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Jeff Novitzky is on board with the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia’s statement that there is no evidence of illegal IV use regarding the athletes who competed at UFC 284.

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Shortly after Islam Makhachev defeated Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 284 headliner, Volkanovski’s teammate, Dan Hooker, accused the lightweight champion of illegal IV use on social media. The allegation was later refuted by Makhachev’s manager in a statement, but the controversy continued unitl it was addressed by the Australian commission. In an interview with UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald, Novitzky, the UFC senior vice president of athlete health and performance, revealed that athletic commission’s rules regarding IV use differ from USADA’s. With that in mind, if the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia says there’s no evidence of any wrongdoing, Novitzky is quite confident that Makhachev is in the clear.

“I think the Australian …

Tanner Boser will move to 205 pounds for a matchup with Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night on April 15.

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Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night takes place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Kan., and is headlined by a featherweight scrap pitting Max Holloway against Arnold Allen.

Boser has gone 4-4 in the Octagon as a relatively undersized heavyweight. The 31-year-old Canadian has lost three of his last four outings, including a split-decision defeat to Rodrigo Nascimento in his most recent appearance at UFC Fight Night 210 this past September.

Cutelaba has struggled in recent years, compiling a 1-5-1 mark in the Las Vegas-based promotion since 2020. “The Hulk” is coming off an 0-3 campaign in 2022 in which he was finished by Kennedy Nzechukwu, Johnny Walker and Ryan Spann.

Lina Lansberg is calling it a career after 18 professional fights.

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“The Elbow Queen” announced her decision via social media following a second-round submission defeat to Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Fight Night 219 on Saturday. Lansberg went 10-8 over the course of a career that began in 2012.

“Thank you so much for all the love and support. This has been a hell of a ride and to start fighting is the best thing I’ve ever done,” she wrote. “It has given me so so much. But now it’s time to move on. I’m done.”

Lansberg began her MMA tenure with victories in six of her first seven outings. She debuted in the Octagon with a second-round TKO loss to Cristiane Justino in a 140-pound catchweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 95 main event. The Swede would post a 5-7 record in the Las Vegas-based promotion, earning wins over the likes of Lucie Pudilova, Tonya Evinger and Macy Chiasson. The 40-year-old Redline Training Center product exits the sport on a fo…

William Knight’s performance at UFC Fight Night 219 was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

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The heavily-muscled light heavyweight attempted just 33 significant strikes — landing eight — while being picked apart at range by Marcin Prachnio in a unanimous decision defeat on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. For the majority of the bout, Knight was simply unwilling to engage, and that allowed Prachnio to control the distance, most notably with a steady diet of low kicks.

After the loss, Knight reacted to the fight in a video on his Instagram account. He didn’t offer any excuses for an effort that resulted in his third consecutive UFC defeat.

“At the end of the day, I went out there, froze up, I didn’t do my part, I lost the fight,” Knight said. “Some of y’all want me to win, some of y’all bet on me, I understand. I completely get it. In life, human beings aren’t perfect, but I’m taking ownership of my actions because I didn’t do s—t. I…

Erin Blanchfield made the most of her in-cage interview time following her victory over Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 219.

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It wasn’t something that just happened in the heat of the moment. Instead, her call for the next flyweight title shot was by design.

“I always try to think of what I want to say after a win because it can be very emotional and it can be a little cloudy but I knew beating someone like her, especially if I finished her, that I could deserve that title next,” Blanchfield said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.

With that in mind, Blanchfield figures to be an interested observer when Valentina Shevchenko defends her 125-pound belt against Alexa Grasso in the UFC 285 co-main event on March 4. Shevchenko has dominated the flyweight division and, along with Amanda Nunes, has ranked as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound females for the past few years. That makes her the more attractive potential opponent for Blanc…

Erin Blanchfield’s time may have arrived sooner than expected.

The 23-year-old Elmwood Park, N.J., native earned a signature victory, as she submitted former strawweight queen Jessica Andrade (24-10, 15-8 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 219 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Blanchfield (11-1, 5-0 UFC) locked in a rear-naked choke to force the tapout 1:37 into Round 2. “Cold Blooded” has won five straight fights in the UFC at 125 pounds, tying her for the second-longest active winning streak in the division. Now she has her sights set on capturing flyweight gold.

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“Give me the winner of Shevchenko vs. Grasso next,” Blanchfield said. “I’m going to win the title and become UFC champion.”

Blanchfield never appeared out of her depth against Andrade, who replaced original opponent Taila Santos on short notice. The Brazilian blitzed forward with her trademark barrage of power punches, but Blanchfield kept her composure and fired back wit…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 219 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Carpenter (-280), Ronderos (+235)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Fletcher (-255), Gorimbo (+215)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Jack Dankoff scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT |…

A cut above Evan Elder's eye results in a TKO victory via Doctor's Stoppage #UFCVegas69 pic.twitter.com/MIK4Ien0Jr

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 19, 2023

An accidental clash of heads propelled Nazim Sadykhov to his first UFC triumph at the expense of Evan Elder.

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The Longo and Weidman MMA representative defeated Elder via doctor stoppage in their preliminary lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 219 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. A cageside physician quickly waved off the contest 38 seconds into Round 3 due to Elder suffering a nasty cut above his right eye. The wound initially appeared to be a result of a knee from Sadykhov (8-1, 1-0 UFC) that landed directly on the eyebrow of his opponent, but the victor later revealed it occurred to due a clash of heads. Prior to the stoppage, Sadykhov and Elder (7-2, 0-2 UFC) engaged in a back-and-forth battle on the feet that saw both men land plenty of damaging offe…

These two are walking away with a little more than just a victory tonight 🤑

Congrats to @Blanchfield_MMA & @MayraSheetara! #UFCVegas69 pic.twitter.com/6HWkW2lg6Y

— UFC (@ufc) February 19, 2023

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UFC Fight Night 219 was a mixed bag of exciting finishes and clinch-heavy decisions.

The preliminary card started off with a bang as five out of the six bouts ended before the final bell. This included a back-and-forth battle between lightweights Nazim Sadykhov and Evan Elder, which resulted in a doctor’s stoppage victory after a fight-ending cut opened on the right eyebrow of Elder; the fight was awarded “Fight of the Night.” The prelims also featured a stunning kneebar submission by Mayra Bueno Silva, who was awarded “Performance of the Night” for her finish of Lina Lansberg.

The main card, however, saw four out of the five fights go the distance, in what each could be described as uneventful. The exception was the…

And just like that, your main event is LOCKED IN 🔒@JessicaMMAPro in at 124 for #UFCVegas69!

[ Tomorrow | Main Card 7pmET on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/KJIQEuwmD6

— UFC (@ufc) February 17, 2023 After a trip to Australia, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas and the UFC Apex for UFC Fight Night 219.

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The 11-fight card features Jessica Andrade taking on Erin Blanchfield on short notice after Taila Santos withdrew from the headliner. Despite coming in as a replacement, Andrade (24-9) is no stranger to main events, and the former strawweight champion successfully checked in at 124 pounds for the flyweight bout. Blanchfield (10-1) also made weight for her first marquee matchup, coming in at 125.5 pounds. Every other fighters on the card hit their successful marks for a smooth weigh-in day.

While the best performances from "Bate Estaca" have come at strawweight, Andrade has recently excelled in the 125-p…

It seems the third time was a charm for Elvin Espinoza.

And just like that, the Professional Fighters League has a new lightweight prospect as the Nicaraguan won for the third time in as many tries in the PFL. After previously winning “showcase” bouts during the 2021 and 2022 PFL Playoffs, Espinoza punched his ticket to the major leagues with an impressive Round 2 submission of Damir Ferhatbegovic at PFL Challenger Series 4. Still unblemished at 8-0, Espinoza took the first frame on all three unofficial Sherdog score cards and then put a stamp on his performance by making Ferhatbegovic (6-3-1), who missed weight Thursday, tap to a tight rear-naked choke at the 1:53 mark.

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship divisional rulers Tyron Woodley and Vitor Belfort were joined by 2014 NBA rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams as celebrity judges for the event. Both the celeb panel and online fan vote handed the contract to Espinoza, who is expected t…

Sherdog's live PFL Challenger Series 4 coverage kicks off Friday at 9 p.m. ET. The action will be broadcast live and free on fuboTV. Round 1 Kicking off the PFL Challenger Series 4 card which features lightweights, Charles Decca (4-2-1) battles Jose Aguayo (5-2). Referee Josh Rutgers will work the first fight of the night. Aguayo has a weird stance from which he throws an overhand right and it knocks Decca down, though it's mostly from him being off-balance. Decca tries to get it back with his own punches, but Aguayo dodges. Decca does score with a leg kick though and Aguayo appears a little hurt. Decca scores another one. They clinch and Aguayo tosses Decca into the cage. They resume in the center of the cage and Decca lands a fancy switch kick to Aguayo's head. He then lands another leg kick and clinches, getting an easy pick-up and slam. Decca is now in the half-guard, throwing the occasional left hand. After a while, he starts scoring with right hands to the body, though…