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Kleber Koike's strength remains eternal!

[ #RIZIN43 | @FiteTV | PPV link in bio ] pic.twitter.com/5NYGGyx3Hc

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) June 24, 2023

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The latest Rizin Fighting Federation event was a festival of knockouts, submissions and drama.

The Rizin 43 headliner saw Kleber Koike Erbst face Chihiro Suzuki in what should have been Erbst’s first attempt to defend the featherweight championship. Unfortunately, the Brazilian missed weight by .9 pounds the day before and was stripped of the title, making Suzuki the only fighter eligible to win the crown. During the fight, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Erbst (31-6-1, 1NC; 6-1, 1 NC Rizin) dominated Suzuki (10-3, 1NC; 5-1, 1NC Rizin) from top to bottom. After a minute of striking exchanges on the feet, Erbst dragged his opponent on the mat and quickly gained the mount position. Once there, Erbst landed sporadic punches while threatening his foe with submissio…

The possibility of a repeat remains in play for defending Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

Aubin-Mercier waylaid Anthony Romero with a beautiful knee strike in the third round of their PFL 6 headliner on Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, where the Tristar Gym standout clinched his spot in the postseason in style. Blindsided by the fight-ending blow, Romero (12-2, 1-1 PFL) checked out 28 seconds into Round 3.

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The 34-year-old Aubin-Mercier (19-5, 8-0 PFL) was calculated and efficient, and a brief brush with adversity—Romero buckled his knees with a first-round front kick—did nothing to knock him off his mark. He routinely cut off the cage against his fellow Canadian, forced him onto the back foot and scored with check right hooks and slicing straight lefts. No one saw the finish coming, least of all Romero. Aubin-Mercier backed him to the fence, caught him ducking and connected with a perfectly timed k…

The 2023 Professional Fighters League Regular Season marches on with 2023 PFL 6 at 6 p.m. ET. The action airs live on ESPN+ and then continues on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round: The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Edwin Ayala scores the r…

[embedded content] Editor's note: The article has been updated when one of the previously heavy fighters came back to successfully make weight.

The weigh-ins for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Jacksonville were anything but smooth.

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The 14-fight UFC on ABC 5 card is headlined by Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria. Both featherweights successfully made weight for the five-round contest. However, the same could not be said for the entirety of the undercard.

Loik Radzhabov came in at 157.25 pounds, or 1.25 pounds over the lightweight limit, and has been fined 20% of his purse, which will go to opponent Mateusz Rebecki (155.5). Additionally, Kleydson Rodrigues checked in three pounds overweight for his flyweight pairing against Tatsuro Taira (126), and per ESPN Deportes, the fight has been canceled. Finally, Jamall Emmers initially clocked in one pound over for his featherweight fight against Jack Jenkins (145.5), but he returned having chopp…

Sherdog's live UFC on ABC 5 coverage will begin Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Brundage (-195), Dumas (+165)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Emmers (-200), Jenkins (+170)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Pe…

Two high-level matchups have been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Singapore in August.

On Friday, Instagram account Freak MMA first broke the story that Taila Santos (19-2) would be battling it out with Erin Blanchfield (11-1) at 125 pounds on Aug. 26. The two flyweights will duke it out at UFC Fight Night 225 inside of the Singapore Indoor Arena in Kallang, Singapore. Blanchfield confirmed this fight on her own Instagram right after the fight news dropped.

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This will be Santos’ first walk to the Octagon since she lost an ultra-close split decision to former champ Valentina Shevchenko in June 2022. While some observers including one judge thought she did enough to dethrone Shevchenko, a clash of heads caused major swelling around Santos’ right eye to potentially compromise her in the later rounds. Before the championship defeat, Santos had strung together four straight wins, including a trio of decisions over Molly McCann, Gil…

What A Fight!!@RoseNamajunas will face @ManonFiorot_MMA at #UFCParis!!

Get your tickets 🎟️ https://t.co/vwLifSPSne pic.twitter.com/0b15gjUB9c

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) June 23, 2023 The former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight queen is taking her trade to a new division.

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According to MMA Junkie on Friday, Rose Namajunas (11-5) will be relocating to 125 pounds on Sept. 2. At that UFC Fight Night 226 event in Paris, she will be meeting top contender Manon Fiorot (10-1). News of this pairing has since been confirmed by the UFC shortly after it broke.

This will be the former 115-pound titleholder’s first trip back to flyweight since she was an amateur, all the way back in 2011. “Thug Rose” surrendered her throne to Carla Esparza a second time in May 2022, dropping a razor-close split decision to her nemesis. That defeat snapped an impressive three-fight win streak, with a revenge decision over Jessica …

#RIZIN43 北海道大会💥計量結果💥

⚔️第13試合⚔️メインイベントRIZIN MMAルール 66.0kg

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🟥クレベル・コイケ【66.40kg】🧍‍♂️178cm💪ﾘｰﾁ183cm@KoikeKleberーーー🆚ーーー🟦鈴木千裕【65.95kg】🧍‍♂️173cm💪ﾘｰﾁ177cm@Chihiro__0514

📅6/24(土)12:30~📡全試合無料配信https://t.co/FdfbqVl0kD pic.twitter.com/bW39wWe6fB

— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR) June 23, 2023 Rizin Fighting Federation has stripped Kleber Koike Erbst of the featherweight championship. Rizin Fighting Federation returns for its first event of the summer with Rizin 43.Taking place in Hokkaido, Japan, the event features 12 mixed martial arts fights. Headlining the card is what was supposed to be a featherweight title fight between Erbst and Chihiro Suzuki. However, Erbst failed to make weight, exceeding the championship limit by coming in at 146.3 pounds. As a result, he's been stripped of his title, penalized with a yellow card costing him 20% of his purse, and only Suzuki will be…

El evento del 16 de septiembre me confirman será en el T-Mobile Arena y la idea es que se llegue a un acuerdo y una de las peleas por título sería la revancha entre Alexa Grasso 🇲🇽 vs Valentina Shevchenko 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/5p8AhOIUFq

— MMA Latinoamérica (@ClubDeLasMMA) June 8, 2023 The Ultimate Fighting Championship is running back the biggest upset of the year thus far in September.

Earlier in June, MMA Latinoamerica reported that the UFC was putting together the rematch between flyweight champ Alexa Grasso (16-3) and former queen Valentina Shevchenko (23-4). The report stated that the fight would be held on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas, and further reports have noted that it will likely be taking place in the T-Mobile Arena. UFC head Dana White informed Yahoo! Sports on Thursday that the fight would indeed go down on this date in Las Vegas, while not confirming the venue itself.

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With the UFC still traveling to Sydney on Sep…

[embedded content] Pride Fighting Championships pioneer Rickson Gracie has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.

Considered to be one of the more revered names in the vaunted Gracie family, Brazilian jiu-jitsu coral belt Rickson Gracie revealed during Kyra Gracie’s podcast on Wednesday that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease two years ago. Now 63 years of age, the son of Helio Gracie said the disease, a chronic degenerative disorder, affected his motor system, causing tremors in his hands and decreasing his ability to move. Despite this, Rickson made it clear that the diagnosis “wasn't traumatic.”

“Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” Rickson explained. “So, a lot of things that I would like to do physically, I’m decreasing. For me, [the diagnosis] was nothing dramatic. I’m ready for anything in my life. I accept my mistakes and my victories. I accept my life well, so I’m happy today. But this neurological disability opened m…

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 🚨

Sioux Falls, we're coming in hot on Friday, August 11th!

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✅ Nikita Mikhailov vs. Leandro Higo✅ Diana Avsaragova vs. Justine Kish#Bellator298 tickets on sale NOW 👉🎟 https://t.co/A0jjLIKwTw pic.twitter.com/Ouf0bsUjzn — Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 22, 2023 Bellator MMA has added a slew of new fights to its August card, including a rescheduled bantamweight battle.

Per Bellator on Thursday via press release, five new fights have been added to the Bellator 298 lineup. This event on Aug. 11 will be held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and its headliner of Logan Storley vs. Brennan Ward is still on track. The league also announced that the start time would be pushed to 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT instead of 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, and the prelims are slated to kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT earlier that day. Of those five matchups, three contain combatants placed on the Bellator rankings.…

⚖️Lightweight Main Event Bout is official!Olivier Aubin Mercier: 155.6 lbsAnthony Romero: 155.4 lbs

[Fri, June 23rd | 6pm ET on ESPN+ | 9pm ET on ESPN | #PFLRegularSeason] pic.twitter.com/D8z5rHCkhC

— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 22, 2023 One Professional Fighters League finalist from last year's tournament failed to make weight ahead of Friday's show.

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The lightweight and welterweight divisions will be on display for PFL 6, the final event of the regular season, with a 155-pound "win or go home" matchup between Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Anthony Romero atop the card. While both headliners made weight, a pair of undercard fighters did not. 2022 welterweight finalist Dilano Taylor was penalized one point in the standings after coming in at 171.2 pounds, and he will also forfeit 20% of his show purse to opponent Carlos Leal Miranda. Additionally, featherweight Brahyan Zurcher missed weight, hitting the scales at 146.8 pounds for hi…

A bantamweight showdown between Rob Font and Yadong Song has been added to the UFC 292 lineup.

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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking on Wednesday evening. UFC 292 takes place at TD Garden in Boston on Aug. 19 and is headlined by a bantamweight championship bout pitting Aljamain Sterling against Sean O'Malley.

Font snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, as he defeated rising prospect Adrian Yanez via first-round technical knockout at UFC 287 on April 8. The 35-year-old Boston native owns other notable victories against the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon, Sergio Pettis and Matt Schnell.

Song, meanwhile, has won four of his last five Octagon appearances. The Team Alpha Male product is coming off a fifth-round technical knockout win over Simon in the UFC on ESPN 45 headliner on April 29.

The finish line could be nearing for Steven Ray.

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The Professional Fighters League lightweight initially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in 2020, citing chronic knee issues as the reason behind the decision. That was the end of Scot’s UFC tenure, but he made a triumphant return last year, making the 2022 PFL Championships before losing to Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the finals.

After losing to Natan Schulte in his first bout of the 2023 season, Ray is considering calling it a career in the near future. Exactly when that happens depends on how he fares against Clay Collard at PFL 6 on Friday night.

“To be honest, I’m f—ing really excited for this fight. It’s less pressure for me as well,” Ray said at a virtual PFL media day. “I’m just going out there to enjoy it. Worst case scenario is still a good scenario for me. (If I lose), it’ll be the first time I’ve lost three fights in a row. That could be a message that it is time to hang …

Two months after winning the Rizin featherweight title with a submission victory against Juntaro Ushiko, Kleber Koike Erbst came up short against Bellator featherweight champ Patricio Freire in a cross-promotional event this past December.

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Even after that decision loss, Erbst emerged confident that he will remain Rizin champion for a long time.

"Patricio is one of the best featherweights in MMA history, and after fighting him for 15 minutes, I feel I can bring trouble to any fighter in that division in the world,” Erbst told Sherdog.com shortly after that fight.

On Saturday, Erbst will defend his belt against Japanese kickboxing ace Chihiro Suzuki at Rizin 43. The 24-year-old Suzuki has won five straight bouts under the Rizin banner. Shortly after the Rizin 43 press conference, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt said that he planned to finish Suzuki in the first round.

"He was talking too much trash at the press conference saying he would pro…

UFC champions Jon Jones and Leon Edwards have received two ESPY nominations apiece.

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ESPN on Wednesday announced the nominees for its annual awards show, which this year takes place on July 12 in Los Angeles. Jones and Edwards are joined by Amanda Nunes and Islam Makhachev as the candidates for the Best MMA Fighter Category. Additionally, Jones is on the list for Best Comeback Athlete, while Edwards is in the running for Best Championship Performance.

Jones returned to action following a three-year layoff at UFC 285, where he claimed the vacant heavyweight crown with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane. “Bones” is going up against the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray, the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas and the New York Mets’ Justin Verlander in the Best Comeback Athlete category.

Edwards was nominated for Best Championship Performance thanks to his improbable fifth-round KO of Kamaru Usman to claim welterweight gold at UFC 278 last August. The…

Jeremy Stephens and Chris Avila will meet in a boxing match on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz event on Aug. 5.

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Most Valuable Promotions and Real Fight Inc. announced the bout on Wednesday. The fight will take place at 168 pounds and will be contested over eight rounds. Paul vs. Diaz will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and airs via pay-per-view via Dazn as well as all major cable and satellite providers.

Stephens made his professional boxing debut under the Gamebred Boxing banner on April 1, when he battled fellow UFC veteran Jose Aldo to a majority draw. “Lil Heathen” owns a 29-21 record with one no contest in MMA and is coming off a 1-2 stint with Professional Fighters League in 2022.

“I am super excited to be in these times of MMA mixing with boxing — it is a huge opportunity,” Stephens said. “And to have all the eyes in the world on this card, I plan on stealing the f—king show and giving the fans the ‘too …

Former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum will square off in a bareknuckle MMA bout under Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Promotions banner.

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Conan Silveira, dos Santos’ coach at American Top Team, recently confirmed the news to Sherdog. Dos Santos and Werdum have already signed the contract to face one another. The pairing will come some 15 years after their first meeting, which “Cigano” won via first-round technical knockout at UFC 90 on Oct. 25, 2008.

“‘Cigano' started his camp to face Werdum today,” Silveira said. “I’m not sure if it was already officially announced but it will be at a Masvidal event under Vale Tudo rules, but with no gloves.”

News of the bout was subsequently confirmed by other sources close to the situation.

Dos Santos, who is known for his boxing-based skill set, hasn’t competed since suffering a shoulder injury that caused him to loss to Yorgan De Castro at Eagle FC in May 2022. The former …

Seo Hee Ham and Nong Stamp will square off for One Championship’s interim atomweight (115-pound) belt on Sept. 1.

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The Singapore-based promotion confirmed the bout following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Angela Lee is One’s reigning atomweight champion but is reportedly considering retirement following the death of her sister, Victoria Lee, this past December.

Ham, the former Rizin Fighting Federation super atomweight queen, has been victorious in her last nine professional outings — including three under the one banner. The South Korean is coming off a unanimous decision win over Itsuki Hirata on March 24.

Fairtex will be making her second bid for a title after falling to Lee via second-round submission at One X in March 2022. Since then, the Thai fighter has scored back-to-back triumphs over Jihin Radzuan and Alyse Anderson in One competition.

The One Fight Night card does not yet have a confirmed location but will air in th…

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A light heavyweight clash pitting Volkan Oezdemir against Azamat Murzakanov has been booked for UFC Paris.

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Promotion officials announced the pairing on Wednesday. UFC Fight Night 226 takes place on Sept. 2 at Accor Arena in Paris and is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Ciryl Gane and Sergey Spivak.

A former 205-pound title challenger, Oezdemir has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 33-year-old Switzerland native suffered a unanimous decision loss to Nikita Krylov at UFC 280 this past October. His ledger includes wins over the likes of Jimi Manuwa, Ovince St. Preux, Ilir La…

Anderson Silva isn’t done with mixed martial arts just yet.

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“The Spider” discussed the possibility shortly after the premiere of the film "Murder City,” which launched on Friday and features a cast that includes the former UFC middleweight champion. In an interview with Brazilian outlet Combate.com, Silva revealed that a farewell MMA bout in Japan is in the works.

“We have a proposal and we are negotiating with Japan. There will definitely be something cool for the fans,” Silva said. “I can't give spoilers. But what we are actually negotiating in relation to MMA is my last fight in Japan. Because it has everything to do with it, it's where I started my international career, where I won my first world title, in Shooto. I think it has everything to do with ending my career in Japan.”

The most dominant middleweight champion in UFC middleweight history also discussed the current state of the division. He does not approve of Alex Pereira’s decisi…

Former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade will replace Virna Janiroba and face Tatiana Suarez in the UFC Nashville co-main event on Aug. 5.

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The promotion announced the 115-pound bout in a release on Tuesday. UFC on ESPN 50 takes place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and is headlined by a bantamweight clash between Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov. According to MMAFighting.com, Jandiroba was forced to withdraw from the event due to a knee injury that will require surgery.

Andrade has already fought three times in 2023. After dominating Lauren Murphy in a unanimous decision triumph at UFC 283 in January, “Bate Estaca” has been finished in back-to-back outings by Erin Blanchfield and Xiaonan Yan. The first-round KO defeat to Yan at UFC 288 marked Andrade’s return to 115 pounds.

Suarez, meanwhile, was out of action for more than three years due to injury. She made her return at UFC Fight Night 220, where she submitted Montan…

The fallout from the litany of failed drug tests during Professional Fighters League’s first leg of the regular season continued at a Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting on Tuesday.

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Defending light heavyweight champion Rob Wilkinson was one of seven fighters who received sanctions from the NSAC. Wilkinson, who defeated ex-UFC title challenger Thiago Santos via unanimous decision in the PFL 1 main event on April 1, tested positive for an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio resulting from the androgynous origin of testosterone in relation to that bout. As a result, he was suspended nine months and fined $7,500 along with $821 in legal feels. Additionally, Wilkinson’s victory was overturned to a no contest.

Santos, one of the organization’s high-profile free agent signings, did not emerge unscathed. “Marreta” tested positive for clomiphene, an estrogen receptor module, in relation to the bout and was suspended six months and fined $12,…

Herb Dean will be the third man in the cage when Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight crown against Yair Rodriguez in the UFC 290 main event.

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Meanwhile, Mike Bell, Ron McCarthy and Sal D’Amato will score the headliner from cageside. The Nevada Athletic Commission on Tuesday appointed the referees and judges for the two championships fights at UFC 290, which takes place on July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Dean officiated Volkanoski title defenses against Max Holloway (UFC 251), Brian Ortega (UFC 266) and Chan Sung Jung (UFC 273) before Marc Goddard oversaw the City Kickboxing standout’s last two efforts.

In the evening’s co-feature, Jason Herzog will referee the flyweight title tilt between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja, while Ben Cartlidge, Junichiro Kamijo and Derek Cleary will serve as judges. In recent bouts, Herzog was the third man in the cage for two of Moreno’s four championship meetings with Deiveson Figueiredo.