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#UFCKansasCity Official Scorecard: Zak Cummings (@ZakCummings) vs Ed Herman

See every scorecard from Fight Night ➡️: https://t.co/nxcHo6EnUA pic.twitter.com/gPOObuBARU

— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 16, 2023

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Fighting for the first time in nearly three years in front of an adoring hometown crowd in Kansas City, 37-year-old Zak Cummings put an emphatic stamp on a pillar-to-post smashing of 41-year-old fellow grizzled veteran Ed Herman at UFC on ESPN 44.

The first round was characterized by Cummings’ speed advantage on the feet, as he landed cleanly with both hands, but especially with his left, including one that dropped Herman. The round was also marked—of course, on this bizarre night—by controversy, as the supine Herman struck the kneeling Cummings with an illegal upkick to the face, only to have referee Dwayne Bess restart the two on the feet afterward.

The diet of left hands continued in Round 2, as Cummings r…

The armbar gets it done for Gillian Robertson in round two 🔒 #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/dfmPVXkeNP

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 15, 2023

It was not without controversy, but Gillian Robertson made a successful 115-pound debut, vindicating her own decision to drop from flyweight while spoiling Piera Rodriguez’s undefeated record at UFC on ESPN 44.

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Robertson quickly showed that her grappling chops would be carrying over to her new division, as she took advantage of a Rodriguez takedown to sweep to top position and dominate the bulk of Round 1. Robertson’s offensive wrestling, often a sore spot at flyweight, was effective in Round 2, as she spilled Rodriguez to the canvas with a single-leg takedown within seconds. “The Savage” then spent the balance of the period in a series of dominant positions including side control and full mount, landed strikes and kept Rodriguez looking generally overwhelmed on the ground.

With…

The Golden Boys gets his first UFC victory! @GoldenboyZell takes the unanimous decision over Lando Vannata at #UFCKansasCity 👏 pic.twitter.com/x39yahiKz5

— UFC (@ufc) April 15, 2023

Daniel Zellhuber parlayed youth, size and speed into a win over Lando Vannata in a lightweight showcase at UFC on ESPN 44.

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For a moment, it looked as though the fight might not make it out of the first frame. Late in the round, Zellhuber rocked Vannata with a punch, then smashed him with a right knee to the head, dropping him to the canvas. Vannata hung on desperately, staying in motion and avoiding the worst of the punishment as referee Jason Herzog looked on closely, and managed finally to return to his feet near the fence. The veteran made adjustments between rounds, however, and used constant stance switches in Round 2 to confound Zellhuber, get inside the taller man’s kicking range and land several clean counters.

The 23-year-old Me…

BIG SHOTS FROM DENISE GOMES FOR THE 2ND ROUND FINISH 👊 #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/kTupYusLn9

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 15, 2023

Denise Gomes made a statement, punching out Bruna Brasil in the second round of their strawweight preliminary bout at UFC on ESPN 44.

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The story of the fight was Gomes’ power and aggression, as she effortlessly navigated Brasil’s greater height and reach to land numerous overhand rights. Gomes also managed a couple of takedowns, dragging the taller woman down with nifty trips from the clinch, while denying Brasil’s takedown attempts in the first round.

Midway through Round 2, Gomes came forward, landing a left hook to the body followed by a right overhand that dropped Brasil in her tracks. Gomes swarmed for the finish, and after a string of unanswered lefts and rights on the ground, referee Dwayne Bess dove in for the stoppage, which came officially at 2 minutes, 42 seconds of the stan…

Made good on the debut!

Gaston Bolanos takes the unanimous decision over Aaron Phillips at #UFCKansasCity! pic.twitter.com/6SpW9dJFCk

— UFC (@ufc) April 15, 2023

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Gaston Bolanos made a successful Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, prevailing over Aaron Phillips in a wild bantamweight scrap at UFC on ESPN 44.

The bout featured major swings in momentum, with both men dominating the action in stretches. Round 2 saw Phillips execute a slick takedown directly into mount, then take Bolanos’ back and threaten with a rear-naked choke. The Peruvian survived, however, exploding to his feet and finishing out the round pummeling Phillips against the fence.

The final round offered more of the same: Phillips once again took Bolanos down, took his back and worked for chokes from a tight body triangle, while Bolanos appeared to get the better of the action while the two were standing.

In the end, the judges saw the f…

Kicking off #UFCKansasCity with a split decision W!@joselyneMMA29 makes it 3 straight wins with a close one over Lucie Pudilova pic.twitter.com/IX6Eabr0Of

— UFC (@ufc) April 15, 2023

In the opening bout, Joselyne Edwards won a mystifying split decision over Lucie Pudilova despite spending much of the first two rounds as a grappling dummy at UFC on ESPN 44.

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Pudilova struck for a takedown in Round 1, then spent most of the balance of the period landing periodic ground-and-pound while controlling the Panamanian on the mat. The second frame was Pudilova’s best, as she grounded Edwards immediately, moved to side control and spent the rest of the stanza in the driver’s seat, threatening with chokes and briefly taking Edwards’ back. A much more competitive final stage saw Edwards stay upright and get the better of a sporadic striking battle.

Both fighters appeared surprised—and the crowd voiced its displeasure—at the 29-28…

The Olivier Aubin-Mercier riddle remains unsolved in the Professional Fighters League.

Aubin-Mercier (18-5, 7-0 PFL) opened the defense of his 2022 lightweight title with a unanimous decision over fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Shane Burgos in their PFL 3 headliner on Friday inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. All three members of the cageside judiciary struck 30-27 scorecards for the Canadian.

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Burgos (15-4, 0-1 PFL) did not enjoy his organizational debut. Aubin-Mercier outstruck him in the first round, then turned to other means. He stymied Burgos with clinches across the final 10 minutes, climbed to the back with standing body triangles on two occasions and stole valuable time from an increasingly frustrated opponent. Not until the final 20 seconds of the fight did Burgos break free with knees and punches, but by then, the die had been cast. Meanwhile, multi-punch volleys to the body and head paired with airtight sub…

The 2023 Professional Fighters League marches on with 2023 PFL 3 at 7 p.m. ET. The action airs live on ESPN and then continues on ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Discuss this evening’s card with the world’s largest combat sports community here.

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay…

This featherweight affair is OFFICIAL!@BlessedMMA and @ArnoldBFA both hit the scale at 146lbs for tomorrow's #UFCKansasCity main event 💪 pic.twitter.com/RYArTp22Nd

— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Kansas City, Missouri, for UFC on ESPN 44, which is headlined by an intriguing featherweight battle.

The five-round main event will see former featherweight king Max Holloway return to the Octagon against rising contender Arnold Allen. While both main eventers had no issue making weight, there was one notable miss on the lineup. Joselyne Edwards (136.5) came in heavy for her second fight in a row, checking in half a pound over the bantamweight limit for her fight against Lucie Pudilova (136). As a result, she has been fined 20% of her purse and the match will otherwise continue.

"Blessed" is looking to bounce back after once again suffering a defeat against Alexander Volkanovski. The fan-favorite Hawai…

Per sources: the scheduled lightweight fight between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush for #UFC288 it's being pushed due to an undisclosed injury on Oliveira's side. The promotion is now working on a new date .

Via @ESPNDeporteshttps://t.co/M0j549OhGr

— Carlos Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) April 14, 2023

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has been forced to pull out from his scheduled tilt against Beneil Dariush at UFC 288 on May 6 according to a report by ESPN Deportes’ Carlos Contreras Legaspi.

The nature of Oliveira’s injury, or its severity, is not yet known. The injury has thrown a wrench into the UFC’s plans, leaving Dariush without an opponent for the upcoming event at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Legaspi’s report stated that the UFC is looking to postpone the contest for a future card.

Oliveira, 33, saw an 11-fight winning streak smashed and his l…

Over the next 36 hours, one beloved coach from American Top Team will travel the country to corner fighters in both Professional Fighters League and Ultimate Fighting Championship events.

Coach Marcos “Parrumpa” DaMatta will be serving as one of the main cornermen for five different competitors this weekend, and he will have to fly from Las Vegas to Kansas City, Missouri, in the process. Despite the exhausting slate ahead of him, “Parrumpa” is extremely optimistic for all of his students. Speaking with Sherdog ahead of his fully loaded schedule, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach noted he had absolutely no complaints or regrets.

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“After being in the corner of Russians Magomed Magomedkerimov, Magomed Umalatov and Brazilians Raush Manfio and Natan Schulte [at PFL 3], I’ll try to sleep a few hours and fly to Kansas [City] to corner Edson Barboza in the co-main event of [the] UFC [card],” the coach explained.

In fact, merely being asked to corner by this…

👑 King 🆚 Challenger 👊

📺 Watch George Hardwick vs Yann Liasse in our #CW152 main event 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 on @UFCFightPass tomorrow night! pic.twitter.com/FDwxExyjde

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) April 14, 2023 George Hardwick's Cage Warriors lightweight championship is on the line in the main event of CW 152.

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The defending champion will look to keep the belt wrapped around his waist as he takes on Yann Liasse in the main event of the 13-fight card. Both title participants had no trouble making weight as both weighed in at 154.1 pounds. All other fighters made weight with the exception of Chris Bungard, who came in 2.1 pounds over for his lightweight fight against Gavin Hughes.

Fighting out of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, Hardwick (11-1) is on an impressive seven-fight win streak. He captured the title by defeating Kyle Driscoll and defended it against Bungard last year. Meanwhile, Liasse (9-1, 1 NC) is looking to extend his …