Day: 14. Januar 2025

One of Professional Fighters League’s most vocal critics is now a free agent.

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PFL chairman and founder Donn Davis announced via social media on Tuesday that Patricio Freire has been released from the promotion, and Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the news with a promotion official. In recent months, Freire had been critical of both his contract and lack of activity since PFL purchased Bellator in late 2023.

“[The PFL] is all about opportunity,” Davis wrote. “I founded this company to create new great opportunities for top fighters. PFL has and will continue to do that for all top fighters who want to be here.”

We are releasing @PatricioPitbull @PFLMMA is all about opportunity

I founded this company to create new great opportunities for top fighters

PFL has and will continue to do that for all top fighters who want to be here #PFLMMA

— Donn Davis (@DonnDavisPFL) January 14, 2025

One of the top feat…

ALL fighters now integrated and connected in one powerful roster

One Brand 👊@PFLMMA 👊One Roster

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Professional Fighters League #PFLMMA pic.twitter.com/JcylkqFQSA — Donn Davis (@DonnDavisPFL) January 14, 2025

The Bellator MMA brand is officially a thing of the past.

Professional Fighters League chairman and founder Donn Davis released a statement clarifying Bellator’s status on Tuesday, announcing that “all fighters [are] now integrated and connected in one powerful roster.” In short, that means the Bellator name will not be associated with any fighters or events under the PFL umbrella.

The full statement posted by Davis on social media is as follows:

Professional Fighters League acquired Bellator MMA one year ago primarily for its great fighter roster. The PFL brand has become synonymous with the “win and advance” format and product innovation. PFL has established itself as a premium brand doing things diffe…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A featherweight clash pitting Nathaniel Wood against Morgan Charriere was one of four bouts announced for UFC London on Tuesday.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion also confirmed the following three fights for the event: Nathan Fletcher vs. Caolan Loughran at bantamweight; Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos at flyweight and Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla at lightweight.

UFC London takes place at the O2 Arena on March 22 and is expected to be headlined by a welterweight scrap between ex-champ Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena.

A former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship champion, Wood has been victorious in four of his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, “The Prospect” took a unanimous decision over Daniel …

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Justin Gaethje (25-5) is preparing to return to action against Dan Hooker (24-12).

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Gaethje is currently at a crossroads in his career. Gaethje has dropped two lightweight title bids, against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 and Charles Oliveira in 2022. “The Highlight” then bounced back with a decision win over Rafael Fiziev followed by a highlight-reel head kick KO against Dustin Poirier.

With a lightweight title shot still not in sight, Gaethje then took on Max Holloway in a BMF title fight at UFC 300 in April 2024. In a shocking upset, Holloway beat down Gaethje for five rounds, challenged him to a slugfest in the final seconds and knocked him out in a buzzer beater.

Gaethje is now back in training and already has a date and opponent in mind for his return. While he is yet to put pen to paper, the 36-year-old is in talks for a clash against Hooker at UFC 313 on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“So there’s no o…

Jiri Prochazka is confident he can become a UFC champ once more.

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Prochazka takes on Jamahal Hill at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles in a high stakes light heavyweight matchup. “BJP” initially won the title against Glover Teixeira in 2022 but vacated it months later due to a shoulder injury. He faced Teixeira’s protege, Alex Pereira, for the vacant title at UFC 295 in 2023, when he suffered a second-round TKO loss. While he bounced back with a stoppage win over Aleksandar Rakic, the Czech has since dropped his rematch against “Poatan” at UFC 303 in June 2024.

However, Prochazka claims to have since made significant changes in his lifestyle, which could propel him towards a third title fight with Pereira.

“I said that many times, and I mean that very seriously,” Prochazka told MMAjunkie.com. “Everything that I say, I mean very seriously. I believe that I’ve made improvements to my style, to my life, in everything so I can…

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Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t step away from coaching until his teammates are done.

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Nurmagomedov put Dagestan on the MMA world map with his spectacular reign at the top of the UFC lightweight division. However, “The Eagle” is only the leader of a long list of elite fighters trained by his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov retired from the sport in 2020 at the age of 32 after the death of his father due to COVID-19 complications. Nurmagomedov has since stepped into coaching shoes, guiding his teammates and cousins to world titles across every promotion in the world. While he once hinted at stepping away from coaching in 2023, the MMA GOAT contender couldn’t stay away for long.

Nurmagomedov has a busy fortnight ahead with three of his teammates competing in title fights. Islam Makhachev (26-1) defends his UFC lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan (22-3) in the main event at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome i…

👀Robert Whittaker says there is a 'skill gap' between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan:

“I just feel there is a skill gap. Islam is in a very good place right now. I find it very hard to see him getting defeated.”

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🎥 @MMArcadePodcast ▫️ pic.twitter.com/5YSwG7Eeku — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 13, 2025

Robert Whittaker doesn’t think Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan are on the same level.

Makhachev puts his lightweight title on the line in a rematch against Tsarukyan in the main event at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Tsarukyan previously dropped a hard-fought unanimous decision against Makhachev in his short-notice UFC debut in 2019. Tsarukyan has since lost only once in 10 outings and comes off a split-decision win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April 2024.

Meanwhile, Makhachev has defended his title three times since winning it against Oliveira in 2020. The Dage…