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Valter Walker dug into his bag of tricks and took a small but not insignificant step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.

The ex-Titan Fighting Championship titleholder disposed of Junior Tafa with a heel hook in the first round of their featured UFC 305 prelim on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Tafa (5-3, 1-3 UFC) yelled in pain as his adversary isolated his leg and cranked, resulting in the verbal submission.

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UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Walker (12-1, 1-1 UFC) withstood power punches from the Soma Fight Club product, secured two takedowns, established a dominant position and eventually targeted a lower extremity. Tafa went nose to nose with the Brazilian in the aftermath and delivered a slap to the side of his head before he was physically escorted to the other side of the cage.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Ramos rode an opportunistic takedown and a near-finish to a …

Brendan Allen punches Marvin Vettori post PFL playoffs @ufc #ufc pic.twitter.com/eU3BxIivxr

— himothy (@Im565097757086) August 17, 2024

Though they have yet to cross paths in the Octagon, that didn’t prevent Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori from getting into a scuffle on Friday night.

The two UFC middleweights brawled on the casino floor at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, following the PFL 8 playoff card at the same venue. Multiple videos of the altercation have surfaced on social media.

According to a report from MMA Mania, the fight began when Vettori threw a punch at UFC light heavyweight George Tokkos. That prompted Allen to enter the fray and throw punches at “The Italian Dream.”

Vettori appeared to be no worse for wear in a video posted to his Instagram stories.

“One arm Vettori is unbeaten,” he wrote. “Ain’t never missing s—t.”

Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White couldn’t resist taking a shot at the rival pro…

Kayla Harrison is willing to replace either Raquel Pennington or Julianna Pena in their UFC 307 title fight if needed.

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The promotion recently announced Pennington’s title defense against Pena as the co-main event at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Meanwhile, Harrison fights Ketlen Vieira on the same card, with the winner expected to get the next bantamweight title shot.

Harrison doesn’t necessarily agree with the matchups and considers herself deserving of a title shot already. However, she plans to put on a performance that will set her levels apart from not only her opponent, but also from the other two bantamweights fighting for the title.

“I don’t necessarily agree with the decision, but if they want me to smash another skull, I’ll smash another skull,” Harrison told MMAjunkie.com. “I think Ketlen’s good. I’m just at a different level. I’m at a different level from all of them. I’m gonna go out on Oct. 5 and…

Khalil Rountree Jr. receiving a title shot did not sit well with some other light heavyweight contenders.

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It was announced on Friday that Rountree will challenge Alex Pereira for the 205-pound crown at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Former champs Jan Blachowicz and Jamahal Hill immediately took issue with the announcement.

Blachowicz believes the Pereira is receiving “special protection” from the UFC, which the Brazilian doesn’t need.

“With all due respect to Khalil but there are at least two higher ranked contenders who are ready to fight Poatan,” Blachowicz wrote on X. “He doesn’t need special protection.”

With all due respect to Khalil but there are at least two higher ranked contenders who are ready to fight Poatan. He doesn’t need special protection.

— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) August 16, 2024

Meanwhile, Hill, who was scheduled to fight Rountree at UFC 303 in June, broug…

Danny Sabatello says he could be done fighting after a disappointing result in his Professional Fighters League debut.

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Sabatello faced fellow debutant Lazaro Dayron at PFL 8 on Friday, a fight which marked the launch of the promotion’s bantamweight division as well. It was a closely-contested affair, with Lazaro dropping Sabatello in the first round and “The Italian Gangster” answering back with dominant wrestling in the second frame.

While they went toe-to-toe in the final round, a point was deducted from Dayron for a blatant fence grab. However, the fight ended in a controversial majority draw, which has left Sabatello in shock. Without diving into the analysis of their performances, Sabatello believes the point deduction should have been enough to sway the scorecards in his favor.

“I have to go back and look but I don’t see any scenario how he would have won that fight, given they took the point away…And this is huge, this isn’t like a foo…

Daniel Cormier asks Dricus du Plessis how he's getting his opponents emotional:

"I think I might be the problem. Obviously because it's 2/2." 😭😭

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🎥 @ufc #UFC305 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/fnjV5eJWsq — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 16, 2024

Dricus Du Plessis certainly has a knack for making his opponents emotional.

This initially surfaced prior to Du Plessis’ title win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 this past January, when he touched a nerve with his opponent during a pre-fight press conference. “Stillknocks” broached the tender subject of Strickland’s abusive childhood, which led to the then champ threatening to stab Du Plessis.

Du Plessis is now scheduled to defend his title against former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. The two have long been feuding over the legitimacy of their status as real African champs. While Du Plessis, who lives and trains in South Africa, claims to be the …

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Australia with a middleweight championship fight atop the card.

Both champion and challenger made weight for the main event grudge match. Middleweight titleholder Dricus Du Plessis came in at 185 pounds on the dot, while former champ Israel Adesanya weighed 184 pounds. All other fighters on the 12-fight card also made weight with the exception of would-be flyweight Jesus Santos Aguilar, who came in 1.5 pounds over the limit for his fight against Stewart Nicoll. Aguilar will be fined a percentage of his purse as a result.

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Du Plessis (21-2) is undefeated inside the Octagon. The South African fighter is on an impressive nine-fight win streak that includes his title win over Sean Strickland and a TKO shocker over Robert Whittaker. "Stillknocks" is looking to cement his title reign at the young age of 30.

Adesanya (24-3) is looking to bounce back after a lackluster decision defeat to Stric…

The Professional Fighters League determined its light heavyweight and lightweight finals during its PFL Hollywood card.

The 11-fight card was headlined by an intriguing light heavyweight rematch between 2023 champion Impa Kasanganay and Joshua Silveira. Kasanganay (17-4) won the first encounter less than a year ago, which caused Silveira (13-3) to come out far more aggressively and find success during the first frame. Kasanganay would have a much better second round, although "Coninha" landed some slick uppercuts late. The final five minutes saw both men land hard shots and the result was up in the air as it went to the judges' scorecards.

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Ultimately, the judges preferred the work of Kasaganay, who took a unanimous decision with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in his favor. He'll advance to his second-straight light heavyweight final and will look to repeat.Yagshimuradov Decisions Wilkinson The co-main event saw former champion Rob Wilkinson battle…

Sherdog's live PFL 8: 2024 Playoffs coverage will begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:

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Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Mike Pendleton scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Brian Knapp scores the…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship great Cain Velasquez has entered a plea that should keep him out of prison for life.

The Santa Clara District Attorney’s office released a statement on Friday announcing that Velasquez has pleased no contest for his charges of attempted murder, felony assault and additional gun charges. Due to this, he will not need to go to trial that was scheduled for Sept. 9, in front of a jury. His sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 18, according to the East Bay Times.

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In 2022, Velasquez fired a handgun at a truck holding multiple people including a man Velasquez accused of molesting his son. Velasquez, who himself was driving while chasing after the other vehicle, fired several shots from his .40 pistol that struck another individual. During the excursion, the former UFC fighter shot at the man accused of molestation near a school, and was apprehended by police in Morgan Hill, California, shortly thereafter.

“This defend…

Pereira vs Rountree! #UFC307 from the @deltacenter, Utah on October 5th!@StateofSport pic.twitter.com/EJJcjJgUMf

— danawhite (@danawhite) August 16, 2024 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is making sure that its big October show will be one to remember.

On Friday, the UFC announced a slew of matchups for its UFC 307 show on Oct. 5. While it also revealed its main and co-headlining attractions for the evening at Salt Lake City’s Delta Center, a few additional fights worthy of headlining their own Fight Nights were set for this card. It is currently unclear the card placement of the bouts, but Roman Dolidze (13-3, 1 NC) will step in to replace Chris Curtis against Kevin Holland (26-11, 1 NC) at middleweight, and welterweights Stephen Thompson (17-7-1) and Joaquin Buckley (19-6) will throw down.

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In June, Georgia’s Dolidze stepped up on short notice to replace Carlos Ulberg in a round robin affair of changed matches to u…

Utah, we're back for #UFC307 in a BIG way 🏆@AlexPereiraUFC vs @KhalilRountree@RockyPMMA vs @VenezuelanVixen@StateOfSport | #StateOfSport | @DeltaCenter | #DeltaCenter pic.twitter.com/HjFbqbxtTx

— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2024 Alex Pereira is the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s most reliable champion these days.

Last week, the promotion officially confirmed that UFC 307 would be held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5. A number of bouts were set in stone at that time, including Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira at 135 pounds. The organization announced on Friday the main card lineup, including two championship affairs that would sit atop the billing. In the co-main attraction, Raquel Pennington (16-8) will be putting her 135-pound throne up for grabs against ex-champ Julianna Pena (11-5). The headliner will see Pereira (11-2) defend his light heavyweight crown against Khalil Rountree (13-5, 1 NC).

“Poatan” has twice saved th…