Month: April 2025

Lerone Murphy couldn’t put Josh Emmett away, but he was nonetheless pleased with the way he executed his strategy in the UFC Vegas 105 headliner.

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“That was the exact game plan what you saw there,” Murphy said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “Pick him off at range, catch him on the way in. Obviously, I wanted the finish. The finishes are just not coming at the minute. But a masterful performance anyway. We’re just chasing them finishes, chasing them wins, racking up the wins and aiming for that title.”

Murphy relied on intelligent movement and a varied striking arsenal to frustrate Emmett on Saturday. The heavy-handed Team Alpha Male product, who was coming off a massive knockout of Bryce Mitchell in December 2023, spent much of the fight stalking his opponent in search of a similar opening, but it was Murphy who staggered Emmett in the waning moments of the bout.

“I took a few shots on the gloves, really didn’t take anything clean,…

Rhys McKee’s first UFC triumph came with some additional perks.

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The Cage Warriors veteran floored Daniel Frunza three times in the opening stanza of their UFC Vegas 105 clash and while a finish didn’t arrive, the bout was halted before the second frame when the cageside doctor determined that a battered Frunza shouldn’t continue. After losing his first four Octagon appearances, “Skeletor” takes home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for his work.

Meanwhile, Chang Ho Lee relied on his tenacious ground-and-pound to earn a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check in a stoppage of Cortavious Romious at bantamweight. The “Road to UFC” Season 2 winner went to work in the second stanza, when he took Romious’ back and battered his opponent with punches and elbows to secure at the 3:48 mark of the period.

Elsewhere, Ode Osbourne garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his finish of newcomer Luis Gurule in a featured flyweight…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 105 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC on ESPN 65. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Alencar (-112), Demopoulos (-108)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Buday (-166), Satybaldiev (+140)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tris…

Lerone Murphy danced with one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division’s heaviest hitters for 25 minutes and walked out of the Octagon no worse for it.

The undefeated Manchester Top Team linchpin stayed undefeated with a unanimous decision over Josh Emmett in the five-round UFC on ESPN 65 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46—all for Murphy (16-0-1, 8-0-1 UFC), who has rattled off seven straight victories since his split draw with Zubaira Tukhugov in 2019.

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Emmett (19-5, 10-5 UFC) completed multiple takedowns but could not track down the elusive Englishman on the feet. Murphy blasted him with a variety of kicks to the legs and body, traded punches occasionally and circled out of danger. He countered effectively, mixed in close-range elbows at times and, most importantly, kept himself out of harm’s way against an opponent with nuclear punching power. Frustration overtook Emmett late …

Rhys McKee finally put an elusive check in the Ultimate Fighting Championship win column.

The former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts and Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder racked up three knockdowns and forced a doctor stoppage on Daniel Frunza in their featured UFC on ESPN 65 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was waved off in between the first and second rounds.

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McKee (14-6-1, 1-4 UFC) cut loose with multi-punch bursts and floored the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with a left hook, a clean one-two and an overhand left. Frunza (9-3, 0-1 UFC) steadied himself amid the abuse but retreated to his corner after the first round with serious damage to his right eye and a gnarly cut to his upper lip. It was enough to warrant fight-ending concern from the cageside physician. Meanwhile, Dione Barbosa put her Olympic-level judo skills to use and put away Diana Belbita with an arm-triangle choke in…

Hotlanta, we are BACK! 🔥

We’re bringing the Octagon to ATL!

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For all info on #UFCAtlanta: https://t.co/8HQfIg4b0R pic.twitter.com/4GLYCl6zJU — UFC (@ufc) April 6, 2025

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is headed to the Peach State later this year.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced on Saturday night that it will hold an event at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 14. It marks the fifth time the Octagon has touched down in Atlanta. One significant bout that has been confirmed for UFC Atlanta is a flyweight clash between Rose Namajunas and Miranda Maverick.

The last time the promotion was in Atlanta was April 13, 2019 for UFC 236. At that event, Dustin Poirier captured the interim lightweight crown with a five-round verdict over Max Holloway in the evening’s featured bout. In the co-headliner, Israel Adesanya claimed interim middleweight gold with a memorable decision triumph over Kelvin Gast…

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t like the new, polite version Sean O'Malley.

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Dvalishvili took O’Malley’s bantamweight title via a dominant unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September 2024. The two seemingly had some bad blood leading up to the fight, although no one crossed any limits. Dvalishvili also openly voiced his dislike for O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, even calling him out for barking instructions to “The Machine” mid-fight.

However, O’Malley and his corner have seemingly buried the hatchet with Dvalishvili. O’Malley recently called Dvalishvili a “nice guy” while expressing gratitude for making him a better fighter and human being by defeating him.

“Merab’s a nice guy, he really is… I’ll forever be grateful for Merab in the sense that he beat me, made me become not just a better fighter, a better human,” O’Malley said. “Losing is a weird thing.”

However, Dvalishvili would rather have “Suga” trash talking like old times as they head into…

Movsar Evloev is determined to return next month, regardless of who his opponent is.

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Evloev recently revealed that his next fight will potentially be at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on May 17. The Russian claims to have waited for a matchup against Brian Ortega for three months, but that fight didn’t come to fruition for unknown reasons. However, Evloev has seemingly been offered a new opponent now, and he is willing to fight anyone on the May 17 card.

“Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17,” Evloev wrote on X. “I have been waiting for Ortega for three months. I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17 against anyone.”

Today I got offered a fight in the UFC against someone new for May 17th.

I have been waiting for Ortega for 3 months I’m not sure what is going on with him, but I’m ready to fight May 17th against anyone.

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) April 4…

Elite flyweights are set to trade leather at UFC 317.

Manel Kape (21-7) and Brandon Royval (17-7) are slated to fight at UFC 317 on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Laerte Viana. Kape and Royval were initially scheduled to meet on March 1 before Royval withdrew due to multiple concussions.

Kape has finished 18 of his 21 pro wins so far. “Starboy” is 6-3 in the UFC, though all of his losses came against elite competition. The Angolan is coming off consecutive finishes over Bruno Silva and Asu Almabayev that saw him rebound from a loss against Muhammad Mokaev.

Meanwhile, Royval is 7-3 in the UFC and has only lost to former champ Brandon Royval and reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja. “Raw Dawg” dropped a title bid against Pantoja at UFC 296 in 2023 and has since rebounded with back-to-back split decision wins over Moreno and Tatsuro Taira.

First to weigh-in! ⚖️@JoshEmmettUFC hits the scale at 146lbs

[ #UFCVegas105 | Live SAT on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/EcQrAp0L4o

— UFC (@ufc) April 4, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off a relatively light April schedule with its return to Las Vegas after two international events. The 12-fight card is now official after the UFC Vegas 105 weigh-ins took place, although one fight has been removed from the event.

Headlining the card is a key featherweight fight between Josh Emmett and the undefeated Lerone Murphy. Both main event fighters had no issue making weight, as both came in under 146 pounds. Also classified as a featherweight is Cortavious Romious, who missed the bantamweight limit by 3.5 pounds for his fight against Chang Ho Lee. As a result of the weight miss, Romious will be fined 20% of his purse that will go to Lee. Additionally, Daniel Santos was not medically cleared and could not weigh in, so his fight…

In the world of competitive sports, Jason Jackson proved Jamaica has more than just a bobsled team.

The main 2025 season of Professional Fighters League is officially underway, with semifinalists for featherweights and welterweights on the books. The evening concluded with the sole remaining seat at 170 pounds up for grabs, with former Bellator MMA champs colliding in this new single-elimination tourney. Jackson (19-5, 2-0 PFL) tangled with Andrey Koreshkov (28-6, 1-2 PFL) for the next slot on the bracket, and Jackson proved to be too much for the Russian. A combination of takedowns and varied striking from “The Ass-Kicking Machine” put Koreshkov on the defensive early, welting up Koreshkov all over his body and taking little damage on the comeback in the first round.

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Midway through Round 2, still in the driver’s seat, Jackson hacked down with three illegal strikes to shred open a sizeable cut on the crown of Koreshkov’s dome. Referee Keith Peterson d…

According to his coach, Patricio Freire’s next two victories are money in the bank.

Currently in Miami preparing for Freire’s highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 314, coach Eric Albarracin spoke with Sherdog about his fighter. The wrestler known as “Captain Americas” mentioned, among other things, the high expectations set for “Pitbull” when he sets foot in the Octagon against former interim beltholder Yair Rodriguez. He also touched on what could lie ahead for the Brazilian if he prevails on April 12, including facing the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes headlining that same show.

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“Obviously, the UFC would not make it easy for the Bellator GOAT to make his debut,” the coach remarked. “In my opinion, Yair is a tougher opponent than Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. In addition to being tall, he has an unpredictable game based on taekwondo.”

To prepare for such a dynamic threat, Albarracin and the Pitbull Brother…