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

Tatiana Suarez has a timeline in mind for her return to the octagon.

Suarez, an undefeated strawweight contender and winner of Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” hasn’t seen action since June 2019 due to a lingering neck injury.

Prior to the layoff, Suarez  (8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) was trending toward a title fight at 115 pounds after beating Nina Ansaroff, former champ Carla Esparza and Alexa Grasso.

UFC president Dana White recently revealed she’s on the comeback trail.

“She hit me up the other day,” White said on an ESPN+ fan QA with Laura Sanko. “Her neck is much better. She’s looking to come back soon. She’s scary.”

When contacted about White’s comments, Suarez confirmed her conversation with the UFC’s head honcho. However, she said her neck isn’t yet 100 percent, and it will likely stretch her break between fights into the range of two years before being completely ready.

“Yes, my team and I are thinking summer,” Suarez told MMA Junkie. “At first I thought spring, but I want to make sure my neck will make it through a camp before committing to a fight. I tried to spar and my neck hurt after a few rounds so I cut the session. But, slowly but surely I’m introducing live training back in.”

Suarez, 30, is No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie strawweight rankings, despite the time off between fights.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-news-tuf-winner-tatiana-suarez-return-neck-injury-summer

In a matchup between two undefeated prospects, Punahele Soriano isn’t putting any pressure on himself.

Soriano (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) faces Dusko Todorovic (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on Jan. 16 at UFC Fight Night on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.

Someone’s zero on their unblemished record will have to go, but for Soriano, the performance is the only thing that matters.

“I never really put much emphasis into being undefeated,” Soriano told MMA Junkie Radio. “Of course it’s great, but I’ve lost so many times in my athletic career, wrestling in high school and wrestling in college. I lost probably 100 times maybe, I don’t know. But I can lose just as good as I can win. I’ll take it on the chin, but I’m here to win. I go out there to break guys, put the gas pedal on, and every fight I’m here to win.”

He continued, “I feel like I’m kind of in the middle. I don’t necessarily think ‘Oh, it’s gonna happen,’ and I don’t think ‘I gotta stay undefeated.’ I’m in the middle. I just focus on my training, make sure I’m the best fighter I’m gonna be for that date. I just feel that, as long as come fight day, I’m the man that day, nothing else matters.”

Since punching his ticket to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, Soriano picked up a first-round knockout of Oskar Piechota later that year in December. However, a few injuries put a brief halt on his momentum, sidelining him for all of 2020.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-news-punahele-soriano-not-focused-on-undefeated-record

By MMA Junkie Radio |

January 7, 2021 10:45 am

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will be live on SportsCastr beginning at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

On Episode 3,120, the guys will be joined by guest Eric Nicksick, the co-winner of MMA Junkie’s 2020 Coach of the Year award. They’ll also discuss the latest MMA news and notes.

Breaking, video, MMA Junkie Radio, News, Radio

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/coach-of-year-winner-eric-nicksick-ufc-bellator-mma-junkie-radio-live-stream