Month: Januar 2025

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making sure its 2025 return to the 305 will be a memorable one.

According to MMA Fighting on Friday, light heavyweight contenders Nikita Krylov (30-9) and Dominick Reyes (14-4) will be throwing down at UFC 314 on April 12. The two 205ers will likely tangle in the city of Miami in the Kaseya Center, although the location has not been officially announced yet. The report of this high-stakes pairing has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Krylov, the higher-ranked fighter of the two, will come in on a three-fight win streak. This will be his first appearance in over two years, however, as he last tapped out Ryan Spann in March 2023. The Russian born in Ukraine was previously booked against Azamat Murzakanov towards the end of 2024, but the latter pulled out for undisclosed reasons. As a professional, Krylov abhors judges’ decisions, only going the distance four times in 39 outings.

Former title challenger Reyes has been a …

𝗗𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗩𝗦 𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝟮 🇷🇺🇮🇪

The time for talk is over!

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Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes had a intense face-off in front of the Dubai crowd! #RoadToDubai | Sat Jan 25 | Coca-Cola Arena | Dubai, UAE | 11AM ET | Streaming on @SportsonMax pic.twitter.com/tLgu1MttXZ — PFL (@PFLMMA) January 24, 2025

The Professional Fighters League's first event of the year will feature a lightweight title fight.

The PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series weigh-ins took place this morning, which locked in the card. The event will be headlined by Bellator MMA lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov putting his title on the line against Paul Hughes. Both men made weight, as did most of the card with the exception of Kenny Mokhonoana (147) and Ahmed Sami (199.6). While the former eclipsed the featherweight cap by one pound for his fight against Ibragim Ibragimov, Sami was unable to reach the pre-agreed 195-pound catchweight with Tarek Sule…

There are no longer any “Pitbull” brothers competing under the Professional Fighters League banner.

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On Tuesday, Patricky Freire announced his release from the PFL, and a day later, his signing with the fledging Global Fight League become official. Freire confirmed the news following an initial report from MMAFighting.com.

The GFL is expected to launch a team-based MMA format beginning in April. The draft to select the fighters to represent each team — a pool which now includes Freire — is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. ET. In recent weeks a number of notable former champions and veterans have been linked to the organization.

Freire competed twice for the PFL during its 2024 season, falling to Clay Collard and Bruno Miranda. The elder “Pitbull” brother was best known for a lengthy stint with Bellator MMA, where he enjoyed a brief reign as lightweight champion. During his Bellator tenure, Freire bested the likes of Benson Henderson, Josh Thoms…

Bantamweight prospect Payton Talbott is taking his first career defeat as a learning experience.

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The 26-year-old Dana White's Contender Series alum entered his UFC 311 matchup as a significant betting favorite against Brazilian veteran Raoni Barcelos, but Talbott struggled to remain upright in a unanimous decision loss this past Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. When all was said and done, Talbott surrendered eight takedowns and nearly 10 minutes of control time to his 37-year-old opponent.

Talbott reacted to the performance in a brief statement via Instagram on Tuesday.

“The vet gave me my first scar. May the skin heal itself to be strong and never split again,” Talbott wrote. “Lucky to have such people in my life. Fortunate to be able to learn valuable lessons. Still had fun.”

The Reno Academy of Combat product had been victorious in his first nine professional outings, including finishes of Nick Aguirre, Cameron Saaiman an…

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Yadong Song believes Henry Cejudo didn’t time his career trajectory well.

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Cejudo was at the peak of his career when he abruptly announced his retirement after defending his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in 2020. At the time, there was speculation that “Triple C” made the announcement to have an edge in contract negotiations. However, things didn’t pan out as planned if Cejudo had indeed tried to do so.

The former flyweight champ ended his retirement and returned to action in 2023. Cejudo came up on the short side of split decision in a bantamweight title fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 in 2023. The Olympic gold medalist followed it up with a unanimous decision loss against future champ Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 last year. Cejudo initially hinted at retirement in case of a loss against “The Machine” but has since changed course. While Cejudo’s losses came against arguably the two best fighters of…

When Dana White said that Arman Tsarukyan wouldn’t get the next lightweight title shot after pulling out of the UFC 311 main event, attention immediately shifted to Charles Oliveira as the next potential contender for Islam Makhachev’s belt.

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However, shortly after this past Saturday’s event, Oliveira gave an interview to UFC Brasil suggesting a different rematch.

“If Islam just wants to return in October, I want to fight before that,” Oliveira said. “Why not Max [Holloway] for the BMF belt? I suffered an injury in the beginning of our first fight. I think we both deserve to make it happen.”

Holloway immediately responded in the affirmative via X: “International Fight week?”

International Fight Week?

— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) January 21, 2025

Diego Lima, Oliveira’s manager and head coach, clarified everything in an interview with Ag.Fight on Tuesday.

“The most important thing for Charles is without a…

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Javier Mendez couldn’t believe the pace Merab Dvalishvili set at UFC 311.

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Mendez’s pupil, Umar Nurmagomedov, challenged Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event at UFC 311. Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, predicted that the champ would have a hard couple of rounds and take over as the fight progressed. It played out exactly like that, with Nurmagomedov just being unable to keep pace with the champ despite being highly skilled. Dvalishvili took away Nurmagomedov’s perfect record and defended his title with a unanimous decision win.

While Nurmagomedov also broke his hand in the opening round, Mendez isn’t taking anything away from Dvalishvili. The American Kickboxing Academy head coach was awed by Dvalishvili’s gas tank as the fight progressed. However, Mendez also notes that “The Machine’s” showmanship in the last round could have slightly influenced the judges’ scorecards.

“He [Nurmagomedov] didn’t get t…

Anthony Smith’s bid to compete in Power Slap was immediately rejected by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Run by Dana White, Power Slap has emerged as a controversial sport with participants taking direct shots to the head without any form of defense. While most UFC fighters haven’t been very supportive of the idea, Smith has attempted to defend it as a legitimate sport.

The former UFC title challenger even took the liberty to approach the promotion with the offer to compete in Power Slap. However, UFC exec Hunter Campbell immediately shut down the idea without even discussing it with Dana White White.

“I tried, they told me no. Straight up,” Smith recently told Ariel Helwani. “I asked Hunter and he told me no. He wouldn’t even bring it to Dana. I don’t know, he said no.”

Anthony Smith says he asked Hunter Campbell if he could compete on a Power Slap event, but Hunter said no.#HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/NhCI1Kw…

The California State Athletic Commission has revealed the fight night weights for UFC 311 fighters.

There is usually a significant difference between fighters’ weights on the day of the weigh-ins and on fight night, when they have rehydrated. This also led to the coining of the term “weight bully,” for those to cut a lot of weight only to come in much heavier on fight night.

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While both Islam Makhachev and Renato Moicano weighed in at 155 pounds for the main event, Makhachev came in at 178 pounds and the challenger weighed 181.5 pounds on fight night. Meanwhile, the co-main event saw both bantamweights Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov weighing exactly the same at 156.8 pounds.

A light heavyweight clash between Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill saw one of the biggest weight differentials on fight night. Prochazka came in at a mere 208.2 pounds after weighing in at 205 lbs. Meanwhile, Hill came in 221.8 pounds. Considering how little Prochazka cut…

After being submitted by Islam Makhachev in the first round of the UFC 311 main event, Renato "Money Moicano" Carneiro returned to routine, recording a video on his YouTube channel.

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Moicano’s usual sincerity and humor is evident in the title of the video, “Fui Jambrolhado,” which translates to: “I got my ass kicked.” The Brazilian lightweight began the 18-minute video by making it clear that he was only there because he didn't win the fight.

“Since I lost, let's return to YouTube,” he said. “If I had won, I obviously wouldn't be here talking to you today. So if you like this channel, thank f—ing Makhachev.”

After providing all the details of how he found out he would take Arman Tsarukyan's place, “Moicano” made an interesting comparison between the styles of Beneil Dariush — his original opponent — and Makhachev.

“I was very well-trained for a southpaw with excellent jiu-jitsu who was not so good at takedowns and who had two defeats by KO. Ou…

The hand injury Umar Nurmagomedov apparently suffered early on in the UFC 311 co-main event could sideline him for a significant period of time.

According to medical suspensions recently released by the California State Athletic Commission, Nurmagomedov is facing a 180-day suspension unless he receives physician clearance for a potential fracture to his left hand or index finger. Nurmagomedov lost a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili in a bantamweight title bout on Saturday night at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Dvalishvili, like everyone on the card, received a seven-day mandatory term for rest.

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Three other fighters from UFC 311 were handed 180-day suspensions pending doctor clearance: Jailton Almeida (possible fracture to left foot), Serghei Spivac (possible right foot fracture, broken jaw) and Bogdan Guskov (possible fracture to right hand).

UFC 311 Medical Suspensions:

Umar Nurmagomedov: 180-day suspension unless cleared by a physicia…

Manager Ali Abdelaziz recently hinted at Islam Makhachev’s future plans.

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According to Abdelaziz, the UFC’s immediate plans for Makhachev don’t include Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira or Ilia Topuria — all of whom seemed to be potential opponents for the reigning lightweight champion. However, Abdelaziz also admitted that the unpredictable nature of the sport leaves everything uncertain.

“The UFC has a completely different plan for Islam which doesn’t include Oliveira, Arman or Ilia,” Abdelziz wrote on social media. “But it’s an unpredictable sport and you don’t know what could happen.”

The UFC has a completely different plan for Islam which doesn’t include Oliveira, Arman or Ilias. But it’s an unpredictable sport and you don’t know what could happen.

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) January 20, 2025

Makhachev was originally scheduled to defend his lightweight strap against Tsarukyan in the main event at UFC 3…