MMA Schedule today: Are there any fights this weekend in UFC, Bellator or other promotions?

There are no UFC pay-per-view events scheduled for Saturday, 27 May 2023. Likewise, Bellator will not be hosting a pay-per-view event or a fight card.

However, a mixed martial arts tournament will kick off on 27 May 2023. Road to UFC season 2 will air its first two episodes today. The second season of the tournament pits the best Asian MMA prospects against each other across four divisions; flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight.

Each division will consist of eight participants who will compete in a win-and-advance format. The tournament is spread across three rounds - quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals - with the opening round being covered in the first four episodes. Competitors will progress through to the finals to stand a chance to win a UFC contract with one up for grabs for each division.

Ten fighters from the previous edition of the show will make their return to the octagon.

The opening round for each division will be concluded in the first four episodes, with two of them airing today and episodes three and four airing tomorrow, Sunday 28 May. The semifinals and the finals will be conducted at a later date this year with the details yet to be confirmed.

The tournament can be followed on Fight Pass outside Asia and Indian viewers can tune in on Sony Ten 2.

Legacy Fighting Alliance will be in action today as LFA 159 takes place Saturday, May 27, 2023, with 11 fights at CIDE Casa Branca Sports Complex in São Paulo, Brazil. It will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Rodolfo Bellato and Acácio dos Santos for the interim championship.

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Francis Ngannou blasts the UFC for playing a 'dirty game'

Francis Ngannou's exit from the UFC and subsequent signing with the PFL has brought to light a discussion about fighter contracts and their rights.

Ngannou has repeatedly stated that the reason for his refusal to resign was not about the money but rather about his own respect. In a recent interview on the LeBatardShow, the former heavyweight champion revealed how the promotion leveraged his minimal pay to get him to resign in 2019 prior to his championship victory:

“I had an eight-fight contract... But they wouldn’t allow me [to fight] since I wasn’t going to sign another contract because they know that if I fulfill that contract, I’m automatically free. They used some kind of dirty game there — freeze me out. They knew how much I was getting per fight. It wasn’t much at all, [a] few pennies. They knew I couldn’t make a living out of it so I had to come back and accept that contract."

Check out his comments on YouTube: