Month: Mai 2025

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The Professional Fighters League’s long-promised foray into Africa is now official, and the promotion appears to be pulling out all the stops to ensure it was worth the wait.

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On Wednesday, the PFL announced the debut of PFL Africa, with the kickoff event on July 26 in Cape Town, South Africa set to inaugurate a tournament across four events in the second half of the year. It will be the third such regional league for PFL, which currently runs a European tournament as well as PFL MENA, which focuses on the Middle East and primarily Arabic-speaking North Africa. The new league will be the first to expressly incorporate talent from sub-Saharan Africa. PFL Africa will be led by Francis Ngannou, the Cameroonian-born former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder and crossover boxing star who signed with PFL two years ago as a competitor as well as chairman of the company’s planned foray into his native continent.

In a…

Editor's Note: The article has been updated at 2:00 a.m. on May 7 to reflect the original source of this news.

One of the longest tenured active Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters is currently no longer on the roster.

Social media user FullContactMTWF initially reported the news on Friday that Brad Tavares was no longer a member of the UFC. Other outlets have since confirmed that the Hawaiian who joined the promotion in 2010 had fought out of his current contract. The middleweight may be re-signed by the organization, or he could join another promotion, but for now he is a free agent.

The 185-pound stalwart first reached the major stage when he appeared on Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” reaching the semifinals in the season that first pitted Coach Chuck Liddell against Coach Tito Ortiz—only for Ortiz to withdraw on the final episode to be replaced by Rich Franklin. Beating James Hammortree and Seth Baczynski to get to the semis, eventual victor Court …

A spot in the top 10 of the talent-rich flyweight division is on the line at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s International Fight Week.

As first reported on Monday by Eurosport NL and later confirmed by other outlets, Viviane Araujo (13-6) and Tracy Cortez (11-2) will toe the line at UFC 317. The two 125-pound contenders will square off on June 28, inside of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No main attraction is on the books, nor is there an established lineup to determine whether this match will serve on the main card or prelims.

The 38-year-old Brazilian has seen mixed results since reaching the upper echelon of her weight class. While “Vivi” procured wins over names like Jennifer Maia and Karine Silva, she suffered setbacks when facing Natalia Silva, Amanda Ribas and Alexa Grasso in recent memory. When she made her company debut in 2019, she punched out Talita Bernardo in the third frame. Since then, every one of her 11 outings has reached the final bell, win o…

Featherweights on opposing streaks will meet at UFC Nashville.

Calvin Kattar (23-9) will trade leather with Steve Garcia (17-5) at the upcoming UFC Fight Night card on July 12 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The matchup was first reported by MMAJunkie and subsequently confirmed by Garcia on Instagram. The two will tangle on a show that currently has no main event scheduled, nor a current broadcasting destination be it ESPN+, on the ESPN airwaves or the ABC network.

Former perennial contender Kattar slid out of the rankings thanks to four consecutive defeats from 2022 to February 2025. The Massachusetts native outdueled Giga Chikadze at the beginning of 2022, and has since lost three decisions while also injuring his knee against Arnold Allen. Before this career-long skid, “The Boston Finisher” racked up wins over names like Dan Ige, Ricardo Lamas and Jeremy Stephens.

Meanwhile, streaking prospect Garcia will get his first shot against ranked op…

Tension rising! Usman says security would be required if he sees Belal backstage. 😳

🎥 @espnmma pic.twitter.com/HgJDDOraBo

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 6, 2025

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Things are heating up between Kamaru Usman and Belal Muhammad.

The beef between the two first started with Usman (20-4) criticizing Muhammad (24-3) for refusing to fight his friend and teammate Islam Makhachev. Muhammad responded with a long rant, mocking Usman’s recent inactivity, labelling him a “podcaster.” Muhammad also accused “The Nigerian Nightmare” of shying away from tough competition during his welterweight title reign.

Usman now says that tension between them has risen to the point where security will be needed if they come across each other at an event where they both aren’t competing. While Usman claims to be a collected person outside the Octagon, he also believes fighters are always on alert when “in the thick of it,” which he hasn’…

😳🏆Alex Volkanovski wants Ilia Topuria to become loghtweight champion:

"Imagine that — if he were to win [lightweight title] and then we have a rematch at lightweight. That’s a perfect world for me."

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🎥 @arielhelwani ▫️ pic.twitter.com/T8aTNMynR7 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 5, 2025

Alexander Volkanovski’s dream bout is a rematch against Ilia Topuria with the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title on the line.

Volkanovski (27-4) lost his featherweight title via a brutal knockout against Topuria (16-0) at UFC 298 last year. Topuria then defended his belt just once against Max Holloway before moving up to lightweight. Meanwhile, Volkanovski won the vacant title via a unanimous decision against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 last month. While Volkanovski would have ideally liked to avenge his loss, that ship has sailed for the time being.

However, not all hope if lost for “The Great.” Topuria is rall…

Bo Nickal’s head coach at American Top Team, Mike Thomas Brown, believes a lack of experience led to his pupil’s first professional mixed martial arts loss.

Nickal (7-1) faced a massive step up in competition when he took on Reinier de Ridder in the UFC Des Moines co-main event. While Nickal was a sizeable favorite going in, de Ridder scored a massive upset with knees to the body in the second round. This ended Nickal’s seven-fight winning streak, which included six finishes.

Brown revealed that they always had concerns going up against elite competition like De Ridder, a former two-division One Championship king. However, the renowned ATT coach trusted the skillset of Nickal, a former three-time NCAA Division 1 ace. Brown admits that while Nickal is a gifted athlete, his lack of experience showed against the Dutch veteran. Brown is confident that Nickal will only bounce back stronger from his first loss.

“Bo has all the attributes that you want if y…

🕌Belal Muhammad started preparation for Jack Della Maddalena fight during Ramadan.

He sees it as an advantage, believing that suffering during trainings makes him harder to beat.👀💪

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🎥 @ufc ▫️ pic.twitter.com/ASYMADT2gK — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 4, 2025

Belal Muhammad thinks training during Ramadan will make him unbreakable in the Octagon.

Muhammad (24-3) is ready to defend his welterweight title for the first time against Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) in the UFC 315 main event on May 10 at Bell Centre in Montreal. Which means Muhammad was in camp during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in March.

Many Muslim fighters hesitate to accept fights around Ramadan as they fast from sunrise to sunset. However, Muhammad took the challenge head on, pushing himself to the limits. And “Remember the Name” believes it will give him an edge over Maddalena, who is definitely hydrating himself before, during and a…

Kyle Prepolec to Make Short-Notice Debut Against Benoit St. Denis at UFC 315

Windsor, Ontario's Kyle Prepolec is replacing Joel Alvarez as Benoit Saint Denis' opponent at #UFC315, per @aaronbronsteter 🇨🇦

Alvarez withdrew from the fight due to a hand injury, he announced on social media pic.twitter.com/WzqTiExamo

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 5, 2025

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Kyle Prepolec is set to make his Octagon debut against Benoit St. Denis on five days’ notice at UFC 315.

France’s St. Denis (13-3) was originally set to face Joel Alvarez at UFC 315 on May 10 at Bell Centre in Montreal. However, Alvarez was unfortunately forced out due to a hand injury, which he revealed on Sunday.

“Hey there everyone. I'm out of my fight at UFC315 due to hand injury that leaves me unable to start punching for 3 weeks,” Alvarez wrote on social media. “There are many factors that are not in our hand and we cannot control. Camp had been perfect so far…

Kyle Prepolec to Make Short-Notice Debut Against Benoit St. Denis at UFC 315

Windsor, Ontario's Kyle Prepolec is replacing Joel Alvarez as Benoit Saint Denis' opponent at #UFC315, per @aaronbronsteter 🇨🇦

Alvarez withdrew from the fight due to a hand injury, he announced on social media pic.twitter.com/WzqTiExamo

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 5, 2025

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Kyle Prepolec is set to return to the Octagon on five days’ notice at UFC 315 to take on Benoit St. Denis.

France’s St. Denis (13-3) was originally set to face Joel Alvarez at UFC 315 on May 10 at Bell Centre in Montreal. However, Alvarez was unfortunately forced out due to a hand injury, which he revealed on Sunday.

“Hey there everyone. I'm out of my fight at UFC 315 due to hand injury that leaves me unable to start punching for 3 weeks,” Alvarez wrote on social media. “There are many factors that are not in our hand and we cannot control. Camp had been perfect so …

[embedded content] For Reinier de Ridder, it is top five or bust in his next matchup.

Dutch grappler De Ridder (20-2) co-headlined UFC on ESPN 67 opposite Nickal (7-1) at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday. While de Ridder closed in as a hefty betting underdog ahead of the pairing, he surprised everyone by choosing to wrestle the former three-time NCAA Division I champ right from the start. De Ridder spoiled Nickal’s unbeaten record by folding him with knees to the body in the second round.

“The Dutch Knight” then called out Sean Strickland, a decision he admitted he might already regret due to the former champ’s well-known trash talk. But De Ridder believes Strickland is an interesting matchup for him stylistically, and can’t want to get the bout booked. De Ridder said at the UFC Des Moines post-fight presser:

“I think I might be regretting it a little bit,” De Ridder remarked later that night after calling out Strickland in the Octagon. “But…

𝙍𝘼𝙕𝙃𝘼𝘽𝘼𝙇𝙄 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋𝙎 𝙆𝙇𝙀𝘽𝙀𝙍 𝙄𝙉 𝙍𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿 1️⃣‼️

The 𝑵𝑬𝑾 RIZIN Featherweight Champion!

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[ #RIZINOtokoMatsuri | Live on RIZINtv ]🔗 https://t.co/SJYljaZ7L1 pic.twitter.com/h0WWgIfuyi — RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) May 4, 2025

A new Rizin Fighting Federation featherweight champion was crowned in quick and emphatic fashion in the main event of Rizin “Otoko Matsuri” in Tokyo. Undefeated Kyrgyz standout Rajabali Shaidullaev knocked out defending champion Kleber Koike Erbst in just 62 seconds to become Rizin’s newest 145-pound titleholder.

Shaidullaev (14-0, 4-0 Rizin) traded strong leg kicks with Koike (34-8-1, 1 NC; 9-3, 1 NC Rizin) early in the fight before marching forward and backing Koike up against the ropes. He stunned Koike with a right hook to the temple and then dropped him face-first to the mat with a second right hand that landed on the top of Koike’s head. Koike clinging to consciousness, referee Minoru Toyonaga waved off the …