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One Shot to WIN. One Shot to ADVANCE. One Shot at a WORLD TITLE 🏆

Get to know the Heavyweights set to compete in the 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ #PFLWorldTournament

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[ #PFLWorldTournament | Thursday , May 1st | 📺 10PM EST | ESPN 2 | B2YB @Valrenergy ] pic.twitter.com/uAHVEMqpV9 — PFL (@PFLMMA) March 5, 2025

The entire lineup for the 2025 Professional Fighters League World Tournament is now in place.

On Wednesday, the promotion announced the rosters for the eight-man brackets at heavyweight and light heavyweight. Two alternates were also set for the 205-pound field. Alternates at heavyweight were not provided.

The heavyweight lineup includes the Oleg Popov, who fell to Denis Goltsov in the 2024 PFL finals and Alexander Romanov, who went 7-3 in the UFC before being released from the Las Vegas-based organization. Former Bellator MMA interim heavyweight king Valentin Moldavsky will also be a participant.

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BOOOOOOM!!!!! Boxing here we come pic.twitter.com/XBRBT5mr3P

— danawhite (@danawhite) March 5, 2025

It isn’t exactly Zuffa Boxing, but after years of speculation, UFC CEO Dana White is finally getting directly involved with the Sweet Science.

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The new boxing promotion comes from a partnership between TKO Group Holdings — the parent company of the UFC and WWE — Turki Alalshikh and entertainment congomerate Sela.

“We have just done a deal to start a new boxing league with Turki, who absolutely loves the sport of boxing,” White said in a video on social media.

“The model is proven to deliver the fights that the fans want to see. The best will fight the best and the fighters will continue to move up the rankings and become world champions. We will continue to make announcements on where you can watch and all the rest of the details on the business as we get closer to the launch.”

“I am very happy today,” Alalshikh said…

Not everyone from Brazil will be on Alex Pereira’s side this Saturday.

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After a meteoric rise that saw him capture UFC belts in two divisions, “Poatan” has become perhaps the biggest idol of MMA in Brazil today. When he steps into the Octagon to make his fourth title defense against Dagestan’s Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, Pereira will certainly have the gigantic Brazilian audience behind him.

Two Brazilians, however, are exceptions and will certainly be on Ankalaev’s side: UFC veteran and Porrada Training Center leader Ronny Markes, and former Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza. Both Markes and Cappelozza recently signed with the Global Fight League. 

Markes recently explained how the partnership with Ankalaev began.

“The first time Ankalaev trained with us here at Porrada TC was in 2021,” Markes told Sherdog.com. “But he also trained at Xtreme [Couture]. For this fight, however, he trained the last three…

Alex Pereira reacts to Magomed Ankalaev claiming he goes to UFC events for “free alcohol”

“I know the pain of the people. He is playing with the feelings of the fans, feelings of the people who go through that.”

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🎥 @AlexPereiraUFC #UFC313pic.twitter.com/G1yDUWOrNi — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 4, 2025

Alex Pereira overcame a significant obstacle in his life to become a Ultimate Fighting Championship title holder.

A former Glory kickboxing champ, Pereira’s career might have ended if not for a taunt from Israel Adesanya. While Adesanya had gone on to become a UFC champ, he once said that the only man to beat him twice in kickboxing must be drinking in a bar in Brazil. That motivated Pereira to start training and transition to MMA. The rest is history.

Pereira is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Ve…

👀Colby Covington nearly ran into former teammate Themba Gorimbo at UFC PI

🎥 @ColbyCovMMA ▫️pic.twitter.com/tZEjFHD3eL

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 4, 2025 Colby Covington recently went out of his way to avoid crossing paths with former teammate Themba Gorimbo.

Gorimbo and Covington were once teammates at the MMA Masters gym in Florida. Gorimbo previously defended Covington, saying that the outspoken fighter was often misunderstood. Gorimbo admittedly had $6 left in his bank account leading up to his second UFC outing. The Zimbabwean later revealed that Covington used to bring him food when he was broke.

However, the two have since fallen out, allegedly due to a misconduct by Covington. According to Gorimbo, Covington threw him out of the UFC Performance Institute while “Chaos” was cutting weight for a title fight against Leon Edwards in 2023. What hurt “The Answer” even more was that Covington sent someone to tell him to le…

🌹😤 Movsar Evloev wants to go after Ilia Topuria to Lightweight division even if the title is not on the line.

☝️ Adds that it's nothing personal, he just wants to prove that he is the best Featherweight since Ilia beat everyone.🎥 @Home_of_Fight pic.twitter.com/qTHKtoQWYK

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 3, 2025

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Movsar Evloev wants to prove himself against Ilia Topuria, regardless of whether there’s a title on the line.

Topuria won the featherweight title against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 last year and defended it by knocking out Max Holloway for the very time in his career at UFC 308. While Evloev and Diego Lopes were the frontrunners for the next featherweight title shot, Topuria recently vacated the belt in favor of a move to lightweight. Lopes is now scheduled to fight Volkanovski for the vacant title at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Meanwhile, Evloev has an unfulfille…

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Alex Pereira believes he can hold his own on the ground against Magomed Ankalaev.

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Pereira puts his light heavyweight title on the line against Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Many expect it to be the toughest test yet for Pereira, who hasn’t faced a grappler of Ankalaev’s caliber in the UFC. However, “Poatan” promises to display his wrestling skills, which he has been honing under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, former champ Glover Teixeira.

Pereira recently posted a video of himself grappling with Teixeira in the snow. Ankalaev, who sounds supremely confident going into the fight, wondered aloud in the comments whether Pereira could do that for five rounds. Responding to Ankalaev, Pereira retorted back with the same question. Pereira believes if Ankalaev can’t grapple him for 25 minutes, the fight will take place on the feet, where the Brazilian expects to have a massi…

Caio Borralho is looking to move up the middleweight rankings.

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Borralho recently issued a callout to former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker for a summer matchup. While Whittaker had recently called out Sean Strickland, Borralho urged “The Reaper” to stop calling out higher ranked opponents after a loss. “The Natural” wants to fight Whittaker at UFC 317 during the International Fight Week in June.

“Hey [Robert Whittaker], stop calling guys ahead of you in the rankings after [you] lose a fight bro!” Borralho wrote. “Let’s fight UFC 317 June [28] on International Fight Week! What do you think? What do you all fans think?”

Hey @robwhittakermma stop calling guys ahead of you in the rankings after u lose a fight bro!

Let’s fight UFC 317 June 29 on International Fight Week!

What do you think?What do you all fans think?

— Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) March 3, 2025

The co-founder of The Fighting Nerds tea…

🗿🤼‍♂️ Movsar Evloev doesn't think that Magomed Ankalaev needs to wrestle to beat Alex Pereira this weekend.

He also added about Pereira:"Pereira doesn't defend himself very well. He just believes in his power."🎥 @Home_of_Fight pic.twitter.com/NzoFWJYI0j

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 3, 2025

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Movsar Evloev has a bold prediction for the upcoming title fight between Alex Pereira (12-2) and Magomed Ankalaev (19-1).

Ankalaev challenges Pereira for the light heavyweight title in the main event at UFC 313 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Many expect Ankalaev’s wrestling to pose the biggest threat to knockout artist Pereira. However, Evloev believes Ankalaev doesn’t have to wrestle to beat the former Glory Kickboxing champ. According to Evloev, Pereira’s striking defense has enough holes for Ankalaev to exploit and get the win.

“Even if [Ankalaev] do not use his wrestling, I think he have enough ski…

Jean Silva recently took a dig a Movsar Evloev for mocking Diego Lopes.

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Ilia Topuria recently vacated the featherweight title to move up to lightweight. Lopes is now scheduled to fight Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant title in the main event at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. This matchup didn’t go over well with Movsar Evloev, who is expected to be the next contender at featherweight. Evloev called Lopes his “chicken,” predicting Volkanovski to beat the Brazilian.

“[Alexander Volkanovski] good luck for your next fight,” Evloev wrote on X. “I know you’re gonna beat this guy. He’s my chicken.”

@alexvolkanovski good luck for your next fight. I know you’re gonna beat this guy. He’s my chicken.

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) March 1, 2025

Silva, a surging force in the division, hit back at Evloev for his comments. “Lord” blamed Evloev’s inactivity for Lopes surpassing him for the title s…

Raul Rosas Jr. will return to action against Vince Morales at UFC Mexico City.

Multiple outlets confirmed the bantamweight pairing following an initial report from ESPN Deportes. UFC Mexico City — also known as UFC on ESPN 64 — takes place at Arena CDMX on March 29 and is headllined by a flyweight scrap pitting Brandon Moreno against Steve Erceg.

The 20-year-old Rosas Jr. has been victorious in four of five Octagon appearances since earning a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in September 2022. In his last outing, “El Nino Problema” went the distance in victory for the first time during his promotional tenure, taking a unanimous verdict against Qileng Aori at UFC 306.

Since beginning his second UFC stint last year, Morales has dropped back-to-back decisions agianst Taylor Lapilus and Elijah Smith. Morales went 3-5 during his first go-round in the promotion before winning five straight bouts on the regional circuit to earn another shot in the …

Chris Gutierrez will get to remain on the UFC 313 card after all.

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After originally being booked against Jean Matsumoto, Gutierrez will instead lock horns with John Castaneda on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Matsumoto was pulled from the event to face Rob Font at UFC Seattle on Feb. 22. Castaneda, meanwhile, was supposed to face Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC Vegas 103 this past Saturday before the bout was scrapped. Multiple outlets confirmed the new matchup, which will take place at 145 pounds, following an initial report from Eurosport NL.

Gutierrez fought just once in 2024, taking a unanimous decision against Quang Le at UFC on ESPN 61 this past August. The Factory X product is 9-3-1 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Castaneda last appeared at UFC on ESPN 57, where he dropped a three-round verdict against Daniel Marcos this past June. The longtime Combate Americas veteran is 4-3 in the Octagon.

UFC…