Day: 11. Mai 2025

Tabatha Ricci will square off against Amanda Ribas in a strawweight bout at UFC 318.

MMA Mania was first to report the booking. UFC 318 takes place on July 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans and is headlined by a BMF title bout between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.

Ricci is coming off a 2-1 campaign in 2024 that concluded with a unanimous decision loss against Xiaonan Yan at UFC Fight Night 248 on Nov. 23. “Baby Shark” is 6-3 in the Octagon with victories over the likes of Angela Hill, Tecia Pennington and Gillian Robertson.

Ribas has alternated between flyweight and strawweight bouts during her promotional tenure. She has lost three of her last four fights, including a third-round submission defeat to Mackenzie Dern in her most recent outing at UFC Fight Night 249 on Jan. 11.

After a hard-fought victory in the UFC 315 co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko wasn’t in a rush to think about her next title defense.

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“Bullet” earned her 10th victory in a championship bout on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, edging French contender Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision to maintain her place atop the flyweight division. Shortly thereafter, reigning strawweight queen Weili Zhang entered the Shevchenko sweepstakes.

“Congratulations to the champion,” Zhang wrote on Instagram. “Everything has line up perfectly, it’s destiny.”

However, Shevchenko wasn’t so interested in immediate matchmaking at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

"It’s kind of for me after the fight you get the victory, the belt is with you, and you still have adrenaline running and everything like that, to answer the exact question, I would prefer to take it with one of two days when I will rest," Shevchenko said. "I don't say about the timing because …

Jose Aldo called it a career for a second time on Saturday night, and it’s not hard to see why that decision may hold up this time around.

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In addition to struggling with a weight cut that resulted in his bout with Aiemann Zahabi being moved from bantamweight to 145 pounds, the legendary Brazilian revealed a litany of health issues that affected him heading into UFC 315.

“This fight was hard,” Aldo said in an interview with UFC Brazil (translation via MMAFighting.com). “I had a muscle tear on the arm, I had something on the belly that I forgot the name, down there, [from] kicking a lot. I had some problems. A virus infection, a bunch of things. The doctors [said], ‘Get him out of the fight,’ but I didn’t want to because in my head I knew this could be my last fight.”

Aldo did relatively well in the early going, but Zahabi came on strong down the stretch and ending the fight by battering the Nova Uniao standout with elbows from top position to ul…

Wow slow motion reveals that Bruno Silva got his skull cracked on that elbow by Marc Andre Barriault

pic.twitter.com/7SpZhXHIyv

— Erich Richter (@erichterrr) May 11, 2025

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All seems to be well with Bruno Silva after he suffered a scary knockout loss to Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 315.

“Blindado” was down on the canvas for several minutes before being taken from the Octagon on a stretcher on Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. During the broadcast, it was revealed that Silva complained of neck pain after being rendered unconscious by some brutal elbows from his Canadian opponent.

However, after being transported to a nearby hospital, the Brazilian revealed that he is in relatively good health.

“Stopping by to inform that I’m fine,” Silva wrote on Instagram (translation via MMAFightig.com). “I went to the hospital and did exams, it’s all OK with my health.” The 35-year-old Silva suffe…

Vitor Belfort was in tears after being named to the 2025 UFC Hall of Fame 👏 #UFC315 pic.twitter.com/CcGzt1MjiY

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 11, 2025

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort will be enshrined in the promotion’s Hall of Fame this summer.

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Belfort will be the 20th member of the Pioneer Wing, which includes athletes who turned pro before Nov. 17, 2000, are at least 35 years old and have been retired for one year or more. The induction ceremony will take place on June 26 at T-Mobile Arena as part of International Fight Week and will stream on UFC Fight Pass.

“Vitor Belfort was 19 years when he was signed by UFC and he quickly made an impact by becoming the youngest athlete to win a UFC fight, and UFC tournament,” said UFC CEO Dana White. “Vitor was a pioneer of the sport and is definitely a UFC legend. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

Bel…

You are not Volk I will show you different level. Keep my belt clean https://t.co/gTplxCAXMY

— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) May 11, 2025

There was more than just the welterweight title at stake in the UFC 315 headliner.

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When Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad to claim the 170-pound belt on Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it also cleared the way for Islam Makhachev to pursue his dreams of holding a title in two weight classes.

“Time to become a two-division champion,” Makhachev wrote on X shortly after Della Maddalena’s victory. “Let’s go.”

Time to become a double champion #inshaAllahLet’s go

— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) May 11, 2025

Prior to UFC 315, the promotion confirmed that Makhachev would defend his lightweight title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 317 if Muhammad was victorious against Della Maddalena. Due to their history as frien…

As it turned out, Jack Della Maddalena and Belal Muhammad were the ideal dance partners for a memorable championship clash.

The welterweight combatants earned “Fight of the Night” and $50,000 apiece for their spirited battle in the UFC 315 headliner at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Saturday night. The action only increased as the fight wore on, culminating in a frenetic final round where Della Maddalena put a final stamp on his unanimous decision victory to claim 170-pound gold.

Elsewhere, Jasmine Jasudavicius pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a dominant victory over Jessica Andrade in a preliminary flyweight contest. The Canadian took the former strawweight champion down with ease, landed ground-and-pound and then elicited a tap with a rear-naked choke at the 2:40 mark of Round 1.

Finally, Marc-Andre Barriault took home the evening’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award for a violent finish of Bruno Silva i…