Day: 5. Februar 2025

Dominick Cruz is out of the UFC Seattle co-main event due to an injury.

Cruz was expected to hang up his gloves after a matchup against Rob Font at UFC Fight Night 252 on Feb. 22 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. However, Cageside Press was first to report that “The Dominator” has been forced out of the booking due to an unspecified injury. It is currently unknown whether Cruz will step inside the Octagon again before retiring. Multiple outlets have since confirmed Cruz’s exit from the card.

Cruz’s legendary career saw him win the UFC bantamweight title on two separate occasions. Cruz won 13 consecutive fights from 2008 to 2016 before losing to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207, after which he never found the same momentum. Cruz returned to action after a hiatus of over three years and suffered a stoppage loss against Henry Cejudo at UFC 249. Cruz rebounded with a two-fight win streak, which was snapped by a knockout loss against Marlon Vera in 2022 an…

UFC Vegas 103 is in need of a new headliner.

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Brandon Royval on Wednesday announced via Instagram that an injury has forced him to pull out of a proposed flyweight showdown against Manel Kape on March 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Royval did not reveal the exact nature of the injury. It’s currently unclear if Kape will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pull out of my fight,” Royval wrote. “I’m sorry to Manel Kape and my fans. I’m facing an injury that has me questioning when I’ll be able to train again. This is absolutely a fight I think needs to happen for the flyweight division, but as of right now competing [next] month has been ill advised. Love y’all and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I’ll have more details on my YouTube this week.”

Royval has won five of his last six Octagon appearances, with his only defeat coming against Alexandre Pantoja in a flyweight title bout at UFC …

Sharabutdin Magomedov recently offered further details on the aliments that hindered him against Michael Page at UFC Saudi Arabia last weekend.

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“Shara Bullet” dropped a unanimous verdict to Page in the card’s middleweight co-main event this past Saturday at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Shortly thereafter, the Dagestani released a statement via social media revealing that he was dealing with a "nightmarish health condition” in the bout.

While Magomedov still hasn’t specified exactly what was wrong, he did provide more insight into those health issues during a recent interview with Red Corner MMA.

“I’ve never felt this sick in the cage,” Magomedov said. “My legs were gone, my arms felt weak, and I’ve got a lot of health issues I don’t want to reveal. It was a whole bunch of problems that affected my performance. My mind was there, but my body was off. I’ve got dysbacteriosis and parasitosis in my intestine, and I’ve got problems with my …

KEVIN WATCH OUT pic.twitter.com/jeBJxFsknL

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) February 5, 2025

Kevin Lee isn’t especially pleased after footage of a recent sparring session went public.

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In a video making the rounds on social media, Lee is dropped by an overhand right after missing a flying knee attempt during practice at Kill Cliff FC in Florida. The UFC veteran returns to his feet but is still wobbly as Robbie Lawler attends to him. Lee can be overheard saying, “I’m good,” and Lawler responds by telling him to “Walk it off.”

While such instances aren’t necessarily uncommon during training, it’s rare for video of sparring to be released. It’s currently unclear how the footage became available, but Lee was understandably unhappy that it did.

“[I don’t know] who posted that video or why, but I’m heading right now to find out,” Lee wrote on X. “I can only blame myself for showing mercy and pulling my knee back bu…

Sean Strickland says that Alex Pereira hates Dricus du Plessis 😭

“For some reason he hates Dricus. I don’t know what you did to him, but he f***ing hates you dude.”

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🎥 @ufc #UFC312 #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/WIRKpdOwtU — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 4, 2025

Sean Strickland believes Alex Pereira isn’t especially fond of Dricus Du Plessis.

Strickland will try to reclaim the middleweight title against Du Plessis in the main event at UFC 312 on Saturday at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The former champ is training with foe-turned-friend Pereira leading up to the fight.

According to Strickland, “Poatan” has hatred toward Du Plessis, though the source of that animosity is unknown.

“I think Alex is an angry motherf---er,” Strickland said at UFC 312 media day. “Like, Alex is angry and for some reason he hates Dricus. I don’t know what you did to him. But he f---ing hates you, dude. The w…