Fight booking wire (March 8-14): LFA 102 fills out March 19 lineup in Oklahoma

At Bellator 257 on April 16, Veta Arteaga (5-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) and Desiree Yanez (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will try this again. The two fighters were scheduled to fight at Bellator 250 in October, but the fight was scrapped hours before the event when Arteaga tested positive for COVID-19.

– First reported by Nolan King, March 8 at 2:45 p.m. ET

At UFC 262 on May 15, Jamie Pickett (11-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Jordan Wright (11-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), two Dana White’s Contender Series alumni, will meet inside the cage. Wright is coming off a loss to Joaquin Buckley while Pickett enters the fight having been defeated in his UFC debut against Tafon Nchukwi in December.

– First reported by Nolan King and John Morgan, March 8 at 5:10 p.m. ET

Cousin of Khabib, Abubakar Nurmagomedov (15-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to action for the first time since November 2019. He’ll take on fellow UFC sophomore Jared Gooden (17-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a welterweight fight at UFC 260 on March 27.

– Fight announced by UFC officials, March 8 at 9:05 p.m. ET

Roger Huerta

A seasoned MMA veteran, Roger Huerta (24-12-1 MMA, 1-5 BMMA) hasn’t competed since November 2019 when he lost a unanimous decision to Sidney Outlaw. Conversely, Team Alpha Male’s Chris Gonzalez (5-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) has yet to lose in his professional MMA career.

– Confirmed by Nolan King, March 8 at 8:46 p.m. ET (first reported by MMA Mania)

Following an undisclosed injury to scheduled title challenger Mehdi Ben Lakhdar, Belgian lightweight contender Donovan Desmae (14-6) has been drafted in to take on newly crowned 155-pound champion Agy Sardari (13-2) in the new main event of Cage Warriors 121 in London on March 19.

– Fight announced by Cage Warriors officials, March 9 at 5:57 a.m. ET

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will make his PFL debut, and 2019 women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison will fight for the first time this year at PFL 2021, Week 3. Here’s the complete lineup for the May 6 event that features heavyweights and women’s 155-pound fighters.

MAIN CARD (ESPN2):

• Fabricio Werdum vs. Renan Ferreira
• Kayla Harrison vs. Mariana Morais
• Ali Isaev vs. Hatef Moeil
• Genah Fabian vs. Laura Sanchez

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+):

• Brandon Sayles vs. Mohammed Usman
• Denis Goltsov vs. Justin Willis
• Larissa Pacheco vs. Julija Pajic
• Bruno Cappelozza vs. Ante Delija
• Cindy Dandois vs. Kaitlin Young
•  Taylor Guardado vs. Helena Kolesnyk

– Lineup announced by PFL officials, March 9 at 11 a.m. ET

Heavyweights Ben Rothwell (38-13 MMA, 8-7 UFC) and Philipe Lins (14-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) are no longer fighting each other Saturday at UFC Fight Night 187 because of an injury. They’re expected to be rebooked for the UFC’s event on May 8. Both men are looking to rebound from losses in their last fights.

– Confirmed by Nolan King, March 9 at 5:48 p.m. ET (first reported by Fightful)

Nasrat Haqparast

While Nasrat Haqparast (12-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) was in danger of losing a fight at this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 187 event in Las Vegas, promotion officials have found a replacement opponent on just four days’ notice, with Mexico’s Rafa Garcia (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) answering the call for his promotional debut. Haqparast was originally expected to face Don Madge, who was forced to withdraw from the card after he was unable to secure a visa for travel to the U.S.

– Confirmed by John Morgan, March 9 at 9:55 p.m. ET (first reported by Milenio.com)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 05: (L-R) Jamahal Hill punches Ovince Saint Preux in a light heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on December 05, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

As a result of a positive COVID-19 test from Jamahal Hill (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), his fight vs. Paul Craig (14-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) has been pushed off. The promotion is looking to reschedule the bout, but it doesn’t have a new date at this time.

– Confirmed by Nolan King, March 10 at 8:52 a.m. ET following a tweet from Craig

Trevin Giles

Dricus Du Plessis has withdrawn, for unknown reasons, from UFC on ESPN 21, which takes place on March 20. His originally scheduled opponent Trevin Giles (13-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will now take on Roman Dolidze (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a middleweight matchup.

– Confirmed by Nolan King, March 10 at 2:18 p.m. ET

Elijah Johns

LFA returns next week for its second of three events in March in Oklahoma. LFA 102 is set for March 19 at the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee. In the main event, Elijah Johns (7-1) takes on Bruno Souza (8-1) at featherweight. In the co-feature, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Gregory Rodrigues (7-3) takes on Al Matavao (8-3) in a middleweight tournament semifinal fight. The winner advances to the final to fight Josh Fremd with the vacant 185-pound title up for grabs later this year.

The current LFA 102 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 9 p.m. ET)

• Elijah Johns vs. Bruno Souza
• Al Matavao vs. Gregory Rodrigues – middleweight tournament semifinal
• Steve Jones vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
• A.J. Cunningham vs. Javier Garcia
• Brandon Lewis vs. Jimmy Meza
• Chris Mecate vs. Alberto Rodriguez
• Luis Iniguez vs. Haris Talundzic

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Andrew Claborn vs. Archie Colgan

– Lineup announced by LFA officials March 10 at 8 p.m. ET.

Dana White’s Contender Series alum Montel Jackson aims to rebound against debuting Jesse Strader in a bantamweight bout March 20 at UFC on ESPN 21. Jackson (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Brett John’s last July, which snapped a three-fight winning streak. Strader (5-1 MMA, 0-0) comes from Combate Americas, where he’s fought four times since 2018. Strader hasn’t competed since August 2019, earning a first-round knockout for his second win in a row.

– Confirmed by Farah Hannoun, March 11 at 5:16 p.m. ET (first reported by MMA Island)