MMA Fighting was first to report the news, which was confirmed Thursday by ONE Championship officials. In place of Fernandes vs. Lineker, the interim heavyweight title fight between Anatoly Malykhin and Kirill Grishenko has been promoted to the card’s main event slot.

Bad Blood takes place Friday, February 11, 2022 in Singapore.

Lineker addressed the situation on Instagram, stating that the plan was to reschedule the bout. It’s the second time the bantamweight pair have seen their fight pushed back: the original plan was for the fight to be part of ONE X in December. However, rising COVID-19 cases saw the entire event rescheduled; it now takes place in March.

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Lineker (34-9) has won all three of his fights since joining ONE Championship in 2019. He has long been on a collision course with Fernandes (24-4), one of the lost-serving members of the ONE Championship roster. A former DREAM bantamweight and featherweight champ, Fernandes joined ONE in 2012, and is on his second stint as champ in the promotion.

The updated Bad Blood card now breaks down as follows:

Main Card

Anatoly Malykhin vs. Kirill Grishenko – for the ONE Championship Interim Heavyweight World Title
Jonathan Haggerty vs. Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy – Muay Thai
Chen Rui vs. Mark Abelardo
Mei Yamaguchi vs. Jihin Radzuan
Yodkaikaew Fairtex vs. Woo Sung Hoon
Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke vs. Danial Williams

Lead Card

Dustin Joynson vs. Hugo Cunha
Lin Heqin vs. Bi Nguyen
Thomas Narmo vs. Odie Delaney
Sunoto vs. Tial Thang

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MMA Junkie was first to report the development, which was later confirmed by Henry himself. The move comes as a result of Henry testing positive for COVID-19.

A subsequent report by Ag.Fight later suggested that the fight had been moved to January 15, 2022 — the first UFC card of the new year. The promotion has yet to officially announce the date.

Victor Henry (21-5) had been expected to make his promotional debut in the fight, stepping up on short notice. A student of Josh Barnett, Henry has put his time in on the regional scene and in Japan, where he competed for DEEP, Pancrase, and RIZIN.

Raoni Barcelos (16-2) was looking to bounce back from his first loss inside the octagon, against Timur Valiev earlier this year. That will have to wait at least a few more weeks.

The UFC Vegas 45 card moves forward with the following bouts:

Derrick Lewis vs Chris Daukaus
Stephen Thompson vs Belal Muhammad
Amanda Lemos vs Angela Hill
Raphael Assunção vs Ricky Simón
Carlos Diego Ferreira vs Mateusz Gamrot
Cub Swanson vs Darren Elkins
Dustin Stoltzfus vs Gerald Meerschaert
Justin Tafa vs Harry Hunsucker
Sijara Eubanks vs Melissa Gatto
Charles Jourdain vs Andre Ewell
Raquel Pennington vs Macy Chiasson
Don’Tale Mayes vs Josh Parisian
Jordan Leavitt vs Matt Sayles

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White, 52, revealed the news on The Jim Rome Podcast on Wednesday. Members of White’s immediate family have tested positive as well.

The longtime UFC chief told Rome on episode #200 of the podcast that he believed he’d contracted the virus while visiting family in Maine for Thanksgiving. “Somebody up there had it. And we get back, and we all tested positive for COVID. Literally the whole family. And my family up in Maine too. So other than that, everybody’s awesome.”

This past Sunday, White explained, he realized he had lost his sense of smell. His first call, he said, was to Joe Rogan. Rogan advised White to get tested as soon as he got up the following morning, and recommended monoclonal antibodies and an NAD drip. White did all of it.

White also revealed that he was fully vaccinated, but contracted the disease regardless. He’s now isolating, but stated that by Tuesday, his sense of taste and smell had returned. “Could not feel better. Feel like a million bucks. I’m doing two-a-day workouts by the way too, for the next 10 days, while I have COVID and I’m quarantined.”

As to why he called Rogan first? White explained that “I’m vaccinated. It’s not like I’m some crazy anti-vaxx conspiracy theorist or any of that stuff. But Rogan is a very brilliant guy, very smart guy who talks to the best and the brightest out there.”

White continued by saying that he’s not “a believer in the narrative, but at the end of the day, Jim, this is a free country. What happens is, if you get this stuff, they tell you ‘stay home for the next 10 days until you don’t test positive.’ That doesn’t seem smart to me. Again, just like when we went through COVID, I believe in finding solutions to problems and answers. Rogan has worked with over 30 or 40 people who have done this, and he swears by this. And he’s a good friend of mine that I’ve known for over 20 years, so I believe in what he’s saying. The things that he explained to me on how these things work made sense to me.”

The UFC is in action this weekend in Las Vegas, with the Apex hosting UFC Vegas 44 on Saturday. Based on White’s quarantine requirement, it seems unlikely he’ll be in attendance.

The post UFC President Dana White Tests Positive for COVID-19, Reveals He Was Vaccinated appeared first on Cageside Press.

The 39-year old UFC legend and Hall of Fame member (in the Fight Wing, for his bout with Clay Guida) previously revealed he had been battling the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. While things were initially looking up, in a new post to social media, Sanchez revealed that he was dealing with low oxygen levels and pneumonia as a result of the virus.

Sanchez also revealed that blood clots had been found in both of his legs.

“Low oxygen numbers and a pneumonia. This has been some tying times,” Sanchez wrote, adding “didn’t even get a saltine cracker today.”

Blood clots in both my legs

— Diego Sanchez UFC (@DiegoSanchezUFC) November 26, 2021

The longtime veteran exited the UFC back in April, after pulling out of a fight with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Sanchez had been heavily criticized after working with coach Joshua Fabia, who runs something known as the “School of Self-Awareness” — which many observers saw as a con. Fabia had apparently requested Sanchez’s medical records from the UFC, potentially a contributing factor in his release; coach and fighter later went through a very public split of their own.

Sanchez has not fought since September of 2020, where he was defeated by Jake Matthews via unanimous decision at UFC 253. In his last five fights, Sanchez posted a 3-2 record, and had been eying a bout under the BKFC banner prior to contracting COVID-19.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWuZzeyt6Uh/

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Palomino, a former WSOF fighter on the MMA side of things, has been hospitalized due to COVID-19. The experience has been so dire that it has changed his mind on healthy adults being vaccinated for the disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that has blanketed the globe for the past 18 months.

In a post to social media, Palomino, who defended his lightweight title against Tyler Goodjohn at BKFC 18 on June 27, wrote that it was the surging Delta variant that landed him in a hospital bed.

“Fighting covid variant Delta,” he wrote, adding “12 days no food, sips of water, massive headaches, body aches, fevers from day one still going today, shiver attacks, no sleeps longer then 2/3 hours, inflammation of the pancreas, diarrhea pure water just started to calm down with medication. Severe pneumonia, and fluid in both lungs. Diabetes just popped up from all the steroids their pumping me with and took my first ever insulin shots.”

“The list goes on,” continued Palomino, adding “THIS IS NOT A JOKE GET VACCINATED ASAP.”

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In an accompanying video, the fighter explained that he contracted the virus after getting engaged with his girlfriend, which led to celebrating.

“I spent the last five years without getting sick by simply taking care of my body and my immune system. After my engagement, during my engagement, I began celebrating, did a lot of drinking, and I let my immune system drop,” explained the bare-knuckle star. “So Delta caught me slipping. That’s exactly what happened. My five year streak was broken really bad.”

He then added a warning for anyone doubting the severity of the disease. “Just want to let you guys know, this thing is very serious. I was completely against the vaccine, except for elders and kids that are really young and have weakened immune systems. That I was never against, I always encouraged elders to get the vaccine, like my mom, for example. Family members, friends, I always agreed that they should take it, take the vaccine.”

“Now I encourage you all to take it. You got Pfizer FDA approved. Soon as I’m out of here, my entire family in my home, my fiance and my son, will be taking it. At least it will keep you from dying.”

Palomino has run up a 4-0 record since moving to bare-knuckle in 2020. A native of Lima, Peru, he currently resides in Florida, one of the hardest hit areas in terms of COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

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Just hours after the All Stars Sweden team member made a social media post hinting at retirement as he continues to struggle with the effects of COVID-19, White gave a statement to MMA Junkie downplaying the issue.

“When he got here, the doctors took care of him, and they put him on prednisone, which is a nasty f*cking steroid,” White told the website. “So he’s on prednisone, and he’s supposed to be taking this thing and chilling, relaxing, and letting himself recover. He went in and f*cking trained today, felt like sh*t, and got super emotional and posted that.”

“He’s not supposed to be training, but you know, this guy’s a savage. He wants to fight like every f*cking weekend, and now he can’t even train, so he just got emotional and posted that, but he ain’t quitting.”

Prednisone is a corticosteroid which has proven to have anti-inflammatory benefits for patients suffering from COVID-19. At least one trial, The Randomized Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (or RECOVERY), has shown that mortality rates were lower in patients who received dexamethasone, another member of the corticosteroid family. Prednisone is offered as an alternative. White’s not wrong when he suggests prednisone is nasty: although common enough, the study also showed detrimental effects in COVID patients not on oxygen.

White also suggested to MMA Junkie that Chimaev could return to action in June. A June return date has been rumored in recent days, although the fighter’s ability to make it to the octagon three months from now remains to be seen. For starters, he’s going to need to take some time off from training, something he has been unwilling to do, it seems.

“He’s training when he’s supposed to be resting,” said White. “He’s got to stay off, at least while he’s on this medication.”

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In a social media post Monday, the welterweight/middleweight, who tore through a trio of opponents last year (two in record time, with the shortest turnaround between wins in UFC history), hinted at retirement. Chimaev’s struggle following a diagnosis of COVID-19 has been well documented, but the news still comes as a shock.

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“I want to say thank you to everyone for their support in my journey in this sport. I think I’m done. yes, I know that I didn’t take the belt, but this is not the most important victory in this life. it may upset you, but my heart and body tell me everything.

I want to say a huge thank you to my team All Stars Gym Sweden.

Chimaev (9-0) was previously diagnosed with COVID-19, which forced him out of a planned welterweight headliner with Leon Edwards earlier this year. While Edwards himself had contracted the virus a month earlier, Chimaev appears to be particularly hindered by the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Edwards, meanwhile, returns to the octagon later this month against Belal Muhammad.

A screen grab from Chimaev’s Instagram story showed what appeared to be blood coughed up the by the fighter, and a message noting that the disease “is not easily outlived.”

Previously, Chimaev’s manager shared news that at one point, the Swedish-based fighter believed he was dying. “Borz” has been unable to train at the level required since contracting the disease.

https://twitter.com/ortega_szn/status/1361651839628943365

The 26-year old, whose nickname means “The Chechen Wolf” in English, debuted in the UFC last July, defeating John Phillips with a D’arce choke in the second round. Just ten days later, he secured his second victory, finishing Rhys McKee via TKO within a round. His third fight also set a record — finishing Gerald Meerschaert via knockout in just 17 seconds, it was all of 66 days between Chimaev’s first three wins, the quickest any UFC fighter has made it to three straight victories.

From there, bouts with Demian Maia and Edwards were mulled. The Edwards fight was set for December, then pushed back repeatedly when both fighters contracted COVID-19.

There is still hope, of course, that Chimaev makes a full recovery and can eventually return to training and fighting full time. For now, however, it appears he believes that may not be possible.

The post UFC: Khamzat Chimaev Hints at Retirement as COVID Struggle Continues appeared first on Cageside Press.

In a video posted to Frontkick’s official Youtube channel, Shammas discusses the decision to pull out of the Leon Edwards fight once again. The pair had been scheduled to headline the UFC’s March 13 event.

“I emailed the UFC yesterday. Very unfortunate email. Those are the emails we don’t like to send,” Shammas stated. “But it is what it is and there’s nothing we can do. We tried to come back this Tuesday. He insisted that he wanted to train. Then we tried and it failed. He was really bad, you know?”

Chimaev, he continued, “didn’t even do two rounds straight. He did one round and then rested. He started coughing, he started feeling ill again, and we had to cancel the training.”

Things then took a turn for the worse. “He even went to the ambulance, to the hospital.”

According to Shammas (and backed up by comments by UFC President Dana White), Khamzat Chimaev’s team has been in touch with the UFC’s doctors.

Shammas also revealed that there’s a plan to take a CT scan of the fighter’s chest. “He complained that he had some chest pains after the training, so we’re gonna check the heart as well,” said Shammas. “We have been in and out of hospitals so many times now. Nowadays, lately, the last weeks it’s crazy. The other day, when he finished the training on Tuesday, he couldn’t even walk up to his room. He didn’t even have the energy to go up to his room. [He] fell asleep in the lobby.”

“He can’t train,” Shammas continued. At one point, the manager received a call from Chimaev’s friends. They reported the fighter was unable to speak. “His fever is so high, his headache is so much, muscle pain and everything. Then an ambulance came and got him to the hospital. Even when he was in the hospital, he called me, when he called me he thought he was going to die. It was really bad.”

Chimaev also developed bronchitis, and was placed on antibiotics.

The news contradicts the tone taken Friday by UFC President Dana White, who downplayed the severity of Khamzat Chimaev’s case. Asked about whether there should be concern over Chimaev’s condition in a media scrum, White replied “Nah. If you know this guy’s mentality, he probably didn’t listen, probably didn’t do what he was supposed to do. Definitely not getting the best health care he could possibly get. We’re going to try to get him out here, get him with some real doctors, get him taken care of, and get him set again.”

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Considered by many one of the greatest of all time, Emelianenko confirmed on social media Thursday that he was “on the mend” after being hospitalized due to the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

He thanked the doctors and medical professionals who cared for him, as well as those concerned about his health, adding that “I am feeling well now.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKTuhEPB5GO/

A report by RT Sport stated that Emelianenko, 44, was being treated at Clinical Hospital No. 52 in Moscow — a facility that specializes in coronavirus treatment.

Emelianenko (39-6, 1NC) has seen his pro career span two decades. After getting his start in 2000, under the RINGS banner in his native Russia, he shot to fame in PRIDE, defeating fellow legends like Antnnio Rodrigo Nogueira (Big Nog), Gary Goodridge, Mirko Cro-Cop, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman, and later under the Afflication banner, Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia.

After a disastrous stint in Strikeforce and a couple of fights elsewhere, Fedor retired in 2012, only to return in 2015 and put together a 5-2 run that saw him earn wins against Rampage Jackson, Chael Sonnen, and Frank Mir in Bellator.

Fedor’s last bout came on December 29, 2019 when he finished Rampage Jackson via first-round TKO. Bellator had floated plans for a retirement tour of sorts for the heavyweight, including a potential show in Russia, prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bellator chief Scott Coker was sticking to those plans throughout 2020.

“Fedor has two fights left, and both of them will most likely be out of the country. I say that with reserve, because you guys know the situation is hard to navigate around, and every time we try to go outside somewhere, it’s challenging,” Coker explained following Bellator 246 back in September, noting the difficulties the ongoing pandemic had presented.

“Fedor, the plan was to do three fights. We hit Japan on New Year’s Eve last year, or the day before New Year’s Eve. Then we want him to fight in Europe at some point, then we want him to fight in Moscow, to be his retirement fight,” continued Coker. “We have two fights left, and we’ll figure it out. It’s going to be sometime in 2021.”

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Paul Varelans, a familiar face at early UFC events, contracted COVID-19 in December. The former fighter announced his diagnosis on Facebook on December 12. Shortly after, according to UFC co-founder Art Davie, Varelans was placed on a ventilator, and not faring well.

https://www.facebook.com/art.davie/posts/10220930341322614

On Saturday, Varelans’ friends and family confirmed that the former fighter, aged 51, had passed away.

Varelans (9-9) was a finalist at UFC 7, back in the days of one-night tournaments. An eight-fight veteran of the promotion, that September 1995 night may have been the biggest of his UFC tenure, as he finished both Gerry Harris and Mark Hall before losing to Marco Ruas in the final.

Posting a record of 4-4 inside the UFC, Varelans final appearance for the promotion came at Ultimate Ultimate 96, where he lost via corner stoppage to Kimo Leopoldo. However, Varelans fought on, competing several more times before calling it a career. His final MMA bout came in February 1998, in The Netherlands, where he knocked out Dick Vrij in the second round.

In his MMA heyday, Varelans also dabbled in pro wrestling, appearing for ECW alongside one of its biggest stars, Taz.

The career of “The Polar Bear” came to an end essentially when weight classes were introduced to the sport. An imposing 6 foot 8, the massive athlete simply couldn’t make it down to 265lbs, he later explained. In fact, he’d been well above that since high school.

Admitting that he had struggled after the loss of MMA from his life, which led him to drug addiction that he later recovered from, Varelans said in a 2018 interview that “MMA and the UFC created a space where people kind of started feeling their liberties again. We’ve lost so many rights to just live your life and do what the hell you want, that there’s this place and space and people for people that naturally have this want to, like “you know what, if I want to risk my life, I’m going to f*cking do it, because what’s a life worth living if I haven’t had that adrenaline, or haven’t taken that chance?”

Varelans found his way into the MMA world following college, where he both competed in football, and was part of the school’s boxing club. Varelans later moved to motivational speaking, and took part in autograph signings at events like UFC 198. He was also involved with Legends of the Cage.

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