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[embedded content] On extremely short notice, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has pulled off the 'ol switcheroo.

Headlining the 12-fight UFC 298 event is a featherweight title tilt between champion Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Ilia Topuria. Both men successfully made weight for the fight, as did the remainder of the lineup. While one fight was nixed before the weigh-ins when Justin Tafa suffered an injury, Tafa's brother, Junior Tafa (249), was cleared to replace him against Marcos Rogerio de Lima (261.5).

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Volkanovski (26-3) is looking to make his sixth successful title defense. However, "The Great" has lost two of his last three fights as he fell short against Islam Makhachev in two bids to win the lightweight championship. The 35-year-old is coming off his first knockout defeat since 2013 and will look to show he still has plenty left in the tank. Volkanovski officially weighed 144.5 pounds.

Meanwhile, the undefeated Topuria (14-0) is…

Rarely has a rivalry been so prolific that the competitors want to face one another a fifth time.

At Pride Final Conflict 2003, Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson battled it out in the finals of the 2003 middleweight (205 pounds) tournament. After six-plus minutes of combat, Silva emerged the victor courtesy of a seemingly unending series of knees and soccer kicks. The two met again nearly one year later at Pride 28, this time for the Pride middleweight strap on the line. Silva ultimately decimated his rival with knees in the second stanza, causing a bloodied “Rampage” to fall through the ropes after getting knocked out.

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The story was not over despite two knockout victories in favor of the Brazilian, as both former Pride Fighting Championships fighters made their way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship after the former’s dissolution. At UFC 92 in December 2008, the 205-pound sluggers met for a third time in a title eliminator, and Jackson got t…

After some rejiggering, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is now making a flyweight title eliminator a five-rounder in Atlantic City.

At the end of January, the scheduled main event of UFC on ESPN 54 between Sean Brady and Vicente Luque fell through due to the former’s injury. While Luque is getting a new opponent, per the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey—the venue of the fight card—it will not remain as the main attraction. In its place will be the 125-pound tilt between Erin Blanchfield (12-1) and Manon Fiorot (11-1), likely for a shot at the belt. The UFC announced this change on Thursday.

Since joining the promotion in 2021, New Jersey native Blanchfield has been a woman possessed as she moved up through the division. Starting with a pair of decisions that year over Sarah Alpar and Miranda Maverick, Blanchfield began finishing women in the Octagon the following year. In her 2022 campaign, “Cold Blooded” tapped J.J. Aldrich with a guillotine choke and …

It’s been approximately a year and a half since Paulo Costa last competed under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner, but that doesn’t mean “Borrachinha” has been stagnant in his development.

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Costa will face former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker in the UFC 298 co-main event on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It will be his first appearance since he defeated Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision at UFC 278 in August 2022. In the meantime, the Brazilian was sidelined by a combination of prolonged negotiations with the promotion and injury. Costa notably lost a high-profile booking against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 this past October when he was forced to pull out of the event due to an infection in his elbow.

“I tried really hard to keep the fight, but doctors don’t allow me to keep the fight,” Costa said during UFC 298 media day. “Right after that, I just tried to be healthy and in shape to fight as soon as I could.”<…

A few weeks back, Henry Cejudo indicated that he would call it a career if things didn’t go his way at UFC 298.

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At media day on Wednesday, the Olympic gold medalist and former UFC two division champion doubled down on that statement. If he beats Merab Dvalishvili at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday, Cejudo would eventually like to make a run at featherweight gold — event though the winner of their bout would be perhaps the top contender at 135 pounds. A loss, however, would lead to Cejudo retiring for a second time.

“My goal, and you guys are probably gonna give me a lot of s—t for this, the goal is still 145 pounds,” Cejudo said. “I’ve already defended my 135-pound [title]. Yeah, I lost my last fight by split decision, but I’m not wavering from the goal of going up. I feel like a win over Merab and then get the winner out of [Marlon Vera and Sean O’Malley]. [Then] I want whoever has that belt at 145 pounds. I feel like I’ve e…

Dana White doesn’t seem to have any especially enlightening updates when it comes to Conor McGregor’s UFC return.

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During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, the UFC CEO cited McGregor’s recovery from a broken leg and the Irishman’s wealth as the primary culprits as to why the former two-division champion doesn’t yet have a date for his next fight.

McGregor suffered badly broken leg in his last Octagon appearance, a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. The Dublin native coached opposite Michael Chandler on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” last year, but so far, nothing has been confirmed regarding a potential meeting between the two.

“First of all, he is coming back from one of the nastiest injuries you can come back from,” White said. “How long was Anderson Silva out when he did it? How long was Chris Weidman out when he did it? The guys who break that bone [are out a long time], so that’s an issue right there, No. 1. No. 2 is, Conor McGr…

Our thoughts go out to the family of former Invicta fighter Ashley Nichols. Rest in peace. https://t.co/1Ge1HHn4jT pic.twitter.com/SkyHB3WDmg

— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) February 13, 2024

Former Invicta Fighting Championships and Legacy Fighting Alliance talent Ashley Nichols has died at 37 years old.

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Invicta FC confirmed news of Nichols’ passing on social media. A cause of death is unknown at this time.

Several members of the MMA community paid tribute to Nichols, including her former coach, Jeff Harrison.

“We lost a vibrant champion last night,” Harrison wrote via Instagram on Tuesday. “I found this indigenous female upstart when I taught in London. She went on to become one of MAS Thai boxing’s most decorated professional champions in muay thai. Truly the most technical and ferocious female striker that Canada has EVER SEEN. IFMA world champ, WMF world Champ, WPMTF world champ. She was imbedded in the MMA sce…

To say that Ilia Topuria is confident going into his first Ultimate Fighting Championship title fight against reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 would be an understatement.

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“El Matador” has repeatedly claimed that Volkanovski will be one of his easiest fights, updated his mixed martial arts record on his social media to 15-0 and is shooting a movie that will document his journey to claiming the UFC featherweight title.

Much has been made of the Spaniard’s exuberance going into his first title shot, especially his belief that Volkanovski will be one of his easier matchups inside the Octagon.

Responding to criticism from fans who believe Topuria may be taking Volkanovski too lightly, the Spaniard recently offered some reasoning behind his bold prediction in an interview with ESPN.

“[It will be one of my easier fights] at the moment he is right now,” Topuria said. “Because he lost his last fight. He talked about his mental prob…

UFC on ESPN 53 on March 23 has undergone a change due to recent fight cancellations.

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Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4), who was initially scheduled to face Dusko Todorovic (12-4) on the card, will now take on A. J. Dobson in a middleweight clash at the event. The news was first announced by Dobson’s management on social media.

The matchup seems to have been put together following a last-minute cancellation of Dobson’s UFC 298 meeting with Tresean Gore this weekend after the “The Ultimate Fighter” finalist was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an undisclosed injury.

Shahbazyan, once a promising prospect, has gone 1-4 in his last five promotional outings and will enter the Octagon on the heels of a Round 3 technical knockout loss at the hands of Anthony Hernandez in May of last year.

Meanwhile, Dobson will enter the Octagon on the heels of his first UFC victory, a unanimous decision over Tafon Nchukwi this past August. That triumph saw him …

Henry Cejudo claims to have pulled a fast one on the MMA community during the UFC “Countdown” show.

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During one of the episodes, Cejudo is shown parting ways with longtime coach Eric Albarracin ahead of UFC 298.

“You were with me for my last Olympic trials, and you’ve been there for me, but as of right now, I just want to let you know that for this camp, dude, I’m getting rid of specific coaches – and that’s you included,” Cejudo said to Albarracin on the show.

What appeared to be a very public dismissal drew criticism from a few prominent figures in the sport, including Alexander Volkanovski, Ray Longo and Matt Brown. However, Cejudo recently reunited with Albarracin in a video post on Instagram, where both men claimed that the whole scene was an elaborate prank.

“Bill Belichick-Tom Brady, Phil Jackson-Michael Jordan. Come on, you think they would ever break up? Come on, man,” Albarracin said in the video.

While Brady did actually l…

Despite being mired in a lengthy losing streak, former UFC heavyweight title challenger Antonio Silva continues to soldier onward.

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The Brazilian known as “Bigfoot” on Tuesday announced via social media that he will square off against fellow UFC veteran Juan Espino on March 23 at Gran Canaria Arena in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. The event is entitled “La Despedida,” or The Farewell. Rules for the bout were not revealed.

“I am very happy to fight against [someone I respect] in my career, someone who motivates me to be a better fighter and I admire,” Silva wrote on Instagram (via translated text). “A fight full of respect where victory or defeat is not sought but to thank all the fans who have supported us with a great show.”

Including boxing and bare knuckle boxing, Silva has lost 11 consecutive professional fights dating back to November 2015, with all but two of those defeats coming via knockout or technical knockout. The 44-year-ol…

While he’s already an accomplished combat sports athlete, Cedric Doumbe is still relatively young when it comes to his mixed martial arts career.

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The former two-time Glory Kickboxing champion will take a 5-0 record into his showdown with Baissangour Chamsoudinov at PFL Europe on March 7. The card takes place at Accor Arena in Paris, and Doumbe calls his bout “the biggest MMA fight in French history.”

Though Doumbe is already a big star, fellow Frenchman Benoit St. Denis recently disputed the notion that the kickboxing ace is already the face of MMA in the country. According to St. Denis, UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane currently deserves that honor.

“Of course I do not agree with that,” Doumbe said during a media call on Tuesday. “I’m 100% sure I am the face of MMA in France and everybody knows that. For some people, if you’re not in the UFC you can’t be the face of MMA. They think UFC is the top guys. That’s not wrong, but still you don’t have to…