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A strategic agreement has been signed between Riyadh Season and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), including the sponsorship of the UFC event in Las Vegas, the UFC event in Riyadh, and Power Slap competitions 🇸🇦❤️ #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/JFe6hVE4jO

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) May 7, 2024

The partnership between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Saudi Arabia will extend beyond the promotion’s June debut in the country.

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On Tuesday, Turki Alalshikh, the country’s chairman of the board of directors of the general entertainment authority, announced in a press release that the UFC will hold another event in Saudi Arabia in 2024-25. Additionally, Riyadh Season will serve as a sponsor for UFC 306, which takes place at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. Riyadh Season, which was founded in 2019, is a yearly state-funded entertainment and sports festival and typically runs from October through March. Read more

Payton Talbott will square off against Yanis Ghemmouri at UFC 303.

The promotion recently announced the bantamweight pairing via social media. UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash pitting Conor McGregor against Michael Chandler.

Talbott has kicked off his professional tenure with eight consecutive triumphs — including two in UFC competition. After earning a contract on Dana White's Contender Series last August, the Reno, Nevada, resident began his UFC career with stoppages of Nick Aguirre and Cameron Saaiman in his first two outings.

Ghemmouri, meanwhile, made his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 226, where he suffered a a third-round technical knockout defeat to William Gomis this past September. Prior to that loss, the 29-year-old Frenchman had been victorious in his last nine professional appearances.

Heather Hardy’s combat sports career appears to have reached its end.

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The former boxing champion and Bellator MMA veteran was preparing for a fight against Christine Ferea in BKFC on May 11, but Hardy struggled with her vision and was unable to eat or sleep as she began her camp. According to Hardy, a visit to the doctor revealed that she had suffered too many concussions over the course of her fighting career and any further head injuries could permanently impair her vision.

Hardy’s full Instagram post on the matter is as follows:

My fight for May 11 is off. After my fight last summer with Amanda [Serrano], my vision remained blurred for a few days. I went for an MRI and to get my eyes checked while I was still in TX and it was diagnosed the after effects of a concussion. 6-8 months i should be fine. So basically I needed a fight, and it never got better. My daughter is in college. Everyone thinks I made millions in my career but i didn’t, i w…

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Updated PFL Mohegan Sun Fight Card

•Blagoy Ivanov is out•New Matchup: Marcelo Nunes vs Oleg Popov•Steve Mowry is out•New Matchup: Danilo Marques vs. Gokhan Saricam•Kaytlin Neil is out.•New Matchup: Saray Orozoco vs. Sumiko Inaba•Melissa Balic vs.… pic.twitter.com/bCB89EkoqZ

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 7, 2024

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Professional Fighters League has done some reshuffling for its next regular season event.

The organization on Tuesday announced multiple changes and updates to PFL 4, which features heavyweights and women’s flyweights and takes place on June 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

In the heavyweight division, Steve Mowry, who was supposed to face Gokhan Saricam, and Blagoy Ivanov, who was slated to meet Oleg Popov, have withdrawn from the card for undisclosed reasons. Instead, Danilo Marques will lock horns with Saricam, while Marcelo Nunes will square off against Popov. Marques and Nunes were…

Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa

India’s Anshul Jubli isn’t shying away from the responsibility that comes with representing an entire country on the biggest mixed martial arts platform in the world.

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While former Matrix Fight Night champ Puja Tomar recently joined Jubli as the only other Indian on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, “King of Lions” is widely regarded as the face of Indian MMA.

While Jubli acknowledges the gravity of the responsibility of shouldering an entire country’s expectations, the 29-year-old welcomes the opportunity. Jubli believes not everyone is blessed with such a burden and that no one could have shouldered it better than him.

“Yes, it’s a huge, huge responsibility to represent the entire country on a platform like the UFC. But I think it’s a good thing, right?” Jubli told fans during a recent meet and greet. “Such responsibilities don’t come to everyone like …

Sean Strickland coach Eric Nicksick revealed that there is always a risk of the former middleweight champ not listening to his corner.

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Strickland (28-6) is scheduled to fight Paulo Costa (14-3) in the co-main event at UFC302 on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland’s only knockout loss in the recent past came against Alex Pereira in 2022, when he inexplicably chose to stand in the pocket against the former Glory Kickboxing champion. With Costa also being known for an explosive style, Nicksick admitted that there is always the possibility of Strickland fighting the Brazilian’s game.

“Of course, I’m always worried. He doesn’t listen for s—t,” Eric Nicksick told Sportskeeda MMA. “There’s elements I think that we need to address. Especially in a five-round fight, it’s important to utilize a full MMA skills set. You’ve heard me say this time and time again with Sean. And will he probably listen, probably not.”

Following …

Next stop @3ArenaDublin ☘️ pic.twitter.com/UpDYghVPDc

— Paul Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma) April 29, 2024

Coveted mixed martial arts prospect Paul Hughes claims the choice between the Professional Fighters League and the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a no-brainer for him.

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After fighting out his Cage Warriors Fighting Championship contract with a first-round knockout win over Fabiano Silva last month, Hughes briefly explored free agency before signing with the PFL. “Big News” recently explained that while the UFC had an offer on the table, it stood no comparison to the PFL’s.

“It [the choice] wasn’t really difficult, to be honest, at all. [The PFL’s offer] was just a lot better, a lot better," Hughes said on "The MMA Hour". “They [the UFC] had an offer but it just wasn’t… No, it wasn’t [a Contender Series offer], it was mentioned but it wasn’t concrete and that was it. It [the PFL’s] was just a way better offer, it…

Alexandre Pantoja is eyeing a future dream fight against Demetrious Johnson after his latest title defense.

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Pantoja recently defended his flyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Steve Erceg in the main event at UFC 301 UFC 301. Having successfully defended his strap for the second time, Pantoja believes he can make a case for a matchup against the former Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champ and MMA GOAT contender. If a fight doesn’t come to fruition, “The Cannibal” is also content with a hard sparring session against Johnson.

“Yeah, he’s the GOAT you know, how I can not say that? I think right now after two title defense I can speak a little bit about that. Because I have a huge respect for Demetrious Johnson. I can’t try to compare myself with him. And right now, I can say something you know, more coins to put on the table,” Pantoja said on “The MMA Hour”.

“And I think that’s dream for me. I don’t like to say I have dre…

Four fighters from UFC 301 could be sidelined for a significant period following Saturday’s card in Rio de Janeiro.

Drakkar Klose (right knee), Dione Barbosa (left shoulder), Ismael Bonfim (left foot, left leg) and Kevin Borjas (left leg) are all facing potential 180-day medical suspensions, per the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA). All of those terms can be reduced by physician clearance. Every fighter on the card received at least a precautionary 14-day suspension with seven days of no contact.

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Meanwhile, Jack Shore was suspended 45 days with 30 days of no contact after his bout against Joanderson Brito was stopped at the 3:35 mark of Round 2 due to a cut on his shin. While a cageside physician feared that Shore might have a fracture, his coach later revealed that was not the case.

UFC 301 took place at Farmasi Arena and saw Alexandre Pantoja retain his flyweight title with a five-round verdict against Steve Erceg in the evening’s main …

Michel Pereira didn’t need long to put on a show for Brazilian fans at UFC 301.

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Shortly after a controversial backflip by Pereira sent his knee crashing dangerously close to the head of grounded opponent Ihor Potieria, “Demolidor” secured a guillotine choke and elicited a tap 54 seconds into Round 1. Ultimately, it was determined that Pereira did not land an illegal strike, and he was awarded one of the evening’s four $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses for his efforts.

Shortly after his victory, Pereira revealed to Sherdog.com that he had previously trained with Potieria before Saturday’s bout.

"We did sparring together at Xtreme Couture, but I didn’t show the real Michel Pereira. It was more like light sparring,” he said. “Actually, that's how I train. I give training to anyone who spars with me. I don't necessarily want to get a knockout every time I spar.”

According to Pereira, the backflip the he dubbed “Fumo Mix” wasn’t an illega…

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Based on what he saw in the UFC 301 headliner, Demetrious Johnson believes Muhammad Mokaev can dethrone reigning flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja.

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Johnson was not impressed by Pantoja’s unanimous decision win over Steve Erceg in the main event at UFC 301 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. Johnson saw a one-dimensional showing from “The Cannibal,” who failed to land much damage on Erceg despite ground control time of over eight minutes.

“When I was watching the fight, I didn’t feel like [Alexandre] Pantoja was a better fighter…” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “His grappling is his strongest suit. If you can keep him away from his grappling then you can pretty much, I feel, you can take advantage of him. He can’t fight in the clinch, there’s no elbows, there’s no dumping him to the side. It was basically running at you with my hands down and punch and go for a takedown and then take you down.”

Johnson also deems Pantoja’s p…

Let the talking begin on the way to #BellatorParis 🗣️🔊🔊@CedricDoumbe x @jaleelwillis1

[ #BellatorParis | Fri May 17 | 🎟️ https://t.co/0SdSBmsFhj] pic.twitter.com/ijNIx0FkXu

— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 3, 2024

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Jaleel Willis isn’t buying the Cedric Doumbe hype.

Willis, a short-notice replacement for Derek Anderson, will face the French striker in the co-main event of Bellator Champions Series Paris on May 17 at Accor Arena. Doumbe’s signing was met with much fanfare, and he delivered in his Professional Fighters League debut, knocking out Jordan Zebo in just nine seconds this past September. His sophomore outing didn’t go as planned, however, as he suffered a technical knockout loss to Baissangour Chamsoudinov when a splinter in his foot forced the bout to be halted at the 1:21 mark of Round 3.

Still, Doumbe remains one of the most highly-touted fighters on the PFL and Bellator roster, and he repeatedly called himself t…