Matchmaker Joe Silva leaving the UFC As first reported by MMA Insider Dizz on Twitter and later confirmed by MMAJunkie, longtime UFC matchmaker Joe Silva will be leaving the Las Vegas based promotion potentially at the end of the year. This comes off the UFC being bought by talent agency WME-IMG. The UFC has not made an official announcement on the matter. Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jorge Masvidal, Marcin Held vs. Diego Sanchez booked for UFC Fight Night 98 UFC officials announced Wednesday that TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum will face Jorge Masvidal at UFC Fight Night 98 in Mexico City. In addition the promotion announced that newly signed lightweight Marcin Held will face TUF 1 winner Diego Sanchez. Gastelum (12-2) heads into this matchup off a decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 200. The 24-year old has gone 2-2 in his last four fights. Masvidal (30-11) snapped a two-fight skid in his last bout earning a decision victory over Ross Pearson at UFC 201. Held (22-4) was signed by the UFC earlier this week and heads into this matchup off a decision win against Dave Jansen at Bellator 155. The 24-year old has won seven of his last eight bouts with his lone loss to UFC lightweight Will Brooks. Sanchez (26-9) suffered the first knockout loss of his career in his last fight against Joe Lauzon at UFC 200. UFC Fight Night 98 takes place at Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City on November 5. Here’s an updated look at the card. Rafael dos Anjos (25-8) vs. Tony Ferguson (21-3) Alexa Grasso (8-0) vs. Heather Jo Clark (7-5) Beneil Dariush (13-2) vs. Rashid Magomedov (19-1) Diego Sanchez (26-9) vs. Marcin Held (22-4) Kelvin Gastelum (12-2) vs. Jorge Masvidal (30-11) UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem fight card finalized. Two rumoured match ups have now been confirmed for UFC 203 as C.B. Dollaway (15-8) moves up to light heavyweight to battle Francimar Barroso (18-5) on the preliminary card. In addition, Yancy Medeiros (12-4) moves up to the welterweight division to battle Sean Spencer (12-5) on the Fight Pass prelims. UFC 203 emanates from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, September 10. Here’s an updated look at the card. Main Card: (PPV – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) Stipe Miocic (15-2) vs. Alistair Overeem (41-14, 1NC) Fabricio Werdum (20-6-1) vs. Travis Browne (18-4-1) CM Punk (0-0) vs. Mickey Gall (2-0) Urijah Faber (33-9) vs. Jimmie Rivera (19-1) Jessica Andrade (14-5) vs. Joanne Calderwood (11-1) Preliminary Card: (FS1 – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) Jessica Eye (11-5, 1NC) vs. Bethe Correia (9-2) Nik Lentz (26-7-2, 1NC) vs. Mairbek Taisumov (26-5) Brad Tavares (13-4) vs. Caio Magalhaes (9-2) Ian McCall (13-5-1) vs. Ray Borg (9-2) Preliminary Card: (UFC Fight Pass – 6:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. PT) Yancy Medeiros (12-4, 1NC) vs. Sean Spencer (12-5) C.B. Dolloway (16-9) vs. Francimar Barroso (18-5) Drew Dober (16-7, 1NC) vs. Jason Gonzalez (10-2) Damir Hadzovic (10-2) vs. Yusuke Kasuya (9-2-2) Michael Chandler vs. Benson Henderson lightweight title fight set for Bellator 164 Bellator announced Wednesday in a press release that lightweight champion Michael Chandler will defend his title against Benson Henderson in November at Bellator 164. Chandler (15-3) defeated Patricky “Pitbull” Freire by knockout to claim the vacant lightweight title at Bellator 157. He heads into this matchup on a three-fight winning streak. Henderson (24-6) defeated Patricio “Pitbull” Freire last Friday night at Bellator 160 and is 3-1 in his last four fights. Bellator 164 takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on November 19th. Here’s an updated look at the card. Michael Chandler (15-3) vs. Benson Henderson (24-6) Michael Page (11-0) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (25-13)
