Month: November 2024

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Michael Chandler promises to bring a different version of himself at UFC 309.

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Chandler faces Charles Oliveira in a five-round co-headliner on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The two will be running it back from their initial encounter at UFC 262 in 2021, when Chandler suffered a second-round technical knockout loss.

Chandler and Oliveira clashed for the vacant lightweight title in the main event at UFC 262. “Iron” hurt Oliveira multiple times in the opening stanza, even threatening the jiu-jitsu specialist with a guillotine. However, “do Bronx” turned the tables early in Round 2 by clipping Chandler with a left hook and raining a barrage of punches to get the stoppage.

Chandler claims he will right some wrongs from that fight in their rematch at UFC 309. The former Bellator champ plans to gradually break his opponent down instead of rushing for the finish like he did in their first matchup. Chandler believes he …

Carlos Prates blew open the gate to the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight elite.

The burgeoning Vale Top Team and Fighting Nerds star punched out “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 semifinalist Neil Magny in the first round of their UFC Vegas 100 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Magny (29-13, 22-12 UFC) checked out 4:50 into Round 1, victimized by one of the sport’s fastest-rising talents at 170 pounds.

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Prates (21-6, 4-0 UFC) stayed patient against an experienced, cagy adversary. Magny made passes at a variety of takedowns, none of them successful. He found himself nullified in the clinch, too. Late in the first round, Prates denied a takedown, pursued the Elevation Fight Team mainstay across the Octagon, pinned him to the fence and cracked him with a slashing left hand to the temple. Magny crashed face first to the canvas. No follow-up shots were required.

The 31-year-old Prates has won 11 fights in a row, 10 of them f…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to its home base of Las Vegas for the final time of 2024 Saturday at 4 p.m. ET with UFC Vegas 100. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 247. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Mullins (-238), Sygula (+195)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Gore (-198), Trocoli (+164)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pe…

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos was not in a charitable mood.

The CM System mainstay bounced back from his June 1 decision defeat to Randy Brown and swept aside Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Zach Scroggin with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Vegas 100 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A late-notice replacement for Nicolas Dalby, the previously unbeaten Scroggin (7-1, 0-1 UFC) required rescue 1:15 into Round 1.

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Zaleski dos Santos (25-8-1, 11-4-1 UFC) backed up the Marathon MMA prospect with stinging low kicks and stepped into a right hand that had him ducking for cover. Scroggin—who missed weight by three pounds—retreated to the canvas under considerable fire but found no refuge there. Zaleski dos Santos turned up the heat with rapid-fire hammerfists and punches, necessitating the stoppage.

Meanwhile, Chicago Fight Team’s Charlie Radtke wiped out Matthew Semelsberger with punches in the first round …

Carlos Prates is now 4-for-4 when it comes to securing post-fight bonuses in the Octagon.

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The Fighting Nerds representative earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his quick finish of Neil Magny in the UFC Vegas 100 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After fending off his opponent’s attempts at grappling, Prates knocked Magny out cold with a glancing left hand 4:50 into the opening round of their welterweight showdown — his fourth consecutive finish in UFC competition.

Also on the main card, Mansur Abdul-Malik pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for an impressive Octagon debut. The MMA Masters prospect put away Dusko Todorovic with a knee and follow-up punches 2:44 into Round 1 to improve his professional mark to 7-0.

Elsewhere, Charlie Radtke garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check by dispatching Matthew Semelsberger in their preliminary welterweight matchup. Radtke wobbled his oppo…

😁 Jon Jones wants to get a KO victory using 12-6 elbows now that they've been legalized in MMA.

🎥 @espnmma ▫️ pic.twitter.com/WDDIkYtPn6

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 9, 2024

For Jon Jones, finishing the UFC 309 headliner with 12-to-6 elbows will somewhat right the only blemish on his record.

Jones’ otherwise perfect record is marred by a controversial disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in December 2009. Jones was mauling Hamill on the ground with 12-to-6 elbows, which were then illegal, forcing referee Steve Mazzgatti to call off their fight in the first round. Jones recalls that maintaining his perfect record in the UFC was very important for him. The manner in which he suffered his lone pro defeat left “Bones” devastated and in tears backstage.

“When I lost that night, I actually cried backstage,” Jones told ESPN. “It was absolutely devastating to me. I had always had this vision in my mind and in my heart tha…

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Stipe Miocic is not bothered by fan criticism leading up to his return to the Octagon.

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Miocic will return to action after a hiatus of over three years to challenge Jon Jones for the heavyweight title in the main event at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The matchup has been widely criticized, as Jones is adamant on fighting Miocic while interim champ Tom Aspinall sits on the sidelines. Although Miocic has cemented his legacy as arguably the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, many consider Aspinall the rightful title contender at the moment.

However, Miocic has simply shut out all the chatter from detractors going into UFC 309. The Ohio-based firefighter also admitted that he might have been affected by fans’ criticism at an earlier point in his career. Miocic more recently recalled the exact point in his career when he learned to be unbothered by outside noise. It was after a second-round technical knocko…

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Michael Chandler has set some lofty goals for his near future.

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Chandler will be returning after a hiatus of almost two years in a rematch against Charles Oliveira in a five-round, co-headliner at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Despite having gone 2-3 in his UFC career, “Iron” hasn’t lost championship aspirations yet.

Chandler believes he will be title talks with a potential win over Oliveira, a former lightweight champion. Meanwhile, No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan is expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title next year, potentially at UFC 311 in January. Chandler envisions himself facing the winner of that fight if he can get past “do Bronx.” The 38-year-old veteran believes he will become the oldest lightweight champ in UFC history by next year.

“I’d like to say Chandler 1.0 was out for blood, Chandler 2.0 is out for the title,” he recently told Shakiel Mahjouri. “I made a lot of changes…

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Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones continue to feud although the Englishman has seemingly stopped chasing a matchup with the reigning UFC heavyweight king.

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Jones defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic in the main event at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. While many consider interim champ Aspinall the rightful title contender, Jones is adamant on fighting Miocic, who hasn’t competed since a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in 2021.

Jones recently dismissed the idea of fighting Aspinall, claiming the Brit hasn’t achieved enough to lure him into that matchup.

“Tom Aspinall – I don’t want to say [he is a] nobody, but he just hasn’t proven anything,” Jones recently told New York Post Sports. “He hasn’t done anything… Really nothing, you know? I find him annoying. I mean, he just… I’ve been here for so long. He just got to the UFC not so long ago. If he wanted to fight me, he could have been here. I was …

Half of our #UFCVegas100 main event is good to go!@NeilMagny weighs in at 171lbs!

[ LIVE TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 7pmET/4pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/boadyIxpQS

— UFC (@ufc) November 8, 2024 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 8 p.m. ET to reflect fine amounts for heavy fighters.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is hitting a milestone this weekend by putting on its 100th event from the UFC Apex, and a handful of fights are on the rocks for the UFC Fight Night 247 card after the official weigh-ins took place.

Headlining Saturday's show is a five-rounder between Neil Magny and Carlos Prates, which sees the veteran going up against a dangerous prospect in a clash to stay relevant in the welterweight division. Both main event fighters successfully made weight, but the same could not be said about the remainder of the lineup. Late replacement Zach Scroggin (174) exceeded the 171-pound cap ahead of his bout with Elizeu Zaleski do…

[embedded content] Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Charles Oliveira wants his old title back so badly, he can taste it.UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

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Scheduled to rematch Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 309 next Saturday in New York City, ex-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira felt that at age 35 he is entering the top of his game. “Do Bronx” revealed to Sherdog this week that his training camp went as smoothly as one ever has, while discussing what he expects on Nov. 16 in Madison Square Garden.

“Everything went out perfectly, and the most important thing is I’m hungry and motivated to defeat Chandler once again and finally get my title shot again,” Oliveira remarked.

The two lightweight greats first tangled at UFC 262 in 2021, and Chandler came out of the gate hot by hurting Oliveira more than once and hitting a crucial takedown early. While Oliveira eventually turned the tables and knoc…

UFC 309 has lost a couple of its original fights less than two weeks before the event.

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According to MMAjunkie.com, Azamat Murzakanov has withdrawn from a preliminary light heavyweight clash against Nikita Krylov for undisclosed reasons. It’s unclear if Krylov will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

Meanwhile, Lucas Almeida has pulled out of a featherweight showdown with David Onama, also for undisclosed reasons. MMAFighting.com was first to report the news. Onama is expected remain on the card against a different opponent.

UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic. Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Murzakanov is undefeated in 14 professional outings — including four in the UFC. He is coming off a second-round knockout of Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ABC 7. Krylov has won three straight outings, including a first-round submission of Ryan Spann in his last Octagon appearance in March 2023.

Almeida is 2-2 in the promotion and last compet…