USADA made the announcement on Wednesday.

Ivanov (19-7) tested positive for an anabolic agent on an out-of-competition test taken on March 28, 2024, per USADA officials. Officials cited Ivanov’s cooperation for the reduced sanction which began on March 28.

He will be eligible to compete in January 2026.

Ivanov made his PFL debut in April where he dropped a decision to Sergey Bilostenniy at PFL 1: 2024 Regular Season. He signed with PFL following an 8-fight run with the UFC where he put together a record of 3-5.

During his time with the UFC he earned victories over Ben Rothwell, Tai Tuivasa, and Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Other names he fought include former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, Derrick Lewis, and Marcin Tybura.

This is not his first stint with PFL, formerly known as the World Series of Fighting (WSOF). He fought for WSOF from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that he fought for Bellator 5 times including a loss to Alexander Volkov and a win over Lavar Johnson both UFC veterans.

PFL has not announced whether Ivanov will remain on the roster, but with a 22-month suspension it’s tough to see him continuing under their banner.

The post Blagoy Ivanov Suspended 22 Months Due To Failed Drug Test appeared first on Cageside Press.

The addition of the women’s 125lb weight class to the PFL tournament replaces the featherweight division, where Larissa Pacheco had won it all last year.

In Thursday night’s main event, former PFL heavyweight champ and Mirko Cro-Cop student Ante Delija returned, taking on Fedor Team’s Valentin Moldavsky, a former Bellator MMA heavyweight champion. Two big storylines encircled the bout: the arrival of Bellator talent to the PFL season, leading to unquestionably deeper divisions this year, and the rivalry between Fedor Emelianenko’s team and that of Cro-Cop, something Moldavsky downplayed during Fight Week.

Also on the PFL 1 card, Bellator champ Liz Carmouche kicked off her season against an old foe in Juliana Velasquez, while UFC alum Marcelo Golm faced Bellator staple Daniel James, who came in heavy for the bout, costing himself a point, plus 20% fine. Shanna Young, paired up with Kana Watanabe, was also heavy for the event.

Where to Watch PFL 1: Delija vs. Moldavsky

Thursday, April 4, 2024 sees PFL 1 take place at the Boeing Center in San Antonio, Texas. The card airs live on ESPN2 and ESPN+ in the US, and on DAZN in Canada. Full results from the event can be found below. The action gets underway at 6:30PM ET, 3:30PM PT.

2024 PFL 1 Results

Main Card

Heavyweight Regular Season Main Event: Valentin Moldavsky def. Ante Delija by TKO, Round 1, 2:17
Heavyweight Regular Season Co-Main Event: Denis Goltsov def. Linton Vassell by TKO, Round 3, 3:11
Women’s Flyweight Regular Season Bout: Liz Carmouche def. Juliana Velasquez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Women’s Flyweight Regular Season Bout: Dakota Ditcheva def. Lisa Mauldin by TKO, Round 3:54

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight Regular Season Bout: Daniel James def. Marcelo Golm by TKO, Round 1, 4:59
Heavyweight Regular Season Bout: Sergey Bilostenniy def. Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Women’s Flyweight Regular Season Bout: Taila Santos def. Ilara Joanne by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:57
Heavyweight Regular Season Bout: Oleg Popov def. Steve Mowry by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 2, 3:47
Women’s Flyweight Regular Season Bout: Kana Watanabe def. Shanna Young by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Women’s Flyweight Regular Season Bout: Jena Bishop def. Chelsea Hackett by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 4:25
Featherweight: Dimitre Ivy def. Lucas Brennan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Bryce Meredith def. Ty Johnson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post 2024 PFL 1: Delija vs. Moldavsky Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ivanov (19-6, 1NC) was a champ in the WSOF, a precursor to the modern Professional Fighters League. Ivanov admits “the organization looks different [from] back in the day,” he said this week, “but we’ll see on the event. I’m happy to be here.”

Speaking during the PFL 1 media day, Ivanov spoke with Cageside Press about the opportunity ahead of him as he joins the promotion’s million dollar tournament.

“I’m very happy to be in this tournament. Right now, it’s one of the biggest tournaments, and a very good prize, the money,” he stated. “It’s a very good opportunity right now for me. And every MMA fighter. It’s one of the best tournaments.”

Paired up with Bellator alum Sergey Bilostenniy, former UFC fighter Ivanov summed up his opponent. “He’s a tough guy. He’s younger than me, he moves a lot. I watched a couple of his fights, and I think I can beat him.”

Ivanov no doubt feels he can beat anyone. He’s fought in all of the modern MMA powerhouses, from the WSOF to Bellator to the UFC and now PFL. Joe Rogan has called Blagoy Ivanov one of the toughest men on the planet; after all, he has survived any number of fights in the cage plus being stabbed in the chest, left for dead in a three-month coma.

So who has Ivanov’s toughest opponent been? “Man I’ve been to a lot of fights. I’ve fought the top 10 people. In heavyweight, everybody’s tough,” he said simply.

Watch the full PFL 1 media day appearance by Blagoy Ivanov above.

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The fight began with Romanov looking to cut off the cage and put Ivanov on the back foot. A minute went by in the fight and not a single strike had been thrown, showcasing just how this fight was going to go. Around one minute and 15 seconds in, the first strike of the fight was thrown and it was Romanov who tried to land the big over-hand left.

Blagoy Ivanov began to work on his counter-striking and was able to land a counter left hook to the body of Romanov. With just over two minutes left, Romanov attempted a level change but Ivanov was wise to it and stuffed the takedown with complete ease. Ivanov landed a big 1-2 down the pipe moments after with that being clearly the biggest moment of the fight to that point. Alexandr Romanov looked to begin landing the low calf kick but as he stepped in to land it, he found himself getting hit with counters. With just under 10 seconds left of the round, Romanov clinched up and pushed Blagoy back against the cage, marking the end of the first five minutes.

With the first round being relatively close to call, both fighters came into round two knowing they’d need to up their output. Romanov was the one who was clearly trying to lead the dance and make this his fight, but Ivanov was the one who seemed to be landing more frequently with his counter strikes. A double jab landed for Ivanov as Alexandr looked to once again land his low kick. Similarly to round one, both fighters were relatively passive through the second round, but with just over one minute left, Romanov landed a 1-2 of his own that backed Ivanov up. From there Romanov was able to secure himself a takedown where he controlled for the rest of the round, where he was able to inflict a small amount of damage.

As a result of Romanov’s ground-and-pound, Ivanov’s left eye began swelling and looked slightly compromised. Ivanov’s heart is something that is never in question though and he was able to make it to the final round. The first few shots Romanov threw in the opening moments of round three were the calf kicks as they clearly seemed to compromise the 36-year-old. The two big hitters began to let their hands go with them both landing big punches as they both seemed to tire. Ivanov’s counter striking continued to play a part and present Romanov with something to think about, but it wasn’t enough to halt the forward pressure of Romanov. With just over a minute to go the two began just trading leather in the centre of the Octagon, something we didn’t expect coming into this matchup. Ivanov’s left eye looked increasingly compromised. Again at the end of the round, Romanov landed himself another takedown looking to finish the fight on top and in a dominant position.

Official Result: Alexandr Romanov def. Blagoy Ivanov via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Blagoy Ivanov (19-5, 1NC) will face Alexandr Romanov (16-2) at the event, in a match-up first reported by MMA Junkie.

Romanov confirmed the booking on his Instagram story on Thursday.

Moldova’s Romanov will be looking to snap a two-fight skid come July, having dropped his last two fights against Marcin Tybura and Alexander Volkov. Those setbacks represent the first two losses of Romanov’s career, after amassing a 16-0 run to start his fighting journey.

Romanov is currently ranked #14 in the division, with Ivanov one spot behind him in the #15 position. A former Bellator MMA heavyweight tournament finalist, Ivanov would go on to win heavyweight gold in the World Series of Fighting, later holding that same title when the promotion became the PFL.

Bulgaria’s Ivanov joined the UFC in 2018, losing his debut against Junior Dos Santos. He’s 3-4 inside the octagon to date, and coming off a loss of his own against Tybura.

The UFC’s July 1, 2023 Fight Night card currently features the following reported match-ups:

• Sean Strickland vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
• Ariane Lipski vs. Melissa Gatto
• Joanderson Brito vs. Khusein Askhabov
• Ismael Bonfim vs. Benoît Saint-Denis
• Jordan Leavitt vs. Elves Brenner
• Ivana Petrovic vs. Luana Carolina
• Max Griffin vs. Michael Morales
• Grant Dawson vs. Damir Ismagulov
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Brunno Ferreira
• Kevin Lee vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
• Alexandr Romanov vs. Blagoy Ivanov

The post Blagoy Ivanov vs. Alexandr Romanov Heavyweight Bout Set for July 1 Apex Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

As for the main card action, two finishes, an unfortunate draw, and a disappointing main event left plenty of fans yawning as it wrapped up early Sunday morning. What comes next for the night’s losing fighters? Here’s a look.

Derrick Lewis

“The Black Beast” suffered his third straight loss in bizarre fashion at UFC Vegas 68. Bizarre, because he seemingly unleashed zero offense, was ragdolled by Serghei Spivac, and submitted for just the second time of his career.

Not to take anything away from Spivac, but Lewis looked to be in great shape ahead of this fight, which many saw as a favorable match-up. It wasn’t so. Lewis, infamously able to just “stand up” from takedowns, did make it back to his feet, only to be dragged down repeatedly. Lewis looked exhausted by the time he finally tapped, just over three minutes into the opening round.

UFC President Dana White said during Saturday’s post-fight press conference that Lewis isn’t going anywhere. The UFC’s knockout leader remains a popular figure — but was actually less competitive than 46-year old Fedor Emelianenko, who was beat into retirement by Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 the same night. Let that sink in.

Lewis is out of the title picture for the foreseeable future after losses to Spivac, Sergei Pavlovich, and Tai Tuivasa — all finishes. You can probably position him as a gatekeeper for a while longer, but Lewis needs a win.

Without booking a rematch, the best option for Lewis now might be Jair Rozenstruik. Yes, Lewis is on a skid and “Bigi Boy” is coming off a win, but the fight is big enough to do away with the loser gets loser, winner gets winner format. It’s a fun striking match-up with little chance of anything more than minimal amounts of grappling.

Lewis’ next fight: Jair Rozenstruik

Da Un Jung

Devin Clark vs. Da Un Jung was a co-main event for the UFC in 2023. Yes, UFC Vegas 68 was geared towards the Asian market, hence the late start time (the UFC cancelled a previously announced event for Seoul, South Korea when The Korean Zombie suffered an injury). That’s still, with no disrespect to the athletes involved, an iffy co-feature by UFC standards.

For Devin Clark, he made the most of the opportunity, earning his second win in three fights with a unanimous decision victory.

That leaves Jung looking to bounce back. Nicolae Negumereanu has a nearly identical record to Jung in the UFC, the only difference being a draw on the South Korean’s part. Both men are coming off losses.

Jung’s next fight: Nicolae Negumereanu

Blagoy Ivanov

Polish heavyweight Marcin Tybura has been one of the most consistent UFC heavyweights over the past few years. Tybura’s footwork, angles, and stance switches at UFC Vegas 68 showed how far he has come as a fighter. Blagoy Ivanov just couldn’t close the distance consistently enough to make anything major happen.

Ivanov, a former WSOF/PFL heavyweight champ who went to the finals of Bellator’s Season 10 heavyweight tournament, has been anything but consistent since joining the UFC. He’s 1-3 in his last four and 3-4 overall. Ranked #15, he may very well lose that number when the rankings next update.

Canada’s Tanner Boser is also 1-3 in his last four. Both men have over 25 fights, both need to get back in the win column. Boser doesn’t have a fight booked, so we’ll give him the nod.

Ivanov’s next fight: Tanner Boser

Yusaku Kinoshita

Yusaku Kinoshita as the next big Japanese talent? Fugitt about it. Adam Fugitt was the underdog against the debuting Contender Series alum, and proved a lot of doubters wrong by earning a TKO finish care of some nasty elbows in the opening round.

All is not lost for Kinoshita, but it’s clear the UFC had high hopes for the welterweight, putting him on a main card in his promotional debut.

The move now is to either give Kinoshita a debuting fighter, or else match him up with someone who entered the UFC recently. The loser of the upcoming AJ Fletcher vs. Themba Gorimbo fight could work.

Kinoshita’s next fight: newcomer or Fletcher vs. Gorimbo loser

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 68 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Both men were looking to build on single victories secured in their last outing.

Tybura went right after Ivanov’s legs early, while working his jab. Ivanov nearly caught a body kick, but at least some of that hit the mark. Tybura continued to attack that leg, working from outside — but Ivanov showed some quick hands, backing Tybura up to the fence. Tybura continued to work his kicks, but the hands of Ivanov were making him hesitant when closing the distance. Tybura would end off the round with another kick to the body.

Tybura continued to work from range early in round two. The Polish heavyweight showed some stance switches and decent mobility for his size. A Tybura kick strayed low partway through the round, but Ivanov’s thigh thankfully ate most of the impact. He didn’t take much time to recover.

In the final 90 seconds, Ivanov went on the attack, and had Tybura off-balance, but he recovered. Tybura continued to work outside, giving different looks, entering at angles and switching stances. Ivanov ripped the body, adding a new wrinkle to his game plan.

In round three, Tybura came out and immediately landed a takedown, catching Ivanov by surprise. That was the start of a grappling-heavy round that saw Marcin Tybura in the driver’s seat for essentially the entire five minutes. At times, he got hooks in, with Ivanov briefly giving up his back, or Tybura simply finding ways to take it. Each time, Ivanov was able to roll, scramble, or turn out, until the final 90 seconds, where Tybura got both hooks in and maintained control for a good chunk. While he could never find the finish, Tybura dominated the final frame, and took the fight on the scorecards.

Unanimous for @MarcinTybura! He makes it 2 in a row with the W at #UFCVegas68 👏 pic.twitter.com/KH0cebaN1s

— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2023

Official Result: Marcin Tybura def. Blagoy Ivabov by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Vegas 68: Marcin Tybura Shows Diverse Skillset, Claims Decision Over Blagoy Ivanov appeared first on Cageside Press.

Showing little in the way of ring rust, Ivanov went toe-to-toe with hard-hitting Brazilian Marcos Rogerio de Lima, who was coming in off a finish of “Big” Ben Rothwell. Despite eating some seriously heavy punches, Ivanov’s chin proved up to the task.

“It’s a good question, yeah,” Ivanov said when asked backstage whether he had the toughest chin in MMA. It’s an even more interesting question when you consider Ivanov has gone the distance with Rothwell, Derrick Lewis, Junior Dos Santos, and other heavy hitters. “I think they have a few more heavyweights that have never been down, like Francis [Ngannou]. But yeah, my chin is good.”

It was, and so was Ivanov, who had Lima hurt at times in the fight. He improved his record to 19-4, 1NC, and told media outlets including Cageside Press that he felt good following the bout.

“I feel good. It was a tough fight. I was [out] like two years [on a] layoff, it’s a good comeback. Rogerio, he’s a tough guy,” said Ivanov. As to why he’d been laid up so long, “I got some injuries I had to fix,” he stated. “This is why. Right now I’m on the right track, and I have to just keep going.”

That said, Ivanov does want a bit of time off after his latest win, which snapped a two-fight skid. “I want to do some vacationing right now. I started preparing for this fight like December, so I need a little break. In three months, I think I’m going to be good.”

Watch the full UFC 274 post-fight press scrum with Blagoy Ivanov above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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Ivanov found himself in a precarious position to start the night, looking to stave off the surging Brazilian and hold on to his #15 spot in the rankings. But by the end of fifteen minutes, his spot was secure.

Both fighters took the center of the octagon after a touch of gloves.  A Head kick from Lima opened up the fight, followed by a body kick. Lima kicked Ivanov below the belt less than a minute it, and received a “hard warning” from the ref.

The fight restarted, and Ivanov charged Lima, landing a punch. Lima swung wildly, almost landing with a hook. Near the three-minute mark, Lima landed an uppercut followed with a hook. Lima landed a nasty combo to Ivanov’s body and head. Less than a minute left, Ivanov caught a kick and put Lima against the fence for 10 seconds. Lima reversed and escaped. The round ended with both fights landing a punch right as the horn sounded.

Round two started with a high kick from Lima. Ivanov put Lima against the fence 30 seconds into the round. Lima eventually reversed and escaped. Lima landed another hard combo, and then Ivanov answered with a short left hand that stumbled Lima. Ivanov put Lima against the fence again. Both fighters exchanged combos, and then Ivanov landed a 1-2 that hurt Lima. Lima answered back with a punch, and then Ivanov put him against the fence. Less than a minute left, and both fighters got back to the center of the octagon but not for long as Ivanov put him against the fence yet again to end the round.

Round three started with Ivanov landing a body shot, and Lima answered with a few jabs. Ivanov landed a left hand which forced Lima to clinch. About three and a half minutes left,  and Ivanov grabbed Lima’s head for a choke but nothing came of it. The referee broke the clinch and brought them back to center. Lima put Ivanov against the fence, and then Ivanov reversed it. Both fighters took the center of the octagon with less than two minutes remaining, and Lima landed a few flush punches, but Ivanov ate all of them. Ivanov put Lima against the fence again. Lima landed a massive takedown – picking Ivanov off his feet to end the fight.

It was Ivanov, however, who left with his hand raised, snapping the win streak of Brazil’s “Pezao.”

Official Result: Blagoy Ivanov def. Marcos Rogério de Lima by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC 274: Sturdy Blagoy Ivanov Snaps Marcos Rogério de Lima’s Streak appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ivanov (18-4, 1NC) has been booked opposite Brazilian heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima (19-7-1) at the PPV event. BJPenn.com was first to report the pairing, which Rogerio de Lima later confirmed on social media.

When last he competed, Ivanov, a former WSOF heavyweight champion, dropped a split decision against Augusto Sakai. That marked Ivanov’s second straight split decision loss; the other came against Derrick Lewis. Prior to those setbacks, he’d picked up back-to-back wins against Ben Rothwell and Tai Tuivasa.

Ivanov missed all of 2021; by the time he returns, he’ll be just weeks shy of a full two years on the sidelines.

Rogerio de Lima competed twice last year, winning both fights. “Pezao” first took a decision victory against Maurice Greene, then finished “Big” Ben Rothwell via TKO in November.

UFC 274 is set to take place on May 7, 2022 — and while originally targeted for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that is expected to shift. Two title fights top the card: Glover Teixeira will defend his light heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka, while Charles Oliveira puts his lightweight belt on the line against Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje. The card currently features the following reported bouts:

• Glover Teixeira (c) vs. Jiří Procházka – for the UFC light heavyweight championship
• Charles Oliveira (c) vs. Justin Gaethje – for the UFC lightweight championship
• Macy Chiasson vs. Norma Dumont
• Ariane Carnelossi vs. Lupita Godinez
• Blagoy Ivanov vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima

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