (LFA 96)
• Alum of the Year: Brandon Moreno
• Event of the Year: LFA 80 (Albuquerque, N.M.)
• Photo of the Year: Vince Cachero honoring Kobe Bryant, LFA 81 (Amy Kaplan)

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/video-lfa-winners-2020-awards-knockout-submission-highlights

Another fight has been added to UFC 259.

On March 6, strawweights Livinha Souza and Amanda Lemos will square off at a location and venue to be announced later.

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

Souza (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has won five of her past six fights. A former Invicta FC strawweight champion, Souza has defeated Alex Chambers, Sarah Frota and Ashley Yoder so far in the UFC. Her lone promotional loss was a unanimous decision defeat to Brianna van Buren.

Lemos (8-1-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) rides a two-fight winning streak. Following a TKO defeat to Leslie Smith in her July 2017 promotional debut, Lemos has defeated Miranda Granger and Mizuki Inoue so far in her UFC tenure.

The latest UFC 259 fight card now includes:

• Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya – for light heavyweight title
• Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight title
• Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling – for bantamweight title
• Aleksandar Rakic vs. Thiago Santos
• Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney
• Drew Dober vs. Islam Makhachev
• Askar Askarov vs. Joseph Benavidez
• Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews
• Randy Costa vs. Trevin Jones
• Aalon Cruz vs. Uros Medic
• Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa
• Kyler Phillips vs. Song Yadong
• Amanda Lemos vs. Livinha Souza

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-259-news-livinha-souza-vs-amanda-lemos-fight-booking

By Nolan King |

January 8, 2021 7:45 pm

Questions on your mind about recent happenings in the UFC or sport of MMA in general? MMA Junkie’s Twitter Mailbag is here – and this week, @mma_kings answers:

• How would Conor McGregor fair in a Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch?
• Is Michael Chandler actually Conor McGregor’s “worst nightmare”?
• Could A.J. McKee leave Bellator for the UFC if he wins the final two fights on his contract?
• How would Nick Diaz do in today’s UFC welterweight division?

Watch the video above for answers to those questions.

To ask a question of your own, follow @MMAjunkie on Twitter and let us know.

A.J. McKee, Breaking, Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Michael Chandler, Nick Diaz, video, Bellator, Featured, News, UFC, Videos

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/conor-mcgregor-vs-khabib-nurmagomedov-ufc-rematch-michael-chandler-nick-diaz-twitter-mma

Logan Paul really wishes UFC president Dana White wouldn’t lump him together with his brother when it comes to fight talk.

In recent weeks, Jake Paul has amplified his trash talk aimed at White, former UFC dual champion Conor McGregor, and a host of other MMA standouts – both active and retired – hoping to land a fight with someone. That doesn’t exactly sit well with Logan because, according to him, he’s had a fine relationship with White in the past.

Thanks to Jake’s antics, though, that no longer appears to be the case.

“He pissed off Dana White. (He’s been going) so hard on Dana White, and now Dana has grouped us together – which sucks,” Logan said on his “Impaulsive” podcast. “I love Dana White. I love the UFC. And now Dana’s mad at me because he thinks we’re the same person.”

White has clowned both brothers for believing they’re actual fighters and said he has no desire in doing business with either of the YouTube stars who have transitioned to boxing.

“Neither one of those guys can fight. It’s all a big gimmick,” White said. “Like I said in a (recent) press conference, there’s a market for that. If people are dumb enough to spend their money watching that (expletive), I don’t know what to tell you. Good luck to them.”

Logan, who admits he’d been hoping to fight in the UFC down the line, is disappointed by the ramifications caused by his brother.

“We’re so different. We’re so different,” Logan said. “I love the UFC fights. I want to do a UFC fight one day. I’m not saying now; let me get my skills up. … Dana, take me back. I’m not Jake. Please.”

Logan, 0-1 as a professional boxer after losing to fellow YouTube personality KSI in 2019, is set to face none other than Floyd Mayweather on Feb. 20 in a pay-per-view exhibition. Jake, meanwhile, doesn’t have his next bout secured after pushing his pro record to 2-0 when he knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson this past November.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/logan-paul-to-dana-white-i-love-ufc-im-not-jake