Author: MMA Fighting Newswire

Team Rousey teammates Jessamyn Duke and Peggy Morgan will square off in a bantamweight contest on this Saturday’s TUF 18 Finale event in Las Vegas.

UFC officials announced the fight Monday afternoon.

Duke (2-0, 1 no-contest) lost via unanimous decision to Raquel Pennington in the quarterfinals on the show, while Morgan (2-0) lost via submission to Sarah Moras in the elimination round as well.

In the main event, Gray Maynard and Nate Diaz will square off in a lightweight contest.

Here’s how the TUF 18 Finale fight card looks now:
Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz
Julianna Pena vs. TBA
Chris Holdsworth vs. David Grant
Rani Yahya vs. Tom Niinimaki
Jared Rosholt vs. Walt Harris
Sean Spencer vs. Drew Dober
Ryan Benoit vs. Josh Sampo

A middleweight clash between Lorenz Larkin and Brad Tavares is set for UFC Fight Night 35 on Jan. 15 at The Areana at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.

UFC officials recently confirmed the fight.

Larkin is 1-1 in his UFC career. He defeated Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 earlier this month.

Tavares is 6-1 in his UFC career, winning his last four fights. He defeated Bubba McDaniel via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 27 this past August.

In the main event, Luke Rockhold will face Constantinos Philippou.

NEW YORK — UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, who was joined by other UFC officials and fighters, discussed a new report on the economic impact of legalizing mixed martial arts in New York at Madison Square Garden on Thursday morning. Check out the entire press conference above.

A light heavyweight fight between Thiago Silva and Ovince St. Preux is set for UFC Fight Night 35 on Jan. 15 in Duluth, Ga.

UFC officials confirmed the booking Wednesday.

Silva has won his past two fights after testing positive for marijuana at UFC on FUEL TV 6. He defeated Matt Hamill via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 29 on Oct. 9.

St. Preux has won his first two UFC fights and three overall. St. Preux knocked out Cody Donovan in the first round at UFC Fight Night 26 this past August.

Luke Rockhold is expected to face Constantinos Philippou in the main event.

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez should be able to avoid surgery for his injured left shoulder, according to Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight.

Velasquez suffered a partial tear in his labrum during his last fight against Junior dos Santos at UFC 166, but it is expected to heal with rehab. He will return to his doctor in a couple of weeks to figure out a timetable for when he can resume training.

Velasquez is expected to defend his title against Fabricio Werdum next year. The fight has been rumored to take place in Mexico, and while Velasquez wouldn’t confirm the location, he said it would be a “dream come true” to fight there.

Brian Melancon has announced his retirement via a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon.

It has been announced, I am sad to say that my fight career is over. I have been having kidney problems that have gotten much worse recently and just found out that my kidney function has dropped to 47%. If I continue to train, fight, and cut weight then I run the risk of permanent damage. I have been advised by my Specialist to retire and move on and that is what I will be doing. This is not how I wanted to go out, but I have to believe that God has another path for me. Thanks to all of you who supported me throughout my career.

He was expected to face Robert Whittaker at UFC Fight Night 33 on Dec. 7.

Melancon was 1-1 in the UFC and 7-3 overall in his MMA career. The welterweight lost via submission (rear-naked choke) to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 27 this past August.

According to UFC officials, Whittaker has been removed from the card.