The two-time judo Olympic gold medalist-turned-undefeated MMA prospect, Kayla Harrison has her next bout scheduled -- Fightful has you covered on this story and a number of other significant bout announcements all in one convenient place.
Kayla Harrison's Next Fight Scheduled
The sixth-degree black belt judoka, Kayla Harrison has her ninth professional MMA bout scheduled for Titan FC's December 17 card, which emanates from Miami, Florida. Harrison (8-0) will face Jozette Cotton (8-2) in a rematch from their first bout back in August 2018 in PFL. Harrison won the last fight via second-round TKO. Harrison is looking to stay undefeated after her dominating performance over Courtney King in Invicta FC, last month.
Here's the official announcement:
Titan FC officials have announced that undefeated mixed martial artist and Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison will face Jozette Cotton at Titan FC 66 on Dec. 17 in Miami, Florida.
Harrison comes to the promotion following a second round win over Courtney King at Invicta FC 43 in November. She remains under contract with the PFL but was granted permission to fight outside the organization after the promotion’s 2020 season was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Harrison won the 2010 World Judo Championships, gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games, and gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games.
The fight against Cotton is a rematch of their 2018 bout under the PFL banner where Harrison won by way of third round TKO.
The Titan FC 66 fight card will close out the 2020 calendar year for the Florida based mixed martial arts promotion.
Bruno Assis (9-5) out of Brazil will meet Jeremiah Holloway (10-4) in a three-round middleweight matchup in the night’s main event. Harrison vs. Cotton will likely serve as the night’s co-main event although the lineup is still be worked out.
The fight card, which will be held at the InterContinental Miami, will be the promotion’s first event with fans in attendance since COVID-19 pandemic regulations were put in place earlier this year. Titan FC 66 will be broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports.
Eddie Wineland vs. John Castaneda Reportedly In the Works
According to MMA Junkie, a bantamweight clash is set to go down at the UFC's February 20 event. Wineland (24-14-1) is coming off of a brutal KO loss to fan-favorite prospect, Sean O'Malley, in June. Castaneda (17-5), lost his promotional debut back in July, when he was on the wrong side of a decision in a short-notice bout against Nathaniel Wood. A location and headliner for the event is yet to be announced.
Tecia Torres vs. Sam Hughes Set For UFC 256
Perennial top-10 UFC Strawweight contender, Tecia Torres is reportedly getting a new opponent for UFC 256, on just days notice. According to Best Fight Picks, "Tiny Tornado" will welcome promotional newcomer, Sam Hughes (5-1) after Torres' original opponent, Angela Hill tested positive for COVID-19, last week.
Torres (11-5), last fought in June, where she snapped a 4-fight skid with a decision victory over Brianna Van Buren. Standing across from Torres at UFC 256, will be Sam Hughes, who is coming off of a viral submission victory over Danielle Hindley at LFA 93, in October.
At the horn!#LFA93 pic.twitter.com/Au8mLX2vjA
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 17, 2020
Adrian Yanez vs. Gustavo Lopez Targeted For UFC's March 20th Event
A pair of Bantamweight prospects are reportedly set to throw down at UFC's March 20th event that has yet to have a location or a headliner announced.
Yanez (12-3), earned a contract with the UFC after a brutal 39-second KO of Brady Huang on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series and followed it up with a vicious 1st round headkick KO of Victor Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 181.
Lopez (12-5), had his promotional debut spoiled by top prospect Merab Dvalishvili, in June, but got back on track with a 1st round submission of Anthony Birchak on November 7th.
MMA Island was the first to report the pairing.
Ramazan Emeev vs David Zawada Official For UFC's January 16th Event
The UFC officially announced that Ramazan Emeev and David Zawada will square-off at the promotion's January 16th event in a welterweight affair.
Emeev (19-4), last fought in July, where he avenged his first UFC loss, with a decision victory over Niklas Stolze on Fight Island. Zawada (17-5), last fought in November 2019, where he earned his first promotional victory after dropping his first 2 fights, when he took less than 2-minutes to submit top prospect, Abubakar Nurmagomedov.
Dwight Grant Tests Positive For COVID-19, UFC 256 Bout Against Li Jingliang Cancelled
The UFC has once again been ravaged by COVID-19 on fight week. This time, a Welterweight bout between Dwight Grant and Li Jingliang has been pulled from the card after Grant announced via Instagram that he tested positive for COVID-19.
The promotion has yet to announce if they'll find a replacement for Jingliang or if the bout will be rescheduled for a later date.
Fabio Aguiar vs Mike Jasper Scrapped From Bellator 254
According to MMA Junkie, a Middleweight bout between Fabio Aguiar (17-1) and Mike Jasper (13-6) has been pulled off of the Bellator 254 card, slated for December 10. It's reported that neither the promotion nor the fighters have made a statement on why the bout has been pulled from the card.
Former UFC Veteran, Artem Lobov's MMA Return Nixed Due To COVID-19 Outbreak
Fan-favorite and one of Conor McGregor's closest friends, Artem Lobov was scheduled to make his MMA return with Arena Fighting Championships on December 10th, however, those plans have been nixed because of a COVID-19 outbreak among the promotion's staff and officials.
Here's a statement from the promotion sent to the fighters and media (via MMA Junkie):
“This postponement follows the detection last weekend of six COVID-19 cases, which spread among the teams of the group,” the memo read. “However, for obvious health and ethical reasons, we took the difficult decision to postpone AFC2 in order to avoid exposing you, your coaches, relatives, and families. Indeed, we currently have about 20 positive cases within the organization."
“We are fully aware of the efforts you have made in preparing for your respective fights, and we thank you for this," the statement continued. "These are sacrifices that few of us are capable of making. It is precisely this that pushes us to roll up our sleeves so that we can offer you a later date to put the gloves back on and turn the page on this year 2020, which was difficult for everyone.”
Full list of fight announcements:
Kayla Harrison (8-0) vs. Jozette Cotton (8-2) - Titan FC 66 - Dec. 17 - women's lightweight
Eddie Wineland (24-14-1) vs. John Castaneda (17-5) - UFC Fight Night - Feb. 20 - lightweight
Tecia Torres (11-5) vs. Sam Hughes (5-0) - UFC 256 - Dec. 12 - women's strawweight
Adrian Yanez (12-3) vs. Gustavo Lopez (12-5) - UFC Fight Night - March 20 - bantamweight
Ramazan Emeev (19-4) vs David Zawada (17-5) - UFC Fight night - Jan. 16 - welterweight
Jimmy Flick (15-5) vs. Cody Durden (11-2-1) - UFC Vegas 17 - Dec. 19 - flyweight
Talia Santos (16-1) vs. Gillian Robertson (9-4) - UFC Vegas 17 - Dec. 19 - flyweight
Shana Dobson (4-4) vs. Casey O'Neill (5-0) - UFC Fight Night - Feb. 20 - flyweight
Tom Breese (12-2) vs. Omari Akhmedov (20-5-1) - UFC Fight Night - Jan. 16 - middleweight
Dominick Cruz (22-3) vs. Casey Kenney (16-2-1) - UFC 259 - March 9 - bantamweight
Bella Mir (1-0) vs. Alma Cespedes (0-2) - iKon Fighting Federation 4 - Dec. 12 - featherweight
Adriano Moraes (18-3) vs. Demetrious Johnson (30-3-1) - ONE Big Bang - Feb. 24 - flyweight title
Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (no. 5) vs Geoff Neal (no. 11) – UFC Vegas 17 – Dec. 19 - welterweight
Anthony Pettis (no. 12) (23-10) vs Alex Morono (18-6) - UFC Vegas 17 - Dec. 19 – welterweight
Hideo Tokoro vs Shinobu Ota - RIZIN 26 - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - Dec. 31
Ayaka Hamasaki (c) vs Miyuu Yamamoto - RIZIN 26 - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - Dec. 31 - atomweight
Kanna Asakura vs Ai Shimizu - RIZIN 26 - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - Dec. 31 - atomweight
Yuki Motoya vs Naoki Inoue - RIZIN 26 - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - Dec. 31 - bantamweight
Ren Hiramoto vs Kyohei Hagiwara - RIZIN 26 - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - Dec. 31 - 150-pound catchweight
Sudario Tsuyoshi vs Ikuhisa Minowa - RIZIN 26 - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - Dec. 31 - heavyweight
Ulka Sasaki vs Kenta Takizawa - RIZIN 26 - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan - Dec. 31 - bantamweight
Hafþór ‘The Mountain’ Björnsson vs Steven Ward – MTK Global – Jan. 16 - exhibition bout
Sabina Mazo (9-1) vs Alexis Davis (19-10) - UFC Fight Night - Feb. 27 - womens bantamweight
Max Griffin (16-8) vs Song Kenan (16-5) - UFC Fight Night - Mar. 20 - welterweight
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