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Colby Thicknesse, who trains with ex-featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, has agreed to face Aleksandre Topuria on short notice at UFC 312.

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Thicknesse is a replacement for Cody Haddon, who withdrew from the bantamweight pairing due to injury. The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the change via social media on Wednesday. The booking contains added intrigue since Topuria is the older brother of current UFC 145-pound king Ilia Topuria, who knocked out Volkanovski to claim the featherweight throne at UFC 298. Ilia Topuria and Volkanovski are rumored to be scheduled for a rematch at UFC 314 in April.

“How good is this? I’m very excited for Colby,” Volkanovski said in a video on the UFC’s Instagram. “There’s not a more deserving person than Colby Thicknesse. He’s probably the hardest worker I know on the planet. He’s got heart. He’s got the discipline. No one’s more committed than this guy …. He’s been my main training partn…

Asu Almabayev will get a different matchup than originally anticipated at UFC Vegas 103.

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The promotion initially announced that Almabayev would lock horns with former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg at the March 1 event. However, the Kazakhstan native will instead lock horns with Allan Nascimento on the same card. The new pairing was confirmed by UFC broadcast partner ESPN on its event page. Erceg has reportedly been moved to the UFC Mexico City card to face Brandon Moreno on March 29, but that booking has not been formally announced.

Almabaev has kicked off his promotiona tenure with four consecutive triumphs. He concluded a 3-0 2024 campaign with a three-round verdict over Matheus Nicolau at UFC Fight Night 245 this past October. The Brave Combat Federation veteran has won 17 straight professional outings dating back to September 2017.

After dropping his Octagon debut against Tagir Ulanbekov, Nascimento has rebounded to post back-to-…

🇮🇪🤔 Paul Hughes tells Khabib (referring to Conor Mcgregor):

"I am not like this other guy. I am my own man."🎥 @WillHarrisAOAF pic.twitter.com/bjJIkhgbyS

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 29, 2025

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Conor McGregor was not pleased with Paul Hughes after post-fight video showed “Big News” engaging in a respectful post-fight conversation with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Hughes squared off against Usman Nurmagomedov in the PFL Road to Dubai main event last Saturday, losing a closely-contested majority decision in a widely-praised lightweight title clash. In a video captured by Anatomy of a Fighter, Hughes appears to refer to McGregor while speaking with Khabib, who was in his cousin’s corner for the bout.

“I’m not like this other guy,” Hughes says. “I’m my own man.”

Shortly after the bout, McGregor praised Hughes’ performance, claiming that his countryman “dominated the fight” while trashing the Nurmagomedovs in a since…

Chase Hooper will look to add another veteran name to his ledger when he locks horns with Jim Miller at UFC 314.

The lightweight bout was first reported by McGregorRousey2 on X. UFC 314 takes place on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami and also includes and women’s strawweight showdown between Virna Jandiroba and Xiaonan Yan.

The 25-year-old Hooper has won four straight in the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a first-round submission of Clay Guida at UFC 310. “The Dream” has also bested the likes of Viascheslav Borshchev, Jordan Leavitt and Nick Fiore during his current winning streak.

Miller, who holds the record for most wins (27) and appearances (45) in UFC history, has won three of his last four outings. Most recently, the 41-year-old New Jersey native scored a first-round submission victory against Damon Jackson at UFC 309 last November.

Mauricio Ruffy is expecting a return to form against Bobby Green at UFC 313.

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At UFC 309, Ruffy defeated James Llontop via unanimous decision in his second Octagon appearance. It was the first time that the Brazilian had gone the distance in 11 professional victories. The Fighting Nerds standout vows that the result will be different against Green.

“Every time I fight, my goal is to finish my opponent,” Ruffy told Sherdog.com. “I tried to do that in my last fight, but it’s no secret to anyone that my opponent [missed weight] and I had to approach more cautiously — but always looking for the KO. With Bobby Green, it will be no different. My range and his [aggressive] style will be the perfect [combination] for me to finish that fight.”

However, Ruffy makes it clear that winning by any means — not just a knockout — is his main priority.

"I want to build up to the knockout with lots of patience, but he is such a tough opponent, so I don’t …

Merab got into ANOTHER altercation with a fan after Aljamain Sterling lost to Mosvar Evloev. 👀 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/MBeKMmvQkZ

— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) December 8, 2024

Dennis Buzukja could face sanctions for scuffling with someone in the crowd at UFC 310.

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During a meeting on Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission temporarily suspended the four-time UFC veteran for throwing punches at a man on his way back to the locker room after cornering Aljamain Sterling on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was also seen being restrained during the altercation.

Dvalishvili later posted evidence that the fan had ties to Umar Nurmagomedov and his team, and he claimed that the incident was orchestrated by his UFC 311 opponent. The fan involved was later identified as Arman Tugaev. Dvalishvili would go on to retain his bantamweight title with a unanimous decisi…

Bobby Green will square off against Mauricio Ruffy in a lightweight showdown at UFC 313.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC 313 takes place on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje will face Dan Hooker in a five-round, non-title affair.

Green, who now goes by his former moniker of “King,” has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 38-year-old veteran of 50 fights suffered a first-round submission loss against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 304 this past July.

After earning a UFC deal on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2023, Ruffy has kicked off his promotional tenure with back-to-back triumphs over Jamie Mullarkey and James Llontop. The 28-year-old Fighting Nerds representative has been victorious in 11 of his 12 professional outings…

Islam Makhachev doesn’t think an eventual move to 185 pounds is unrealistic.

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The reigning UFC lightweight champ hasn’t been shy about his desire to eventually become a two-division champion. However, a friendship with current 170-pound king Belal Muhammad complicates matters. If Muhammad holds on to the welterweight belt, Makhachev sees another path to two-division gold.

“My height allows [a move to middleweight],” Makhachev recently told Ushatayka. “I think my physical data allows it, too. I just need to work with my specialists, gain muscle mass, add a little weight. I think I can try. As I already said at the press conference after the fight, if they offered it to me tomorrow and say they will give me time to gain weight, I would not turn it down. I would 100% agree to fight at middleweight.

“I’m not saying that I have a better chance, that I can 100% finish [Dricus] Du Plessis, but watching his fights, watching his style, I think I have the…

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Those who have followed mixed martial arts for any period of time know that retirements rarely last.

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However, Chris Weidman’s farewell was short-lived even by MMA standards. Approximately one week after announcing his retirement ahead of UFC 311, Weidman was selected in the Global Fight League draft. According to the former UFC middleweight champion, it was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

“The elephant in the room is I just retired from the UFC. A lot of people thought I was done fighting. I didn’t know,” Weidman said on the GFL draft stream. “I thought maybe I am done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but they had to be good.”

A lot of that had to do with some of the other athletes who are currently expected to be part of the fledgling promotion.

“This is a league where there’s a lot of guys that I have a history with,” Weidman said. “You’ve got Luke Rockhold, you’ve got Gegar…

Alexandre Pantoja was able to benefit from a different perspective at UFC 311.

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The reigning flyweight champion was in Renato "Money" Moicano’s corner for his lightweight title bout against Islam Makhachev at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Jan. 18. Even though his teammate lost via first-round submission, Pantoja found it to be a valuable experience.

“As a fighter it's very important to have the opportunity to see a fight from the trainer's point of view,” Pantoja told Sherdog.com. “I told ‘Moicano’ that he gave a child a VIP ticket to visit Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.”

Pantoja also revealed an interesting detail regarding the night American Top Team training partner Arman Tsarukyan had to withdraw from the main event, which resulted in him being replaced by “Moicano” on one day’s notice.

 "When I woke up I got a voice message from Parrumpa [coach Marcos da Matta] saying, ‘Call me as soon as you wake up,’” said Pantoja, who initi…

It’s officially the end of an era in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as longtime Octagon competitor Clay Guida confirmed his departure from the Las Vegas-based promotion in a lengthy Instagram post over the weekend.

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“This is not my retirement,” Guida wrote. “This is simply a thank you for now and a passing of my UFC torch to the next generation of warriors and wrestlers. We were built to last. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The best is yet to come!”

It’s unclear if Guida was released or if his UFC contract wasn’t renewed. Twitter account UFC Roster Tracker initially brought word of Guida’s exit from the promotion.

Guida, 43, has 37 UFC appearances to his credit, a figure that current ranks No. 4 all-time. He compiled an 18-19 mark since beginning his Octagon tenure in 2006, earning victories over the likes of Nate Diaz, Rafael dos Anjos, Takanori Gomi, Anthony Pettis, B.J. Penn and Michael Johnson, to name a few. His 2009 lo…

Two of the sport’s all-time greats took time to exchange pleasantries backstage at Road to Dubai on Saturday.

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In a video posted on the Bellator MMA Instagram account, Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomedov are seen exchanging pleasantries and posing for a photo in the locker room at the Coca-Cola Arena. Emelianenko was on hand to corner Vadim Nemkov in the co-main event, while Nurmagomedov was coaching a number of Dagestani fighters — most notably lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

Emelianenko is a former Pride Fighting Championships standout who is widely regarded as perhaps the best heavyweight in MMA history. He famously went unbeaten in 28 consecutive fights from 2001 to 2009.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, retired from the sport in 2020 as the reigning UFC lightweight champion. “The Eagle” went 29-0 over the course of a career that began in 2008. Like Emelianenko, the Dagestani star is considered to be one of the top pound-for-po…