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After Stephen Thompson declined to face an overweight Michel Pereira at UFC 291, the promotion offered him another opponent a little more than a month later.

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On his YouTube channel, “Wonderboy” recently revealed that he was given the chance to face Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 293 in Sydney on Sept. 9. However, since he was just coming off a lengthy training camp in preparation for Pereira, the six-week turnaround was too much.

“This is literally the weekend of UFC 291, but UFC comes to me and was like, ‘Hey, how about you fight JDM in Australia?’ I was like, ‘No, too soon,’” Thompson said. “You know, I’ve been training since April. So my training camp has been wearing me down, want to heal up from that. So I told them no.

“And they were like, ‘OK, well, how about fighting the following weekend in Vegas?’ I was like, ‘Man, still too soon again.’ My body’s broken down. I want to be able to heal back up, but not only that, JDM is…

All 10 fighters slated to compete on Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series made weight on Monday.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and features a welterweight clash pitting Mitch Ramirez (171) against Carlos Prates (170). The card airs on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Ramirez has kicked off his professional tenure with seven consecutive triumphs. Most recently, the Syndicate MMA product defeated Bellator MMA veteran via second-round technical knockout at XMMA 6 “Bash at the Beach” on May 3. All but one of his victories have come inside the distance.

The 30-year-old Prates enters the matchup with a 16-6 career mark. The Phuket Top Team-trained Brazilian has won his last six outings and is coming off back-to-back first-round KO triumphs under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner.

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:Mitch Ramirez (171) vs. Carlos Prates (170)Yousri Belgaroui (186) vs. Marco Tulio Silva Costa (185.…

Gladiators Return to the Arena ⚔️ #FNC12 this Saturday | Pula Arena 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/t0nuX1WqPp

— FNC (@FNCmma) August 28, 2023

In the ongoing feud between billionaire tech moguls, Elon Musk has floated the idea about fighting Mark Zuckerberg at the Colosseum in Rome. Fight Nation Championship, the largest mixed martial arts promotion in Croatia and the Balkans, is taking that notion one step further – albeit at a different location.

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FNC 12 will take place on Saturday at Pula Arena, an ancient amphitheater built some 2,000 years ago by the Romans, who used it for ancient gladiatorial battles. The arena is located in the Croatian coastal town of Pula and is one of the few amphitheaters of its kind remaining in the world.

FNC is headlined by a heavyweight title clash between Ivan Vitasovic and Michal Andryszak, while Matej Batinic will square off against Gadzhimurad Khebdeev for the promotion’s inaugural light heavywei…

After more than a year-and-a-half on the sidelines, Giga Chikadze made a successful return to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 225.

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The 35-year-old Kings MMA product engaged in a back-and-forth standup battle with Alex Caceres, eventually emerging with a unanimous decision triumph in their featured featherweight clash at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, on Saturday. It was Chikadze’s first bout since dropping a five-round verdict to Calvin Kattar in the UFC on ESPN 32 headliner on Jan. 15, 2022.

“It feels so great. I can’t even explain,” Chikadze said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “It’s been a pretty long time, and I felt like I was without a job. Finally I got my dream job back, and I haven’t been so happy for a long time. So finally, we’re back baby … It’s been 15 minutes, and I feel like every second I looked great, and I’m pretty happy after one-and-a-half year layoff with my performance.”

Caceres was competitive th…

A bantamweight bout pitting Hideo Tokoro against Alan Yamaniha will headline the Rizin Landmark Vol. 6 card on Oct. 1.

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The Japanese promotion recently announced the lineup for the event, which takes place at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan. The full card includes 11 MMA contests and one kickboxing match.

A veteran of 68 professional fights with appearances in Bellator, Dream and K-1 in addition to Rizin, Tokoro will be competing for the first time in 2023. The 46-year-old Tokoro went 0-2 last year, dropping a decision to Makoto Takahashi at Rizin 37 before suffering a first-round KO defeat against John Dodson at Rizin 40.

Yamaniha, meanwhile, has won six of his last eight outings dating back to 2019. Most recently, the Bonsai Jiu-Jitsu representative earned a unanimous decision triumph against Yasuhiro Kawamura at Rizin Landmark Vol. 4 on Nov. 6.

Erin Blanchfield had to weather some early adversity against Taila Santos, but she expected a difficult bout entering UFC Fight Night 225.

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“I expect these type of fights, I always hope to do them better,” Blanchfield said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “Just get in there, don’t get hurt at all, finish the fight and get out, but tough fights like this are what make you grow. So sometimes you need them.”

Santos started their flyweight bout strong, landing hard punches, knees and leg kicks in the opening stanza. Additionally, the Brazilian did a good job defending the takedown throughout the fight. Over time, though, Blanchfield was still able to impose her will through consistent pressure and control. That, in turn, created openings for her to land more strikes.

“She had strong leg kicks, I didn’t expect the leg kicks as much. Her takedown defense was good but I felt super close a couple times. I was persistent on it. I could feel her ge…

Max Holloway had an inkling that Chan Sung Jung might go for broke in their headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 225.

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That’s exactly what happened in Round 3, when “The Korean Zombie” threw caution to the wind before Holloway landed the decisive blow to win via knockout 23 seconds into the period. Shortly thereafter, Jung laid down his gloves in an emotional farewell.

“I think he knew exactly what had to be done,” Holloway said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think he knew what the job was. It was kill or be killed. I was just lucky that I was on top on the other side of it. We both threw right hands. Mine just landed a tad quicker. A half-second slower, who knows, his lands first what would have happened? I don’t know if I would have ate it or a lot of stuff could have gone wrong.

“I think I hurt him in the second round good. Between the second and the third, he was sitting there and being like, ‘I’m not going to coast through a fi…

Max Holloway once again proved his legitimacy as the second-best featherweight in the world after finishing the indestructible Chan Sung Jung in the UFC Fight Night 225 main event at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium.

For years Holloway (25-7) and "Korean Zombie" have circled each other as potential opponents in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division. Despite Jung’s decline in age, the Zombie’s high-octane, all-guts style brought out the violence in the blessed one.

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Holloway came out poised and patient as usual but seemed shocked by the spring in the Zombie’s step. Jung (17-8) landed several hard shots and forced Holloway to sit on his punches and trade. After the first round, it was clear that it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park for the UFC’s No. 1 ranked featherweight contender.

Heading into the second round, Holloway looked to put Zombie away and nearly did after dropping him with a hard right hand. Holloway pounced on the chok…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 225 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 a.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Choi (-180), Errens (+150)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Aldrich (-520), Liang (+390)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Ben Duffy scores the round:Tudor Leonte scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Kinoshita (-…

HEAVY SHOTS FROM Waldo Cortes-Acosta 🫣 #UFCSingapore pic.twitter.com/ruoBvIgmKB

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 26, 2023 After two straight first-round finishes, there was no way heavyweight bruiser Waldo Cortes-Acosta was gonna break the steak. "Salsa Boy" (10-1, 3-1 UFC) closed out the UFC Fight Night 225 prelims in devastating fashion with a first-round knockout of Poland’s Lukasz Brzeski.

Out of the five finishes on the prelims, Acosta’s may have been the most violent. With just over two minutes left in the round, Acosta parried Brzeski’s jab and made him pay dearly with an overhand right carrying the entirety of his 264-pound frame. Brzeski’s legs stopped, dropped and rolled until he finally face-planted in his own corner. Brzeski, a former DWCS product, has lost his first three fights in the UFC.

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Armfield Steamrolls Kazama Garrett Armfield steamrolled Toshiomi Kazama to secure his first UFC win in bantamweight actio…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship awarded four fighters performance bonuses following the UFC Fight Night 225 card.

As expected, the fight of the night was a no-brainer as Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung put on a thrilling fight in front of the fans. "Korean Zombie" was knocked out in the third round and retired after the fight, which saw Holloway land some incredible punches, including a right hook that ended the career of the fan-favorite South Korean fighter. Both men earned an extra $50,000 as a result.

The two Performance of the Night bonuses went to two impressive knockout artists. Michal Oleksiejczuk earned one for his comeback TKO win over Chidi Njokuani. "Hussar" picked up the finish at the 4:16 mark of Round 1. Finally, Junior Tafa needed just 1:24 to finish Parker Porter. While it took 18 seconds longer than his brother Justin Tafa, "The Juggernaut" was just as impressive, blasting Porter with a number of elbows and punches that put away the heavyweigh…

According to her coach, top Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Mayra Bueno Silva should be ready to return to competition sooner than later.

On July 15, Silva secured the biggest win of her pro career by submitting Holly Holm with a ninja choke in their main event of UFC on ESPN 49. However, the Brazilian announced in August that she had failed her post-fight drug test, breaking the news before it spread from other sources. Silva claimed that she did not intentionally violate the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ban on the substance, later determined to be ritalinic acid, a stimulant also known as Ritalin or Concerta. She stated that she took the prescribed medication to treat her ADHD, and that she stopped taking it a week before the fight to let it clear out of her system.

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Sherdog spoke to Silva’s coach at American Top Team, Marcos da Matta, more famously known as “Parrumpinha,” who discussed her situation. Da Matta thanked the UFC for working with…