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THANK YOU @Ruthless_RL! Welcome to the #UFCHOF 🤝 | #UFC313 pic.twitter.com/98AHoX9Cvi

— UFC (@ufc) March 9, 2025

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Robbie Lawler is headed to the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

It was announced on the UFC 313 broadcast that the former welterweight champion will be enshrined in the Modern Wing as part of a ceremony held during International Fight week this June. Lawler’s fight with Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 had previousy earned a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing.

“Robbie Lawler is one of the most badass athletes to every step inside the Octagon,” said UFC CEO Dana White. “Robbie was an absolute killer, and I have a ton of respect for his toughness and his fighting style, which helped grow the sport of MMA and UFC by attracting a lot of new fans. Robbie had an amazing career, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

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UFC 313 will move forward with 10 bouts after losing a pair of preliminary contests on the day of the event.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion on Saturday announced that both Curtis Blaydes and John Castaneda have withdrawn from their respective fights due to undisclosed illnesses. Blaydes was supposed to face Rizvan Kuniev at heavyweight, while Castaneda was slated to meet Chris Gutierrez in a featherweight clash.

UFC 313 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship showdown between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje will square off against Rafael Fiziev at lightweight. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The prelims begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN+/Disney+ and continue at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ESPNEWS/ESPN+/Disney+.

Blaydes has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances, including a first-round KO defeat to Tom…

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Things got heated between Jean Silva and Bryce Mitchell at the recent UFC 314 press conference.

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Silva and Mitchell are scheduled to trade leather at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The two recently came across each other at a press conference promoting the event at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Nevada.

Known for his controversial opinions, Mitchell was already getting booed by the crowd when Silva amped them up further by starting a “F—k Bryce Mitchell” chant.

Mitchell recently made headlines with anti-semitic and homophobic comments, for which he later apologized. Silva later called out Mitchell, promising to teach him a lesson for the polarizing comments. Silva also brought a globe to he recent presser, promising to change Mitchell’s well-known opinion of a flat earth.

This will be yet another quick turnaround for “Lord” who quickly rose to stardom with four consecutive finishes since his UF…

😳 Fluffy Hernandez vs Robert Whittaker next?

“He’s a f*cking G, you know what I mean? He’s been in this sport forever. I would love to fight him. That would be a f*cking fun one.”

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🎥: @JakeNoeckerMMA x @Home_of_Fight

Full Anthony Hernandez interview:https://t.co/WiQBy0nmXy pic.twitter.com/CPIv8GFcNl

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 7, 2025

Anthony Hernandez (14-2) would like to have some room for error if he fights Robert Whittaker (26-8).

Making his way to the upper echelon of the middleweight division, Hernandez is now on the verge of attaining contender status. When asked about a potential clash against Whittaker next, Hernandez was excited by the idea.

“Fluffy” said that he would prefer five rounds against the former champ. Known for getting better as the fight progresses, Hernandez often gets tagged in the opening frame of the fight.

“I would love it. That would be an honor, he’s a G,” …

🤯 BUSINESS JUST PICKED UP 🤯

Lazar Todev 🇧🇬 and Will Fleury 🇮🇪 get their hands on each other tomorrow night at OKTAGON 68.

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Who will leave Stuttgart as the baddest man in OKTAGON MMA?

📺 https://t.co/TVP7NaDRbZ & RTL+ pic.twitter.com/wMdXzwfnYh

— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) March 7, 2025 After stints in Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League, it took Will Fleury only three fights to cement himself as a force in Oktagon MMA.

Since wrestling the light heavyweight title from Karlos Vemola last December, the new champ has set his eyes on another prize. On Saturday, he’ll look to add the heavyweight strap around his waist when he challenges No. 1-ranked challenger Lazar Todev for the vacant belt at Oktagon 68 at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Hall in Stuttgart, Germany.

Fleury (14-3, 1 NC) will ride a seven-fight win streak into Saturday’s main event. A year ago, he was looking for a home promotion after…

Caio Borralho has the utmost of confidence in his teammates at the Fighting Nerds.

Borralho will be in the corner of Mauricio Ruffy on Saturday, who will be squaring off with Bobby Green on the UFC 313 main card. Their burgeoning fight camp has been exploding with talent, with a number of impressive names on its roster including Carlos Prates, Jean Silva, Bruna Brasil and the aforementioned Borralho and Ruffy. The middleweight contender discussed his teammate Ruffy with Sherdog on Thursday, where he believes that no matter how it turns out, Ruffy vs. Green will end before the final bell.

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“TKO by Ruffy in the second round,” Borralho prognosticated. “Key point for him is not to get frustrated if he misses some punches, but I truly believe he is better than Green everywhere.”

The belief in one another in the Fighting Nerds stable is high as can be given the recent success by its members currently competing in the UFC. Borralho had high praise for Ruff…

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight championship will be on the line as the main event of UFC 313 is now official after the weigh-ins took place.

Headlining the pay-per-view is a five-round championship bout between defending titleholder Alex Pereira and challenger Magomed Ankalaev. Both men had no trouble making weight, so the fight will go forward as planned. All of the rest of the card also made weight, so all 11 fights will move forward.

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Undefeated since moving up to light heavyweight, Pereira (14-2) has defended the 205-pound belt three time since winning it in a fight against Jiri Prochazka. All four of Pereira's light heavyweight title fights have ended in a knockout win for the Brazilian. "Poatan" rides a five-fight win streak into his latest test and stepped on the scale weighing 205 pounds on the dot.

Meanwhile, Ankalaev (19-1-1, 1 NC) arrives on a 13-fight unbeaten streak. While his previous title opp…

UFC heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima can’t get out of his own way.

On Thursday, Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced through the UFC that Rogerio de Lima had failed a drug test out of competition on Jan. 13. The Brazilian tested positive for anastrozole, a hormone modulator, that is prohibited at all times by the drug testing agency. It is the second time he has tested positive for this substance, first getting flagged in 2017 for the same thing. As this is his second doping violation on the roster, he has been suspended for one year, and will be allowed to compete again starting Jan. 24, 2026.

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Rogerio de Lima reportedly cooperated fully with the investigation, providing samples, putting the agency in contact with his physician and other things. He stated that the substance is used to treat a medical condition, but he never sought out a therapeutic use exemption to be permitted to take it. Because of this reasoning, CSAD handed down a lighter…

[embedded content] The art of bracketology is officially coming to the Professional Fighters League this year.

The organization, which ran a points-based playoff system for a tournament since its inception as PFL, has changed up how it will operate its eight grand prix divisions. In its stead will be a single-elimination tourney, with the eight classes each sporting eight participants plus a couple alternates for each weight category. The eight division are the following: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and women’s flyweight—of note, the league is re-adding 185 pounds while bringing the 135-pounders to the table for the first time.

On Thursday, the PFL sent out a press release announcing that it will be airing its bracket reveal show on ESPN+ this coming Tuesday, March 11. On that, the company will unveil the seeding of every competitor in the tournament, showing the path they will have to traverse in…

There appears to be a tentative timeline in place for Jon Jones’ next fight.

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During an appearance on "The Jim Rome Show” on Wednesday, UFC CEO Dana White hinted that Jones’ return to the Octagon might be sooner than most expected.

“The plan is to fight Jon this summer,” White said. “Obviously, when, where and all that stuff is being determined. My goal this year is to make that fight [with] Aspinall.”

Shortly after Jones defended his title at UFC 309 in November, White guaranteed that he would eventually put together a championship unification bout between “Bones” and Aspinall. However, Aspinall recently claimed that while both he and the UFC are on board for the fight, Jones is the one holding up negotiations. With that being said, Jones has made it clear that it would take a lucrative offer for him to accept a fight against the British heavyweight.

White also hinted that Saturday’s UFC 313 headliner could have an effect on the heavy…

With a title fight on the horizon, Magomed Ankalaev hasn’t been able to strictly adhere to his normal religious practices.

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This year, Muslims are observing Ramadan from Feb. 28 through March 29. Part of that observance involves abstaining from food or drink during that 30-day period from sunrise to sunset. Ankalaev, who faces Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight championship in the UFC 313 main event on Saturday, admitted that he had to break his fast during fight week — but only slightly.

“I have been following the fast strictly except for this week, where I will have to break it a few times because I need to make sure I drink water to have a successful weight cut,” Ankalaev told Ag.Fight. “But apart from that, I started with Ramadan. I have been fasting. And after the fight, I will obviously also follow the rules of religion as it has to be.”

The 32-year-old Ankalaev is unbeaten in his last 13 Octagon appearances and is coming off a 2024 …

French standout Manon Fiorot will take a seven-fight promotional winning streak into her title bout against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 315.

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Fiorot’s grappling coach, Flávio “Peroba” Santiago, revealed to Sherdog.com that the No. 1 flyweight contender has evolved a lot on the ground in recent years.

“Manon's work ethic is really impressive,” said the Luta Livre black belt, who has been living in France since 2001. “Since I started training her on the ground in December 2022, she only stopped to have surgery on her knee. Seven months later, she started the camp to fight Rose [Namajunas]. Ten months after the surgery she fought. After the fight with Rose, she stopped for a month and then started training for [Erin] Blanchfield.”

According to the Brazilian coach, the five rounds against Blanchfield were important preparation for this long-awaited fight against the champion.

"I believe Valentina will come to exchange punches but with the go…