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Another Canadian added to the Toronto card on January 20th. Charles Jourdain (@JourdainAir) takes on Sean Woodson (@STL_Sniper_314) at #UFC297 in the featherweight division. pic.twitter.com/VOEl1bNfi7

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) November 9, 2023 Two featherweights on the outside of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s top 15 looking in will do battle in Toronto early next year.

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Canada's Charles Jourdain (15-6) will throw down with Dana White's Contender Series alum Sean Woodson (10-1) at the UFC 297 card set to take place on Jan. 20 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The event will be the company’s first in Canada’s most populous city since UFC 231 in 2018. The booking was first announced by Eurosport Nederland on Wednesday, and subsequently confirmed by Woodson and the promotion on Thursday.

Jourdain is currently on a two-fight winning streak and is coming off a first-round submission victory ov…

Ben Royle showed no signs of ring rust after a yearlong layoff.

The well-rounded Phuket Top Team product reasserted himself in the One Championship bantamweight division, as he outstruck Ivan Parshikov to a unanimous decision in their three-round ONE Friday Fights 40 showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. All three members of the judiciary sided with Royle (7-2, 2-1 ONE), who has rattled off four wins in five outings.

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Parshikov (11-4, 3-1 ONE) struck for a takedown in the first round, applied heavy ground-and-pound and successfully navigated his opponent’s spidery guard. He lost his way from there. Royle forced him into extended standup exchanges, operated behind a potent jab, leaned on effective counters and targeted the body with sadistic punches, knees and kicks. He nearly finished it in the waning seconds of Round 3, as he lured Parshikov into a corner, scrambled to the back and locked in a rear-naked choke. The Russi…

[embedded content] To say Norma Dumont is not concerned about prospective opponents in her new division is an understatement.

With the conclusion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s women’s featherweight division, Dumont (10-2) has been forced to move down to 135 pounds. “The Immortal” is booked against Yana Santos (14-8, 1 NC) at the UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 13, and she plans on bringing some spice to her new weight class.

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Participating on the “Nem Me Viu” podcast run by Fabricio Werdum, Dumont criticized the level of her opponents in the her division of 135 pounds. Known for her ability to create new insulting slang terms, recently calling Chelsea Chandler “p---y face” backstage after their fight, Dumont did not mince words about the slate of bantamweight contenders that will soon stand before her.

“I see bantamweight pretty much as a ‘sausage water division,’ Dumont noted harshly. “I really don’t see any girl in that division being able …

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Fighting on less than three weeks’ notice at UFC 295, Tom Aspinall is confident of getting his hands raised against Sergei Pavlovich, whom he believes is “the scariest guy in MMA.”

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Pavlovich (18-1) was supposed to be the backup fighter for the originally scheduled UFC 295 main event between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. However, Aspinall (13-3) chose to step up on short notice when the Ultimate Fighting Championship put together an interim title fight with Pavlovich after Jones was forced out due to an injury.

Aspinall admits “two weeks” aren’t enough to prepare for a fight and believes he is fighting Pavlovich under the worst possible circumstances. However, the Brit is a slight favorite as of publication time on many sportsbooks and has absolute confidence in his ability to find a way to win despite the deck being stacked against him.

“I’m fighting the scariest guy in MMA in my opinion, in the worst circumstances possible…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight king Jamahal Hill is confident he will face the winner of the upcoming UFC 295 vacant title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira next year.

Hill (12-1) vacated the title after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during a pickup basketball game in July. The American was the second consecutive UFC light heavyweight champ to vacate the strap after Prochazka (29-3) needed shoulder surgery following his title victory.

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While Hill admits that he was inclined to retain the title until he could recover and return to action, vacating was the right thing to do under the circumstances. “Sweet Dreams” also claimed that Prochazka didn’t vacate the strap before him out of benevolence as was initially advertised.

According to Hill, it was “heavily suggested” to Prochazka, who has also previously admitted that he didn't relinquish the belt of his own volition.

“Originally when it happened, that was …

Let’s get these contract written up asap..Real fight s--t respect to a real fighter down to fight for real. All love to boxingBut this is different REAL 👊🏼 s--t LFG1993 🥋 pic.twitter.com/IFzcMx4Fpd

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) November 9, 2023

While mixed martial artists switching to boxing has become commonplace in recent times, Deontay Wilder might soon become the first high-level pugilist to compete in MMA in over a decade.

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Crossover fights are a hot topic of discussion right now with Francis Ngannou putting on a stunning performance in a near upset of World Boxing Council champ Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last month. Considering the lack of MMA opponents for Ngannou in Professional Fighters League, Wilder’s name immediately popped up as a potential boxing opponent for the former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ.

Ngannou and Wilder’s camps have stated that talks of a potential clash have al…

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The women in UFC 295’s feature bout share an unfortunate similarity—one they might be able to bond over once they settle their business in the Octagon.

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Jessica Andrade (24-12) and Mackenzie Dern (13-3) are slated for a strawweight clash on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Both fighters have gone through turmoil in their personal lives with recent divorces and opened up on the subject at the UFC 295 media day on Wednesday. According to Dern, this fight is an opportunity for both of them to channel those negative feelings into an entertaining scrap for the fans. Andrade agreed, adding that the fight will also help with the financial impact of the divorces.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Andrade said. “I know she’s going through that. I’m going through it as well. It basically going to be a session where we go out and let the demons out…First of all, I actually have gone through what she’s gone through, for even longer cause my d…

For the second time, a proposed booking between Kayla Harrison and Julia Budd has fallen through.

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As a result, Aspen Ladd will step in a face Harrison at the 2023 PFL Championships on Nov. 24. According to a release from the PFL, the bout was changed because “Budd refused to fulfill her contractual obligation.” Further specifics were not given. While Harrison vs. Budd was to slated to take place at featherweight, the new pairing will be contested at a 150-pound catchweight. Harrison was previously scheduled to face Budd during the 2022 PFL season before the ex-Bellator champ withdrew from the bout.

Ladd has been in training as an alternate, according to the release. The 28-year-old Folsom, California, native signed with the PFL following a 4-3 stint in the UFC that included numerous issues making weight. Ladd competed in the 2023 PFL season at featherweight, where she dropped a majority decision to Olena Kolesnyk in April before scoring a first-ro…

Cristiane Justino’s next combat sports appearance will be in the Sweet Science.

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“Cyborg” will face Kelsey Wickstrum in a six-round boxing match at 154 pounds on Jan. 19 at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California. ESPN was first to report the booking.

Justino has two boxing matches — one professional and one exhibition — under her belt already. In her official pro debut, the Brazilian defeated Gabrielle Holloway via unanimous decision this past December. The 36-year-old Wickstrum, meanwhile, is 2-0 as a pro boxer with one knockout.

Justino, who is currently Bellator’s reigning featherweight champion, returned to MMA on Oct. 7, when she defeated Cat Zingano via first-round technical knockout at Bellator 300. “Cyborg” has held belts in Bellator, the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC over the course of an MMA career that began in 2005.

Her next move in MMA is unclear with Bellator facing an uncertain future. The California-based…

From the TKO Group Holdings Earnings Call:

Competition is good. Not only do we have over 600 fighters, we have the premier fighters.

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I mean, ultimately, you're trying to get to the UFC, which is akin to the XFL trying to ultimately get their players into the NFL.

Those are… pic.twitter.com/0M47DYFYCo

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) November 7, 2023 Executives of TKO Group Holdings — the result of the merger between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment – claim to have no issues with competitors of the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization.

During the merger’s first earnings call, TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro recently addressed Saudi Arabia’s investment into the Professional Fighters League, a direct competitor to the UFC. Saudi Arabia, which is emerging as a global player in sports and entertainment, recently invested $100 million in the Prof…

YouTube personality-turned-fighter Jake Paul will square off against Andre August in his next professional boxing match on Dec. 15.

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The bout will be contested over eight rounds at cruiserweight (200 pounds) and takes place at Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando. While most of Paul’s fights have been available via pay-per-view, this one will be part of the DAZN subscription package.

August, who owns a 10-1-1 mark in boxing with five knockouts, is the most experienced opponent Paul has faced to date. “The Problem Child” has made his name primarily by facing mixed martial artists thus far in his career.

“I’m a professional boxer and I want to be world champion, so I need to pursue the path towards greatness against people who have been boxing their whole life,” Paul said in a release. “So far, my entire boxing career has been on pay-per-view, but now it’s about more than business. Now I want to build my experience in the ring against seasoned fighte…

Dan Hooker isn’t looking forward to five rounds against Bobby Green for a co-main event.

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Hooker initially expected that his bout against Green, which is slated for UFC on ESPN 52 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 2, whould be the event’s headliner. Instead, the fight will be the co-main event but is still scheduled for five rounds. The Kiwi is not happy with losing out on all the benefits that come with being in the evening’s featured bout.

“That pissed me right off,” Hooker told the NZ Herald. “It’s a funny one. You call up anyone and ask, ‘You want to do twice as much work for the same money?’ No, brother. After three I’m going home. The main event is five rounds. You can’t chuck it to co-main and still keep the five rounds. It’s just not a thing. It’s a sport of risk versus reward. You give me the main event and everything that comes with that. With winning a main event comes bigger opportunities and you get a lot more exposure — I l…