Newly crowned Cage Warriors featherweight champion Morgan Charriere will look to kick off his year with a win when he puts his title on the line at Cage Warriors 122.

Frenchman Charriere (16-7) will take on England’s Jordan Vucenic (7-1) in the main event of the show, which forms the third leg of the promotion’s latest “Trilogy” series. Cage Warriors 120, 121, and 122 will take place from Jan. 18-20 at the York Hall in London. The events will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass.

Charriere captured the vacant 145-pound title with a third-round body-shot knockout of England’s Perry Goodwin in the main event of Cage Warriors 119 in London in December, while Vucenic earned his shot at the new champ by edging out previously-undefeated Irish contender Paul Hughes via split decision on the same card. Now the pair will face off for the title on Jan. 20.

“Welcome to my era,” said Charriere, via press release. “As a champion, I will always defend against the number one contender. I am ready to show again why I am one of the best featherweights in the world. This belt ain’t going anywhere.”

Ahead of his first title shot with Cage Warriors, Vucenic hailed the promotion for helping him develop as a fighter and evolve to the point that he can now challenge for the title.

“It was one of my main dreams when starting the sport, and it’s been an amazing show to work with and grow as a fighter,” he said. “No easy fights.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/cage-warriors-122-morgan-charriere-to-face-jordan-vucenic-in-first-featherweight-title-defense

Though it has been slow to materialize, 2021 might be the year that we finally see the Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal showdown.

In a QA on ESPN+, a fan asked UFC president Dana White, “Who do you think is the best next opponent for Jorge Masvidal?”

White was quick to respond.

“Well, the fight that we love and that I think everybody loves is the Colby Covington fight,” he said. “I think that’s the fight that everybody wants to see.”

Covington and Masvidal have been on a collision course since the former teammates, roommates and even close friends’ relationship turned sour.

Many fans who do not have the behind-the-scenes info on these best friends turned mortal enemies wonder how tensions escalated so quickly. 

In an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani prior to UFC 244, Masvidal provided insight as to why his former friend fell out of his good graces. 

The BMF champ pointed to Covington’s online antics. More specifically, Masvidal was disgruntled with “Chaos” bringing his name up publicly during one of the number one contender’s common tangents. 

“Knowing that he’d take to the internet or online to bash me when I had never bashed him,” Masvidal said. “Whether it be for a Facebook like, or maybe he’s gonna get 10 more pay-per-view buys when we do fight. If you would sell out our friendship like that so quick, we never had a friendship.”

Fast forward to 2021, both are now top five contenders with a bout between the two appearing to be imminent, according to White.

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In a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Covington claims Masvidal is ducking him.

“Where’s he at now guys? Now he’s nowhere to be found,” Covington said. “Now he’s gonna get paid seven figures. He’s gonna get paid all this money to go fight in the octagon, and now he’s gonna have someone to pay his hospital bills, the UFC after I’m done with him.”

Regardless of Masvidal’s current whereabouts, White appears to be keen on making this bout official in the very near future.

“We’ll see how this thing plays out,” White said. “Hopefully we can get that done in the next few months.”h

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-targeting-colby-covington-vs-jorge-masvidal-in-2021

UFC bantamweight fighter Irwin Rivera has been arrested. He has been charged with two counts of First Degree Murder.

MMAWeekly.com confirmed that Rivera was arrested and booked on Thursday in Palm Beach, Fla., following a report by MMA Fighting.

Though Palm Beach officers did not respond to requests for information pertaining to Rivera’s case, My MMA News report Eric Kowal reported that Rivera allegedly stabbed his two sisters.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated Rivera was facing first-degree murder charges. It was based on erroneous information in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office online arrest records.

UFC bantamweight Irwin Rivera is facing charges on two counts of attempted murder after he was arrested and jailed Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla.

According to an ESPN report, Rivera was taken jailed just after noon ET on Thursday after being apprehended by the Boynton Beach Police Department. MMA reporter Eric Kowal   initially broke the news.

According to an incident report obtained by ESPN, Rivera’s two sisters, age 22 and 33, were discovered with multiple stab wounds. The younger sister had wounds on her back, head, and arm, while the older sister had wounds on her back, face, arms, and hands. They were rushed to a local hospital and are alive.

When police made contact with Rivera, per the report, Rivera told the police he “killed my sisters” and that he did so for a “higher power.”

In a statement provided to MMA Fighting, the UFC said it was aware of the situation after Rivera’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, made promotion officials aware of potential “mental health issues.”

“UFC is aware of the recent incident involving Irwin Rivera and subsequently received information from his management that he has been exhibiting behavior consistent with mental health issues,” the statement read. “The allegations are extremely troubling, and the organization is currently gathering additional information. The investigation is ongoing and any potential next steps, including disciplinary action or medical attention, will be determined upon the conclusion. Furthermore, UFC has informed Rivera’s management that he will not be offered a bout at this time.”

Rivera, who made his UFC debut last year and went 1-2 with the promotion, most recently dropped a split decision to Andre Ewell last September at UFC Fight Night 178.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-fighter-irwin-rivera-attempted-murder-charges-florida

“What’chu gonna to do when PVZ runs wild on you, brother?”

OK, Paige VanZant hasn’t actually cut a promo imitating Hulk Hogan, but she may as well have after the official announcement of her first fight in Bare Knuckle FC.

As first surfaced last week, the former UFC star will make her debut against Britain Hart on Feb. 5. Now we have a venue – RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Fla. — and a name. While previous BKFC events have used a numbered convention, this one will be called “Knucklemania.”

“Since we signed Paige Van Zant in August it’s been the talk of the combat sports world,” BKFC president David Feldman said in a statement. “We’re very excited to announce her BKFC debut against a very tough fighter, Britain Hart, headlining our biggest event of the year, ‘Knucklemania,’ on February 5 in Lakeland, two nights before the Super Bowl in nearby Tampa.”

Two more fights were announced for the card featuring names familiar to MMA fans: “The Ultimate Fighter 1” veteran Chris Leben will fight Quinten Henry at 205 pounds, and “Brutal” Johnny Bedford takes on Dat Nguyen for the BKFC bantamweight title.

Fans will be admitted to the event, with a press release stating COVID-19 protocols, include social distancing, will be implemented.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/paige-vanzant-bare-knuckle-fc-debut-knucklemania