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Dylan Hazan 🆚 @DonCaolan135 for the VACANT bantamweight title!

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📺 Watch #CW154 on @UFCFightPass from 9PM CEST tomorrow night pic.twitter.com/qOgoqTVsaS — Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) May 5, 2023 Dylan Hazan and Caolan Loughran have acquired their target: the vacant Cage Warriors Fighting Championship bantamweight title.

The unbeaten Hazan checked in at 135 pounds ahead of his high-stakes showdown with the undefeated Loughran (135) in the CW 154 main event on Saturday at the Fiera Roma in Rome. Meanwhile, Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Lean Aliu (186) and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Darren Stewart (185.4) also met their contracted weight requirements without issue at Friday’s official weigh-in.

Cage Warriors 154 streams live to UFC Fight Pass at 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT.

CAGE WARRIORS 154 WEIGH-IN RESULTS: Caolan Loughran (135) vs. Dylan Hazan (135)Darren Stewart (185.…

[embedded content] Ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Jorge Masvidal is in the headlines again, but not for something he caused.

According to an initial report from Fox Sports 640AM South Florida on Thursday afternoon, a shooting took place at Masvidal’s house earlier on Thursday. Per the report, a male family member of Masvidal – suggested to be his father – allegedly shot another person during an argument. The incident was later confirmed by local news outlets, including WPLG Local 10 in Miami. The retired fighter was not at his house at the time, as he is preparing to run a Gamebred bareknuckle event on Friday.

The Miami-Dade Police issued a statement to MMA Fighting, although it did not identify the parties.

“According to the victim,” the statement received by MMA Fighting wrote, “he was involved in an argument that escalated when the subject produced a firearm and shot him. The adult male victim was transported to the hospital in stable condition…Th…

ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship ONE Fight Night 10 Weigh-insCredit: One Championship [embedded content]

Demetrious John…

#AndStill pic.twitter.com/rwGFJLdQIf

— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) May 4, 2023 Bellator MMA is holding on tight to its dominant women’s 145 champ.

The organization announced on Thursday that it had come to terms with champion Cristiane Justino (26-2, 1 NC), whose contract had concluded after her most recent defense in April 2022. After a pair of boxing matches for the Brazilian powerhouse, “Cris Cyborg” signed a new, exclusive deal with Bellator. The specifics have not been stated, other than that it was a multi-fight contract.

Justino was elated in her new arrangement with the promotion, saying in the press release, “After receiving multiple offers from several promotions I’m very happy that I was able to come to terms with Bellator and remain the face of their women’s featherweight division. Scott Coker is a promoter that I’ve worked with and respected for many years. He’s done so much to further women’s MMA and give us a platform to…

Rayanne Amanda dos Santos took her game to another level.

The Marajo Brothers product walked away with the undisputed Invicta Fighting Championships bantamweight title, as she cruised to a unanimous decision over Jillian DeCoursey in the five-round Invicta 53 headliner on Wednesday at ReelWorks in Denver. Scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 48-47—all for dos Santos (14-6, 2-0 Invicta). That the fight never felt particularly competitive was a testament to the Brazilian’s considerable efforts.

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Moments of success were few and far between for DeCoursey (6-4, 5-3 Invicta), who struggled and ultimately failed to match her challenger’s output, consistency and speed. Dos Santos tore into her with blinding combinations, incorporated leg kicks when the situation called for it and ran circles around her in the grappling exchanges. DeCoursey was left with significant damage to her left eye, multiple facial cuts and a ruptured cauliflower ear.

Meanwhile, Great Britai…

Conor McGregor has been in the public eye quite a bit recently, but so far there has been nothing to indicate that a date has been set for his fight with Michael Chandler.

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“The Ultimate Fighter 31” is set to air this month, and viewers will be able to see how McGregor and Chandler interact as opposing coaches on the long-running reality show. The two are then expected to square off in the Octagon some time after the season concludes in August. Exactly when that is remains unknown. In the meantime, McGregor was seen facing off against Mike Perry at the conclusion of the BKFC 41 main event this past weekend. He was also in attendance for the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia boxing match one week prior.

While McGregor seems to be enjoying life, that has led to speculation that he won’t make it to his proposed bout with Chandler. The former Bellator lightweight champion discussed that possiblity during a recent interview with ESPN.

“I think he’s coming…

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It turns out that Jon Jones’ recent tweet about retirement had more truth to it than some might have initially thought.

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The UFC is targeting a heavyweight title bout between Jones and Stipe Miocic for Madison Square Garden later this year after “Bones” captured the belt with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Jones said that Miocic is likely his last fight unless circumstances change with former UFC champ Francis Ngannou.

“I feel like the Stipe fight will be plenty for me,” Jones said. “I really don’t feel like I have much to prove after beating Stipe Miocic. I’ve been in the game a long time, and in fighter years, I’m an old guy.

“I’ve got some small injuries and I just really want to be around — I want to be around for my family, I want to be around for my kids, I want to be able to play with my kids and have a good head on my shoulders, and joints that work. So y…

Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan Credit: Bellator MMA/Lucas Noonan

The card for Bellator 297 is now complete with the addition of seven new bouts.

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The California-based promotion announced the fights — highlighted by a preliminary clash between Austin Vanderford and Imamshafi Aliev — via release on Wednesday. The other newly-added matchups are as follows: Jordan Newman vs. Matthew Perry at middleweight; Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev at lightweight; Leandro Higo vs. Nikita Mikhailov at bantamweight; Cody Law vs. Edwin Chavez at featherwei…

It may not be how she envisioned, but Irene Aldana is now facing the opportunity of a lifetime.

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On Tuesday, Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White revealed in a Twitter video that bantamweight title challenger Julianna Pena had been forced to withdraw from her rubber match with Amanda Nunes at UFC 289 on June 10, due to broken ribs. White announced that Nunes would instead be defending her title against Irene Aldana, who had previously been scheduled to rematch Raquel Pennington in the main event of UFC Fight Night 224 on May 20.

Breaking news………… pic.twitter.com/pNvr9Qo3I2

— danawhite (@danawhite) May 3, 2023

The Nunes-Pena fight would have settled a series that sat at 1-1. At their first meeting at UFC 269 in December 2021, Pena turned the longtime two-division champ into a one-division champ, snatching Nunes' bantamweight strap by second-round submission in a near-consensus “Upset of the Year,” and one…

A welterweight bout pitting Neil Magny against Philip Rowe has been added to the UFC on ABC 5 lineup.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC on ABC 5 takes place at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 24 and is headlined by a featherweight scrap between Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria.

The 35-year-old Magny began his 2023 campaign with a first-round submission defeat to Gilbert Burns at UFC 283 on Jan. 21. “The Haitian Sensation” has 29 Octagon appearances to his credit, with notable victories over the likes of Geoff Neal, Robbie Lawler, Jingliang Li, Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, Hector Lombard and Kelvin Gastelum.

Rowe, meanwhile, has won three straight UFC fights since dropping his debut against Gabriel Green in February 2021. During that stretch, “The Fresh Prince” has finished Niko Price, Jason Witt and Orion Cosce via technical knockout.

#InvictaFC53: DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos Official Weigh-in Results https://t.co/GRYo5IYo5a pic.twitter.com/oa2xbjMfrK

— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) May 2, 2023

Jillian DeCoursey will take on the role of the hunted at Invicta FC 53.

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DeCoursey made weight without issue ahead of her first atomweight title defense against Rayanne Amanda dos Santos. DeCoursey tipped the scales at 104.8 pounds, while dos Santos checked in at 104.3 pounds. The rest of the 12 athletes slated to compete on the card also hit their contracted marks.

Invicta FC 53 takes place at Reelworks Denver in Denver, Colo., on Wednesday and airs at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on AXS TV and the Invicta FC Youtube channel and Facebook page in the U.S.

DeCoursey claimed atomweight gold with a first-round submission of Jessica Correa Delboni at Invicta FC 49 this past September. The 38-year-old Queens, N.Y., native has won four of his last five professional appeara…

Few people have more insight than the UFC 288 co-main event than Vicente Luque.

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Not only is Luque a close friend and longtime sparring partner of Gilbert Burns – they’ve trained together since 2014 -- but he’s fought Belal Muhammad on two occasions, winning via first-round knockout at UFC 205 before dropping a five-round verdict to “Remember the Name” in their rematch at UFC on ESPN 34. Luque expects a competitive fight between the two on Saturday but sees Burns as the favorite.

"I fought five rounds with Belal one year ago,” Luque said. “He has definitely evolved from our first fight. Besides throwing fast combinations, he moves well and has a good kick with his left leg, but he fights more to score points. I see a clear advantage for ‘Durinho’ in the grappling aspect. He has much more pressure, mainly on the ground, in addition to amazing cardio. On the striking aspect, I see it being more equal. ‘Durinho’ evolved a lot and has more knockout powe…

An undisclosed injury has forced Bryce Mitchell to withdraw from a featherweight bout against Movsar Evloev at UFC 288.

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As a result, promotional newcomer Diego Lopes will step in on five days’ notice to face Evloev on the UFC 288 pay-per-view draw. ESPN Deportes was first to report the new pairing. Evloev previously agreed to replace Jonathan Pearce and face Mitchell a few weeks prior.

Lopes enters his UFC debut with a 20-5 career mark. He appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021 but failed to earn a contract, dropping a technical decision to Joanderson Brito. Lopes is the founder of the Brazilian Warriors team and has held titles in organizations such as Lux Fight League, Xtreme Fighters Latino and Jasaji Fighting League. The 28-year-old Brazilian owns notable triumphs over UFC veterans Masio Fullen, Marco Beltran and Rony Mariano Bezerra.

Evloev is 16-0 as a professional, with six of those victories coming under the UFC banner. Th…

After a proposed main event matchup with Jack Hermansson fell through, Brendan Allen is moving on to a showdown against Bruno Silva at UFC on ABC 5.

Allen confirmed the middleweight booking on social media following an initial report from MMA Mania. UFC on ABC 5 takes place at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 24 and is headlined by a featherweight duel pitting Ilia Topuria against Josh Emmett. Allen was supposed to face Hermansson in the UFC on ESPN 45 feature before his opponent withdrew due to an undisclosed injury.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Allen has won four straight contests since falling to Chris Curtis at UFC on ESPN 31 in December 2021. Most recently, “All In” submitted Andre Muniz in the third round of their main event tilt at UFC Fight Night 220.

Silva, meanwhile, halted a two-bout losing streak with a first-round TKO of Brad Tavares at UFC Fight Night 222 on April 22. The former M-1 Glob…

Kamaru Usman is ready to get back to work.

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In an interview with ESPN, the former welterweight champion revealed that he is ready to fight again — and one opponent in particular has his interest.

"A fight with myself and Khamzat [Chimaev]? Boom," Usman said. "I'm kind of in a place now where I'm having fun with it, and what's the biggest, funnest, most intense fight that really makes me feel something? That's a fight right there. That could headline a pay-per-view.”

Chimaev hasn’t competed since last September, when he submitted Kevin Holland in the opening round of a 180-pound catchweight clash at UFC 279. He has been linked to a fight with Paulo Costa, but his next Octagon appearance hasn’t been booked. It’s also unclear if Chimaev will fight at welterweight or middleweight going forward. Usman told ESPN that he would “potentially” be willing to face Chimaev at 185 pounds.

"He's a fighter and I'm a fighter at the end of the day," Usma…

UFC vet Felipe "Cabocão" Colares passed away at 29 years old. Just communicated with teammate Kleydson Rodrigues. He confirmed that Colares was struck by a bus earlier today, May 1st. @sherdogdotcom #cabocao #felipecabocao #felipecolares https://t.co/FEKZFj0cui

— Christian Stein (@CopperHeartCT) May 1, 2023

Six-time UFC veteran Felipe Colares has died at 29 years old after being struck by a bus on Monday.

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Sherdog.com contributor Christian Stein confirmed news of Colares’ death with teammate Kleydson Rodrigues. Colares was hit on his way home from training in Rio de Janeiro and died on his way to Hospital Rocha Faria in Campo Grande, according to Combate.

Colares last fought on Feb. 17, when he submitted Alioune Nahaye at Ares FC 12. Prior to that, the Team Nogueira representative went 2-4 during six-bout UFC stint from 2019 to 2022. He earned wins over Luke Sanders and Domingo Pilarte during his tenure with the Las …

A flyweight showdown pitting Kai Kara France against Amir Albazi has been promoted to the UFC on ESPN 45 headliner.

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Kara France announced the move on the "Who the Fook Are These Guys?” podcast, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. UFC on ESPN 45 needed a new main event after Jack Hermansson withdrew from a proposed middleweight clash against Brendan Allen. Now Kara France and Albazi will have five rounds with which to work.

Kara France last appeared at UFC 277, where he suffered a third-round technical knockout loss to current flyweight king Brandon Moreno last July. He was supposed to face Alex Perez at UFC 284 but was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury.

Albazi, meanwhile, has lost just once in 17 professional outings. The Baghdad, Iraq, native has kicked off his promotional tenure with four straight triumphs, including a third-round KO of Alessandro Costa in his most recent appearance at UFC Fight Night 216.

Though it seems farfetched that Conor McGregor ever competes for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the former UFC two-division champion isn’t ruling out the possibility.

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McGregor attended BKFC 41 on Saturday, which was one of the promotion’s biggest events to date, and faced off with Mike Perry in the ring after “Platinum” bested Luke Rockhold in the evening’s main event. McGregor reflected on that appearance in a post on social media.

“Call me ‘slicey’ bare paw,” McGregor wrote. “Styles make fights. As well as rulesets. As well as everything. If you are scared go to church. I was called into the bare-knuckle ring last night. I fear nothing. No man that breathes air. I only fear God and abide by God and if God guides me to a professional bare-knuckle fight in my time for my new world title, I do.”

“Great night last night. It’s real interesting out there for sure. Congrats to the fighters. Two of my old foes [Eddie Alvarez and Chad Mendes] com…

One Championship has withdrawn from the Francis Ngannou sweepstakes.

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CEO Chatri Sityodtong revealed to the South China Morning Post that the Singapore-based promotion has elected not to submit a final offer to the ex-UFC heavyweight champion after meeting with Ngannou in Los Angeles over the weekend.

“I met with Francis yesterday for almost 3 hours,” Sityodtong said. “ONE has decided to withdraw from the process of bidding for Francis Ngannou’s services.

“After careful reflection, we decided not to submit our final offer. Francis is a good guy and a good champion. I wish him continued success and happiness. At the end of the day, I didn’t feel Francis and I were fully aligned on non-financial matters. It is nothing personal. It is just a lack of alignment.”

Ngannou became a free agent in January after his UFC contract expired. The Cameroonian-born Frenchman indicated that he was in talks with both One and Professional Fighters League, …

C'est parti !!! @KSW_MMA 🔥🔥😤merci à ceux qui me soutiennent depuis le début pic.twitter.com/6T38Uh8yCK

— Salahdine Parnasse (@SalahdineP) April 27, 2023

Polish promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki has bolstered the lineup for its upcoming stadium show with three championship fights.

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In the KSW 83 “Colosseum 2” co-main event, reigning lightweight champion Marian Ziolkowski will face interim title holder Salahdine Parnasse in a bout that was originally scheduled for KSW 76. Ziolkowski has won four straight contests under the KSW banner since falling to current UFC talent Mateusz Gamrot in August 2020. Parnasse has been victorious in 17 of his 18 professional outings and is in the midst of a four-bout winning streak of his own.

Meanwhile, Pawel Pawlak and Tomasz Romanowski will square off for the vacant middleweight crown. Pawlak has won six straight fights dating back to June 2020, a run that includes a trio of victories in…

Yadong Song was impressive against Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 223, but he would have preferred to put his opponent away earlier than the fifth round.

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“I feel my performance was OK,” Song said at the post-fight press conference. “Not very good. I could’ve ended the fight in the earlier rounds. It was five rounds. He’s a very tough opponent. I wanted to be patient in the fight. I had a lot of chances to finish the fight earlier.”

The Team Alpha Male product has won four of his last five UFC appearances and has designs on moving up in the rankings. In the aftermath of his latest triumph, targeted matchups against the likes of Sean O’Malley, Petr Yan, Rob Font and Marlon Vera.

“I want to fight Top 5 fighters,” Song said. “Even Font – he’s No. 6. He’s OK. ‘Chito’ Vera and Sean O’Malley – but they probably won’t give me Sean O’Malley. They want to protect him. Whatever. Just top five. My goal is to fight top-five fighters this year.”

O’M…

Chad Mendes is stepping away from combat sports for good.

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The former UFC featherweight contender called it a career following a loss to Eddie Alvarez in the BKFC 41 co-main event on Saturday night. Mendes announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in 2019 but later signed with BKFC, where he split a pair of appearances.

“I’ve been going back and forth with this. Obviously I retired from the UFC back in 2018, and I was honestly done. I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into a few businesses and just spending the family quality time that I love doing,” Mendes said at the BKFC 41 post-fight press conference.

“I had no desire [to fight], but something like this came up, and obviously the pay is really good, and it’s something that’s new, which kind of excited me, so I did it. I was done after that first one, but then they dangled somebody like this dude [Alvarez] in front of me, so I was like, ‘All right, I’ll do one more. This could be …

Yadong Song punched his way back into the title discussion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division.

In the main event of UFC Fight Night 223 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the “Kung Fu Kid” stifled the vaunted wrestling of Ricky Simon and outstruck him in increasingly one-sided fashion for four rounds before putting things away with a blistering left hook early in Round 5. The first round found Simon largely neglecting his customary barrage of takedowns, and Song stuffed the few that did come his way, setting the tone for the remainder of the fight. Song found increasing success with his boxing as the fight went on, catching Simon cleanly on numerous occasions, though what appeared to be a knockdown by Song early in the second round turned out to have been caused by an inadvertent clash of heads. A second headbutt in Round 3 drew a protest from Simon, as both collisions had occurred while Song lunged forward with his head down. Nonetheless, Son…

Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 223 coverage will begin Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Horth (-140), Cowan (+120)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Lev Pisarsky scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Egger (-305…