UFC Fight Night 83 adds Michael Bisping vs. Gegard Mousasi UFC officials today announced yesterday a middleweight matchup will take place in London for UFC Fight Night 83 pitting Gegard Mousasi against Michael Bisping. It should be noted Bisping vs. Mousasi has not been confirmed as the main event for that card. Mousasi (37-6-2) is coming off the first knockout loss of his career against Uriah Hall, in a matchup where he was a sizable -350 favorite. Bisping (27-7) was slated to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 193 but had to pull out due to an injury. The TUF 3 champion is coming off a split decision victory over Thales Leites at UFC Fight Night 72. Also added to that Feb. 27th event is a lightweight matchup between Rustam Khabilov (17-3) taking on Norman Parke (21-4-1). While featherweights Makwan Amirkhani (12-2) and Mike Wilkinson (9-1) will also be squaring off on that event. Jocelyn Lybarger signs with the UFC, takes on Tecia Torres at UFC 194 It didn’t take the UFC long to find a replacement for Michelle Waterson at UFC 194. UFC officials announced last week that RFA strawweight champion Jocelyn Lybarger has stepped up to the place to battle Tecia Torres on Dec. 12th. Lybarger (6-1) most recently defeated Zoila Frausto at RFA 31 back in October, which was her fourth win in a row. Torres (6-0) has yet to taste defeat in her professional career however she did lose to Randa Markos and Carla Esparza in exhibition matchups on TUF 20. UFC 194 goes down Dec. 10th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Nathan Coy steps up to fight Danny Roberts at UFC Fight Night 80 An injury to Michael Graves has brought in fellow ATT teammate Nathan Coy to Las Vegas on short notice against Danny Roberts. Coy (14-5) last professional fight was a knockout loss to Adam McDonough at Bellator 116 in April 2014, but went 1-1 in exhibition bouts on TUF 21 losing to Vicente Luque and defeating Valdir Araujo. Roberts (11-1) makes his UFC debut and is currently riding a four-fight win streak. UFC Fight Night 80 takes place Dec. 4th from the The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV. Rizin announces heavyweight tournament The Rizin Fighting Federation announced on Monday the bracket for their heavyweight tournament. The eight-man grand prix will feature former UFC fighter Goran Reljic (15-5) taking on Vadim Nemkov (3-0) while Satoshi Ishii (14-4-1) battles Jiri Prochazka (14-2-1). Also on the card is Teodoras Aukstolos (7-2) vs. Bruno Cappelozza (7-3) and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal against a yet-to-be determined opponent. The tournament takes place on Dec. 29 with it wrapping up Dec. 31. This event will air in North America on Spike TV, and also features the Kazushi Sakuraba taking on Shinya Aoki in a catchweight bout. WSOF 26 adds Nurmagomedov vs. Davis Jr, Dawodu vs Magomedov MMAFighting.com reported Monday that Khabib Nurmagomedov’s brother Abubakar will be taking on Danny Davis Jr. at World Series of Fighting 26 on Dec. 18 in Las Vegas. Nurmagomedov (11-1) is coming off a unanimous decision over Jorge Moreno at WSOF 22, which improved his winning streak to four straight. Davis Jr. (11-9) looks to bounce back from a loss to Matthew Frincu at WSOF 23 back in September. Also on the event Canadian prospect Hakeem Dawodu (5-0) looks to keep his undefeated record in tact when he meets fellow undefeated fighter Marat Magomedov (7-0). Road FC looking to make big offer to Benson Henderson A report from BloodyElbow.com Monday says that Korea based Road FC is looking to sign the former UFC lightweight champion. The article mentions that Road FC will be looking to make a “substantial offer” that is “significantly higher than what he currently earns.” Henderson is coming off a split decision victory this past weekend over Jorge Masvidal at UFC Fight Night 79, which was the last on his UFC contract. Road FC hosts events in Korea, Japan and China. They have had 26 events to date and also have some familiar names on their roster including UFC/Strikeforce veteran Phil Baroni.
