Day: 6. Februar 2025

Middleweight champ hits the scale first 💪@DricusDuPlessis hits the scale at 185 pounds!

[ #UFC312 | Saturday 10pmET | Live on @ESPNPlus PPV ] pic.twitter.com/9F86OZwiud

— UFC (@ufc) February 7, 2025 The UFC 312 weigh-ins took place, finalizing the card for the pay-per-view and seeing one fight fall through.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Australia will have one less fight than planned as a preliminary flyweight fight between Hyun Sung Park vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel was canceled due to Tumendemberel being unable to make weight. In more fortunate news, the middleweight title fight rematch between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland will go forward, as will the co-main event strawweight title fight pitting Weili Zhang against Tatiana Suarez.

Du Plessis (22-2) won the belt from Strickland via split decision in January of last year. The South African fighter followed up the victory with a face crank …

The round robin of opponents continues for Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Asu Almabayev.

In January, news broke that former title challenger Steve Erceg was booked against Almabayev (21-2) at UFC Vegas 103, also known as UFC Fight Night 253. The two flyweights were set to tangle, until Erceg was pulled to face Brandon Moreno in April and was replaced by Allan Nascimento.

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Now with former main attraction Brandon Royval bowing out of UFC Vegas 103 due to injury, Almabayev will be stepping into the main event. He will throw down with Manel Kape (20-7) in a 125-pound five-rounder on March 1 inside of the UFC Apex. News of this shuffling first came courtesy of Kazakhstan-based outlet Sportilinet on Thursday, and it has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Surging 31-year-old Almabayev earns this large opportunity on the heels of a successful 2024 campaign that saw him pick up three wins in the Octagon, albeit all at the hands of the …

One of the greatest Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters in the history of the sport is deciding to hang up his gloves.

Ex-UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz (24-4) was slated to return to the Octagon against Rob Font for his final MMA bout at UFC Fight Night 252 on Feb. 22. “The Dominator” sustained a shoulder injury and withdrew from the match on Wednesday. Rather than recover and attempt to rebook the Font matchup, Cruz elected to say farewell to the sport on Thursday. He will still remain as a color commentator and analyst for the UFC.

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Posting on Instagram, Cruz wrote a farewell message detailing his recent setbacks and thanking those involved in his career. ”To the fans worldwide, “I have poured every ounce of myself into this sport for the last 25 years. I was really hopeful for one final fight but unfortunately, two shoulder dislocations in 8 months calls an end to this guy’s career.

“I gave everythi…

A lot can change in a day.

During the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s media day for UFC 312, current featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria (16-0)—who is in Australia cornering brother Aleksandre Topuria—suggested that he had one name in mind if he remained at 145 pounds: Alexander Volkanovski. He also continued floating the idea of moving up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev. On Thursday, however, Topuria informed Sherdog he had a different name in mind.

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“Diego [Lopes] has this profile, he is aggressive and brings dynamism to the Octagon,” Topuria said to the surprise of some. “He does what the public wants to see: he fights for real, not to simply survive. And that’s what I want for my next fight. I don’t want an opponent who just controls the pace, I want someone who really challenges me.”

Whether this means Topuria has changed course, or if he is intentionally giving different outlets different answers to generate confusion or interest,…

Court grants FINAL approval in first of two UFC fighter pay lawsuits. pic.twitter.com/gv6Ja3cjDI

— Erik Magraken (@erikmagraken) February 6, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is officially settling the first of two antitrust cases for $375 million.

In September, the UFC agreed to up its amount for the settlement of the Le vs. Zuffa antitrust case for fighters that competed with the league from 2010 to 2017 to $375 million. This was subject to approval from Nevada judge Richard Boulware, who did so in October while scheduling the final approval hearing for February. First breaking from to combat sports attorney Erik Magraken on Thursday, Judge Boulware has granted final approval to the settlement and the first case will be closed.

Over a decade ago, the UFC’s former parent company of Zuffa was sued for violating antitrust laws, and accused of engaging in anticompetitive practices to harm fighters. The claims were that the UFC paid…