Month: April 2025

Alexander Volkanovski once again sits at the head of the table.

The City Kickboxing Star called upon a piercing jab and astute lateral movement, as he earned a unanimous decision over Diego Lopes and captured the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight crown for a second time in the UFC 314 headliner on Saturday at the Kasey Center in Miami. Volkanovski (27-4, 14-3 UFC) swept the scorecards with 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46 marks from the cageside judges.

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Lopes (26-7, 5-2 UFC) struggled to find an offensive flow but nevertheless had his moments. He knocked down Volkanovski with a chopping overhand right in the second round and later opened a pair of cuts near the Australian’s right eye. Lopes pushed a steady pace, doing everything he could to keep his shifty counterpart in his line of sight. The Volkanovski jab was the separator. He sent it crashing into Lopes’ face over and over again, using it as both a damaging weapon and as a means to …

Sherdog's live UFC 314 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Cornolle (-192), Cowan (+160)Round 1 After dragging through a number of less-than-spectacular events, many of them holed up at the UFC’s headquarters warehouse of the Apex, the final fight card on this long stretch will receive the royal treatment of sorts. Inside of the Kaseya Center in Miami, some 19,000-ish ravenous fans will be practically frothing at the mouth for consensual physical combat. That action commences in the lone catchweight contest of the evening, as France’s Cornolle (8-2, 2-1 UFC) clocked in a pound and a half over the bantamweight limit. Glad to be back in the cage for the first time in nearly two years, Cowan (7-3, 0-1 UFC) accepted the 20% fine assessed to Cornolle to allow the fight to happen. The ladies will be joined in the Octagon by referee Kerry Hatley, and a glove touch kicks off the evening’s hostilities. Cornolle gets right to business w…

Dan Ige passed another difficult test in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division.

The Xtreme Couture mainstay rebounded from back-to-back losses to Diego Lopes and Lerone Murphy, as he turned away Sean Woodson with punches in the third round of their featured UFC 314 prelim on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Ige (19-9, 11-8 UFC) brought it to a close 1:12 into Round 3, though it was not without controversy.

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Woodson (13-2-1, 7-2-1 UFC) leaned on his seven-inch reach advantage and managed to keep the Hawaiian at bay with a persistent jab, unorthodox hand movements and evasive footwork through much of the first half of the bout. Ige staggered the Wolves Den Training Center product with a counter left hook at close range in the third round and gave chase with brutal body blows. Woodson ducked into a desperation single-leg, at which point he absorbed a series of short hammerfists that drew enough attention from referee Andrew G…

The moment Amanda Nunes found out she was being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame 🥹 #UFC314 pic.twitter.com/XtONrzrjLR

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 13, 2025

Amanda Nunes, who is widely regarded as the greatest female fighter of all-time, will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

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The promotion announced the news during the UFC 314 broadcast on Saturday. Nunes, who was in attendance at the Kaseya Center in Miami, teared up as a video tribute played on the big screen at the venue. Nunes will be enshrined as the 15th member of the Modern Wing during a ceremony on June 26 as part of International Fight Week.

“Amanda Nunes is the greatest female fighter of all-time,” UFC CEO Dana White said in a release. “Amanda was a great champion who had one of the most legendary careers in combat sports history. She is an incredible person, and it will be an honor to induct her into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

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𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your updated #PFLWorldTournament 3️⃣Fight Card

•Alexander Shabliy is out•Vinicius Cenci steps in and replaces Shabliy in the tournament•𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗽: Brent Primus vs. Vinicius Cenci

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•Jordan Newman is out•Nick Maximov… pic.twitter.com/adEzAkrkAb — PFL (@PFLMMA) April 12, 2025

One of the lightweight favorites is out of the Professional Fighters League 2025 world tournament.

The promotion announced on Saturday that Alexandr Shabliy has withdrawn from the bracket for undisclosed reasons. As a result, Vinicius Sacchelli Cenci will step in and face Brent Primus in a first-round matchup at 155 pounds. Additionally, Nick Maximov will replace Jordan Newman in a middleweight alternate bout against Khalid Murtazaliev.

PFL World Tournament 3 takes place on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and features middleweight and lightweight pairings. The main card is headlined by a 185-pound tilt …

👀🥊Aaron Pico said he has better boxing than Ilia Topuria:

“I think I can be a champion within a year."

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🎥 @ufc ▫️pic.twitter.com/ICfSkZd891 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 11, 2025

Aaron Pico thinks he can be a UFC champion within a year.

Pico recently confirmed his UFC signing after parting ways with Professional Fighters League. Pico was initially rumored to be matched up against top featherweight UFC contender Movsar Evloev. However, Evloev refuted the rumors right before Pico officially announced his UFC signing.

Pico also made some lofty claims about his immediate career plans, as the former Bellator MMA star believes he can be a UFC champ within a year. Pico also considers himself better than former champ Ilia Topuria, who recently vacated the strap for his lightweight goals.

“I think I can be champion within a year. I know that’s a bold prediction but I truly feel it. Ask Freddie Roach, …

Ilia Topuria says he’ll ask Islam Makhachev what his favourite submission is, and submit him with it in front of Khabib 😳

“D’Arce choke? I’m gonna submit you with that… I’ll take him close to Khabib. I will submit him close to Khabib.”

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🎥 @PBDsPodcastpic.twitter.com/3PzFSsLtTD — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 11, 2025

Ilia Topuria continues to exude confidence as he prepares to debut in a new division.

Topuria has always been supremely confident and never failed to live up to his words during his rise to UFC featherweight championship. However, “La Leyenda” is now set to face greater challenges after vacating his belt to move up to lightweight — often considered the toughest division in the UFC.

At the top of the lightweight division stands No.1 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev. While Topuria is rallying for an immediate title shot at lightweight, Makhachev isn’t willing to fight the undefeated…

🥺 🇧🇷 Diego Lopes tears up when his family in Brazil whom he haven't seen for 11 years wished him good luck in his title fight this weekend:

"I left them 11 years ago, when I left home. I remember I was very clear with my mother and my father, and with my brothers that I will… pic.twitter.com/AgCu5HPayC

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 11, 2025

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Diego Lopes was recently overwhelmed with emotions while speaking of his family.

Lopes challenges Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant featherweight title in the main event at UFC 314 on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The Brazilian recently received a compilation video of his family members wishing him luck going into his first UFC title fight. Lopes was clearly overwhelmed by the video and shed some tears while discussing his family. The UFC star left home more than a decade ago, promising to return only when he could afford a better life for his family. A…

Just two events into the season, and most of the brackets have gone up in smoke.

The opening round of Professional Fighters League’s global tournament is already halfway over. Upsets were plentiful and results were largely entertaining as the slim and sleek eight-fight 2025 PFL World Tournament 2 show wrapped in a bit under four hours. The action-packed evening culminated in an unexpected showdown at 135 pounds between Bellator MMA vet Leandro Higo (23-7, 0-1 PFL) and extremely late replacement Marcirley Alves (13-4, 1-0 PFL). Coming into this main attraction on a day’s notice after Higo’s original opponent of Josh Rettinghouse could not get cleared, Alves showed he was fully prepared to rise to the occasion.

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Partway through the first round, the wide-swinging Alves knocked Higo clean off his feet with a huge left hand, and he climbed into top position and controlled the remainder of the opening frame. Alves was keen on reintroducing his countryman to…

Sherdog's live PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 2 coverage will begin Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, April 11 at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2..

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Jay Pettry scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores t…

Looking to get his belt back 😤@AlexVolkanovski weighs-in at 145lbs!

[ #UFC314 | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus PPV | 10pmET ] pic.twitter.com/nXJbwwjhpm

— UFC (@ufc) April 11, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its return to Miami for an exciting UFC 314 pay-per-view card featuring 13 fights.

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The main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight championship is now official after the weigh-ins took place. Both men made weight for the five-round fight. As for the rest of the card, only Nora Cornolle failed to hit her contracted weight, as she was 1.5 pounds over the bantamweight limit. Her fight against Hailey Cowan will continue, although Cornolle will be fined a percentage of her purse.

Volkanovski (26-4) enters the title fight on a shocking two-fight losing streak as he lost to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in his second bid at the 155-pound title and was then knocked o…

AZERBAIJAN, ARE YOU READY??@JamahalH vs Khalil Rountree Jr. headline the first-ever UFC Baku on June 21 👏

Tickets on sale April 25 | Learn more: https://t.co/caJbrV3t2d---------AZƏRBAYCAN, HAZIRSAN ?@JamahalH və Khalil Rountree Jr. 21 iyun tarixində baş tutacaq ilk UFC… pic.twitter.com/qwhW8YtXmF

— UFC (@ufc) April 11, 2025 The framework is quickly underway for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to make a splash in the half-Asian, half-European nation of Azerbaijan.

According to the promotion on UFC on Friday, the main and co-main events are on the books for UFC Baku, which is set to go down on June 21 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this nation bordered on the east by the Caspian Sea, fight fans will be treated to a rescheduled main attraction of Jamahal Hill (12-3, 1 NC) vs. Khalil Rountree (13-6, 1 NC). The co-headlining spot will go to the returning Kyoji Horiguchi (34-5, 1 NC) against Tagir Ulanbekov (16-2) in a pivotal flyweight affair. C…