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BREAKING: Dana White confirms that Sean Strickland will fight the winner of Du Plessis vs. Adesanya fight

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— Cageside Access (@CagesideAccess) August 13, 2024

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Dana White has provided some clarity to the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title picture — at least for now.

Dricus Du Plessis will put his middleweight strap on the line against former champ Israel Adesanya in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. A few candidates appear to have a legitimate claim to the next title shot once that fight has concluded.

One potential contender would be the winner of a bout between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev scheduled for UFC 308 in October. However, No.1 ranked contender Sean Strickland remains adamant on fighting for the title next, even turning down a potential matchup against Whittaker if “Bobby Knuckles” defeats Chimaev. During an appearan…

Lone’er Kavanagh knows how to make an entrance.

The Great Britan Top Team prospect was one of four hopefuls to nail down an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he punched out An Tuan Ho in the first round of their flyweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Kavanagh (7-0, 1-0 DWCS) froze the MMA Lab export with a wicked left hook 2:35 into Round 1.

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A brief feeling-out process gave way to a series of leg kicks and a few standup exchanges between the two men. Kavanagh stepped into a lightning bolt of a lunging left hook midway through the first round, connected with surgical precision and separated his previously unbeaten counterpart from his senses. Ho (6-1, 0-1 DWCS) remained prone and motionless for several tense moments before exiting the cage.

Featherweight Jose Delgado, middleweight Mansur Abdul-Malik and light heavyweight Bruno Lopes are set to join Kavanagh on the UFC r…

Sherdog's live DWCS 2024 Week 1 coverage will begin Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores T…

The last time Kai Kara-France was in the Octagon, he ended up on the wrong end of a split decision against Amir Albazi.

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While that June 2023 bout could have easily gone in favor of Kara-France, the 31-year-old Kiwi hasn’t dwelled on the defeat.

“The difference is I haven’t [let] the weight of that decision define me. People will see the loss next to my name. I guess you’ve got to take the positives and negatives from the performance and see how you can get better,” Kara-France said in an interview with UFC.com. “That’s the fight game. You can’t really hold on to things. You’ve just got to let it go, adapt and keep moving forward. I’m sure me and Amir will cross paths in the future, but I’ve got a fight in front of me so that’s all I’m putting my energy into.”

The fight that currently has Kara-France’s attention is a UFC 305 co-main event matchup with Steve Erceg on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Erceg, a native of Australia, is comi…

Joilton Lutterbach’s Ultimate Fighting Championship tenure has ended before he was able to set foot into the Octagon.

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On Tuesday, Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced that Lutterbach tested positive for a metabolite of the anabolic steroid drostanolone in an out-of-competition sample collected on June 8. That test occurred two weeks before Lutterbach was scheduled to face Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC on ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia.

Lutterbach was notified of his positive test on June 20 at the fighter hotel in Saudi Arabia, where he admitted use of the banned substance. Because he did not declare the use of drostanolone before being tested, he received a two-year suspension from CSAD. Additionally, the UFC has terminated his contract with the promotion. Lutterbach will be eligible to return to active competition on June 23, 2026.

“I actually used juice [three] months ago and had no idea I would sign with the UFC,” Lutterbach wrote on Instag…

Highly-touted prospect Paul Hughes will be taking a significant step up in competition for his next fight.

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A lightweight clash pitting Hughes against A.J. McKee has been targeted for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming pay-per-view event on Oct. 19. MagicM MMABets first brought word of the pairing on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. The promotion has yet to formally announce the bout.

The PFL Super Fights Event, entitled "Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact,"is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira. In the co-main event, Cristiane Justino will square off against Larissa Pacheco. The card will air on pay-per-view, likely through ESPN+.

A former Cage Warriors champion, Hughes ended a high-profile free agent period by signing with the PFL. He made his debut with Bellator – which is also owned by PFL – on June 22, when he defeated Bobby King via second-round TKO. “Big News…

Antonio Carlos Jr. won’t be fighting on Friday night as originally expected, but the Brazilian will remain an alternate for the Professional Fighters League light heavyweight playoffs.

Carlos Jr. was slated to face Karl Albrektsson at PFL 8 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, but the promotion recently announced that the 205-pound clash has been removed from the card. However, “Cara de Sapato” will be available to fill in should anything go awry for the four light heavyweight semfinalists.

PFL 8 features semifinal bouts at both light heavyweight and lightweight. The card is headlined by a rematch of a 2023 final, as Impa Kasanganay squares off against Joshua Silveira at 205 pounds. The main draw airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream via ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

Carlos Jr. returned from a hiatus that lasted nearly two years for the 2024 PFL season. After submitting Simon Biyong at PFL 2, the 34-year-…

Dan Hooker claims that Israel Adesanya is physically different going into UFC 305.

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Adesanya challenges Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth, Australia. Hooker, who is his City Kickboxing teammate, also competes on the same card against Mateusz Gamrot in matchup of lightweight contenders.

Hooker recently revealed that Adesanya has primarily been working on his strength and conditioning during his 10-month layoff, the longest of his career. And Hooker can not only see the effects of that in Adesanya’s physique but also feels them in sparring.

“So honestly, he’s hitting like an ox right now,” Hooker told Fox Sports Australia. “And hitting harder than I’ve ever seen before. He really is looking scary. In all the time off, Izzy did nothing but work with his strength and conditioning coach, lift weights, doing all of this stuff.

“There’s just a voice in the back of your head now that’s sayi…

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Steve Erceg’s father initially provided the motivation for one of the world’s best flyweights to not give up on mixed martial arts.

Erceg will look to get back into title contention against Kai Kara-France in the co-main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. The Australian looks to bounce back from a hard-fought title loss against Alexandre Pantoja, where he silenced his doubters who considered him undeserving of the title shot in the first place.

Erceg recently revealed that he was about to leave the sport almost as soon as he started training. Erceg was first intrigued by the sport of MMA when he saw Frank Mir submit a visibly larger Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 in 2008. The urge to figure out how Mir did what he did led Erceg to Wilkies Martial Arts at the age of 14.

While Erceg had started training with the intention of competing, he was joined by his father Matthew Erceg, who needed to lose some weight. However, it was “Astro …

Israel Adesanya expects Dricus Du Plessis to immediately shoot for a takedown in their upcoming title fight.

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Adesanya will challenge Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. A well-versed mixed martial artist, Du Plessis has an almost equal number of knockouts (nine) and submissions (10) among his 19 career finishes. While he is primarily considered a wrestler, Du Plessis has proven his ability to strike at an elite level with knockout wins over the likes of Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker in the UFC.

However, Adesanya, who is considered one of the greatest strikers in the history of the sport, doubts Du Plessis will be willing to stand with him. The former Glory Kickboxing standout believes “Stillknocks” will be looking for the takedown from the get-go, a strategy for which he is prepared. Boasting a takedown defense rate of 77%, “The Last Stylebender” recalls handling a number of top-…

Are these the best ones yet?! 😍

Buy your own pair here: https://t.co/CEOVt2EWZD | #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/ylUWbhjuez

— UFC (@ufc) August 13, 2024

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Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will have some special attire for their championship headliner at UFC 305.

The Las Vegas-based promotion revealed the custom fight shorts that the middleweight combatants will wear for their bout at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night. The shorts are specially made by Venum, the official outfitter of the UFC.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now! Du Plessis claimed the middleweight crown with a split-decision triumph over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 on Jan. 20. The 30-year-old South African will carry a nine-bout winning streak into his grudge match with Adesanya. He also owns notable victories over the likes of Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Darren Till.

Adesanya is returning to…

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Mateusz Gamrot claims Dustin Poirier’s last fight against Islam Makhachev is proof that “Gamer” is the best wrestler in the lightweight division.

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Gamrot is scheduled to take on veteran contender Dan Hooker at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. Gamrot believes a potential victory over Hooker sets him up for an interim lightweight title fight, and then an eventual title unifier against the champ Makhachev, who is temporarily sidelined due to a hand injury.

While “Gamer” acknowledges Makhachev’s elite grappling skillset, he considers himself the best wrestler in the lightweight division. And Gamrot highlights Makhachev’s last title fight against Poirier, whom he helped train, as testament to that. Poirier gave Makhachev a stern test en route to a fifth-round submission loss at UFC 302 this past June. While cornering Poirier for the fight, Gamrot had it 2-2 going into the final frame — although the judges saw it differently. Ga…