Former BAMMA Middleweight champion Scott Askham to make UFC debut against Magnus Cendenblad in Stockholm

The undefeated fighter from Doncaster makes his debut against Stockholm native Cendenblad

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

Scott Askham will be putting his undefeated record on the line as he makes his debut against Magnus  Cendenblad at UFC Fight Night Stockholm October 4th from The Globe Arena.

Doncaster local Askam (12-0) is not expecting a warm reception in Stockholm but believes this is his time to show the world what he can do:

"Ever since I started fighting it's been a dream of mine to fight in the UFC,” said Askham, “I am not here to make up the numbers, Magnus is getting put away. I am not expecting a good reception in Magnus's home town, but I am still going to put on a show for the Swedish fans."

Cedenblad made his debut at UFC Fight Night Berlin: Munoz vs Mousasi in May this year. He put on an impressive show by putting his opponent away in the second round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

“Scott is obviously a tough opponent with a perfect 12-0 record, very much like my last opponent whom I beat, so I look forward to giving him his first loss too,” said Cendenblad. “It’s always special to be someone’s first and he will always remember me and Stockholm.”

With both fighters looking to finish the fight before the third round and impress the Swedish crowd, we can expect nothing less than fireworks on October 4th.

“Fighting at home in Stockholm with my hometown crowd backing me is going to be absolutely amazing,” Cedenblad said. “I’m pumped remembering my debut in the first UFC event, how crazy the atmosphere was, and now having seen the Dublin crowd that has set the bar on a whole different level.”

Ticket details for UFC Fight Night Stockholm will be released in the coming weeks. All bouts live and subject to change. Please visit ufc.com for more details.

Ilir Latifi returns to Stockholm to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 53

Ilir Latifi returns to Stockholm to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 53

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

UFC's return to Sweden is getting bigger as the days go on, with two more bouts being announced for the October 4 event emanating from Stockholm's Ericsson Global.

Two unranked light-heavyweight fighters will collide Sweden's Ilir 'The Sledgehammer' Latifi (9-3) will take on the former KSW light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (17-3).

Following his vicious finish of Chris Dempsey at UFC Fight Night Dublin, Latifi will be looking to use his home country advantage as he takes on a very tough and gritty Polish opponent.

Meanwhile at Featherweight, 10th ranked German Dennis Siver (21-9-1NC) will meet Scotland's Robert Whiteford (11-2) in an exciting match up. Both men have a high finishing rate, and this fight isn't expected to go the distance.

This will be Siver's first fight since his win against Manvel Gamburyan in December last year was overturned to a no contest due to Siver testing positive for hCG.

The current UFC Stockholm card:

Welterweight Nico Musoke vs. Amir Sadollah
Featherweight Niklas Bäckström vs. Mike Wilkinson
Featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Ernest Chavez
Featherweight Dennis Siver vs. Robert Whiteford
Light-Heavyweight Ilir Latifi    vs.     Jan Blachowicz

Ex-UFC veteran Alessio Sakara set to sign with Croatia's Final Fight Championship

Former UFC veteran Alessio Sakara set to sign with Final Fight Championship 

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA 

Italian MMA fighter Alessio Sakara, who has competed at Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight in the UFC, is to join Final Fight Championship this Thursday.

Although FFC usually runs cards with both kickboxing and MMA fights, Sakara is expected to stay within MMA.

Sakara is to arrive in Zagreb, Croatia, July 24 in order to sign a contract with Croatia's biggest combat sports promotion. FFC will also have a press conference for media representatives, introducing him to the Croatian faithful.

Signing a seasoned fighter such as Sakara is big step forward for the FFC. Big names such as: Paul Daley, Eddie Sanchez and Nandor Guelmino have also signed with the promotion this year.

Sakara debuted for the UFC in 2005 and was considered a possible future star. His UFC career however was a mixture of ups and downs, with Sakara only managing his best streak of three wins between 2008-2010. This lead to him being released by the UFC after his October 2013 loss to Nico Mmusoke.

He earned the name “Legionarius” for his relentlessness and numerous KO's and tattooed his nickname on his back which later became his trademark. With a record of 15-11-1NC, Sakara defeated credible fighters such as Thales Leites and James Irvin. Although he comepted at both 205 and 185 in the UFC, it is still unknown in which division he is to fight in the FFC.

FFC President Orsat Zovko already announced Sakara is to sign with the FFC earlier this year when he also promised that there will be more big names joining the Final Fight Championship by the end of the year.

Five possible fights for Holly Holm before she faces Ronda Rousey

Five possible fights for Holly Holm before she faces Ronda Rousey

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

Holly Holm - Credit BellatorMMA

After the announcement from Dana White's official twitter account that the UFC have signed Holly Holm, MMA fans took a sigh of relief that the highly anticipated former boxing world champion is finally making her way to the big stage.

The announcement came the same day as the UFC released the entire Invicta FC library on their Fight Pass streaming service, as well as announcing their next event for September 6th.

Holm has impressed many of those watching her cage side, racking up an undefeated seven fight win streak, including a Bantamweight championship win over Juliana Werner at Legacy FC 30.

With Holm's UFC debut imminent, here are five possible challengers for the 32 year-old fighter.

5. Germaine de Randamie - Rank #12

Nothing against de Randamie, she is a good fighter, however if the UFC are looking to safeguard Holm then this is a winnable fight for her. You could argue that de Randamie and Holm have similar styles of fighting, both are prominently stand-up fighters but her dangerous kicks could be a problem for Holm. If Holm uses her ability to sit inside the pocket and counter strike, then it should be a definitive win for "Hottie" Holm. 

4. Liz Carmouche - Rank #7

It has come to realisation that Liz Carmouche is clearly the gateway of the Bantamweight division, if Uncle Dana and Lorenzo Fertitta want to see if someone is ready for the next challenge, they put them through Carmouche. Girl-Rilla's very good wrestling ability would definitely be the best that Holm has fought against thus far, and her granite chin combined with her determination would serve as a problem for Holm should she be looking to knock Carmouche out. 

3.  Jessica Andrade - Rank #9

One could argue that at the young age of 22, Andrade is one of the brightest talents in the division. Her well rounded style of BJJ, muay-thai and kickboxing is something to be feared by many, and could hold the key to stopping Holm. Everyone knows how good of a striker Holm is, however Andrade has only ever been stopped by strikes twice in her career. Her prolific submission game has seen her stop five of her opponents by submission. She loves looking for that jumping guillotine, which could be a problem for Holm who tends to fight aggressively. 

2. Sarah Kaufman - Rank #5

The 28 year-old fighter is arguably has the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the women's division. Despite losing to Ronda Rousey back in 2012, Kaufman is yet to get her rematch, and is on a collision course with the judo specialist after two wins over Leslie Smith. Her ground game could be tough for Holm, whom we haven't seen much off against a true BJJ specialist, however Kaufman's arguable weaker stand-up game is where Holm will look to dominate.

1. Jessica Eye - Rank #6

If the UFC really want to give Holm that quick push to set up a fight with Rousey, then who better than for her to fight the highly touted Jessica Eye. "Evil" Eye is coming off a close split decision loss to Alexis Davis at UFC 170, and although she lost that fight Eye did herself justice as a future contender. Her gruelling, tiring style of fighting could be a problem for Holm should the fight go three rounds, and her decent ability on the ground could prove costly for Holm.

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Dana White speaks about a Tyson Fury vs Cain Velasquez fight

Could Tyson Fury fight in the UFC 

by Ben Heather @benheather

Tyson Fury vs Cain Velasquez in the UFC may not be as much of a long shot match up as everyone expected it to be after all.

Dana White today told Tyson Fury to "Come on over, we'll make a deal"

Before his fight on Saturday night which Fury won to give him a professional boxing record of 21-0, he gave an interview with ESPN where he described MMA as "rubbish". He also told them that he has called out Cain Velasquez three times but nothing has come from it..... yet.

So today Dana White took matters in to his own hands and said that he would accept the offer on behalf of his fighter and current UFC heavyweight champion.

"You want to fight Cain? Come on over her" "You will get smashed" White said during the fans Q and A ahead of this weekends UFC 159 event in New Jersey.

Could Tyson Fury become the next James Toney and go from champion boxer to MMA fighter, if he is he will certainly have his hands full by calling out the UFC Heavyweight champion. Velasquez, destroyed Junior Dos Santos in his last fight to recapture the belt.

Keep checking Kingdom MMA for the latest news on this story as well as all the news from the world of MMA.